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  • 2023
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Location-Specificity and Geographic Competition for Remote Workers

By: Thomaz Teodorovicz, Prithwiraj Choudhury and Evan Starr
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:55
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Abstract

The precipitous growth of remote work has given rise to a new phenomenon: geographic competition between localities for the physical presence of remote workers. Remote workers with high general human capital may create value for their new destinations and reverse net talent outflow from smaller cities in middle America and globally. However, localities seeking to attract, retain, and create value from so-called “digital nomads” face significant challenges because such workers may have a low attachment to their new destination. Analogizing these challenges to the problem of creating and capturing value from workers with general human capital, we argue that localities can compete for remote workers by leveraging location-specific attributes which create value for the individual and the locality. We examined these ideas in the context of Tulsa Remote, a program that provides relocation incentives and a bundle of services to increase engagement and embeddedness in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We found that Tulsa Remote increased community engagement, real income, and entrepreneurship of remote workers, benefiting both the community and the individual. Tulsa Remote increased worker’s willingness to stay, and local community engagement is a key driver of this relationship. This work thus suggests that location-specificity enables localities to both create and capture value from remote workers.

Keywords

Remote Work; Human Capital; Geographic Location; Civil Society or Community; Motivation and Incentives

Citation

Teodorovicz, Thomaz, Prithwiraj Choudhury, and Evan Starr. "Location-Specificity and Geographic Competition for Remote Workers." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-071, May 2023.
  • SSRN
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About The Author

Prithwiraj Choudhury

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

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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
  • TCS: From Physical Offices to Borderless Work Video Supplement By: Prithwiraj Choudhury
  • GitLab and the Future of All-Remote Work Video Supplement By: Prithwiraj Choudhury
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