Research interests: Strategic human capital, Careers, Organization design, Inequality, Personnel Economics

Job market paper

He, L. ”From Uncertainty to Excellence: How Demand Uncertainty at the Start of a Job Influences Employees’ Subsequent Trade-off between Output Quantity and Quality in a Restaurant Chain”

• Nominated for the SMS PhD Paper Prize

• Nominated for SMS SHC IG Best PhD Student Paper Award

[Abstract] In performing their tasks, employees often need to balance a trade-off between quantity and quality. While prior literature has suggested that different incentive designs can shape how employees navigate this trade-off, employees subject to the same incentive structure may still differ in whether they prioritize quantity or quality in task performance. This paper aims to identify additional factors that can systematically explain such heterogeneity. Drawing on imprinting theory, this paper traces back to employees’ early job experience with market conditions and examines its lasting effect on their focus on quantity or quality in subsequent periods. It argues that employees who experience high demand uncertainty for their firms’ products or services at the start of their job are more likely to perceive quantity as uncontrollable and shift their focus to improve quality. This early tendency to prioritize quality over quantity can lead employees to develop more quality-enhancing skills than quantity-enhancing skills, thereby reinforcing this tendency over time. This paper tests these arguments using longitudinal employee-level data from a restaurant chain operating across the U.S. and Canada. Results support my hypotheses and confirm the importance of managing employees’ onboarding experience, given its potential lasting influence on skill development.

(Field observation for my dissertation)