The impact of training on productivity: evidence from a panel of Italian firms

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1140-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio Colombo ◽  
Luca Stanca
Keyword(s):  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
Occupational Groups ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Training Activity ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Effective Training ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of training activity on labor productivity in a panel of Italian firms. Design/methodology/approach – The use of a large panel data of individual firms allows the author to properly account for the possible endogeneity of training activity and avoid aggregation biases typical in industry-level data. Findings – The paper finds that training has a positive and significant impact on productivity. While unobserved heterogeneity leads to overestimate the impact of training, failing to account for the endogeneity of training leads to underestimate its effects on productivity. Within occupational groups, training has large and significant effects for blue-collar workers, while the effects for executives and clerks are relatively small. Finally, using a measure of effective training intensity the paper finds that failing to account for training duration may lead to underestimate the effect of training on productivity. Originality/value – Our data set is unique in terms of size and coverage and overcomes several limitations of previous research using firm-level data. Moreover, besides estimating the overall effect of training on productivity, the paper allows to address some more specific questions. Does the effect of training depend on the type of worker being trained? What is the relevance of effective participation to training activity?

Wage differentials between foreign invested and domestic enterprises in the manufacturing

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1056-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kien Trung Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Wage Differentials ◽  
Wage Differential ◽  
Capital Intensity ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Size Firm ◽  
Unskilled Workers ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of trade and investment liberalization on the wage skill premium between skilled and unskilled workers in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach – An analysis is undertaken by means of descriptive statistics and econometric investigation using a firm-level data set from the Enterprise Survey of Vietnam. Findings – It is shown that there has been a positive wage differential between foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and domestic enterprises over the period 2000-2009. More importantly, the FIE-domestic wage differentials are found to be significantly positive after accounting for differences in capital intensity, size, firm location, and industry features. Furthermore, statistical evidence shows that these wage differentials narrowed over the period 2006-2009. Originality/value – One of the first study examines the FIE-domestic wage differentials given the outward-oriented economic reforms since 2000 in Vietnam.

Revisiting the impact of organized labor on corporate bottom lines

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmytro Osiichuk ◽  
Paweł Mielcarz ◽  
Julia Kavalenka
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
Corporate Financial Performance ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Panel ◽  
Transmission Mechanisms ◽  
Credible Threat ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Relying on an international panel data set, the purpose of this paper is to quantify the economic impact of labor unionization on corporate financial performance. Design/methodology/approach Static panel regression analysis is performed for a firm-level multinational data set to elucidate the postulated empirical relationships between employee unionization and corporate performance. The transmission mechanisms intermediating the studied effects are discussed and operationalized. Findings The empirical evidence demonstrates that firms with a higher level of employee unionization spend more on wages and labor-related expenses. The concomitant downside of higher resource extraction by unions is a lower rate of net employment creation and a higher possibility of redundancy layoffs. Originality/value Overall, the authors demonstrate that by creating a credible threat of employee disobedience manifested through strikes and internal wage disputes, labor unions remain an effective mechanism of increasing employees’ bargaining power. Despite the discovered weak negative associative link between the degree of unionization and corporate financial performance, the authors perceive the overall evidence to be inconclusive on this matter.

Firm-level agreements, employment strategies and temporary workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-212
Author(s):  
Saverio Minardi
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Temporary Employment ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Temporary Workers ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of two-tier firm-level collective agreements on firms’ propensity to use temporary employment, accounting for the process of self-selection of firms into different bargaining levels in the Italian context. It further examines which firm-level characteristics drive this process of selection. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis uses a panel data set of Italian firms for the years 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2015. Estimations are produced and compared through ordinary least square regression, random-effects and fixed-effects models. Findings Results show that enterprises adopting two-tier firm-level agreements (TTFA) are associated with lower levels of temporary workers. However, a longitudinal analysis suggests that introducing a TTFA does not impact firms’ propensity to employ temporary workers. This novel finding highlights the presence of a selection process based on firm-level time-constant characteristics. The paper argues that these characteristics refer to management orientation toward high-road rather than low-road employment strategies. Further evidence is brought in support of this claim, showing that firms’ propensity toward the provision of training for their labor force partially explain the process of selection. Originality/value The study is the first to analyze the impact of secondary-level collective agreements on firms’ reliance on temporary employment, offering new evidence on the causes of the expansion of temporary employment. It further highlights the relevance of employers’ strategies in shaping the impact of the bargaining structure.

