Wharton-SMU Research Center

In-House Seminar

Guest Speaker:

Emilio J. Castilla
Assistant Professor of Management, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Topic:

Social Networks and Employee Performance in a Call Center

Venue:

Eu Tong Sen Building, Level 1, Seminar Room 3
Singapore Management University
469 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259756

Date:

Wednesday, 8 October 2003, at 4.00pm

Reservation:

This seminar is free. Places are limited. Please confirm your attendance by Tuesday, 7 October 2003, 12 noon with Ms. Lim Lih Yeng at lylim@smu.edu.sg or telephone: 6822-0197.

About the Seminar:

Much research in sociology and labor economics studies proxies for productivity; as a consequence, very little is know about the relationship between personal contacts and worker performance. This study examines the role of social networks on workers' post-hire outcomes in a call center in the United States. Using data on the bank's pool of 4,165 job applicants, which include information about ties between employees and about their demographic characteristics, I identify and test the mechanisms by which the hiring of new workers using employee referrals shapes employees' productivity and turnover over time. Consistent with the better match argument, I find that employee referrals are more productive than non-referrals at the beginning of the job contract. In the long run, however, my longitudinal analyses strongly support a more sociological explanation that emphasizes post-hire social processes among socially connected employees. I show that the departure of the employee referrer has a negative impact on the performance trajectory of the employee referral, even after the referral has been working in the organization for some time. This study shows that the effect of referral ties continues well beyond the hiring process, having considerable long-term effects on employee attachment to the firm and on performance.