IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v24y2013i4p1041-1060.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Looking Up and Looking Out: Career Mobility Effects of Demographic Similarity Among Professionals

Author

Listed:
  • Kathleen L. McGinn

    (Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02163)

  • Katherine L. Milkman

    (The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104)

Abstract

We investigate the role of workgroup gender and race composition on the career mobility of professionals in “up-or-out” organizations. We develop a nuanced perspective on the potential career mobility effects of workgroup demography by integrating the social identification processes of cohesion, competition, and comparison. Using five years of personnel data from a large law firm, we examine the influence of demographic match with workgroup superiors and workgroup peers on attorneys’ likelihood of turnover and promotion. Survival analyses reveal that higher proportions of same-sex superiors enhance junior professionals’ career mobility. On the flip side, we observe mobility costs accruing to professionals in workgroups with higher proportions of same-sex and same-race peers. Qualitative data offer insights into the social identification processes underlying demographic similarity effects on turnover and promotion in professional service organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathleen L. McGinn & Katherine L. Milkman, 2013. "Looking Up and Looking Out: Career Mobility Effects of Demographic Similarity Among Professionals," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 1041-1060, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:24:y:2013:i:4:p:1041-1060
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1120.0778
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0778
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1120.0778?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michelle M. Duguid & Denise Lewin Loyd & Pamela S. Tolbert, 2012. "The Impact of Categorical Status, Numeric Representation, and Work Group Prestige on Preference for Demographically Similar Others: A Value Threat Approach," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 386-401, April.
    2. Ray Reagans, 2005. "Preferences, Identity, and Competition: Predicting Tie Strength from Demographic Data," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(9), pages 1374-1383, September.
    3. Christopher D. Zatzick & Marta M. Elvira & Lisa E. Cohen, 2003. "When is More Better? The Effects of Racial Composition on Voluntary Turnover," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(5), pages 483-496, October.
    4. King, Gary & Zeng, Langche, 2001. "Logistic Regression in Rare Events Data," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 137-163, January.
    5. Jonathan S. Leonard & David I. Levine, 2006. "The Effect of Diversity on Turnover: A Large Case Study," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 59(4), pages 547-572, July.
    6. Marianne Bertrand & Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2010. "Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 228-255, July.
    7. Judith D. Singer & John B. Willett, 1993. "It’s About Time: Using Discrete-Time Survival Analysis to Study Duration and the Timing of Events," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, , vol. 18(2), pages 155-195, June.
    8. Kahn, Charles & Huberman, Gur, 1988. "Two-sided Uncertainty and "Up-or-Out" Contracts," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(4), pages 423-444, October.
    9. Pamela S. Tolbert & Tal Simons & Alice Andrews & Jaehoon Rhee, 1995. "The Effects of Gender Composition in Academic Departments on Faculty Turnover," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 48(3), pages 562-579, April.
    10. Prithviraj Chattopadhyay & Elizabeth George & Arthur D. Shulman, 2008. "The Asymmetrical Influence of Sex Dissimilarity in Distributive vs. Colocated Work Groups," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(4), pages 581-593, August.
    11. Maura A. Belliveau, 2005. "Blind Ambition? The Effects of Social Networks and Institutional Sex Composition on the Job Search Outcomes of Elite Coeducational and Women’s College Graduates," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(2), pages 134-150, April.
    12. Lehmann, Jee-Yeon, 2011. "Job assignment and promotion under statistical discrimination: evidence from the early careers of lawyers," MPRA Paper 33466, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ramani, Ravi S. & Aguinis, Herman & Coyle-Shapiro, Jacqueline A.M., 2022. "Defining, measuring, and rewarding scholarly impact: mind the level of analysis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117286, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Aaron D. Hill & Arun D. Upadhyay & Rafik I. Beekun, 2015. "Do female and ethnically diverse executives endure inequity in the CEO position or do they benefit from their minority status? An empirical examination," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(8), pages 1115-1134, August.
    3. Diego DUEÑAS FERNÁNDEZ & Carlos IGLESIAS FERNÁNDEZ & Raquel LLORENTE HERAS, 2014. "Occupational segregation by sex in Spain: Exclusion or confinement?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(2), pages 311-336, June.
    4. Brad N. Greenwood & Kartik K. Ganju & Corey M. Angst, 2019. "How Does the Implementation of Enterprise Information Systems Affect a Professional’s Mobility? An Empirical Study," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 30(2), pages 563-594, June.
    5. Isabel Fernandez-Mateo & Sarah Kaplan, 2018. "Gender and Organization Science: Introduction to a Virtual Special Issue," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1229-1236, December.
    6. Vera Rocha & Mirjam van Praag, 2020. "Mind the gap: The role of gender in entrepreneurial career choice and social influence by founders," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(5), pages 841-866, May.
    7. Brad Greenwood & Idris Adjerid & Corey M. Angst & Nathan L. Meikle, 2022. "How Unbecoming of You: Online Experiments Uncovering Gender Biases in Perceptions of Ridesharing Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 499-518, January.
    8. Hong Luo & Laurina Zhang, 2022. "Scandal, Social Movement, and Change: Evidence from #MeToo in Hollywood," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(2), pages 1278-1296, February.
