Understanding and Explaining Management Practices to Promote Higher Productivity in UK Businesses
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: King's Business School
Abstract
Our Management and Expectations Survey (MES), cited in the ESRC call, arose from a partnership between the ONS and ESCoE: it is the largest ever survey of UK management capabilities, executed on a population of 25,000 firms across industries, regions, firm sizes and ages documenting the variable quality of management practices across UK businesses. Our analysis found a significant relationship between management practices and labour productivity amongst UK firms, and examined whether certain types of firms have poor management practices and stagnant productivity, drawing conclusions about the links between them, ONS (2018). This team, with two seminal contributors to management practice and performance (Bloom, Stanford, and Van Reenen, MIT) who initiated the World Management Survey, partners from the ONS (Awano, Dolby, Vyas, Wales), and the Director and Fellows of the ESCoE (Riley, Mizen, Senga, Sleeman) at the NIESR, will investigate five issues:
1. Longitudinal changes in management practices and performance
The initial MES offers a cross section of variation in management practices and expectations between firms, but it does not explore variations within businesses through time due to the missing longitudinal dimension to the data. A second wave of the MES will expand our scope of analysis so that we can interpret how management practices in the UK have varied over time. This extension addresses the 'broad consensus' from the recent ESRC-ONS workshop that 'there is not enough longitudinal data around productivity that allows for consistent, ongoing analysis, and in particular data that enables researchers to identify, isolate and accurately measure changes over time.'
2. International comparisons
Drawing on our links through Bloom and Van Reenen with the US Management and Organizational Practices Survey (MOPS) at the US Census Bureau will enable us to i) test identical hypotheses using their methods and variables to draw research insights that help identify causal drivers of productivity at the firm level, and compare and contrast the UK and US data; ii) draw together a unique joint ONS-Census Bureau methodological forum for collecting the most useful micro-data for measuring management, investment and hiring intentions for UK and US firms. Similar data collection exercises have been taking place across other countries. We have established links with German and Japanese teams and we intend to discuss key differences, e.g. between the US and European business environments, and similarities, e.g. the Japanese experience of low productivity.
3. Analysis of linked business surveys and administrative data
Partnership between academic researchers and ONS facilitates the matching of data from other sources to answer key questions around: a) management and firms' ability to cope with uncertainty by linking MES responses to trade data, administrative data on VAT, R&D expenditure, and patenting data, and exploiting variation across firms in exposure to EU markets through supply chains and export destination of goods; b) evidence of superior innovation, R&D and export performance from evidence of how business innovation and exporting varies across firms and over time in response to management practices and cultures. This will directly inform practical lessons for UK businesses.
4. Experimental analysis using big data
We will use natural language processing and machine learning to investigate big data from job-search companies to objectively identify the factors that affect staff satisfaction and performance in the UK. Matching to the MES and other micro datasets we will examine links between mental health and management practices.
5. Randomised control trials
Nearly 9,000 responding businesses in the MES sought 'feedback' on their management score. By varying feedback to respondents we will observe in collaboration with BIT (the 'Nudge Unit') and CMI the impact on firm's subsequent adaptation and performance.
1. Longitudinal changes in management practices and performance
The initial MES offers a cross section of variation in management practices and expectations between firms, but it does not explore variations within businesses through time due to the missing longitudinal dimension to the data. A second wave of the MES will expand our scope of analysis so that we can interpret how management practices in the UK have varied over time. This extension addresses the 'broad consensus' from the recent ESRC-ONS workshop that 'there is not enough longitudinal data around productivity that allows for consistent, ongoing analysis, and in particular data that enables researchers to identify, isolate and accurately measure changes over time.'
2. International comparisons
Drawing on our links through Bloom and Van Reenen with the US Management and Organizational Practices Survey (MOPS) at the US Census Bureau will enable us to i) test identical hypotheses using their methods and variables to draw research insights that help identify causal drivers of productivity at the firm level, and compare and contrast the UK and US data; ii) draw together a unique joint ONS-Census Bureau methodological forum for collecting the most useful micro-data for measuring management, investment and hiring intentions for UK and US firms. Similar data collection exercises have been taking place across other countries. We have established links with German and Japanese teams and we intend to discuss key differences, e.g. between the US and European business environments, and similarities, e.g. the Japanese experience of low productivity.
