Universität zu Köln

Grabe, Leonhard ORCID: 0009-0004-6835-1891 (2026). Firms as Architects of Employee Development. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

Human capital is a central production factor and has become even more important in times of rapid technological change. Firms need employees with up-to-date skills and can use organizational control mechanisms to shape their development. This thesis presents three studies on management practices for employee development in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry. Chapter 1 examines the role of hard information on employees’ skills for development, performance, and job satisfaction. In a field experiment with more than 2,500 field service technicians across 125 teams, 62 managers are randomly denied access to biannual skill assessment results, while employees and managers are instead instructed to focus on employees’ own development suggestions. Restricting managers’ access to this information significantly reduces training investments and job performance and, contrary to prior psychology research, also lowers satisfaction with the training process, the supervisor, and the job. The treatment reduces both employees’ and managers’ willingness to invest in development. Chapter 2 studies supervisor interactions in employee learning by examining performance responses to workplace errors. Using performance data from 3,200 employees and 1,100 error records from 50 technical service firms, the chapter shows that performance increases substantially after a manager confronts an employee about an externally reported error. These increases build over time and persist for at least six months. While both high- and low-performers initially improve, only low-performers sustain these improvements. The intervention also generates negative spillovers: customer service quality declines, especially after technical errors, consistent with a shift in attention toward technical aspects of the job. Chapter 3 analyzes how management practices help to create new work habits. In a field experiment with more than 800 service technicians in 15 firms, half of the workforce receives a temporary bonus for sales activities that many technicians had not viewed as part of their core job. The bonus strongly increases sales activities and downstream product purchases without reducing customer satisfaction. Importantly, these effects persist for at least three months after the incentive had ended. Survey evidence suggests that employees "acquire a taste" for sales activities and customer-oriented tasks more broadly. Taken together, the thesis shows how firms shape employee development through information, incentives, and managerial interaction, with persistent effects on performance, motivation, and well-being.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Grabe, Leonhard grabe@wiso.uni-koeln.de https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6835-1891 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-801996
Date:	2026
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Business Administration > Corporate Development > Assistant Professorship for Personnel Economics and Human Resource Management
Subjects:	Economics Management and auxiliary services
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Skill Management English Errors English Habit Formation English Management Practices English Management Controls English Taste Acquisition English
Date of oral exam:	26 March 2026
Referee:	Name Academic Title Sliwka, Dirk Prof. Dr. Künneke, Judith Prof. Dr.
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/80199