    9. Mukhammadyusuf Shaymardanov & Suvi Heikkinen & Anna-Maija Lämsä, 2023. "Social Networks of Women in Organizations: Evolution of Research and Future Research Agenda," South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, , vol. 12(1), pages 97-112, April.
    10. Vera Rocha & Mirjam van Praag, 2016. "How do Entrepreneurial Bosses influence their Employees' Future Entrepreneurship Choices?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 16-110/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    11. Meir Russ, 2017. "The Trifurcation of the Labor Markets in the Networked, Knowledge-Driven, Global Economy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 672-703, June.
    12. Nayoung Rim & Kyung Park, 2017. "The Gendered Effects of Career Concerns on Fertility," Departmental Working Papers 59, United States Naval Academy Department of Economics.
    13. Michel Hermans & William Newburry & Marcelo J. Alvarado-Vargas & Carlos M. Baldo & Armando Borda & Edwin G. Durán-Zurita & José Maurício Galli Geleilate & Massiel Guerra & Maria Virginia Lasio Morello, 2017. "Attitudes towards women’s career advancement in Latin America: The moderating impact of perceived company international proactiveness," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(1), pages 90-112, January.
    14. Giuseppe Criaco & Philipp Sieger & Karl Wennberg & Francesco Chirico & Tommaso Minola, 2017. "Parents’ performance in entrepreneurship as a “double-edged sword” for the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 841-864, December.
    15. Ossenkop, Carolin & Vinkenburg, Claartje J. & Jansen, Paul G.W. & Ghorashi, Halleh, 2015. "Ethnic identity positioning at work: Understanding professional career experiences," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 515-525.
    16. Erin M. Reid, 2018. "Straying from breadwinning: Status and money in men's interpretations of their wives' work arrangements," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 718-733, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michelle M. Duguid & Denise Lewin Loyd & Pamela S. Tolbert, 2012. "The Impact of Categorical Status, Numeric Representation, and Work Group Prestige on Preference for Demographically Similar Others: A Value Threat Approach," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 386-401, April.
    2. Jennifer Merluzzi, 2017. "Gender and Negative Network Ties: Exploring Difficult Work Relationships Within and Across Gender," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(4), pages 636-652, August.
    3. Cemal Eren Arbath & Quamral H. Ashraf & Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2018. "Diversity and Conflict," Working Papers 2018-6, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    4. Ashish Arora & Michelle Gittelman & Sarah Kaplan & John Lynch & Will Mitchell & Nicolaj Siggelkow & Cristian L. Dezső & David Gaddis Ross & Jose Uribe, 2016. "Is there an implicit quota on women in top management? A large-sample statistical analysis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 98-115, January.
    5. Dane P. Blevins & Steve Sauerwald & Jenny M. Hoobler & Christopher J. Robertson, 2019. "Gender Differences in Pay Levels: An Examination of the Compensation of University Presidents," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 600-616, May.
    6. Adina D. Sterling & Roberto M. Fernandez, 2018. "Once in the Door: Gender, Tryouts, and the Initial Salaries of Managers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(11), pages 5444-5460, November.
    7. Cemal Eren Arbatlı & Quamrul H. Ashraf & Oded Galor & Marc Klemp, 2020. "Diversity and Conflict," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 727-797, March.
    8. Adam M. Kleinbaum & Toby E. Stuart & Michael L. Tushman, 2013. "Discretion Within Constraint: Homophily and Structure in a Formal Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(5), pages 1316-1336, October.
    9. Holger Sieg & Yu Wang, 2017. "The Impact of Student Debt on Education, Career, and Marriage Choices of Female Lawyers," NBER Working Papers 23453, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Trevor Young-Hyman & Adam M. Kleinbaum, 2020. "Meso-Foundations of Interorganizational Relationships: How Team Power Structures Shape Partner Novelty," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(6), pages 1385-1407, November.
    11. Kuhnen, Camelia M., 2010. "Searching for Jobs: Evidence from MBA Graduates," MPRA Paper 21975, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. M. Max Evans & Ilja Frissen & Anthony K. P. Wensley, 2018. "Organisational Information and Knowledge Sharing: Uncovering Mediating Effects of Perceived Trustworthiness Using the PROCESS Approach," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(01), pages 1-29, March.
    13. Dreber, Anna & Heikensten, Emma & Säve-Söderbergh, Jenny, 2022. "Why do women ask for less?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    14. Angel M. Morales & Patrick Tarwater & Indika Mallawaarachchi & Alok Kumar Dwivedi & Juan B. Figueroa-Casas, 2015. "Multinomial logistic regression approach for the evaluation of binary diagnostic test in medical research," Statistics in Transition new series, Główny Urząd Statystyczny (Polska), vol. 16(2), pages 203-222, June.
    15. F. Gauthier & D. Germain & B. Hétu, 2017. "Logistic models as a forecasting tool for snow avalanches in a cold maritime climate: northern Gaspésie, Québec, Canada," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 89(1), pages 201-232, October.
    16. Lennox, Clive & Wang, Chunfei & Wu, Xi, 2023. "Delegated leadership at public accounting firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1).
    17. Douglas Cumming & Lars Hornuf & Moein Karami & Denis Schweizer, 2023. "Disentangling Crowdfunding from Fraudfunding," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(4), pages 1103-1128, February.
    18. Ferreira, Daniel & Ginglinger, Edith & Laguna, Marie-Aude & Skalli, Yasmine, 2017. "Board Quotas and Director-Firm Matching," CEPR Discussion Papers 12117, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Rose, Damaris & Stavrova, Olga, 2019. "Does life satisfaction predict reemployment? Evidence form German panel data," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1-11.
    20. Eunae Yoo & Elliot Rabinovich & Bin Gu, 2020. "The Growth of Follower Networks on Social Media Platforms for Humanitarian Operations," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(12), pages 2696-2715, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:24:y:2013:i:4:p:1041-1060. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.