"Governing the Firm" by Gregory Dow is all about that exact question. Why aren't labor coops more common? What's holding them back, in game theory economics ter

"Governing the Firm" by Gregory Dow is all about that exact question. Why aren't labor coops more common? What's holding them back, in game theory economics terms? One reason is that it's much easier to capture entrepreneurial rents for a capital-managed firm. A capitalist with a grand plan can hire a lot of workers and realize his plan. In a labor coop, a majority has to agree that the plan is sound - and if it's a first-mover thing, it's hard to keep some workers from starting their own business and getting there first. Dow gives some other reasons too. Labor coops do exist, but they're usually not startups, and some types of business are much more common than others.