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The Division of Labor Within Firms

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Author Info
Lindbeck, Assar () (Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University)

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Abstract

The paper examines the determinants of the division of labor within firms. It provides an explanation of the pervasive change in work organization away from the traditional functional departments and towards multi-tasking and job rotation. Whereas the existing literature on the division of labor within firms emphasizes the returns from specialization and the need for coordination of the work of different workers, the present analysis focuses on the returns from multi-tasking, which is shown to arise from informational and technological complementarities among tasks as well as from the exploitation of the versatility of human capital.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Stockholm University, Institute for International Economic Studies in its series Seminar Papers with number 628.

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Length: 11 pages
Date of creation: 30 Oct 1997
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:iiessp:0628

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Postal: Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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Web page: http://www.iies.su.se/
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Related research
Keywords: Division of labor; specialization; multi-tasking; organization of work; technological change; information flows;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executive Compensation
O33 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

This item is featured on the following reading lists:

  1. Industrial Sociology (FCT-UNL)
References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Bolton, Patrick & Dewatripont, Mathias, 1994. "The Firm as a Communication Network," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 109(4), pages 809-39, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Baumgardner, James R, 1988. "The Division of Labor, Local Markets, and Worker Organization," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(3), pages 509-27, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Yang, Xiaokai & Borland, Jeff, 1991. "A Microeconomic Mechanism for Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 460-82, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Becker, Gary S & Murphy, Kevin M, 1992. "The Division of Labor, Coordination Costs, and Knowledge," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(4), pages 1137-60, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. George J. Stigler, 1951. "The Division of Labor is Limited by the Extent of the Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59, pages 185. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Holmstrom, Bengt & Milgrom, Paul, 1991. "Multitask Principal-Agent Analyses: Incentive Contracts, Asset Ownership, and Job Design," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(0), pages 24-52, Special I.
  7. Kim, Sunwoong, 1989. "Labor Specialization and the Extent of the Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(3), pages 692-705, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Snower, Dennis J., 1999. "Causes of Changing Earnings Inequality," IZA Discussion Papers 29, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Xavier Ragot, 2003. "Technical Change and the Dynamics of The Division of Labor," DELTA Working Papers 2003-09, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure). [Downloadable!]
  3. Norbert Berthold & Rainer Fehn, 2003. "Unemployment in Germany: Reasons and Remedies," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  4. Snower, Dennis J., 1999. "Inequality of Earnings," CEPR Discussion Papers 2321, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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