As multi-national firms and major offshore outsourcing companies develop experience with global work, their globally distributed teams face the challenge of collaborating intensely without the common interaction advantages associated with collocated work. This chapter analyzes the sources of...

We test how a reduction in travel cost affects the rate and direction of scientific research. Using a fine-grained, scientist-level dataset within chemistry (1991-2012), we find that after Southwest Airlines enters a new route, scientific collaboration increases by 50%, an effect that is...

We develop a simple theoretical framework for thinking about how geographic frictions, and in particular travel costs, shape scientists' collaboration decisions and the types of projects that are developed locally versus over distance. We then take advantage of a quasi-experiment - the...

We test how a reduction in travel cost affects the rate and direction of scientific research. Using a fine-grained, scientist-level dataset within chemistry (1991-2012), we find that after Southwest Airlines enters a new route, scientific collaboration increases by 50%, an effect that is...

Betriebliche Arbeitsgruppen sind eine in der deutschen Industrie häufig anzutreffende Form der Fertigungsorganisation. Betrachtet man die innerbetriebliche Organisation aus der Sicht der Neuen Institutionenökonomik, so kann man die Arbeitsgruppe als eine Institution verstehen, mit deren Hilfe...

This paper addresses the question of organization of work and efficient reorganization. An emerging literature is basically concerned with the polar model of high involvement (holistic) vs. traditional (Tayloristic) work organizations. This paper extends in two ways: First, the polar case is...

The paper is concerned with instructions as a way of setting premises for subsequent decisions in models of teams à la Marschak-Radner, under information diversification. The paper suggests that instructions can bridge people's differences in knowledge: they do not require mutual understanding...

Background: This paper examines factors influencing kaizen adoption in project management teams, emphasizing agile methods, employee engagement, organizational culture, and effective communication. Objectives: The aim of the research was to explore LS Retail employees' experiences with kaizen...

We develop a model to show how agency conflicts, free rider effects and monitoring costs interact to affect optimal team size and workers' incentive contracts. Team size increases with project risk, decreases with profitability, and decreases with monitoring costs as a proportion of output. Our...

Increased global competitions have urged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop new products faster. Virtual research and development (R&D) teams in SMEs can offer a solution to speed up time-to-market of new product development (NPD). However, factors that affect the effectiveness of...