Select three articles from the list below (at least one from the starred papers), summarise the papers, explain channels through which management practices drive productivity, growth, and profits, and identify lessons of the papers;

Assignment Question:

A major question in strategic management and business strategy is how firms create dynamic capabilities to grow, achieve cost leadership, create competitive advantage and respond to market changes. The recent literature emphasises the role of internal factors such as structured management practices. Increasing evidence suggests that management practices drive productivity, the ability to recruit and maintain a high-quality workforce, the ability to match workers to appropriate jobs, and optimal allocation and coordination of resources. Your individual assignment requires you to develop an understanding of this literature and applying your insights to improve the performance of the firm where you are employed. The assignment requires you to:

1) Select three articles from the list below (at least one from the starred papers), summarise the papers, explain channels through which management practices drive productivity, growth, and profits, and identify lessons of the papers;

2) Describe the state of management practices in the company of your choice and draw on the analysis in part 1 to identify areas of potential improvement.

3) Propose introduction of management practices that improve the company’s performance.

4) Explain how the proposed interventions in the management practices may contribute to the firm’s capability to face adverse economic shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: The workshop lectures / slides will discuss the literature on dynamic capabilities and management practices, and explain how management practices relate to firm productivity, growth, and decline. You can integrate the workshop lectures, case studies, and online discussions with your reflections to build your analysis.

Papers / Articles

  1. Bloom, N., Lemos, R., Sadun, R., Scur, D. and Van Reenen, J., 2014. JEEA-FBBVA Lecture 2013: The new empirical economics of management. Journal of the European Economic Association, 12(4), pp.835-876.
  2. Bloom, N., Sadun, R. and Van Reenen, J., 2012. Does management really work? Harvard business review, 90(11), pp.76-82.
  3. Bloom, N., Mahajan, A., McKenzie, D. and Roberts, J., 2020. Do management interventions last? evidence from India. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 12(2), pp.198-219.
  4. Bender, S., Bloom, N., Card, D., Van Reenen, J. and Wolter, S., 2018. Management practices, workforce selection, and productivity. Journal of Labor Economics, 36(S1), pp.S371-S409.
  5. Cornwell, C., Schmutte, I.M. and Scur, D., 2021. Building a productive workforce: The role of structured management practices. Management Science.
  6. * Roberts, J., 2018. Needed: More Economic Analyses of Management. International Journal of the Economics of Business, 25(1), pp.3-10.
  7. * Teece, D.J., 2007. Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic management journal, 28(13), pp.1319-1350.
  8. *Sadun, R., Bloom, N. and Van Reenen, J., 2017. Why do we undervalue competent management. Harvard Business Review, 95(5), pp.120-127.
  9. Scur, D., Sadun, R., Van Reenen, J., Lemos, R. and Bloom, N., 2021. The World Management Survey at 18: lessons and the way forward (No. w28524). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Final Assignment: General Marking Scheme

Introduction (10 marks)

– Introducing the topic / the industry,

– Positioning the topic / importance and relevance,

– Outlining the structure of the assignment.

Background / Literature review (15 marks)

– A systematic introduction to the market / and why corporate growth strategies matter,

– Reviewing the literature on links between innovation and corporate growth,

– Reviewing first and secondary data on the topic.

Theoretical depth (20 marks)

– Using the literature to develop a theoretical framework to explain links between technological innovations and growth strategies,

– Adequate reference to the organisation science / strategy literature on the link between firm design, technology adoption and development.

– Clear exposition of key concepts,

– Reference to / use of relevant theories.

Application (25 marks)

– Describe technological trends / innovations in the industry,

– Illustrate how technological innovations drive growth strategies in the sector,

– Explain why some firms in the industry have managed to adopt / develop new technologies and grow while others have failed,

– Systematic use of data to inform the analysis, if feasible.

Critical Analysis (20 marks)

– Show an ability to discuss possible alternatives / strategies,

– Provide evidence by drawing on the empirical literature,

– Show an ability to conjecture / analyse the future of the market, if relevant,

– Highlights the limits of the analysis,

– Draw relevant strategy lessons.

Logical structure & Clear exposition (10 marks)

– The piece is logically structured,

– The exposition flows well,

– The piece shows adequate research, with sufficient references to the literature,

– Strong bibliography – drawn from the academic literature.

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