The impact of employee satisfaction on company's labour investment efficiency
利用英国上市公司2008-2020年数据，发现员工满意度能提升公司劳动投资效率，尤其在劳动密集型、依赖技能劳动或竞争激烈的行业中效果更强。
This study examines the impact of employee satisfaction on company's labour investment efficiency (CLIE) using a sample of 2,333 company-year observations associated with 302 companies listed in the UK between 2008 and 2020. Arguments based on human relations theory suggest that satisfied employees are likely to be motived to exert greater efforts and exhibit lower turnover, thereby reducing employer's exposure to labour market frictions. In contrast, agency theory argues that satisfied employees may become entrenched and thus harm organisational outcomes, including CLIE. We measure satisfaction with employers across our sample companies using 164,341 employees' ratings posted on Glassdoor UK. We observe a positive impact of employee satisfaction on CLIE, demonstrating the validity of underlying human relations theory for the present business context characterised by labour shortages. We also find the positive impact of employee satisfaction on CLIE to be stronger for companies with higher labour intensity , more reliance on skilled labour, and more competitive industry environments. Our study contributes to research investigating the determinants of efficient investment in workforce. We also demonstrate the informational value of employee' online reviews for understanding a company's performance, particularly in assessing the efficiency of its employment decisions.