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Task Variety in Professional Service Work: When It Helps and When It Hurts

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  • Emmanouil Avgerinos
  • Bilal Gokpinar

Abstract

In a wide range of professional service firms, individuals perform a variety of tasks which are highly cognitive and knowledge intensive yet repetitive in nature, providing significant opportunities for learning. In addition, individuals in such environments tend to enjoy considerable discretion in managing when and how they perform their tasks. In light of these observations, we investigate task allocation and timing strategies that may enhance or inhibit learning and productivity for professional service workers. Specifically, we focus on the role of task variety. We use a detailed dataset of 3273 coronary artery bypass surgeries in a private European hospital over 7 years to examine the effect of concurrent and non‐concurrent exposure to task variety on learning and productivity on a focal task. We find that while concurrent exposure to variety has a positive impact on focal productivity, non‐concurrent exposure to variety has a negative impact on it. Our results also suggest that short‐term exposure to variety amplifies these relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Emmanouil Avgerinos & Bilal Gokpinar, 2018. "Task Variety in Professional Service Work: When It Helps and When It Hurts," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 27(7), pages 1368-1389, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:popmgt:v:27:y:2018:i:7:p:1368-1389
    DOI: 10.1111/poms.12874
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Wen & Shi, Jingwen & Wang, Xiaojun & Wynn, Henry, 2023. "AI-powered decision-making in facilitating insurance claim dispute resolution," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120649, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Sunil Mithas & Yanzhen Chen & Yatang Lin & Alysson De Oliveira Silveira, 2022. "On the causality and plausibility of treatment effects in operations management research," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(12), pages 4558-4571, December.
    3. Gloria Urrea & Eunae Yoo, 2023. "The role of volunteer experience on performance on online volunteering platforms," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(2), pages 416-433, February.
    4. Juan Pablo Madiedo & Aravind Chandrasekaran & Fabrizio Salvador, 2020. "Capturing the Benefits of Worker Specialization: Effects of Managerial and Organizational Task Experience," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(4), pages 973-994, April.

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