Work and Organization Studies

Publications and Working Papers

The faculty of the Work and Organization Studies group are studying work and employment practices and outcomes, institutions and organizations, public policies, negotiations and conflict resolution, organizational design and implementation, leadership, change, and many other key issues. Below are samples of their research.

For more publications, please visit our collections on the Social Science Research Network and MIT's DSpace. You can also subscribe to our Faculty Publications RSS Feed.

Deborah L. Ancona

Deborah L. Ancona

Seley Distinguished Professor of Management

Featured Publications

"How to Cultivate Leadership that is Honed to Solve Problems."

Ancona, Deborah, and Hal Gregersen. strategy + business, April 2018.

"Two Roads to Green: A Tale of Bureaucratic Versus Distributed Leadership Models of Change."

Ancona, Deborah L., Elaine Backman and Kate Isaacs. In Leading Sustainable Change, 225-249. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2015.

"Teamwork from the Inside Out."

Ancona, Deborah L., David F. Caldwell and Henrik Bresman. In Contemporary Organizational Behavior in Action, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2015.

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Lotte Bailyn

Lotte Bailyn

T Wilson (1953) Professor of Management, Emerita

Featured Publications

"Effects of Cross-Cultural Experience on National Image: A Study of Scandinavian Students in America."

Kelman, Herbert C. and Lotte Bailyn. Journal of Conflict Resolution Vol. 6, No. 4: 319-334.

"Moving the Management Field Forward."

Walsh, Isabelle, Judth Holton, Lotte Bailyn and Barney G. Glaser. Organizational Research Methods Vol. 18, No. 4 (2015): 620-628.

"What Grounded Theory Is: A Critically Reflective Conversation Among Scholars."

Walsh, Isabelle, Judith A. Holton, Lotte Bailyn, Walter Fernandez, Natalia Levina and Barney Glaser. Organizational Research Methods Vol. 18, No. 4 (2015): 581-599.

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Emilio J. Castilla

Emilio J. Castilla

NTU Professor of Management

Featured Publications

"Best in Class? The Returns on Endorsement in Business School Admissions."

Castilla, Emilio J., and Ben A. Rissing. Administrative Science Quarterly Vol. 64, No. 1 (2019): 230-270.

"Meritocracy."

Castilla, Emilio J. In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Political Behavior, edited by Fathali M. Moghaddam, 479-482. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2017.

"Introduction to a Special Issue of Inequality in the Workplace: What Works?"

Tolbert, Pamela S., and Emilio J. Castilla. ILR Review Vol. 70, No. 1 (2017): 3-15.

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Jared R. Curhan

Jared R. Curhan

Gordon Kaufman Professor of Management

Featured Publications

"The Dark Side of Subjective Value in Sequential Negotiations: The Mediating Role of Pride and Anger."

Becker, William J., and Jared R. Curhan. Journal of Applied Psychology Vol. 103, No. 1 (2018): 74-87.

"The Polarizing Effect of Arousal on Negotiation."

Brown, Ashley D,. and Jared R. Curhan. Psychological Science Vol. 24, No. 10 (2013): 1928-1935.

"Predicting Video-Conferencing Conversation Outcomes Based on Modeling Facial Expression Synchronization."

Li, Rui, Jared Curhan, and Mohammed E. Hoque. In 2015 11th IEEE International Conference and Workshops on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition, Ljubljana, Slovenia: May 2015.

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Roberto Fernandez

Roberto Fernandez

Professor; William F. Pounds Professor in Management

Featured Publications

"How do Labor Market Networks Work?"

Rubineau, Brian and Roberto M. Fernandez. In Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, edited by Robert Scott and Stephen Kosslyn, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2015.

"Once in the Door: Gender, Tryouts, and the Initial Salaries of Managers."

Sterling, Adina, and Roberto Fernandez. Management Science Vol. 64, No. 11 (2018): 5444-5460.

"Worker Morale and Effort: Is the Relationship Causal?"

Hassink, Wolter H.J., and Roberto Fernandez. The Manchester School Vol. 86, No. 6 (2018): 816-839.

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Robert Gibbons

Robert Gibbons

Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management

Featured Publications

"Four Formal(izable) Theories of the Firm."

Gibbons, Robert S. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization Vol. 58, No. 2 (2005): 200-245.

"Informal Authority in Organizations."

Baker, Geoge, Robert S. Gibbons, and Kevin J. Murphy. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization Vol. 15, No. 1 (1999): 56-73.

