Worker Skills and Organizational Spillovers: Evidence from Linked Training and Communications Data

Abstract : How does increasing the skill of some workers affect the output of the organization as a whole? To answer this question, we study the effects of a randomized training program that occurred in a Colombian government agency. While trained workers substantially improved their individual production, we find that spillovers affecting managers' productivity are nearly as large as the direct gains from training. We use email data to understand the mechanism behind these spillovers and find that two changes explain the benefits for managers. First, trained workers send fewer emails to their bosses, and boss productivity increases as emails decline. Second, relatively senior trained frontline workers form an informal helping layer between junior frontline workers and managers, providing assistance to untrained workers and further reducing managers' need to offer help. In our setting, accounting for intra-organization spillovers doubles the implied return from upskilling workers.

---

Language Barriers in Multinationals and Knowledge Transfers

Abstract : A distinct feature of MNCs is a three-tier organizational structure: foreign managers (FMs) supervise domestic managers (DMs) who supervise production workers. Language barriers between FMs and DMs could impede transfers of management knowledge. We develop a model in which DMs learn general management by communicating with FMs, but communication effort is non-contractible. These conditions generate sub-optimal communication within the MNC. If communication is complementary with language skills, the planner could raise welfare by subsidizing foreign language acquisition. We experimentally assess the validity of the general skills and the complementarity assumptions in Myanmar, a setting where FMs and DMs communicate in English. The first experiment examines the general skills assumption by asking prospective employers at domestic firms to rate hypothetical job candidates. They value candidates with both higher English proficiency and MNC experience, a premium driven, in part, by frequent interactions with FMs. The second experiment examines the complementarity assumption by providing English training to a random sample of DMs working at MNCs. At endline, treated DMs have higher English proficiency, communicate more frequently with their FMs, are more involved in firm management, and perform better in simulated management tasks. Organizational barriers within MNCs can thus hinder knowledge transfers and lead to an under-investment in English relative to the social optimum.

---

Communication Within Firms: Evidence from Ceo Turnovers

Abstract : This paper uses novel, firm-level measures derived from communications metadata before and after a CEO transition in 102 firms to study if CEO turnover impacts employees’ communication flows. We find that CEO turnover leads to an initial decrease in intra-firm communication, followed by a significant increase approximately five months after the CEO change. The increase is driven primarily by vertical (i.e. manager to employee) communication. Greater increase in communication after CEO change are associated with greater increases in firm market returns.

---