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Do Employees Reciprocate to Intra-Firm Trainings? An Analysis of Absenteeism and Turnover Rates

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Author Info

  • Katrin Breuer

    (University of Cologne)

  • Patrick Kampkoetter

    (University of Cologne)

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    Abstract

    This paper studies the behavioral effects of intra-firm trainings on absence behavior and turnover probability. We argue that participation in firm-sponsored trainings might lead to behavioral responses among employees. When firms pay for general trainings, employees may perceive this as a gift to which they can reciprocate by providing higher levels of effort or commitment. Based on the personnel records of a large multinational firm we find that, in contrast to human capital predictions, general trainings lead to a decrease in turnover rates. Furthermore, a short-term decrease in absenteeism indicates a temporary, reciprocal reaction by employees.

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    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by Cologne Graduate School in Management, Economics and Social Sciences in its series Cologne Graduate School Working Paper Series with number 03-09.

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    Date of creation: 13 Sep 2012
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    Handle: RePEc:cgr:cgsser:03-09

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    Related research

    Keywords: Training; Human Capital; Reciprocity; Turnover; Absenteeism;

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