Michael Slavensky Dahl

Michael S. Dahl and Steven Klepper

Using the matched employer-employee data set for Denmark and information on the founders of new firms, we analyze the hiring choices of all new firms that entered in 1995-2001. We develop a theoretical model in which the quality of a firm’s employees determines its average cost, a firm’s productivity is based on its pre-entry experience and persistent shocks, and over time firms learn about their productivity. The model predicts that more productive firms are larger and hire more talented employees, which gives rise to various predictions about how pre-entry experience, firm growth rates, and firm size influence the wages firms pay to their early hires. We find that beginning with the time of entry, larger firms consistently pay higher wages to their new hires. These are firms with greater survival prospects at the time of entry based on the pre-entry backgrounds of their founders and that grow at greater rates over time, both of which are predictive of the wages paid to new hires from the time of entry onward. Our findings suggest workers are allocated to firms according to their abilities, which can give rise to enduring firm capabilities.

Michael S. Dahl and Toke Reichstein

This paper investigates the relationship between the experiences of managers and the likelihood of survival of their new firms. We take advantage of a comprehensive data-set covering the entire Danish labour market from 1980-2000. This is used to trace the activities of top ranked members of new firms prior to the founding and follow the fate of their firms after the founding.

Michael S. Dahl and Toke Reichstein (2007), “Are You Experienced? Prior Experience and the Survival of New Organizations“, Industry and Innovation. Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 497-511. ISSN: 1366-2716. [DOI Link]