Experience Matters? The Impact of Prior CEO Experience on Firm Performance

We sample CEOs of the 2005 S&P 500 corporations to look at the relationship between experience in the CEO position of a different firm and the post‐succession financial performance of the firm that they currently lead. We find that experience in the CEO position is negatively related to firm performance. CEOs who directly move to their current CEO position from the previous one and those with job‐specific experience in the same or related industry or at the helm of a previous company similar in size to the current one are associated with significantly lower post‐succession performance than those without prior CEO experience. The results contribute to the literatures on CEO succession, the performance effect of job‐specific experience, and the transferability of human capital. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Internal Commitment or External Collaboration? The Impact of Human Resource Management Systems on Firm Innovation and Performance

Complementing previous research that showed a positive effect of general human resource management (HRM) systems on general firm performance, this article undertakes an integrative approach to compare the main effects and examine the interaction effects of two particular HRM systems on influencing firm innovation and performance. Using data from 179 organizations in China, we found that both the commitment‐oriented system, which emphasized internal cohesiveness, and the collaboration‐oriented system, which was intended to build external connections, contributed to firm innovation and, subsequently, bottom‐line performance. We also found an attenuated interaction between the two HRM systems in predicting firm innovation. We employed a mediated‐moderation path model to extricate the relationships. Results suggested that organizations that implemented both HRM systems to promote innovation might face ambidexterity challenges. Ideas for future research and practical implications are discussed.     

Less is More,or Not? On the Interplay between Bundles of Slack Resources,Firm Performance and Firm Survival

Although a significant body of research has investigated the independent effects of distinct types of slack resources, current theoretical and empirical work does not sufficiently clarify how bundles of slack resources affect firm outcomes. Drawing on the resource constraints literature and the slack literature, we investigate how distinct bundles of financial and human resource slack influence firm performance and survival. Using a sample of 4715 European information and communication technology firms, we show that neither parallel resource abundance (having slack in financial and human resources) nor parallel resource constraints (lacking slack in financial and human resources) are optimal for firm performance and survival. However, firms with selective constraints that combine slack in financial resources with constraints in human resources exhibit superior performance without decreased survival prospects. Taken together, this study extends current research by providing a more nuanced view of the relationships between slack resources, firm performance, and firm survival.     

The Formation and Development of Modern Firm Financial Governance Theory

This paper points out the drawbacks of traditional financial governance. After introducing Chinese and western economists＇ researches on firm financial governance theory, we put forward modern finn financial governance system, which is based on the core of finance-rights allocation. In our opinion, the theory of finance-rights is the important cornerstone of the theory of financial finance-rights theory. Financial governance structure system is the basic framework of the research of financial governance.     

Firm Value Variation Illustrated by Income and Real Option Analysis

The valuation of real estate plays a major role in property market.In the valuation industry there are various models used to estimate the value.The industry has made use of traditional models;however these models do not account for flexibility in property.This article uses income and real options valuations to capture values of South African REITs.The results illustrate that the real option valuation produces a higher value of property than the traditional models.The findings have shown that the traditional models undervalue the REITs.And these findings are consisted with prior studies done in different geographical markets.Finally,one recommends that the industry practitioners should adopt real option valuation in valuing real estate.     

The Relationship between the Firm Size and the Quantity of Accountants Employed by the Firm： An Analysis of the 436 Listed Firms in the Chinese Shenzhen Stock Exchange

There are 9.56 million accountants in China, who are working in different size firms and nonprofit organizations. The objective of this article is to examine the quantitative relationship between the firm size and the quantity of accountants working for the firm. In this paper, the employees, sales revenues, and total assets in a firm are employed to measure firm size. The authors collect and analyze the data of 436 listed firms from the Chinese Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The result of this study indicates there is a positive relationship between the firm size and the quantity of accountants employed by the firm. The study also establishes the multiple regression equation, which can be used to predict the quantity of accountants of listed firms. And it provides a way to predict the quantity of accountants of legal organizations.     

Understanding the Inputs into Innovation: Do Cities Substitute for Internal Firm Resources?

We examine whether there is a trade-off between employing internal (firm) resources and purchased external (local) resources in process innovation. We draw on a rich dataset of Internet investments by 86,879 US establishments to examine decisions to invest in advanced Internet technology. We show that the marginal contribution of internal resources is greater outside of a major urban area than inside one. Agglomeration is less important for firms with highly capable IT workers. When firms invest in innovative processes they act as if resources available in cities are partial substitutes for both establishment-level and firm-level internal resources.     

Explaining Total Factor Productivity at Firm Level in Italy: Does Location Matter?

Abstract

This study analyses how firms' internal variables and regional factors affect total factor productivity (TFP) of Italian manufacturing firms. Due to the hierarchical structure of our data, we employ a multilevel model that allows for a clear distinction between firm and region-specific effects. Results refer to 2004–2006 and show, as expected, the importance of firm-specific determinants of TFP. At the same time, they indicate that location matters in the sense that the context where firms operate plays a crucial role in determining the level of TFP. In more detail, we find that the regional endowment of infrastructure, the efficiency of local administration and the investments in R&D exert a positive effect on firms' performance.     

My Comments on the Values of The United States——Equality of Opportunity and Competition

In spite of the gap,these cultural values have played an important role in forming the basic characteristics of Americans and in American social life.     

The R&D Investment–Uncertainty Relationship: Do Strategic Rivalry and Firm Size Matter?

This paper uses a real options perspective to augment a standard research and development (R&D) investment model and implement a firm‐level empirical analysis to assess the practical significance of market uncertainty and its interactions with strategic rivalry and firm size. We use a measure of firm‐relevant market uncertainty along with panel data and find that firms invest less in current R&D as uncertainty about market returns increases. The effect of firm‐specific uncertainty on R&D investment is smaller in markets where strategic rivalry is likely to be more intense. Furthermore, holding access to financing constant, the effect of uncertainty on R&D investment is attenuated for large firms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Compete at the expense of responsibility? Firm’s alliance responsibility in innovation process for SMEs

This paper attempts to investigate the impact of a firm’s social responsibility on its level of competition, cooperation and co-opetition using the game theory approach. We consider a duopoly market that comprises the focal firm which undertakes the responsibility of alliance and peripheral firm that represents all other firms within the technological innovational alliance of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). Both the focal firm and the peripheral firm conduct technological innovation to overcome the constraints of technology, talent and fund. The study concludes that competitive efforts could substitute alliance responsibility, and cooperation efforts are contingent upon the market demand and/or alliance responsibility.     

Business start-ups by the unemployed — an econometric analysis based on firm data

Active labour market policies to promote firm foundation from unemployment were improved considerably in Germany in August 1994, a fact which led to a sharp increase in the number of start-ups by the unemployed. The study compares firm survival and employment growth of start-ups by unemployed and others, based on firm data from 15 regions in East and West Germany. Self-selection effects are taken into account by using simultaneous models of start-up promotion and firm development. While firm survival is negatively affected by foundation from unemployment in East Germany (−6%), an influence on employment growth is not evident.