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Managerial Attention and Worker Engagement

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  • Prat, Andrea
  • Halac, Marina

Abstract

We study a dynamic agency problem with two-sided moral hazard: the worker chooses whether to exert effort or shirk; the manager chooses whether to invest in an attention technology to recognize worker performance. In equilibrium the worker uses past recognition to infer managerial attention. An engagement trap arises: absent recent recognition, both worker effort and managerial investment decrease, making a return to high productivity less likely as time passes. In a sample of ex-ante identical firms, firm performance, managerial quality, and worker engagement display heterogeneity across firms, positive correlation, and persistence over time.

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  • Prat, Andrea & Halac, Marina, 2014. "Managerial Attention and Worker Engagement," CEPR Discussion Papers 10035, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10035
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    Cited by:

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    3. Eliaz, Kfir & de Clippel, Geoffroy & Rozen, Kareen, 2016. "The Silent Treatment," CEPR Discussion Papers 11335, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Heski Bar-Isaac & Joyee Deb, 2021. "Reputation With Opportunities for Coasting," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 200-236.
    5. Matthew Mitchell, 2018. "Free (Ad)vice," 2018 Meeting Papers 1194, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. Daniel Hauser, 2016. "Promoting a Reputation for Quality," PIER Working Paper Archive 16-014, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 29 Sep 2016.
    7. Mira Frick & Yuhta Ishii, 2015. "Innovation Adoption by Forward-Looking Social Learners," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1877, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    8. Benjamin M. Artz & Amanda H. Goodall & Andrew J. Oswald, 2017. "Boss Competence and Worker Well-Being," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 70(2), pages 419-450, March.
    9. Steven Blader & Claudine Gartenberg & Rebecca Henderson & Andrea Prat, 2015. "The Real Effects of Relational Contracts," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 452-456, May.

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