Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13828
Authors: Heski Barisaac; Raphal Levy
Abstract: Firms have discretion over task allocations, which may dampen employees’ career prospects, and, hence, motivation. Task assignments and worker motivation interact through the extent of labor market competition; that is, the possibility of moving to another firm. More competition enhances motivation but decreases firms’ incentives to assign workers to informative tasks. One consequence is that competitive firms sometimes choose strategies that lead to intermediate competition. When the employee pool is heterogeneous, firms might choose different human resources practices that attract different kinds of workers, and differentiate themselves through the career opportunities within and beyond the firms that they offer.
Keywords: career concerns; task assignments; professional service firms; labour market competition
JEL Codes: J32; J33; M5; M12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Labor Market Competition (J29) | Worker Motivation (M54) |
| Employee Career Prospects (M51) | Worker Motivation (M54) |
| Employee Pool Heterogeneity (J79) | HR Practices (M51) |
| Task Assignments (M54) | Employee Career Prospects (M51) |
| HR Practices (M51) | Employee Differentiation (M51) |
| Career Concerns (J62) | Effort Incentives (J33) |
| Task Assignments (M54) | Worker Motivation (M54) |