From Followers to Leaders: The Career Impact of High-Quality Managers

Yuyu Chen, Lukas Hensel and Xinjue Yao ()
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Xinjue Yao: University of Hong Kong

No 17848, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: How does manager quality affect subordinates' career progression? We examine the causal effect of manager quality on workers' career outcomes in the context of managerial teams at a large construction firm. We exploit quasi-random variation in worker-manager matching through frequent project reassignments to identify the causal effect of high-quality managers on promotions. Working under a high-quality manager increases workers' subsequent promotion rates by 13 percentage points. We provide evidence in support of managerial human capital transmission as the primary mechanism: effects are concentrated among workers and positions that require most managerial skills and exposed workers earn significantly higher performance-based bonuses.

Keywords: skill transmission; promotions; manager quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 M51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-hrm and nep-lma
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