The Specifities of employer’s shareholding in Morocco: the case of the subsidiaries of French groups composing the CAC40 index

Abstract

Employee shareholding constitutes a set of mechanisms implemented to foster value creation by integrating employees into the company's governance structure, providing them with financial benefits and involving them in the company's success. The Moroccan economic landscape, dominated by SMC’s and family companies, is reluctant to open up its capital due to a culture of confidentiality and a specific governance model. As a result, employee shareholding in Morocco is mainly adopted by companies in the financial sector and by subsidiaries of foreign groups.

This article analyzes the characteristics of employee shareholding in subsidiaries based in Morocco and belonging to French groups listed in the CAC 40. Based on a sample of 62 operations over the period from 2012 to 2022, the results show that the industrial and financial sectors account for a high number of operations (56.45%). We also show that companies in the industrial and utilities sectors have higher rates of employee participation. Our study underlines that a high employee subscription rate does not necessarily mean a high amount subscribed, which highlights the role of employees' purchasing power and the financial incentives put in place by each group. What's more, the share of capital held by Moroccan employees remains relatively low (0.0021%).

Keywords: Employee shareholding, subsidiary companies, French groups, Employee shareholding plan.

JEL Classification: G32

Paper type: Empirical research