Corporate tax planning and corporate tax disclosure

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-364
Author(s):  
Mahfoudh Hussein Mgammal
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Tax Planning ◽  
Corporate Tax ◽  
Effective Tax Rate ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of corporate tax planning (TP) on tax disclosure (TD). Using tax expenses data set, with the detailed effective tax rate (ETR) by reconciling individual items of income and expenses. Design/methodology/approach A firm-level panel data set is used to analyse 286 non-financial listed companies on Bursa Malaysia that spans the period 2010-2012. Multivariate statistical analyses were run on the sample data. The empirical understanding of TD depends on public sources of data in the financial statement, characterized in the aggregated note of tax expenses. Fitting with Malaysian environment, the authors measured TD using modified ETR reconciling items. Findings Results show that TP, exhibit a robust positive influence on TD. This suggests that TP is related to lower corporate TD. In addition, companies with high TP attempt to mitigate the disclosure problem by increasing various TD. The authors further find significant positive impact between each of firm size and industry dummy, on TD. This means that company-specific characteristics are significant factors affecting corporate TD. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the literature on the effect of TP on TD. It depends on both the signalling theory and the Scholes–Wolfson framework, which are the main theories concerned with TP and TD. Therefore, from a theoretical side, the authors add to the current theories by verifying that users are the party influenced whether positively or negatively, by the extent of TD or the extent of TP activities through Malaysian organizations. Practical implications The evidence found in this paper has important policy and practical implications for the authorities, researchers, decision makers and company managers. The findings can provide them some relevant insights on the importance of TP actions from companies’ perspective and contribute to the discussion of who verifies and deduces from TD directed by companies. Originality/value This paper originality is regarded as the first attempt to examine the impact of TP on TD in a developing country such as Malaysia. Malaysian setting is an interesting one to examine because Malaysia could be similar to other countries in Southeast Asia. Results contribute significant insights to the discussion about TD regarding, which parties are responsible for the verification of TD by firms, and which parties benefit from this disclosure. Findings suggest that companies face a trade-off between tax benefits and TD when selecting the type of their TP.

scholarly journals Family Commitments and Career Success: Earnings of Male and Female Managers

2005 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Cannings
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Household Division Of Labor ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Behavioral Variables ◽  
Dual Commitment ◽  
The Impact

The dual-career family, with its attendant pressures for dual commitment to the home and to the career, has become an increasingly important phenomenon in recent decades. This paper uses a firm-level data set to examine the impact of family commitments as well as cognitive, behavioral, and organizational factors on the earnings of 519 married middle managers in a large Canadian corporation. Alongside a number of behavioral variables as well as the functional division of managerial labor in the company, division of labor in the employee's household has a significant impact on managerial earnings. The inclusion of a variable reflecting the household division of labor in the managerial earnings function helps to explain a substantial proportion of the earnings disadvantage of women in this company that might otherwise simply be attributed to gender.

Using the eurostat-OECD definition of high-growth firms: a cautionary note

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven-Olov Daunfeldt ◽  
Dan Johansson ◽  
Daniel Halvarsson
Keyword(s):  
Small Firms ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Growth Firms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – High-growth firms (HGFs) have attracted an increasing amount of attention from researchers and policymakers, and the Eurostat-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition of HGFs has become increasingly popular. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a longitudinal firm-level data set to analyze the implications of using the Eurostat-OECD definition. Findings – The results indicate that this definition excluded almost 95 percent of surviving firms in Sweden, and about 40 percent of new private jobs during 2005-2008. Research limitations/implications – The proportion of small firms and their growth patterns differ across countries, and the authors therefore advise caution in using this definition in future studies. Practical implications – Policy based on the Eurostat-OECD definition of HGFs might be misleading or even counterproductive. Originality/value – No previous studies have analyzed the implications of using the Eurostat-OECD definition of HGFs.

scholarly journals The impact of corruption on analyst coverage

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-323
Author(s):  
Omaima Hassan ◽  
Gianluigi Giorgioni
Keyword(s):  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Endogeneity Bias ◽  
Analyst Coverage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Data Limitations ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of country-level corruption and firms’ anti-bribery policies on analyst coverage. Analyst coverage has been identified as a powerful tool to detect fraud and should equally act as a possible tool to reduce corruption.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a negative binomial count regression method on a longitudinal data set of a sample of S&P Global 1200 companies for the years 2010-2015. To control for potential endogeneity bias and improve the reliability of the estimation, both country-level corruption and firms’ anti-bribery policies variables were instrumented.FindingsAfter controlling potential endogeneity bias, the results show that the adoption of anti-bribery policies at firm level attracts more analysts to follow a firm. The results for corruption at country level show that analyst coverage increases in less corrupted countries indicating that the costs of corruption exceed its potential benefits. When the variables corruption at country level and anti-bribery policies are interacted, the relationship is positive and highly significant.Practical implicationsGiven the potential important role played by anti-corruption measures, firms are encouraged to adopt them to reduce the incidence of corruption and to increase analyst coverage, which will reinforce the benign effect of monitoring.Originality/valueAlthough the literature on corruption at the country level is rich, it is geared towards the determinants of corruption in contrast to its consequences, and fewer studies have focused on the impact of corruption at firm level because of data limitations. This paper addresses this gap and contributes to the literature on the consequences of corruption at firm level.