"Relational Contracts and Organizational Capabilities."

Gibbons, Robert, and Rebecca Henderson. Organization Science Vol. 23, No. 5 (2012): 1350-1364.

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Hal Gregersen

Hal Gregersen

Senior Lecturer, Work and Organization Studies

Featured Publications

"Bursting the CEO’s Bubble."

Gregersen, Hal. Harvard Business Review, March 2017.

"Asking the Right Questions."

Gregersen, Hal. In Charles Schwab White Paper: Examining the Power of Questions, Boston, MA: 2017.

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Jason Jay

Jason Jay

Senior Lecturer, Sustainability

Featured Publications

"Navigating the Paradoxes of Sustainability."

Jay, Jason, Sara Soderstrom, and Gabriel Grant. In Oxford Handbook of Organizational Paradox, 353-372. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2017.

"Strategic Responses to Hybrid Social Ventures."

Lee, Matthew, and Jason Jesurum Jay. California Management Review Vol. 57, No. 3 (2015): 126-148.

"Navigating Paradox as a Mechanism of Change and Innovation in Hybrid Organizations."

Jay, Jason Jesurum. Academy of Management Journal Vol. 56, No. 1 (2013): 137-159.

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Kate Kellogg

Kate Kellogg

David J. McGrath jr (1959) Professor of Management and Innovation

Featured Publications

"Brokerage Professions and Implementing Reform in an Age of Experts."

Kellogg, Katherine C. American Sociological Review Vol. 79, No. 5 (2014): 912-941.

"Beyond Occupational Differences: The Importance of Cross-cutting Demographics and Dyadic Toolkits for Collaboration in a U.S. Hospital."

DiBenigno, Julia and Katherine C. Kellogg. Administrative Science Quarterly Vol. 59, No. 3 (2014): 375-408.

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Erin Kelly

Erin Kelly

Sloan Distinguished Professor of Work and Organization Studies

Featured Publications

"Effects of a Flexibility/Support Intervention on Work Performance: Evidence From the Work, Family, and Health Network."

Bray, Jeremy W., Jesse M. Hinde, David J. Kaiser, Michael J. Mills, Georgia T. Karuntzos, Katie R. Genadek, Erin L. Kelly, Ellen E. Kossek, and David A. Hurtado. American Journal of Health Promotion Vol. 32, No. 4 (2018): 963-970.

"Partners’ Overwork and Individuals’ Wellbeing and Experienced Relationship Quality."

​Shafer, Emily Fitzgibbons, Erin L. Kelly, Orfeu Buxton, and Lisa F. Berkman. Community, Work and Family Vol. 21, No. 4 (2018): 410-428.

"Can a Flexibility/Support Initiative Reduce Turnover Intentions and Exits? Results from the Work, Family, and Health Network."

Moen, Phyllis, Erin Kelly, J. Michael Oakes, Shi-Rong Lee, Jeremy Bray, David Almeida, Leslie Hammer, David Hurtado, and Orfeu Buxton. Social Problems Vol. 64, No. 1 (2017): 53-85.

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Chelsea R. Lide

Chelsea R. Lide

Assistant Professor, Work and Organization Studies

Featured Publication

"Communication Miscalibration: The Price Leaders Pay for Not Sharing Enough."

Flynn, Francis J., and Chelsea R. Lide. Academy of Management Journal Vol. 66, No. 4 (2023): 1102-1122.

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Jackson G. Lu

Jackson G. Lu

Sloan School Career Development Associate Professor of Work and Organization Studies

Featured Publications

"A Socioecological-Genetic Framework of Culture and Personality: Their Roots, Trends, and Interplay."

Lu, Jackson G., Verónica Benet-Martínez, and Laura Changlan Wang. Annual Review of Psychology Vol. 74, (2023): 363-390. Download Paper.

"The Bamboo Ceiling: Why East Asians but not South Asians are Underrepresented in Leadership Positions in the United States."

Lu, Jackson G., Richard E. Nisbett, and Michael W. Morris. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 117, No. 9 (2020): 4590-4600. Download Paper.

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Thomas W. Malone

Thomas W. Malone

Patrick J. McGovern (1959) Professor of Management

Featured Publications

Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together.

Malone, Thomas W. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2018.

"Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups."

