A growing body of research suggests that intra-organizational mobility represents an important source of value creation and retention. Internal hires who are embedded in organizational social networks have greater resources and experience than external workers who are less socially connected. Notwithstanding the great practical and theoretical interest in the benefits of intra-organizational mobility at the organizational level, little is known about how individuals’ intra-organizational careers unfold and the influence of social networks toward that end. This dissertation combines findings from three separate projects to investigate the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of intra-organizational mobility—the structural factors that explain why people move within an organization, how movers and incumbents do or do not benefit from mobility, and the individual differences in network behavior for mobility. More specifically, in the first chapter, I examine how pre-existing communication contacts affect the mover’s performance upon joining the new group. I expect that movers are more likely to join business units to which they have pre-existing ties. Nonetheless, the ties that facilitate movers’ joining business units are oftentimes not those that help them to perform well subsequently. In the next chapter, I explore gender differences in network behavior as they impact on intra-organizational mobility. I argue that when a mover retains ties to the working unit that is being left, it improves the mover’s post-move performance. And women are more likely to maintain such persistent social ties, whereas men are more likely to establish new ties. In the final chapter, I assess the effects on the receiving group when a mover joins, and I argue that low-ranking incumbents embedded in stable performance hierarchies suffer from the introduction of high-performing newcomers and the induced unfavorable social comparison. I test my predictions using time-series data on the internal inter-branch transfers of retail sales employees at a US-based financial institution between November 2014 and April 2016. The dataset is composed of individual demographic information, monthly performance metrics (in dollars), and meta email communication among all employees. The data permits several methodological advancements: (1) the use of objective and consistent performance measures; (2) analysis of the temporal changes in the networks of the movers and their contacts; (3) analysis of communication network and its impact on performance, and (4) robustness checks that apply instrumental variable techniques. The approach taken in this dissertation adds a new perspective on the relationship between intra-organizational mobility and competitive advantage.

La mobilité interne est un outil de GRH fréquemment proposé aux cadres des grandes entreprises en France. La mobilité interne est en effet associée, tant dans la littérature économique que gestionnaire, à de nombreux enjeux. En particulier, l’exploration théorique suggère, au travers de la théorie de l’apprentissage de Bateson, de l’approche par les motivations intrinsèques développée par Thomas et de la sociologie de la traduction, que la mobilité interne permet de développer et de diffuser le talent des collaborateurs au sein de l’entreprise. A partir d’une démarche qualitative, nous avons observé la mise en place de la mobilité interne au sein de trois grandes entreprises : la Société Générale, « Vénus » et EDF. La recherche montre que la mobilité interne se heurte à un certain nombre de freins qui en limitent la portée en termes de développement des talents. Dans des organisations en transition, la mobilité interne est l’objet de découplages et de logiques contradictoires qui la rendent ambiguë. Dans d’autres organisations, le nomadisme interne de carrière qui s’est développé, conformément au courant des carrières nomades, peut conduire à une perte de Sens chez les salariés et aboutir à un sentiment de mouvement brownien. Seule la mobilité chez Vénus développe l’ « agilité apprenante » des collaborateurs et leur motivation intrinsèque de Progrès, grâce à une philosophie managériale conférant le droit à l’erreur, mais au prix d’un investissement psychique important de la part des salariés. Ainsi, la mobilité interne apparait comme un outil de GRH séduisant, mais complexe quant à sa mise en oeuvre dans les organisations. L’analyse inter cas conduit à mettre en avant que la mobilité interne comporte en effet une forte dimension psychique et culturelle. De ce fait, elle a une signification beaucoup plus large et plus symbolique et reflète le teneur du lien entre le salarié et l’organisation. / Large French companies usually propose intra-organizational mobility to their employees. Intra-organizational mobility presents many relevant issues highlighted in the economic and managerial literature. In particular, theoretical frameworks, such as the learning theory of Bateson, the intrinsic motivation approach developed by Thomas and the sociology of translation, suggest that intra-organizational mobility can develop and spread employees’ talent through the organization. Through a qualitative research, we observed the implementation of intra-organizational mobility inside three large companies: Société Générale, Venus and EDF. The research finds difficulties that limit the impact of intra-organizational mobility in terms of talent development. For organizations in transition, intra-organizational mobility suffers from logical inconsistencies and disconnects that make its effects ambiguous. In other organizations, the boundaryless model of career development that applies inside the organization can lead employees to a lack of sense in career development and be compared to a Brownian motion. Only intra-organizational structure at Venus develops “learning agility” and an intrinsic motivation of Progress, thanks to a managerial philosophy that considers trial and error an intrinsic element of learning but at the cost of an important psychic involvement from individuals. Thus, intra-organizational mobility is an attractive tool for HR professionals but it is rather complex to implement in organizations. Inter case analysis shows that intra-organizational mobility actually includes strong psychological and cultural dimensions and reflects aspects of the employment relationship.