Corporate governance and the impact to the R&D lab

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-110
Author(s):  
Arjan Markus ◽  
Tim Swift
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Generalized Least Squares ◽  
Innovation Theory ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Generalized Least Squares Estimation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Exploratory Innovation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the strength of corporate governance influences the firm’s ability to retain their key knowledge workers or inventors. Design/methodology/approach This paper links agency and innovation theory to develop the hypotheses. Agency theory predicts that the interests of employees are counter to those of firm owners. The authors predict that as shareholder power grows as corporate governance strengthens, inventors who are highly productive, and those who pursue risky but valuable exploratory innovation will leave the firm. Given prior scholarship in innovation theory establishing the critical contributions that new knowledge creation and exploratory innovation make to firms’ competitive advantage, the authors consider whether stronger firm-level corporate governance leads to the erosion of the firm’s competitive advantage. The hypotheses are empirically tested using generalized least squares estimation on a data set that combines data on firms, their patents and the governance provisions these firms adopt. Findings Using a 10-year sample of publicly traded US firms, the authors find that stronger corporate governance erodes the very foundation of a firm’s innovation capabilities. Stronger corporate governance reduces management job security, which makes managers more risk-averse. This heightened “managerial myopia” results in increased departures of highly valuable inventors employed by the firm. The authors show that these departing inventors are more productive inventors than those who remain and engage in more exploratory R&D than the remaining inventors at the firm. Originality/value The findings raise questions on the appropriateness of the adoption of governance provisions strengthening shareholder rights in firms pursuing innovation.

Growth and job creation at the firm level: Swedish SME data

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darush Yazdanfar ◽  
Peter Öhman
Keyword(s):  
Job Creation ◽  
Sales Growth ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Employment Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Resource Based View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Panel ◽  
Industry Sectors ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between firm sales growth and employment level as a proxy for job creation among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses were empirically examined by performing several univariate and multivariate regressions to investigate a large panel data set of 13,548 Swedish SMEs in four industry sectors in the four-year period from 2009 to 2012. Findings The results indicate that growth, in terms of sales, as a competitive advantage is positively related to the number of employees hired by the sampled firms. In addition, the size and age variables are also positively associated with the number of employees hired. The results support the suitability of implementing the resource-based view to explain job creation by SMEs. Originality/value While previous studies have mostly ignored the impact of these firm-level variables on job creation, the current study highlights the effect of firm-specific characteristics such as sales growth, size, age and industry. The authors use a combination of models to analyse a large cross-sectoral data set regarding the association, in SMEs, between the firms’ sales growth and job creation.

scholarly journals The impact of government financial assistance on the performance and financing of Australian SMEs

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Xiang ◽  
Andrew C. Worthington
Keyword(s):  
Financial Assistance ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Control Factors ◽  
The Future ◽  
Direct Government ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of government financial assistance provided to Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach This study uses firm-level panel data on more than 2,000 SMEs over a five-year period from the Business Longitudinal Database compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The authors measure the impact of government financial assistance in terms of subsequent SME performance (income from sales of goods and services and profitability) and changes in the availability of alternative nongovernment finance. Findings The authors find government financial assistance helps SMEs improve performance over and above the effects of conventional financing. They also find than the implicit guarantee effect signalled by a firm receiving government financial assistance suggests firms are more likely to obtain nongovernment finance in the future. Control factors that significantly affect SME performance and finance availability include business size, the level of innovation, business objectives and industry. Research limitations/implications Nearly all of the responses in the original survey data are qualitative, so we are unable to assess how the strength of these relationships varies by the levels of assistance, income and profitability. The measure of government financial assistance of the authors is also general in that it includes grants, subsidies and rebates from any Australian Government organisation, so we are unable to comment on the impact of individual federal, state or local government programmes. Practical implications Government financial assistance helps SMEs improve both immediate and future performance as measured by income and profitability. This could be because government financial assistance quickly overcomes the financial constraints endemic in SMEs. Government financial assistance also helps SMEs obtain nongovernment finance in the future. The authors conjecture that this is because it overcomes some of the information opaqueness of SMEs. Originality/value Few studies focus on the impact of direct government financial assistance compared with indirect assistance as typical in credit guarantee schemes. The authors use a very large and detailed data set on Australian SMEs to undertake the analysis.

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