Research since Gary Becker equated specific human capital with firm-specific human capital. This paper divides firm human capital into a specific and a general component to investigate the relationships between firm- and occupation-specific human capital and job switches. Applying the task-based approach, the results show that the degree to which firm knowledge is portable depends on task similarities between the firms. Firm- and occupation-specific knowledge are negatively related to wages in a new job, but achieving a good occupational, instead of firm, match is more important for employees. The occupational intensity, reflecting the overall knowledge composition on the firm level, decreases with experience and can outweigh the costs of covering long task distances. As regards matching, a small distance between the firm and occupational tasks matters for medium-skilled employees.
Research since Gary Becker equated specific human capital with firm-specific human capital. This paper divides firm human capital into a specific and a general component to investigate the relationships between firm- and occupation-specific human capital and job switches. Applying the task-based approach, the results show that the degree to which firm knowledge is portable depends on task similarities between the firms. Firm- and occupation-specific knowledge are negatively related to wages in a new job, but achieving a good occupational, instead of firm, match is more important for employees. The occupational intensity, reflecting the overall knowledge composition on the firm level, decreases with experience and can outweigh the costs of covering long task distances. As regards matching, a small distance between the firm and occupational tasks matters for medium-skilled employees.