3. Analysis of linked business surveys and administrative data
Partnership between academic researchers and ONS facilitates the matching of data from other sources to answer key questions around: a) management and firms' ability to cope with uncertainty by linking MES responses to trade data, administrative data on VAT, R&D expenditure, and patenting data, and exploiting variation across firms in exposure to EU markets through supply chains and export destination of goods; b) evidence of superior innovation, R&D and export performance from evidence of how business innovation and exporting varies across firms and over time in response to management practices and cultures. This will directly inform practical lessons for UK businesses.
4. Experimental analysis using big data
We will use natural language processing and machine learning to investigate big data from job-search companies to objectively identify the factors that affect staff satisfaction and performance in the UK. Matching to the MES and other micro datasets we will examine links between mental health and management practices.
5. Randomised control trials
Nearly 9,000 responding businesses in the MES sought 'feedback' on their management score. By varying feedback to respondents we will observe in collaboration with BIT (the 'Nudge Unit') and CMI the impact on firm's subsequent adaptation and performance.
Planned Impact
We will take a number of steps to ensure effective impact.
Government:
1. Informing, implementing, and evaluating The UK's Industrial Strategy
The key structure of our pathways is the collaboration that we have developed between ESCoE and ONS, and the links we have built with HM Treasury and BEIS that allow us to work towards shaping the UK's Industrial Strategy. During our initial design of the 2017 MES survey we worked collaboratively at the pilot and implementation stages, we published the results of the survey as joint working papers, and engaged in conference and dissemination activities together (Royal Economic Society Conference 2018; ESCoE Economic Measurement Conference 2018; ONS website posts). We intend to continue this established pattern of collaboration at all stages of this project. We will provide policymakers with timely basic information on firm responses and data analysis using state-of-the-art methods to produce results suitable for policy advice.
2. Providing inputs to the HM Treasury-BEIS Business Productivity Review
Recently, the results of the MES survey were cited in the Call for Evidence in the HM Treasury-BEIS Business Productivity Review. We submitted evidence and were encouraged to develop further our evidence base by extending the MES. Our second wave of the MES will provide vital information to improve understanding of the links between performance and management practices. Upon the upcoming release of the government's modern Industrial Strategy in Autumn 2018, we will resume our meetings with BEIS to fashion our second wave MES survey and link to appropriate micro-datasets to ensure we answer key questions.
3. We will engage with the Bank of England Agents' Network (12 Agents operate across the country) through Rosie Smith (East Midlands Agent based on University of Nottingham campus) to share best management practice and explore the possibility of an Agents' survey on business' views on the effects of management practice on productivity.
Business:
1. ONS direct business engagement - survey feedback to businesses
Making use of the feedback option for MES respondents we will conduct an RCT in collaboration with the Behavioural Insights Team (Nudge Unit), observing the impact of feedback on management and performance versus a control group in the second wave of the MES survey. The results will provide insights on the effectiveness of support, advice and knowledge exchange to businesses and the adoption of best practice.
2. BEIS - regional Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)
The UK business community is divided by BEIS into 38 regional LEPs but data is not routinely collected or analysed on performance and practice. As we discover the practices that are associated with better performance and productivity by using our survey responses and links to other micro datasets we will engage with businesses through the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) networks to communicate interventions that work well. We will create a Business Engagement Usergroup to advise us on how best to communicate our findings to business comprising members from McKinsey, CBI, CMI, BEIS, LEPs, Be the Business.
Academics:
1. Conferences
a) three annual one-day conferences in June organised by NIESR, QMUL and Nottingham, combining academics, media, policy makers, interested members of the public and our international network of 75 ESCoE researchers and fellows.
b) three annual SITE uncertainty conferences (Stanford) and Empirical Management Conferences (Harvard, MIT and Stanford) organised by Bloom/Van Reenen.
2. External-facing workshops organised by ONS and ESCoE. We will also communicate findings to policymakers via the ESCoE Advisory Board.
3. We will engage with the ESRC Coordination and Evidence Hub, sharing our findings and inviting other participants to our events.
Government:
1. Informing, implementing, and evaluating The UK's Industrial Strategy
The key structure of our pathways is the collaboration that we have developed between ESCoE and ONS, and the links we have built with HM Treasury and BEIS that allow us to work towards shaping the UK's Industrial Strategy. During our initial design of the 2017 MES survey we worked collaboratively at the pilot and implementation stages, we published the results of the survey as joint working papers, and engaged in conference and dissemination activities together (Royal Economic Society Conference 2018; ESCoE Economic Measurement Conference 2018; ONS website posts). We intend to continue this established pattern of collaboration at all stages of this project. We will provide policymakers with timely basic information on firm responses and data analysis using state-of-the-art methods to produce results suitable for policy advice.
