Building new quality productive forces through knowledge education: a knowledge-based perspective

Purpose The study aims to examine whether employee training intensity (ETI) is associated with firms’ new quality productive forces (NQPF), as well as the boundary conditions of this relationship. From a knowledge management perspective, ETI is viewed not only as a human resource investment, but also as a formal knowledge management practice that supports knowledge acquisition, sharing, integration and application. Design/methodology/approach The study builds a firm-level NQPF index and calculates ETI based on training expenditure per employee, using panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies over the period 2015–2024. The authors use firm and year fixed effects, instrumental-variable estimation, moderation, heterogeneity and robustness analyses. Findings ETI is positively associated with firms’ NQPF. This result remains robust after considering endogeneity concerns and alternative specifications. Managerial myopia and financing constraints weaken the positive ETI–NQPF relationship, whereas innovation-oriented research and development investment strengthens it. The relationship is more pronounced among non-state-owned firms, high-tech firms and firms operating in competitive industries. Originality/value This study extends the literature in three ways. First, it identifies ETI as an important knowledge-based microfoundation of NQPF. Second, it reinterprets ETI from a knowledge-based perspective as a mechanism of knowledge conversion and capability building. Third, it reveals the managerial, resource and institutional conditions under which training investment is more effectively translated into productivity upgrading.