Distinguished Winners

• Distelhorst, G., Hainmueller, J., & Locke, R. M. (2016). Does lean improve labor standards? Management and social performance in the Nike supply chain. Management Science, 63(3), 707-728.

Lean manufacturing, or waste minimization, is hypothesized to improve the social performance of manufacturers. This study examines a panel of more than 300 Nike supplier factories in 11 developing countries, finding that the adoption of lean manufacturing reduced noncompliance with labor standards reflected in wage and work hour policies. A reduction in these non-compliances could have future implications for how lean manufacturing and other interventions to enhance management capabilities can provide social benefits in global supply chains.

Watch Greg Distelhorst talking about his distinguished article:

• Hideg, I., Krstic, A., Trau, R. N., & Zarina, T. (2018). The unintended consequences of maternity leaves: How agency interventions mitigate the negative effects of longer legislated maternity leaves. Journal of Applied Psychology, 103(10), 1155-1164.

Calls for longer maternity leave bring into question the negative effects on female’s career progression. Three studies in the context of Canadian maternity leave policies were conducted to test hypotheses. The first study examined 93 participants in a job advertisement and application study, showing the negative effects of longer legislated maternity leave. The second study proved that applicants who took a longer maternity leave were expected to be less committed to an enterprise, while the third showed that corporate programs helping women stay in touch with work could positively enhance perceptions of women’s agency. This research suggests that longer legislated maternity leaves can negatively affect women’s careers, but when coupled with agency enhancements, women are less likely to incur negative consequences. Practical implications suggest providing women with creative avenues to stay engaged in the workplace and raising awareness among decision-makers to combat the unintentional negative consequences of maternity leaves.

• Puffer, S. M., McCarthy, D. J., & Satinsky, D. M. (2018). Hammer and Silicon: The Soviet diaspora in the US innovation economy-immigration, innovation, institutions, imprinting, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

The authors of Hammer and Silicon use three foundations – institutional theory, imprinting theory, and identity theory – to examine how immigrants contribute to economies. Following stories of Soviet immigrants adapting to the U.S., this book analyzes the role of institutions, imprinting, and identity formation in the immigration process. Evidence of the impact of highly educated, technical professional immigrants on U.S. innovation will drive future conversations about how immigration policies are formed.