Work From Home Arrangements and Organizational Performance in Italian SMEs: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Laura Abrardi, Elena Grinza, Alessandro Manello and Flavio Porta
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Laura Abrardi: DIGEP, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Alessandro Manello: Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (ESOMAS), University of Torino, Italy; IRCrES-CNR
Flavio Porta: Department of Economics, University of Bergamo, Italy

No 76, Working papers from Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino

Abstract: We use survey data on Italian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) collected during the COVID-19 pandemic to explore the relationship between the adoption of work from home (WFH) practices and organizational performance. In so doing, we investigate the possible underlying mechanisms, including measures of labor productivity and workers' concentration and motivation, the level of absenteeism, the organization of work through management by objectives (MBO), and the presence of coordination and communication costs. We obtain several results. First, we find a significantly enhanced capability of firms that adopted WFH during the pandemic to sustain the overall organizational performance, particularly when such work practice is used intensively. Second, increased labor productivity and workers' concentration and motivation, decreased absenteeism, and a substantial rise in the adoption of MBO seem to be the main drivers behind the detected benefits related to WFH. Third, when WFH is used at medium levels of intensity, it is associated with augmented coordination and communication costs, which nonetheless do not appear to overcome the benefits associated with WFH.

Keywords: Work From Home (WFH); Teleworking; Agile Working; Smart Working; Organizational Performance; Labor Productivity; Management by Objectives (MBO); COVID-19; Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs); Survey Data. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D23 D24 M54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2022-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-eff, nep-ent, nep-hrm and nep-sbm
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https://www.bemservizi.unito.it/repec/tur/wpapnw/m76.pdf First version, 2022 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Work from home arrangements and organizational performance in Italian SMEs: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic (2024)
Working Paper: Work from Home Arrangements and Organizational Performance in Italian SMEs: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic (2022)
Working Paper: Work from Home Arrangements and Organizational Performance in Italian SMEs:Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic (2022)
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