Not logged in.

Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Does updating education curricula accelerate technology adoption in the workplace? Evidence from dual vocational education and training curricula in Switzerland
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Tobias Schultheiss
  • Uschi Backes-Gellner
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Journal of Technology Transfer
Publisher Springer
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 0892-9912
Volume 49
Number 1
Page Range 191 - 235
Date 2024
Abstract Text In an environment of accelerating technological change and increasing digitalization, firms need to adopt new technologies faster than ever before to stay competitive. This paper examines whether updates of education curricula help to bring new technologies faster into firms’ workplaces. We study technology changes and curriculum updates from an early wave of digitalization (i.e., computer-numerically controlled machinery, computer-aided design, and desktop publishing software). We take a text-as-data approach and tap into two novel data sources to measure change in educational content and the use of technology at the workplace: first, vocational education curricula and, second, firms’ job advertisements. To examine the causal effects of adding new technology skills to curricula on the diffusion of these technologies in firms’ workplaces (measured by job advertisements), we use an event study design. Our results show that curriculum updates substantially shorten the time it takes for new technologies to arrive in firms’ workplaces, especially for mainstream firms.
Free access at DOI
Digital Object Identifier 10.1007/s10961-022-09971-9
Other Identification Number merlin-id:23029
PDF File Download from ZORA
Export BibTeX
EP3 XML (ZORA)