Аннотация:The article presents the results of the author's study of present state of collective enterprises (jointstock companies with employees as shareholders). It is noted that in Russia this form of business is not sufficiently developed. The study discusses the experience of organizing the employeeowned companies in Lipetsk region: their governmental support, functioning and commercial efficiency. The article provides a comparative analysis of activities of employeeowned companies and companies functioning on the basis of other business models. It considers the economic efficiency of collective firms in Russia (collective enterprises — CE) and the USA (enterprises based on Employee Stock Ownership Plan — ESOP model). It was demonstrated that employeeowned companies have considerable over the enterprises of other forms of ownership concerning better control of production due to participative management, more comfortable psychological climate and higher competitiveness. We show that the factors of socioeconomic sustainability of such enterprises are based on interest of the labor collective in the products of their work. The origin of such interest is an opportunity for each employee to participate in management of the company and his high social security.