2. Providing inputs to the HM Treasury-BEIS Business Productivity Review
Recently, the results of the MES survey were cited in the Call for Evidence in the HM Treasury-BEIS Business Productivity Review. We submitted evidence and were encouraged to develop further our evidence base by extending the MES. Our second wave of the MES will provide vital information to improve understanding of the links between performance and management practices. Upon the upcoming release of the government's modern Industrial Strategy in Autumn 2018, we will resume our meetings with BEIS to fashion our second wave MES survey and link to appropriate micro-datasets to ensure we answer key questions.
3. We will engage with the Bank of England Agents' Network (12 Agents operate across the country) through Rosie Smith (East Midlands Agent based on University of Nottingham campus) to share best management practice and explore the possibility of an Agents' survey on business' views on the effects of management practice on productivity.
Business:
1. ONS direct business engagement - survey feedback to businesses
Making use of the feedback option for MES respondents we will conduct an RCT in collaboration with the Behavioural Insights Team (Nudge Unit), observing the impact of feedback on management and performance versus a control group in the second wave of the MES survey. The results will provide insights on the effectiveness of support, advice and knowledge exchange to businesses and the adoption of best practice.
2. BEIS - regional Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)
The UK business community is divided by BEIS into 38 regional LEPs but data is not routinely collected or analysed on performance and practice. As we discover the practices that are associated with better performance and productivity by using our survey responses and links to other micro datasets we will engage with businesses through the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) networks to communicate interventions that work well. We will create a Business Engagement Usergroup to advise us on how best to communicate our findings to business comprising members from McKinsey, CBI, CMI, BEIS, LEPs, Be the Business.
Academics:
1. Conferences
a) three annual one-day conferences in June organised by NIESR, QMUL and Nottingham, combining academics, media, policy makers, interested members of the public and our international network of 75 ESCoE researchers and fellows.
b) three annual SITE uncertainty conferences (Stanford) and Empirical Management Conferences (Harvard, MIT and Stanford) organised by Bloom/Van Reenen.
2. External-facing workshops organised by ONS and ESCoE. We will also communicate findings to policymakers via the ESCoE Advisory Board.
3. We will engage with the ESRC Coordination and Evidence Hub, sharing our findings and inviting other participants to our events.
Organisations
- King's College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS (Collaboration)
- Chartered Management Institute (Collaboration)
- City, University of London (Collaboration)
- Behavioural Insights Ltd (Collaboration)
- Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (Collaboration)
- Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (Collaboration)
- McKinsey & Company (Collaboration)
- Be the Business (Collaboration)
Publications
Chen C
(2023)
Uncertainty, imperfect information, and expectation formation over the firm's life cycle
in Journal of Monetary Economics
Schneebacher, J.
(2022)
Managing to succeed: what we know, and what we don't, about management in Great Britain
Ardanaz-Badia, A.
(2022)
Channels of Managerial Capital Accumulation - A Framework and New Evidence from UK Microdata
Martin, J.
