Capturing the Benefits of Worker Specialization: Effects of Managerial and Organizational Task Experience

Abstract

L earning by doing is a fundamental driver of productivity among knowledge workers. As workers accumulate experience working on certain types of tasks (i.e., they become specialized), they also develop proficiency in executing these tasks. However, previous research suggests that organizations may struggle to leverage the knowledge workers accrue through specialization because specialized workers tend to lose interest and reduce effort during task execution. This study investigates how organizations can improve specialized workers' performance by mitigating the dysfunctional effects of specialization. In particular, we study how other sources of task experiences from the worker's immediate manager as well as the organization itself help manage the relationship between worker specialization and performance. We do so by analyzing a proprietary dataset that comprises of 39,162 software service tasks that 310 employees in a Fortune 100 organization executed under the supervision of 92 managers. Results suggest that the manager role experience (i.e., the manager's experience supervising workers) is instrumental in mitigating the potential negative effect of worker specialization on performance, measured as task execution time. Such influence, however, is contingent on cases in which organizational task experience (i.e., the organization's experience in executing tasks of the same substantive content as the focal task) is limited. Taken together, our research contributes to multiple streams of research and unearths important insights on how multiple sources of experience beyond the workers themselves can help capture the elusive benefits of worker specialization.

Multidisciplinary R&D project success in small firms: The role of multiproject status and project management experience

“…The organizational learning literature has long established experience as a key influence on knowledge creation and innovation outcomes (Argote et al., 2021; Madiedo et al., 2020). Cohen and Levinthal (1990) argue that absorptive capacity, or “the ability of a firm to recognize the value of new, external information, assimilate it, and apply it” (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990, p. 569), is a function of the level of prior related knowledge.…”

Project managers' breadth of experience, project complexity, and project performance

“…Considered together, these findings contribute to the literature on individual and organizational learning in project settings, which has so far investigated the effect of breadth of experience at the worker but not at the manager level (Avgerinos & Gokpinar, 2018;Boh et al, 2014;Huckman & Staats, 2011;Kc & Staats, 2012;Narayanan et al, 2009;Staats & Gino, 2012). It also contributes to past research investigating the effect of project managers' experience in leading project teams, which has mostly focused on the effects of role experience and depth of content experience on team performance (Choo, 2014;Easton & Rosenzweig, 2012;Madiedo et al, 2020). By investigating the moderating effect of project complexity on the relationship between project managers' breadth of experience and team performance, we also indirectly contribute to research on the performance effects of project complexity (Avgerinos & Gokpinar, 2017;Bendoly, 2011;Ramasesh & Browning, 2014).…”

Enabling Globally Distributed Projects: Effects of Project Interface Match and Related Technical Experience

“…2009, Madiedo et al. 2020), the concept of related technical experience (which, admittedly, is a special instance of specialization) becomes relevant for distribution of project work decisions. Specifically, we show that the interplay of related technical experience with product interface match affects the decision to distribute project work.…”