Seniority versus Ability in Promotion Decisions

Abstract

Responses to a telephone survey of managers in 276 companies show that in those companies the senior employee is more likely to be promoted over the junior employee in cases in which the vacancy is posted, the relevant employment unit is small, the position is not managerial, and the manager feels required by company policy to select senior applicants. Unionism is not a significant independent factor. The author concludes that employees are often advanced to higher paying jobs not because of their superior skill, ability, or performance, as the human capital model may imply, but because of their greater length of service.