Working Papers
Do Political Identities Matter at Work? The Politics of Workplace Cooperation (with Francesco Raffaelli) (working paper) Under review
Abstract
Do political identities influence workers' willingness to cooperate at work? Do workers prefer copartisans over outpartisans as colleagues even at the expense of competence? This article bridges the affective polarization literature with studies in political economy, economic sociology, and management to develop a theory on how political identities permeate modern workplaces, where collaboration and non-cognitive skills are essential. An original survey experiment conducted in the United Kingdom reveals that workers avoid close collaboration with outpartisans and favor copartisans. While highly competent workers are generally preferred, their favorability drops significantly if they are outpartisans. A new measure of affective polarization at work, based on open-ended survey items, suggests that many respondents view partisan and Brexit identities as indicators of non-cognitive skills valued in colleagues. More broadly, this article contributes to our understanding of the challenges to workplace cooperation in knowledge economies with significant levels of affective polarization.
When Do Firms Speak Up? The Role of Empowered Knowledge Workers (working paper)
Abstract
Large U.S. companies have increasingly voiced support for progressive causes, including gender and racial equality and climate change. This article presents a novel theory on the conditions under which corporate political speech on progressive causes is more likely, emphasizing the role of an increasingly influential segment of the workforce: knowledge economy "winners". By linking Twitter activity from S&P 500 companies with proprietary data from People Data Labs on the geographical distribution of employees and US presidential election results, I demonstrate that companies with a more progressive workforce speak up more often about a wide range of progressive causes, often unrelated to their core business interests, even after controlling for important confounders. This relationship is particularly pronounced in knowledge economy firms with higher employee turnover, suggesting that concerns about employee attraction and retention may drive companies to align more closely their public stances with the preferences of current and potential employees. Similarly, consumer-facing companies with a more homogeneous consumer progressive base tend to be more responsive when their relative market power is lower. The results indicate that a growing, politically realigned group of knowledge economy winners can shape the public discourse of traditionally conservative, market-driven institutions.
Market Cosmopolitans at the Crossroads: How Voters' Social Environment Tilt the Balance (draft available upon request)
Work in Progress
The Effect of University Fields of Study on Civic Behaviors (with Adam Altmejd and José Montalbán Castilla) [Pre-Analysis Plan] [Slides]
Early Work in Progress
The Effects of Political Polarization on Firms’ Performance and Workers’ Well-Being (with Joaquin Artes and Miguel Vazquez-Carrero)
Interests over Principles? How Companies' Speech React to Controversial Law Passing (with Nelson Ruiz and Jan Stuckatz)