Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Summer 2021
  • Article
  • Oxford Review of Economic Policy

The World Management Survey at 18: lessons and the way forward

By: Daniela Scur, Raffaella Sadun, John Van Reenen, Renata Lemos and Nicholas Bloom
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:28
ShareBar

Abstract

Understanding how differences in management ‘best practices’ affect organizational outcomes has been a focus of both theoretical and empirical work in the fields of management, sociology, economics, and public policy. The World Management Survey (WMS) project was born almost two decades ago with the main goal of developing a new systematic measure of management practices being used in organizations. The WMS has contributed to a body of knowledge around how managerial structures, not just managerial talent, relate to organizational performance. Over 18 years of research, a set of consistent patterns have emerged and spurred new questions. We present a brief overview of what we have learned in terms of measuring and understanding management practices and condense the implications of these findings for policy. We end with an outline of what we see as the path forward for both research and policy implications of this research programme.

Keywords

Firm Objectives, Organization, And Behavior; Business Economics; Choice Of Technology; Management Of Technological Innovation And R&D; Technological Change: Choices And Consequences; Management Practices and Processes

Citation

Scur, Daniela, Raffaella Sadun, John Van Reenen, Renata Lemos, and Nicholas Bloom. "The World Management Survey at 18: lessons and the way forward." Oxford Review of Economic Policy 37, no. 2 (Summer 2021): 231–258.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Register to Read

About The Author

Raffaella Sadun

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Remote Work across Jobs, Companies, and Space

    By: Stephen Hansen, Peter John Lambert, Nick Bloom, Steven J. Davis, Raffaella Sadun and Bledi Taska
    • 2022
    • Human-Computer Interaction

    How Does Working from Home during COVID-19 Affect What Managers Do? Evidence from Time-Use Studies

    By: Thomaz Teodorovicz, Raffaella Sadun, Andrew L. Kun and Orit Shaer
    • Harvard Business Review

    The C-Suite Skills That Matter Most

    By: Raffaella Sadun, Joseph B. Fuller, Stephen Hansen and PJ Neal
More from the Authors
  • Remote Work across Jobs, Companies, and Space By: Stephen Hansen, Peter John Lambert, Nick Bloom, Steven J. Davis, Raffaella Sadun and Bledi Taska
  • How Does Working from Home during COVID-19 Affect What Managers Do? Evidence from Time-Use Studies By: Thomaz Teodorovicz, Raffaella Sadun, Andrew L. Kun and Orit Shaer
  • The C-Suite Skills That Matter Most By: Raffaella Sadun, Joseph B. Fuller, Stephen Hansen and PJ Neal
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College