Williams Woolley, Anita, Christopher F. Chabris, Alex Pentland, Nada Hashmi and Thomas W. Malone. Science Vol. 330, No. 6004 (2010): 686-688.

"Putting the Pieces back Together Again: Contest Webs for Large-Scale Problem Solving."

Thomas W. Malone, Jeffrey V. Nickerson, Robert J. Laubacher, Laur Hesse Fisher, Patrick de Boer, Yue Han, and W. Ben Towne. In Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, edited by Charlotte P. Lee. Portland, OR: February 2017.

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Robert B. McKersie

Robert B. McKersie

Professor Emeritus of Management

Featured Publications

"Bargaining Theory Meets Interest Based Negotiations: A Case Study."

McKersie, Robert, Theresa Sharpe, Thomas A. Kochan, Adrienne Eaton, George Strauss and Marty Morgenstern. Industrial Relations Vol. 47, No. 1 (2008): 66-96.

"Out of the Ashes: Building an Effective Labor Relations System in Airlines."

Kochan, Thomas A., Andrew Von Nordenflycht, Robert McKersie and Jody Hoffer Gittell. Perspectives on Work (2004).

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Wanda Orlikowski

Wanda Orlikowski

Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Management

Featured Publications

"The Digital Undertow: How the Corollary Effects of Digital Transformation Affect Industry Standards."

Orlikowski, Wanda, and Susan V. Scott. Information Systems Research Vol. 33, No. 1 (2022): 311-336.

"Crowd-Based Accountability: Examining How Social Media Commentary Reconfigures Organizational Accountability."

Karunakaran, Arvind, Wanda Orlikowski, and Susan V. Scott. Organization Science Vol. 33, No. 1 (2022): 170-193. Supplemental Materials.

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Ray Reagans

Ray Reagans

Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Management

Featured Publications

"Knowledge Utilization, Coordination, and Team Performance."

Reagans, Ray, Ella Miron-Spektor, and Linda Argote. Organization Science Vol. 27, No. 5 (2016): 1108-1124.

"Beyond One-Size-Fits-All: Tailoring Diversity Approaches to the Representation of Social Groups."

Apfelbaum, Evan Paul, Nicole M. Stephens, and Ray E. Reagans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol. 111, No. 4 (2016): 547-566.

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Nelson P. Repenning

Nelson P. Repenning

School of Management Distinguished Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies

Featured Publications

"Making the Numbers? 'Short Termism' and the Puzzle of Only Occasional Disasters."

Rahmandad, Hazhir, Nelson Repenning, and Rebecca Henderson. Management Science Vol. 64, No. 3 (2018): 1328-1347. Online Appendix. Download Paper.

"Pull for Knowledge Work."

Dodge, Sheila, Timothy De Smet, James Meldrim, Niall Lennon, Danielle Perrin, Steve Ferriera, Zachary Leber, Dennis Friedrich, Stacey Gabriel, Eric S. Lander, Don Kieffer, and Nelson Repenning, MIT Sloan Working Paper 5380-18. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, April 2018.

"Agile for Everyone Else: Using Triggers and Checks to Create Agility Outside of Software Development."

Repenning, James, Don Keifer, and Nelson Repenning, MIT Sloan Working Paper 5198-17. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, June 2017.

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Mary Rowe

Mary Rowe

Adjunct Professor, Work and Organization Studies

Featured Publications

"If You Have Been Harassed or Bullied: Some Ideas to Consider."

Rowe, Mary, MIT Sloan Working Paper 5388-18. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, October 2021.

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Otto Scharmer

Otto Scharmer

Senior Lecturer, Work and Organization Studies

Featured Publications

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Peter M. Senge

Peter M. Senge

Senior Lecturer, Leadership and Sustainability

Featured Publications

"30 Years of Building Learning Communities: A Dialogue with Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer, and Darcy Winslow - Parts I & II."

Senge, Peter, Otto Scharmer and Darcy Winslow. Reflections: The SoL Journal on Knowledge, Learning, and Change Vol. 12-13, No. 4, 1 (2013): 40-52, 1-9. Part I. Part II.

"Relational Space: The Heart of Sustainability Collaborations."

Bradbury-Huang, Hillary, Benyamin Lichtenstein, John S. Carroll and Peter M. Senge. In Research in Organizational Change and Development, 109-148. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2010.

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Susan Silbey

Susan Silbey

Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities

Featured Publications

"Governing Inside the Organization: Interpreting Regulation and Compliance."

