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  • 2023
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Virtual Water Coolers: A Field Experiment on the Role of Virtual Interactions on Organizational Newcomer Performance

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Jacqueline N. Lane and Iavor Bojinov
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:42
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Abstract

Designing management practices to better onboard organizational newcomers working remotely is a key priority for firms. We report results from a randomized field experiment conducted at a large global firm that estimates the performance effects of different types of virtual interactions for remote summer interns. Findings indicate that virtual water coolers—or videoconference sessions for small groups of interns and a senior manager—may yield higher performance and career outcomes when they facilitate a demographic match between interns and senior managers or occur at regular intervals during the internship. No other virtual interactions, including an asynchronous Q&A discussion forum, an intern-only water cooler, and an intern group project, enhanced job productivity compared to the control condition. An abductive exploration of mechanisms using surveys, machine learning, and an online laboratory study suggests a tradeoff: while the virtual interactions may offer opportunities for newcomer socialization, they also introduce greater constraints on interns’ time. The relative outperformance of the senior manager virtual water cooler with a demographic match can be explained by their potential to foster improved organizational commitment among treated interns, which may have led to their higher job performance and career outcomes.

Keywords

Remote Work; Virtual Water Coolers; Social Interactions; Careers; Field Experiment; Employees; Interpersonal Communication; Internet and the Web; Performance; Personal Development and Career

Citation

Choudhury, Prithwiraj, Jacqueline N. Lane, and Iavor Bojinov. "Virtual Water Coolers: A Field Experiment on the Role of Virtual Interactions on Organizational Newcomer Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-125, May 2021. (Revised February 2023.)
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About The Authors

Prithwiraj Choudhury

Technology and Operations Management
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Jacqueline Ng Lane

Technology and Operations Management
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Iavor I. Bojinov

Technology and Operations Management
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More from the Authors

    • September 2023
    • Journal of Development Economics

    Top Talent, Elite Colleges, and Migration: Evidence from the Indian Institutes of Technology

    By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Ina Ganguli and Patrick Gaulé
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    The Crowdless Future? How Generative AI Is Shaping the Future of Human Crowdsourcing

    By: Léonard Boussioux, Jacqueline N. Lane, Miaomiao Zhang, Vladimir Jacimovic and Karim R. Lakhani
    • July 2023
    • Management Science

    Design and Analysis of Switchback Experiments

    By: Iavor I Bojinov, David Simchi-Levi and Jinglong Zhao
More from the Authors
  • Top Talent, Elite Colleges, and Migration: Evidence from the Indian Institutes of Technology By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Ina Ganguli and Patrick Gaulé
  • The Crowdless Future? How Generative AI Is Shaping the Future of Human Crowdsourcing By: Léonard Boussioux, Jacqueline N. Lane, Miaomiao Zhang, Vladimir Jacimovic and Karim R. Lakhani
  • Design and Analysis of Switchback Experiments By: Iavor I Bojinov, David Simchi-Levi and Jinglong Zhao
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