(2022)
The 'F Words': Why Surveying Businesses About Intangibles is so Hard
Schneebacher J
(2021)
Paper on Management and Innovation, 23 August 2021
Aghion P
(2021)
Turbulence, Firm Decentralization, and Growth in Bad Times
in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Schneebacher J
(2021)
Management practices in Great Britain: 2016 to 2020 article, 17 May 2021
Description | We have improved survey methods: We have contributed significantly to improving survey methods, developing a longitudinal survey of management practices and expectations of UK businesses. The survey was updated with Covid-19 questions prior to placement in the field in September 2020, to also be able to document the ability of better- (worse-) managed firms to respond to shocks. Our survey has generated new knowledge about: 1. How management practices lead to better business performance. We link a new UK management survey covering 8,000 firms to data on productivity in manufacturing and services. There is a large variation in management practices, which are highly correlated with productivity, profitability and size. We find that better managed firms make more accurate forecasts of GDP and of their own turnover. We also show better managed firms appear aware that their forecasts are more accurate. These stylized facts suggest that one reason for the superior performance of better managed firms is that they knowingly make more accurate forecasts, enabling them to make superior operational and strategic choices. 2. Business resilience to shocks. We demonstrated using a new UK management survey that better managed firms were more resilient and more able to adapt and innovate during Covid, accepting the move to working from home and adopting online sales to replace in-person sales when required. This provided firms with more resilience, and these practices meant that the UK economy declined by less than it would have done without this resilience. 3. Who wants to improve their management. Data show management practices are robustly correlated with superior performance, and firms can change these practices year-on-year, yet wide dispersion of management quality persists. Combining evidence from four business surveys we seek to explain why so few firms seek to improve their management practices. We identify the characteristics of firms that have made improvements in their management practices between 2016 and 2020, and which firms wanted to improve. When we examine the evidence on subjective barriers to improvement, lack of time and resources are barriers to improvement, but for more than half of firms it is a failure to identify any barriers to improving management practices. These firms have poorer managers. Our analysis of a novel dataset of online employee reviews has generated new knowledge: We analysed online employee reviews, from Indeed's UK website, to enhance our understanding of job quality. Keywords within the reviews were extracted and then clustered to form the first data-driven and multi-level Quality of Work Taxonomy for the UK. The resulting taxonomy includes several new dimensions of job quality, and could inform the development of an official taxonomy. Analysis of the taxonomy shows that the emphasis placed on different dimensions of work quality has shifted over time, with a marked increase in references to culture, atmosphere and the broader workplace environment. Our analysis also reveals differences between occupations; workers in some occupations value pay and rewards, while others value the workplace atmosphere and environment. |
Exploitation Route | This funding has led to the establishment of a longitudinal survey of UK businesses, the "Management and Expectations Survey". The survey can be used to inform UK growth policy and to improve understanding of the UK productivity puzzle. The dataset and methods, developed as part of our analysis of online employee reviews, could form a useful early warning system to detect changes in the drivers of work quality and to measure the impact of new working practices. |
Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Other |
URL | https://mes-survey.org/ |
Description | Establishment of a longitudinal survey of UK businesses "Management and Expectations Survey". This survey has been used to inform UK growth policy. The survey is gaining wide usage by the academic and policy communities to improve understanding of the UK productivity puzzle. |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Creative Economy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Economic,Policy & public services |
Description | Feedback to businesses on their management practices |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | COVID-19: Measuring the effects of Covid-19 on businesses and the UK economy |
Amount | £667,485 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/V004387/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2020 |
End | 11/2022 |
Title | Reduced set of MES survey questions |
Description | ONS explored the suitability of a reduced set of MES survey questions that could be used in other surveys to provide an indication of a firm's management practices without the need for the full MES scoring framework. Results have been developed based on various methods used to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of a reduced question set. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The recommendations were shared with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS). |
Title | Distribution of management practices scores by region and industry |
Description | ONS produced percentile distribution of management practices scores by ITL1 region, and ITL1 region x industry. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Anna Stansbury from MIT Sloan School of Management has requested the data output to study regional differences in management capacity. The data provide new insights compared to previous data releases: ITL1 region x industry split of a distribution of MES scores for 2017, 2019 and 2020. |
URL | https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/productivitymeasures/adhocs/15633distri... |
Title | Management Expectations Survey 2020 (MES) |
Description | This project commissioned and developed in partnership with the Office for National Statistics the 2020 Management and Expectations Survey (MES) to collect information from businesses in both the services and production industries about their management practices and expectations for their business in the future. Built on the first-wave MES conducted in 2017, MES 2020 has embraced several developments, including switching from paper to online, a larger sampling frame (increased from 25,000 to 50,000 firms), a more developed sampling strategy, and the inclusion of COVID-19-related questions to cater for emerging research and policy interests. The survey went live on the 9th November 2020 and ran until the end of December 2020. Results are anticipated to be released in Spring 2021. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The information will be used to further investigate how management practices and uncertainty relate to productivity, as well as gauge businesses' expectations of Great Britain's economic climate in the near future. The data may be used by the government to inform policy-making on the economy and by other relevant institutions for research and decision-making. This may also be beneficial to businesses as the published statistics can be used as a benchmark to compare their business against the same, or across different, sectors. |
