Competition and learning -- managers

Last registered on March 26, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Competition and learning -- managers
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015618
Initial registration date
March 21, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 26, 2025, 9:27 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Mikko Silliman
Affiliation
Aalto University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Alexander Willen
PI Affiliation
Norwegian School of Economics
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-03-31
End date
2025-06-06
Keywords
Education, Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study how the level of competitiveness in labor markets influences investments firms make in training using a vignette experiment. Managers are randomly assigned a vignette describing the level of competition in a hypothetical labor market and asked how they perceive and how they would pursue worker training in that environment.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Silliman, Mikko and Alexander Willen. 2025. "Competition and learning -- managers." AEA RCT Registry. March 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15618-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Managers are randomly assigned a vignette describing the level of competition in a hypothetical labor market and asked how they perceive and how they would pursue training opportunities in that environment.
Intervention Start Date
2025-03-31
Intervention End Date
2025-06-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our main outcome is the extent that managers believe that their workers’ ability to do their job will improve with each year they are exposed to the work environment described in the vignette.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Apart from understanding how managers perceive the extent of worker learning in different types of labor markets, we want to know how managers think their workers will learn (via formal trainings or via informal learning), what types of skills they will invest in (basic or higher order), and why (whether they think skills will be transferrable).
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Managers are randomly exposed to one of two vignettes describing the level of competition in a labor market.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
By a computer.
Randomization Unit
Manager
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
800
Sample size: planned number of observations
800
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
400 in both work environments
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Norwegian School of Economics
IRB Approval Date
2025-03-17
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan