MANAGEMENT INCENTIVES IN UNLISTED COMPANIES: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

The present work aims to analyze the strategy for managers' incentives, with special regards to unlisted companies. This is a relevant topic, because of the importance of aligning the interests of managers as much as possible with the creation of sustainable value for the enterprise. After a general review of compensation strategies and a specific insight about the differences in remuneration approaches for listed and unlisted companies, a survey is presented, which has been employed to verify the level of implementation of the described policies within unlisted companies. It was sent to 80 unlisted companies, among which 20 replied. The results of survey are then described, covering several topics, among which the industrial sector, the size of the company, the geographical areas of production, the period since when the incentive system is applied, its observed effectiveness, the business areas in which it is used, the type and the entity of the incentives. The lack of a market that can "evaluate" the company is certainly an element not to be underestimated, but if the key drivers of value are correctly identified, even smaller, unlisted companies can develop incentive policies that allow them to be more dynamic, attracting and able to motivate the high qualified professional figures, reducing the agency problems.