URL | https://www.ons.gov.uk/surveys/informationforbusinesses/businesssurveys/managementandexpectations |
Title | Management and Expectations Survey closed |
Description | . |
Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | . |
Title | Management and Expectations Survey quality control and deposit in Secure Research Service |
Description | Survey and deposit in SRS |
Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | . |
Title | Management benchmarking tool |
Description | We created a benchmarking tool publicly available and hosted on the website: Management Research (https://managementresearch.com). It is based on the management survey and managers can identify their relative position in terms of operational efficiency and structured management practices, enabling them to improve their operations. |
Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | An international collaboration emerged, involving researchers from policy institutions like the World Bank and national statistical agencies like the US census bureau, comparing management and productivity implications across countries. |
URL | https://managementresearch.com/ |
Title | UK business responses to Covid-19 |
Description | Webscraped data, regularly (fortnightly) collected information on responses to Covid-19 from business websites and news sources from February 2020 for 12 months based on set of keywords. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | These data will be linked to other data sets to help to understand and monitor the responses of UK businesses to the Covid-19 crisis. Analysis is currently underway. |
Description | Be the Business |
Organisation | Be the Business |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. An agreement has been entered into between ESCoE (NIESR) and Be the Business to carry out a programme of mentoring interventions as part of the Random Control Trial (RCT). Businesses completing the MES will be invited to sign up to take part in RCT and mentoring programme, when receiving feedback on their results from the MES. |
Collaborator Contribution | Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials (RCT). Be the Business have agreed to carry out a programme of mentoring interventions as part of the RCT with respondents to the MES2020 survey who have agreed to participate. An agreement with ESCoE (NIESR) and Be the Business has been entered into. The work will be undertaken as an in-kind contribution and is due to begin spring 2021. - Roundtable meeting with Be the Business's intervention delivery partners to discuss collaboration on evaluation of interventions to promote better management. - Business Engagement Group meeting 7 January with participants from BEIS, Cass Business School, Chartered Management Institute, CBI; NIESR |
Impact | No outputs yet, RCT scheduled to begin spring 2021. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | CBI |
Organisation | Confederation of British Industry (CBI) |
Department | Confederation of British Industries |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. |
Collaborator Contribution | Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials. Have agreed to help trial the letter of engagement with survey respondents with a member panel (to do). |
Impact | No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Cass Business School |
Organisation | City, University of London |
Department | Cass Business School |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. |
Collaborator Contribution | Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials. |
Impact | No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Chartered Management Institute (CMI) |
Organisation | Chartered Management Institute (CMI) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. |
Collaborator Contribution | Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials. |
Impact | No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
Organisation | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. |
Collaborator Contribution | Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials. |
Impact | No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | McKinsey |
Organisation | McKinsey & Company |
Department | McKinsey & Company, UK |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. |
Collaborator Contribution | Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials. |
Impact | No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | ONS |
Organisation | Office for National Statistics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Advised, supported and helped develop the Management Expectations Survey 2020, with regular project meetings to discuss: questions to be included with additional questions relating to Covid-19; survey format (moved from paper to online); and sampling to maximise research applications as well as policy use. Worked with ONS project team to gain ethical approval from ONS for Random Control Trial (RCT). |
Collaborator Contribution | Developed the Management Expectations Survey 2020 (MES). Survey live date delayed due to Covid-19. Developed and finalised questions in collaboration with research team, including questions on Covid-19; moved survey from paper to electronic survey as result of Covid-19. Survey went live 9th November 2020 with data collection to 12 Mar 21, including telephone response chasing (from 11 Jan) to increase the response rate and remove measurement error. To date more than 6,000 phone calls have been made. Provided advice and support on RCT and support in obtaining ethical approval for RCT from ONS. ONS MES team published a blog (ONS intranet, 19 Nov 2020) to increase MES exposure within ONS. The blog post was picked up in several internal meetings. ONS MES team provided briefing document for the ONS Chief Economist, Grant Fitzner (18 Dec 2020), with the aim of increasing visibility within ONS. Presented MES design to Cabinet Office (5 Mar 2021), to inform ongoing policy development surrounding business support, homeworking and supply chain disruptions. Seven members of ONS personnel worked on the MES 2020 in 2020. Member of the MES Business Engagement Group (BEG). Conference paper proposal stemming from ongoing research on business demography and the organisation of the firm, which used MES data accepted at the annual ESCoE conference on Economic Measurement 2021, 11-13 May 21. Conference paper abstract by the ONS team exploring the initial findings of MES2020 has been accepted for the IARIW-ESCoE conference on Intangibles to be held June 2021. |
