Educational Affiliations and Intra-Organizational Allocations of Labor

47 Pages Posted: 28 Jun 2014 Last revised: 21 Mar 2015

See all articles by Adina Sterling

Adina Sterling

Stanford Graduate School of Business, Knight Management Center

Christopher I. Rider

University of Michigan, Ross School of Business

Date Written: February 12, 2015

Abstract

Labor markets research documents how educational credentials shape inter-organizational allocations of labor through the matching of individuals to employers. We argue that educational credentials also shape intra-organizational allocations by affecting the placement of employees into formal work structure. This core proposition is supported by analyses of data from the U.S. legal services industry. First, an industry-level analysis of large law firms reveals that two lawyers who graduated from the same law school are more likely to be allocated to the same work group than two lawyers who graduated from different law schools. Second, an analysis of a single, international law firm reveals that two lawyers who graduated from the same law school are more likely to be allocated to the same hierarchical work relationship than two lawyers who graduated from different law schools. Implications of our findings for literature on networks, labor markets, and social stratification are discussed.

JEL Classification: L20, L23, J40

Suggested Citation

Sterling, Adina and Rider, Christopher I., Educational Affiliations and Intra-Organizational Allocations of Labor (February 12, 2015). Georgetown McDonough School of Business Research Paper No. 2456843, Humanistic Management Network, Research Paper Series No. 11/15, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2456843 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2456843

Adina Sterling (Contact Author)

Stanford Graduate School of Business, Knight Management Center ( email )

655 Knight Way
Stanford, CA 94305-5015
United States

Christopher I. Rider

University of Michigan, Ross School of Business ( email )

701 Tappan Street
Ann Arbor, MI MI 48109
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/christopher-rider

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