Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank

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dc.contributor.authorStaats, Bradly R
dc.contributor.authorGino, Francesca
dc.date2023-05-17T17:45:37.000
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-22T19:14:31Z
dc.date.available2012-09-09T00:00:00Z
dc.date.issued2012-06-01
dc.date.submitted2017-08-18T09:09:21-07:00
dc.description.abstractSustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design–related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition and variety (i.e., working on different tasks) to keep workers motivated and provide them opportunities to learn. In this paper, we investigate how these two strategies may bring different productivity benefits over time. For our empirical analyses, we use two and a half years of transaction data from a Japanese bank's home loan application-processing line. We find that over the course of a single day, specialization, as compared to variety, is related to improved worker productivity. However, when we examine workers' experience across a number of days, we find that variety helps improve worker productivity. Additionally, we show that part of this benefit results from workers' cumulative experience with changeovers. Our results highlight the need for organizations to transform specialization and variety into mutually reinforcing strategies rather than treating them as mutually exclusive. Overall, our paper identifies new ways to improve operational performance through the effective allocation of work.
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/34190
dc.legacy.articleid1334
dc.legacy.fields10.1287/mnsc.1110.1482
dc.legacy.fulltexturlhttps://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1334&context=fnce_papers&unstamped=1
dc.rightshttps://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1110.1482
dc.source.beginpage1141
dc.source.endpage1159
dc.source.issue111
dc.source.issue6
dc.source.journalFinance Papers
dc.source.journaltitleManagement Science
dc.source.peerreviewedtrue
dc.source.statuspublished
dc.source.volume58
dc.subject.otherlearning
dc.subject.othermotivation
dc.subject.otherproductivity
dc.subject.otherspecialization
dc.subject.othervariety
dc.subject.otherwork fragmentation
dc.subject.otherFinance and Financial Management
dc.titleSpecialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank
dc.typeArticle
digcom.date.embargo2012-09-09T00:00:00-07:00
digcom.identifierfnce_papers/111
digcom.identifier.contextkey10623895
digcom.identifier.submissionpathfnce_papers/111
digcom.typearticle
dspace.entity.typePublication
upenn.schoolDepartmentCenterFinance Papers
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