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Age diversity and innovation: Do mixed teams of old and experienced and young and restless employees foster companies innovativeness?

Author

Listed:
  • Hammermann, Andrea

    (Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln)

  • Niendorf, Matthias

    (Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln)

  • Schmidt, Jörg

    (Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft Köln)

Abstract

"In Germany, the labour force is ageing rapidly. At the same time, age heterogeneity within companies is rising. The literature on diversity argues that heterogeneity can have a positive as well as a detrimental effect on team outputs. Our paper sheds light on the impact of age diversity on the likelihood of a company to create product or process innovations. Based on our analysis of the Linked Employer-Employee-Data from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) over the 2009-2013 period, we focus on different indicators of age diversity within a company's workforce (variety, separation and disparity). We find that a rise in the average age of a company's workforce has a negative impact on innovation, but age diversity measured by the standard deviation of age or the average age gap increases the probability of a company to create innovations. In addition, the uniformity of the age distribution does not affect innovativeness. Different results for age and tenure diversity suggest a higher importance of generalised human capital for creativity processes compared to company-specific knowledge gained during employment within a company." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Hammermann, Andrea & Niendorf, Matthias & Schmidt, Jörg, 2019. "Age diversity and innovation: Do mixed teams of old and experienced and young and restless employees foster companies innovativeness?," IAB-Discussion Paper 201904, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201904
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    Cited by:

    1. Federico Barbiellini & Matteo Gomellini & Lorenzon Incoronato & Paolo Piselli, 2020. "The Age-Productivity Profile:Long-Run Evidence from Italian Regions," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2019, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    2. Kaltenberg, Mary & Jaffe, Adam B. & Lachman, Margie E., 2023. "Invention and the life course: Age differences in patenting," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    3. Bodnár, Katalin & Nerlich, Carolin, 2022. "The macroeconomic and fiscal impact of population ageing," Occasional Paper Series 296, European Central Bank.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; Auswirkungen ; Heterogenität ; Beschäftigtenstruktur ; Humankapital ; IAB-Linked-Employer-Employee-Datensatz ; Innovationsfähigkeit ; Altersstruktur ; Produktinnovation ; Prozessinnovation ; Teamarbeit ; 2009-2013;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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