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

• Presentation/Invitations: 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, 45th SMS Annual Conference, IE Business School Consortium

[Abstract] The trade-off between quantity and quality is not only a strategic concern for firms in the product market, but also a critical decision for employees in task performance. While firms can use incentive structure to influence employees’ trade-offs, employees within the same organization still vary in their focus on prioritizing quantity or quality when producing outputs. The reasons why such variation persists remain unclear. 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. I argue that employees who experience high demand uncertainty at the start of a job—characterized by unpredictable volatility in consumer demand for the products or services of a firm—tend to perceive quantity as uncontrollable, and shift focus to enhancing quality as a means to regain control over their performance. This early tendency to prioritize quality over productivity can lead employees to develop stronger quality-enhancing skills over quantity-enhancing skills, thereby reinforcing this tendency over time. I test these arguments using longitudinal employee-level data from a restaurant chain across the U.S. and Canada and find supportive evidence. This study suggests the importance of managing employees’ onboarding experience, given its potential lasting influence on skill development and work routine.

(Field observation for my dissertation)