Learning on the Job: The Impact of Job Tenure and Management Strategies on Nursing Home Performance

This study investigates linear and nonlinear effects of job tenure on organizational performance and explores how administrators’ job tenure can moderate the relationship between three key managerial strategies—innovative management, participatory management, and external management—and performance. Using archival performance indicators available from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in combination with a recent survey of nursing home administrators, we find that job tenure has a linear and nonlinear relationship with two different performance dimensions, respectively. Also, more experienced managers are better able to manage external environments and share power internally to achieve better outcomes.