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Building a Productive Workforce: The Role of Structured Management Practices

Author

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  • Christopher Cornwell

    (Department of Economics, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30605)

  • Ian M. Schmutte

    (Department of Economics, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30605)

  • Daniela Scur

    (Cornell University Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Ithaca, New York 14853)

Abstract

In an influential study, Bender et al. [Bender S, Bloom N, Card D, Van Reenen J, Wolter S (2018) Management practices, workforce selection, and productivity. J. Labor Econom. 36(S1):S371–S409] document consistent relationships between management practices, productivity, and workforce composition using administrative data from German firms matched to ratings of their practices from the World Management Survey. We replicate and extend their analysis using comparable data from Brazil. The main conclusions from their study are supported in ours, strengthening the view that more structured practices affect organizational performance through workforce selection across different institutional settings. However, we find that more structured management practices are linked to greater wage inequality in Brazil, relative to greater wage compression in Germany, suggesting that some of the consequences of adopting structured practices are tied to the local context.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Cornwell & Ian M. Schmutte & Daniela Scur, 2021. "Building a Productive Workforce: The Role of Structured Management Practices," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(12), pages 7308-7321, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:67:y:2021:i:12:p:7308-7321
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2021.3960
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    1. Barth, Erling & Davis, James C. & Freeman, Richard B. & McElheran, Kristina, 2023. "Twisting the demand curve: Digitalization and the older workforce," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 233(2), pages 443-467.
    2. Arellano-Bover, Jaime & Saltiel, Fernando, 2021. "Differences in On-the-Job Learning across Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 14473, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Kevin Donovan & Will Jianyu Lu & Todd Schoellman, 2020. "Labor Market Dynamics and Development," Staff Report 596, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    4. Bennedsen, Morten & Larsen, Birthe & Schmutte, Ian M. & Scur, Daniela, 2023. "The effect of preserving job matches during a crisis," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    industrial organization: firm objectives; organization and behavior; industrial organization: market structure; firm strategy; and market performance; labor;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M11 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Production Management
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General

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