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Does initial vocational training foster innovativeness at the company level? Evidence from German establishment data

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  • Matthies, Eike
  • Haverkamp, Katarzyna
  • Thomä, Jörg
  • Bizer, Kilian

Abstract

While an increasing number of conceptual studies postulate that vocational education and training (VET) activities have a positive impact on firm-level innovation, empirical evidence on the subject remains scarce. This study exploits establishment data from a representative survey of German companies to estimate the association between firms' participation in initial VET and their innovation outcomes. The results based on linear probability models and entropy balancing show that the relationship between VET activity and innovation are more ambiguous than often postulated. Overall, the participation in initial VET has virtually no effect on radical product innovation. However, a positive association between VET activities and incremental product innovation or process innovation is found in the case of microenterprises with fewer than 10 employees. From this, we conclude that participation in the VET system primarily promotes the innovation and learning conditions of very small training enterprises. The paper concludes with implications for policy and research.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthies, Eike & Haverkamp, Katarzyna & Thomä, Jörg & Bizer, Kilian, 2022. "Does initial vocational training foster innovativeness at the company level? Evidence from German establishment data," ifh Working Papers 30/2022, Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen (ifh), revised 2022.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifhwps:302021
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    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/262379/1/ifh-wp-30-2022.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vocational education; apprenticeship training; modes of innovation; innovation without R&D; SMEs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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