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Management Practices and Productivity in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Broszeit, Sandra

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg)

  • Fritsch, Ursula

    (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)

  • Görg, Holger

    (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)

  • Laible, Marie-Christine

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg)

Abstract

Based on a novel dataset, the "German Management and Organizational Practices" (GMOP) Survey, we calculate establishment specific management scores following Bloom and van Reenen as indicators of management quality. We find substantial heterogeneity in management practices across establishments in Germany, with small firms having lower scores than large firms on average. We show a robust positive and economically important association between the management score and establishment level productivity in Germany. This association increases with firm size. Comparison to a similar survey in the US indicates that the average management score is lower in Germany than in the US. Overall, our results point towards lower management quality being at least in part to blame for the differences in aggregate productivity between Germany and the US.

Suggested Citation

  • Broszeit, Sandra & Fritsch, Ursula & Görg, Holger & Laible, Marie-Christine, 2016. "Management Practices and Productivity in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 10370, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10370
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    management practices; firm performance; labor productivity; GMOP; MOPS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • M2 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics

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