We explore the relationship between the volatility of a firm's local environment and its organizational structure. Using micro-level data on a large retailer, we empirically test and provide support for our hypothesis that a more volatile local environment results in more decentralization only...

Economics has long studied how consumers respond to the disclosure of information about firms. We study a case in which the disclosed information is unrelated to the product or firm leadership, but which could still potentially affect consumer patronage through the mechanism of repugnance, as...

In an RCT, a large retail chain's CEO sets new goals for the managers of the treated stores by asking them 'to do what they can' to reduce the employee quit rate. The treatment decreases the quit rate by a fifth to a quarter, lasting nine months before petering out, but reappearing after a...

In an RCT, a large retail chain’s CEO sets new goals for the managers of the treated stores by asking them “to do what they can” to reduce the employee quit rate. The treatment decreases the quit rate by a fifth to a quarter, lasting nine months before petering out, but reappearing after a...

Change management process needs to define certain principles and apply them effectively in order to achieve the best possible results. Understanding how certain members of the organization react to change will greatly influence how they will cope with the implementation of change, how their work...

In a field experiment, a large retail chain's CEO asked managers of treated stores “to do what they can” to reduce personnel turnover. Turnover decreases by a quarter for nine months; a reminder treatment triggers a similar decrease for a shorter period. Treated managers report shifting...

Employee mobility as a conduit for knowledge transfer to a business competitor is a growing source of concern for many employers in the modern business environment where the skills, relationships, and knowledge embedded in a firm’s employees has become an important source of competitive...

In 1973 the British academic Ronald Dore published what was to become one of the most influential books ever written in the fields of industrial sociology and Japanese studies. British Factory-Japanese Factory: The Origins of National Diversity in Industrial Relations (Dore, 1973) was a...

This paper addresses the legitimacy of competing interests involved in the enforcement of covenants not to compete (“noncompetes”). To date, the courts and legislatures have not relied on a principled theoretical framework to identify and assess the competing interests between firms and...

Company executives rely on new product development teams to carry out their directives and make decisions according to management’s goals and objectives. However, new product team members bring their own motivational perspectives to strategic decisions. This research examines how individual...