Does Working with a Future Executive Make Junior Employees More Likely to Be Promoted?

We estimate long-term peer effects in the workplace by investigating whether working with a future executive makes junior employees more likely to be promoted. Using the data on comprehensive career history at the Japanese central administration from 1946 to 2019, we find that long-term peer effects are substantial and persistent—junior employees who work with a future executive in the same division during the first five years of their employment are more likely to be promoted to chief executive than employees who do not. Additional empirical analysis suggests that improved network connections between senior and junior employees are crucial for the promotion of junior employees