Job Satisfaction and Investment Efficiency – Evidence from Crowdsourced Employer Reviews

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of job satisfaction on investment efficiency. To operationalize job satisfaction empirically, we employ a novel measure based on crowdsourced employer reviews. Considering the as yet under-researched and less regulated private firm setting, in which internal characteristics such as employee satisfaction should play a more important role for corporate actions, we find that our measure for job satisfaction has a positive impact on investment efficiency. High job satisfaction seems to alleviate problems related to moral hazard and adverse selection resulting from information asymmetries, which ultimately improves corporate investment efficiency. We further show that high job satisfaction reduces particularly the likelihood of underinvestment, where profitable investment projects are not carried out. Our study demonstrates the importance of cultivating a positive workplace environment with contented employees, which does benefit fundamental corporate actions.

Keywords: Job satisfaction, investment efficiency, moral hazard, adverse selection, information asymmetry, private firms

JEL Classification: G30, J28, M14, M40