Why Stars Matter

56 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2014 Last revised: 8 Mar 2023

See all articles by Ajay K. Agrawal

Ajay K. Agrawal

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

John McHale

Queen's University - Smith School of Business

Alexander Oettl

Georgia Institute of Technology - Strategic Management Area

Date Written: March 2014

Abstract

The growing peer effects literature pays particular attention to the role of stars. We decompose the causal effect of hiring a star in terms of the productivity impact on: 1) co-located incumbents and 2) new recruits. Using longitudinal university department-level data we report that hiring a star does not increase overall incumbent productivity, although this aggregate effect hides offsetting effects on related (positive) versus unrelated (negative) colleagues. However, the primary impact comes from an increase in the average quality of subsequent recruits. This is most pronounced at mid-ranked institutions, suggesting implications for the socially optimal spatial organization of talent.

Suggested Citation

Agrawal, Ajay K. and McHale, John and Oettl, Alexander, Why Stars Matter (March 2014). NBER Working Paper No. w20012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2418127

Ajay K. Agrawal (Contact Author)

University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management ( email )

105 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E6 M5S1S4
Canada

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

John McHale

Queen's University - Smith School of Business ( email )

Smith School of Business - Queen's University
143 Union Street
Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6
Canada

Alexander Oettl

Georgia Institute of Technology - Strategic Management Area ( email )

800 West Peachtree St.
Atlanta, GA 30308
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
75
Abstract Views
1,173
Rank
572,227
PlumX Metrics