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Abstract
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) are a form of employee share ownership, where employees participate in the financial results of the company in an indirect way through allocation of ownership shares as a benefit plan. While employee ownership has fueled an extensive body of research, few scholars have empirically investigated its relationship with organizational citizenship and entrepreneurial orientation. Organizational citizenship behavior is conceptualized as being positive towards all in-role, extra-role, and organizational functions of the organization. Entrepreneurial orientation refers to decisions, processes, and practices that lead to new entry. Neither of these constructs are widely examined in the literature within the context of employee ownership. This dissertation did not find support for individual focused organizational citizenship behavior (OCBI) within ESO. While OCBI was not observed in this research, it may manifest in other employee owned environments, so more research is required to draw additional conclusions. Furthermore, employee ownership did not show a significant relationship to individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO). Employee ownership represents a large portion of US-based industry and this research does not resolve the manifestation of entrepreneurial orientation within ESOPs. More research is called for to reveal how entrepreneurship emerges within employee owned companies.