Finance, economic and management literature document the reduced agency problems, increased productivity, and greater financial benefits that accrue to firms that adopt Employee Stock Ownership Plans, (ESOPs). The literature also documents the increased agency problems, decreased employee productivity, and poor operating performance that usually accompany corporate downsizing activity. To date, none of the studies have examined the effect that downsizing decisions have on companies with existing ESOP plans; this dissertation fills that empirical void. In this study, two essays are presented that examine the effect of corporate downsizing on ESOP versus non-ESOP firms. In the first essay, I investigate the short-term wealth effects of the downsizing announcement using event study methodology. I find that there is no significant change in the wealth effects for ESOP firms (they are positive, yet small), whereas non-ESOP firms have significantly negative abnormal returns. There is, however, a significant difference in the abnormal returns of ESOP versus non-ESOP firms, where ESOPs have significantly higher abnormal returns. Finally, with respect to wealth effects, I find that downsizing interacts negatively with managerial ownership and with employee ownership, but there is a positive interaction between the ownership of managers and employees.In the second essay, I examine the long-term employee productivity and financial performance of the downsized firms, as measured by Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and Tobins Q, respectively. I find that neither the percentage of employee ownership nor the level of downsizing has an impact on the productivity of the downsizing ESOP firm. However, the level of downsizing exerts a significantly positive impact on the productivity of non-ESOP firms. With respect to financial performance, the existence of an ESOP plan has a significantly negative influence on the Tobins Q of the downsizing firm. Furthermore, the level of downsizing has a significantly negative impact on non-ESOP firms, whereas the financial performance of ESOP firms appear to be unaffected by the level of downsizing. For Tobins Q, there is evidence of interaction between employee and managerial ownership for ESOP firms. There is also interaction between managerial ownership and downsizing for the TFP and Tobins Q of non-ESOP firms.

Aktieåterköp är en snabbt växande företeelse och är på grund av tidigare lagar relativt nytt i Sverige jämfört med andra utvecklade länder. Aktieåterköp kan i vissa fall användas som ett substitut för utdelning, men kan även genomföras för att signalera marknaden och förhindra företagsuppköp. För att få en större förståelse för aktieåterköp har ett fåtal studier undersökt dess samband till ägarförhållanden på olika sätt. Dessa studier visar olika resultat i olika länder, vilket kan tyda på att landspecifika faktorer spelar roll vid undersökning av ägarförhållanden. Den aktuella studien undersöker hur ägarkoncentrationen och det interna ägandet ser ut i bolag som återköper aktier, samt om det finns någon skillnad i ägarkoncentration och internt ägande mellan aktieåterköpande och icke-återköpande bolag som är noterade på Stockholmsbörsen. Studien har en kvantitativ ansats och använder en tvärsnittsdesign för att besvara hypoteserna och jämföra de två grupperna. Hypoteserna är framställda utifrån den teoretiska referensramen som främst grundar sig i agentteori och asymmetrisk information. Resultatet visar hur ägarkoncentrationen och det interna ägandet ser ut för bolag som återköper egna aktier på Stockholmsbörsen 2019. Små skillnader kunde ur studiens resultat observeras mellan de två grupperna av observationer. Skillnaderna uppvisade ingen statistisk signifikans. / Share repurchases are a rapidly growing phenomenon and is relatively new in Sweden compared to other developed countries due to previous swedish laws. Share repurchases are often seen as a substitute for dividends, but can also be implemented to signal the market and prevent corporate acquisitions. Few studies have investigated share repurchases relation to ownership in various ways in order to understand the phenomenon further. These studies show different results in different countries, which may indicate that country-specific factors play a role when investigating ownership. The current study examines the ownership concentration and the internal ownership in companies that repurchase shares, and also if there is a difference in ownership concentration and internal ownership between companies that repurchase stocks and those who don’t. These companies are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. The study has a quantitative approach and uses a cross-sectional design to answer the hypotheses and compare the two selected groups. The hypotheses are produced on the basis of the theoretical frame of reference, which is mainly based on agency theory and asymmetrical information. The results of the study indicate how the concentration and internal ownership looks for companies that repurchase their own shares on Nasdaq Stockholm. Small differences could be observed from the study’s results between the two groups of observations. The differences showed no statistical significance.