From Outsourcing to Productivity, Passing Through Training: Microeconometric Evidence from Italy

Roberto Antonietti

No 2014.12, Working Papers from Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide firm-level evidence on the short-run link between outsourcing and labor productivity using an original dataset of Italian manufacturing firms, and applying a two-stage probit least squares estimator. We find a positive effect on productivity from outsourcing only if firms provide training for the workforce. This indirect impact on productivity is independent of the type of activity outsourced and is bigger in the case of service outsourcing. This can be explained by the different feedback effect of labor productivity on training and by the different type of training provided. While production outsourcing induces an organizational change which stimulates off-the-job training for plant operators, service outsourcing induces firms to train a broader range of occupational profiles - both off and on the job. Similar results emerge for the case of joint outsourcing of both production and service activities. Therefore, we find that outsourcing generates positive productivity effects only if it is part of a broader knowledge management strategy that involves upgrading of workers’ skills.

Keywords: Outsourcing; Productivity; Training; Two-Stage Probit Least Squares (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 L24 L25 L60 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-eur, nep-lab, nep-lma and nep-sbm
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: From outsourcing to productivity, passing through training: microeconometric evidence from Italy (2016)
Working Paper: From Outsourcing to Productivity, Passing Through Training: Microeconometric Evidence from Italy (2014)
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