Impact | Management Expectations Survey 2020 |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | The Behavioural Insights Team |
Organisation | Behavioural Insights Ltd |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. |
Collaborator Contribution | Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials. |
Impact | No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Business Engagement Group workshop March 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Understanding and Explaining Management Practices to Promote Higher Productivity in UK Businesses MES Business Engagement Group, Workshop 23 March 2022 Morning 10:00-12:00: 10:00-10:20 Project overview and objectives (Rebecca Riley, KCL) 10:20-10:50 Do well managed firms make better forecasts? (Taka Kawakubo, LSE) 10:50-11:20 What is the state of management in Great Britain? Evidence from MES2020 (Jakob Schneebacher, ONS) 11:20-11:50 Who wants to improve their management? Evidence from the MES (Charlotte Meng, NIESR) Afternoon 13:30-15:30 13:30-14:00 Building a data-driven taxonomy of job quality (Cath Sleeman, Nesta) 14:00-14:30 International comparisons with the MES (Tatsuro Senga, QMUL) 14:30-15:00 Did better managed firms also cope with Covid-19 better? (Wei Li, Nottingham) 15:00-15:20 MES going forward (Paul Mizen, Nottingham) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Cambridge TPI workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation "Managing to grow: Evidence from new longitudinal business data" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Contributed paper at RES annual conference, 12-14 April 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation of Managing Expectations by Taka Kawakubo |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.res.org.uk/event-listing/res-conference-overview/2021-annual-conference.html |
Description | Detailed feedback to UK businesses on their management performance Apr-May 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Provided via website with login code. Outreach via email (ONS and CBI). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Economic Measurement Group 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation: "Managing to grow: Evidence from new longitudinal business data" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Empirical Management Conference 2022 - John Van Reenen |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Keynote presentation at the Empirical Management Conference, Washington DC, December 2022: "The Natural Laws of Management" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Empirical Management Conference 2022 - Paul Mizen |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation at the Empirical Management Conference 2022, Washington DC: "Who wants to improve their management?" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Government Economic Service - presentation by Jakob Schneebacher |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Presentation of Management and Expectations Survey related research to the Government Economic Service, February 2022 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | IARIW-ESCoE Conference on Intangible Assets |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW), in partnership with the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE), held a conference on the measurement of intangible assets and their implications for growth and productivity, at RSA House, London, 11-12 November 2021. The aim of the conference was to bring together academics, statisticians, policymakers and other data users, interested in the measurement of intangibles, to take forward an agenda for understanding the importance of these rapidly growing investments. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.escoe.ac.uk/events/iariw-escoe-conference-on-intangible-capitals/ |
Description | MES website |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Website created to bring together research that used the Management and Expectations Survey |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://mes-survey.org/ |
Description | POID LSE presentation - Charlotte Meng |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Seminar presentation of "Who want to improve their management?". Feedback received from POID researchers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | ProPEL Critical Friend Reflection event (ESRC Hub) at Nottingham June 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation and discussion of findings regarding engagement with feedback and others lessons from RCT |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Productivity Puzzles Podcast: Can we still measure productivity in the modern economy? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The one big question anyone working on productivity issues gets most is: how do you actually measure it? How do we count what we make? And can we capture everything needed to produce products and services? And can economists and statisticians keep up with the rapid changes in today's modern economy? To answer these questions, host Bart van Ark is joined by Josh Martin, Head of Productivity at the Office for National Statistics, Rebecca Riley, director of the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence and Professor of Practice at King's Business School and Jonathan Haskel, Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School. Together they discuss productivity measurement from the widget counting days of economist founding father Adam Smith to today's methods that include the service economy, new technologies, worker well-being and the environment. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/can-we-still-measure-productivity-in-the-modern-economy/id1567... |
Description | Royal Economic Society Keynote - Nick Bloom |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Nick Bloom gave the Hahn Lecture at the annual conference of the Royal Economic Society 2022, chaired by Rebecca Riley. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Special Session on 'Missing Capitals' at RES annual conference, 14 April 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | TPI-ESCoE-ONS special session on "Missing Capitals" at RES 2021 annual conference, including paper on intangible capitals and management; broadcast by Bloomberg. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.res.org.uk/event-listing/annual-conference/res2021-special-sessions.html |
Description | University of Nottingham and ESRC PrOPEL Hub event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | University of Nottingham and ESRC PrOPEL Hub event Reimagine Management and Productivity in a Post-pandemic World: Trends and Lessons on Building a Productive Workforce Presentation of: Understanding and Explaining Management Practices to Promote Higher Productivity in UK Businesses: Helping firms to grow through better management and panel discussion |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.propelhub.org/reimagine-management-and-productivity-in-a-post-pandemic-world/ |