Selected scholarship

Research

I study how managers, workplace practices, and incentives shape learning, productivity, careers, and technology adoption inside firms.

Working Papers

5
Conceptual model linking worker and manager experience to execution and coordination performance.

01

Role-Differentiated Learning Within Organizations

with Yuyu Chen, Miguel Espinosa, Yu Wang, and Jingchen Zhu

Revise and resubmit at Strategic Management Journal

Organizational learning is role-differentiated: experience resides in distinct roles, improves different dimensions of performance, and creates complementarities across roles.

Abstract
Coefficient plot of manager exposure and workers' subsequent promotion probability.

02

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

with Yuyu Chen and Lukas Hensel

Submitted

High-quality managers create value not only through current performance but also by building the next generation of managers through on-the-job skill transmission.

Draft · June 2026
Distribution of query counts showing bunching at a 200-query usage target.

03

When Less Is More: Usage Mandates and Gaming in AI Adoption

with Jie Gong, Jiayi Hou, Jin Li, and Fei Pu

Submitted

AI mandates can reward measured use rather than productive use. Adapting targets can curb gaming and improve performance.

Draft · May 2026
Event-study estimates of worker output around the tenure announcement month.

04

Permanence and Performance: The Incentive Effect of Tenure on Worker Productivity

with Zihan Hu, Hyejin Ku, and Xuan Wang

NBER Summer Institute 2025 · Personnel Economics

The prospect of permanent employment motivates effort, especially among workers with weak outside options.

Abstract
Two-stage randomization design for information and role-model interventions across production lines.

05

Facts, Stories and Frontline Effort: Evidence from Garment Workers in Vietnam

with Yuyu Chen and Lukas Hensel

Workplace communication depends on how messages are combined: a role-model story can weaken otherwise effective factual information.

AEA RCT Registry

Selected Work-in-Progress

  1. Motivating Management: Evidence from Project Management Teams

    with Yuyu Chen, Jie Gong, and Jin Li

  2. Manager vs. Algorithm: Task Allocation in a Manufacturing Setting