Can a Work Organization Have an Attitude Problem? the Impact of Workplaces on Employee Attitudes and Economic Outcomes

48 Pages Posted: 28 Sep 2003 Last revised: 17 Apr 2022

See all articles by Ann P. Bartel

Ann P. Bartel

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Richard B. Freeman

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); University of Edinburgh - School of Social and Political Studies; Harvard University; London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP)

Casey Ichniowski

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Morris M. Kleiner

Humphrey School of Public Affairs; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: September 2003

Abstract

Using the employee opinion survey responses from several thousand employees working in 193 branches of a major U.S. bank, we consider whether there is a distinctive workplace component to employee attitudes despite the common set of corporate human resource management practices that cover all the branches. Several different empirical tests consistently point to the existence of a systematic branch-specific component to employee attitudes. "Branch effects" can also explain why a significant positive cross-sectional correlation between branch-level employee attitudes and branch sales performance is not observed in longitudinal fixed-effects sales models. The results of our empirical tests concerning the determinants of employee attitudes and the determinants of branch sales are consistent with an interpretation that workplace-specific factors lead to better outcomes for both employees and the bank, and that these factors are more likely to be some aspect of the branches' internal operations rather than some characteristic of the external market of the branch.

Suggested Citation

Bartel, Ann P. and Freeman, Richard B. and Ichniowski, Bernard E. (Casey) and Kleiner, Morris M., Can a Work Organization Have an Attitude Problem? the Impact of Workplaces on Employee Attitudes and Economic Outcomes (September 2003). NBER Working Paper No. w9987, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=450888

Ann P. Bartel (Contact Author)

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Finance ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Richard B. Freeman

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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University of Edinburgh - School of Social and Political Studies ( email )

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Bernard E. (Casey) Ichniowski

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Management ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Morris M. Kleiner

Humphrey School of Public Affairs ( email )

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United States
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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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United States

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