Gray, Garry and Susan S. Silbey. American Journal of Sociology Vol. 120, No. 1 (2014): 96-145. Download Paper from DSpace.

"The Availability of Law Redux: The Correlation of Rights and Duties."

Silbey, Susan S. Law & Society Review Vol. 48, No. 2 (2014): 297-310.

"The Courts in American Public Culture."

Silbey, Susan S. Daedalus, the Journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Vol. 143, No. 3 (2014): 140-156.

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Anna Stansbury

Anna Stansbury

Class of 1948 Career Development Assistant Professor

Featured Publications

"Employer Concentration and Outside Options."

Schubert, Gregor, Anna Stansbury, and Bledi Taska, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6465-21. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, January 2021.

"The Declining Worker Power Hypothesis: An Explanation for the Recent Evolution of the American Economy."

Anna Stansbury and Lawrence H. Summers. In Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Washington, D.C.: April 2020.

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John D. Sterman

John D. Sterman

Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management

Featured Publications

"A Model Simulator: The Lives of Jay W. Forrester."

Lane, David C., and John D. Sterman. Journal of Simulation Vol. 12, No. 2 (2018): 90-97. Access paper through MIT Libraries.

"Jay Wright Forrester, 1918-2016."

Lane, David, and John D. Sterman. In National Academy of Engineering Memorial Tributes, Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2019.

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Basima Tewfik

Basima Tewfik

Assistant Professor, Work and Organization Studies

Featured Publications

"The Help-Decliner's Dilemma: How to Decline Requests for Help at Work Without Hurting One's Image."

Basima A. Tewfik, Timothy Kundro, and Philip Tetlock. August 2018.

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Zeynep Ton

Zeynep Ton

Professor of the Practice, Operations Management

Featured Publications

"The Effect of Product Variety and Inventory Levels on Sales: A Longitudinal Study."

Ton, Zeynep and Ananth Raman. Production and Operations Management Journal Vol. 19, No. 5 (2010): 546-560.

"Managing the Impact of Employee Turnover on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance."

Zeynep, Ton and Robert S. Huckman. Organization Science Vol. 19, No. 1 (2008): 56-68.

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Austin van Loon

Austin van Loon

Assistant Professor, Work and Organization Studies

Featured Publications

"Predictability Hypotheses: A Metatheoretical and Methodological Introduction."

van Loon, Austin. In The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Machine Learning The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Machine Learning, edited by Christian Borch and Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2023.

"Exposure to the Views of Opposing Others with Latent Cognitive Differences Results in Social Influence—But Only When Those Differences Remain Obscured."

Guilbeault, Douglas, Austin van Loon, Katharina Lix, Amir Goldberg, and Sameer B. Srivastava. Management Science. Forthcoming.

"Regional Negative Bias in Word Embeddings Predicts Racial Animus—But Only Via Name Frequency."

van Loon, Austin, Salvatore Giorgi, Robb Willer, and Johannes Eichstaedt, MIT Sloan Working Paper 7090-22. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, January 2022.

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Nathan Wilmers

Nathan Wilmers

Sarofim Family Career Development Associate Professor

Featured Publications

"Wage Stagnation and Buyer Power: How Buyer-Supplier Relations Affect U.S. Workers’ Wages, 1978-2014."

Wilmers, Nathan. American Sociological Review Vol. 83, No. 2 (2018): 213-242.

"Sociological Perspectives on Economic Inequality."

Wilmers, Nathan. In Cambridge Handbook of Sociology, edited by Kathleen Odell Korgen, 245-246. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

"Does Consumer Demand Reproduce Inequality? High-income Consumers, Vertical Differentiation and the Wage Structure."

Wilmers, Nathan. American Journal of Sociology Vol. 123, No. 1 (2017): 178-231.

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Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan

Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan

Alvin J. Siteman (1948) Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy

Featured Publications

"It's the Conventional Thought That Counts."

Correll, Shelley J., Cecilia L. Ridgeway, Ezra Zuckerman Sivan, Sharon Jank, Sara Jordan-Bloch, and Sandra Nakagawa. American Sociological Review Vol. 82, No. 2 (2017): 297-327.

"The Problems and Promise of Hierarchy: Voice Rights and the Firm."

Freeland, Robert F. and Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan. Sociological Science (2018).

"A Sociological Approach to Market Efficiency."

Sivan, Ezra Zuckerman. Presentation, American Sociology Association, United States. 2013.

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