Table 2 The determinants of outsourcing, ratio of externally sourced inputs to value added measure in levels (2002, 2004) and changes in levels (2002–2004), OLS estimates

Sales per employee

0.0005

0.002^**

−0.00002

(0.0004)

(0.001)

(0,0001)

Export share

0.002

−0.007^**

−0.002

(0.005)

(0.003)

(0.006)

Increasing sales expected

−0.301^*

−0.066

0.430

(0.163)

(0.215)

(0.263)

Investments in ICT

−0.005

−0.266

0.038

(0.238)

(0.211)

(0.311)

Investments in production facilities

0.381^*

0.275

−0.267

(0.214)

(0.203)

(0.308)

State-of-the-art technology

0.301^*

−0.141

(0.173)

(0.258)

Number of employees

0.141^*

0.231^**

−0.122

(0.089)

(0.107)

(0.127)

Wages per employee

−0.089

−0.206^*

0.020

(0.103)

(0.106)

(0.106)

Share of high-skilled workers

0.289

−0.205

−1.168^**

(0.349)

(0.404)

(0.522)

Separations rate

0.030

0.243

−0.060

(0.536)

(0.170)

(0.764)

Share of fixed-term workers

−0.950^**

−0.190

0.257

(0.390)

(0.661)

(0.573)

Works council

−0.432

−0.115

0.488

(0.287)

(0.305)

(0.364)

Collective agreement

−0.039

0.001

0.085

(0.248)

(0.212)

(0.304)

Western Germany

−0.057

0.310^*

0.170

(0.232)

(0.173)

(0.332)

Establishment founded before 1990

−0.006

−0.116

−0.094

(0.210)

(0.168)

(0.312)

Single-establishment firm (without subsidiaries)

−0.461^*

−0.281

−0.111

(0.252)

(0.232)

(0.338)

Legal form (omitted category: sole trader)

 Partnership

0.423

−0.703^***

−0.687

(0.426)

(0.243)

(0.518)

 limited liability corporation

−0.219

0.082

0.063

(0.254)

(0.270)

(0.378)

 Company limited by shares

−1.261^***

0.848

2.939^**

(0.438)

(0.768)

(1.143)

 Public corporation

−0.644

−0.638

−0.080

(0.411)

(0.414)

(0.450)

 Other legal form

1.548

−0.694^*

−2.380

(1.432)

(0.362)

(2.176)

R ²

0.07

0.08

0.02

N

5,027

5,643

3,495