Financial Structure and Corporate Behavior in Japan and the US: insulation versus integration with speculative pressures

This paper examines the impact of speculative financial markets on corporate behavior under the Japanese and US financial systems. While both countries experienced speculative financial booms during the 1980s, real sector corporate decision making was relatively insulated from such activity in Japan by its bifurcated capital markets: high-turnover trading of much equity coexists with another segment in which large blocks of firms equity and debt are held long term, by capital suppliers who are strategic business allies. In the American system, in contrast, fluid and impersonal stock trading leaves firms vulnerable to the impact of short term price movements. This avenue for speculative financial market pressures has militated toward reduced time horizons and financial ratio-based decision criteria in the US corporate sector. The main implication is that mechanisms must be found for insulating American corporate decision making from speculative pressures. Rather than attempting to mimic the undemocratic role played by banks and other buysiness insiders in Japan, US policy makers should achieve a similar insulating effect by vesting more power in corporate constituences other than shareholders—especially employees. An approach built around ‘democratic stakeholder governance’ is proposed.     

Capacity utilisation and corporate restructuring: a comparative study of the US, UK and other EU countries

This paper compares and contrasts capacity utilisation in themanufacturing sectors of the US, UK and other EU countries overthree decades. It argues that corporate governance and the pressuresof globalisation have led to a tighter capacity stance in theUK but not generally in the US or Europe. The paper furtherexplores the nature of the UK experience, in particular, therival theories that efficiency in capital use has increasedversus the view that firms have simply tightened their capacitystance in line with higher hurdle rates of return. The evidenceof the paper supports the view that UK firms adopted a ‘submissive’response to the pressures of globalisation by shutting capacityand retreating from new investment.     

The innovation effect of dual-class shares: New evidence from US firms

The proliferation of dual-class structures in the US stock market presents a controversial trend since such shares are traditionally deemed to damage governance quality. We study the relationship between 362 firms with dual-class shares and their innovativeness using patent citations from Google Patents over the 1976 through 2006 period. We find dual-class shares have significant innovation effect in high-tech sectors, hard-to-innovate industries, firms with higher external takeover threat and firms heavily dependent on external equity financing. We also document a positive causality relationship between dual-class structures and the quality of innovation. The channel for this causal relationship is the protection mechanism by which managers can take a long-term view. From a policy perspective, regulators should promote a corporate governance system that protects corporate long-term interest for shareholders.     

The Localisation Of Corporate Technological Trajectories In The Interwar Cartels: Cooperative Learning Versus An Exchange Of Knowledge

By itself, an exchange of knowledge between complementary activities is inadequate to bring the localised technological specialisation of firms closer together, but cooperative 1earning tends to like the technological profile of partner companies more closely cornplementary Interwar cartels in the electrical equipment industry were restricted to an exchange of knowledge at the corporate group level, but in chemicals they sometimes included cooperative Learning. US patent data for the interwar period arc used to construct a measure of the pattern of the localised technological trajectories of the largest US and European firms. Cartels had a limited impact on the overall level of research or the propensity to patent ar the corporate group level. hut cooperative learning made the technological trajectories of chemical firms more similar or closely complementry. Instend. electrical equipment firms became more localised in their learning, paths, by separating products while exchanging knowledge between activities that remained complementary. The findings are relevant to the study of current technological cooperation through inter-firm alliances.     

Is it Beneficial to be Included in a Sustainability Stock Index? A Panel Data Study for European Firms

This paper empirically examines the effect of inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) on corporate financial performance. On the basis of panel data for European firms that were included in the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index over time, our micro-econometric analysis with fixed and random effects models implies positive impacts on return on assets for continental European countries, but insignificant effects for Anglo-Saxon European countries (i.e., the United Kingdom and Ireland). Furthermore, the impacts on alternative indicators of corporate financial performance such as Tobin’s Q are generally insignificant. The weak or neutral effect of inclusion in the DJSI World on corporate financial performance can be explained by several mutually confounding factors. Furthermore, the composition of this sustainability stock index is influenced by factors that need not necessarily be directly connected to corporate environmental or social activities, so that potential positive and negative effects of corporate sustainability performance on financial performance can be weakened. Methodologically, this study again supports the strong relevance of unobserved firm heterogeneity since the application of misspecified pooled regression models leads to obviously biased estimation results.     

The relative economic performance of foreign subsidiaries in UK manufacturing

This paper compares the economic performance of UK and foreign-owned firms in UK manufacturing industry. A panel data set covering 14 233 firms for the period 1992–1996 is used and the influences of firm-, industry- and country-specific advantages on productivity are examined. The results of the study show that labour productivity is higher in foreign subsidiaries than in UK firms and that foreign subsidiaries as a whole employ higher levels of human capital and enjoy greater economies of scale. A further source of productivity advantage for US subsidiaries is their higher level of intangible assets, and for European and Japanese subsidiaries their higher level of capital intensity. The results have policy implications for the targeting of promotion activities to attract FDI.     

The Role of Multinational Corporations and National States in the Globalization of Innovatory Capacity: The European Perspective

The recent ability of multinational corporations (MNCs) to develop integrated technological networks, increasingly motivated within Europe by the further progress of economic integration, is argued to affect and be affected by national technological competitiveness. This paper examines the precise geographical dispersion of technological activity in Europe by the largest MNCs, and the potential impact of those MNCs on the level and structure of the technological capacity of European home and host countries, using data on patents granted to the world largest firms in the US. Since the late 1980s, the majority of the technological activity conducted in foreign-owned research facilities located in Europe, has taken place in affiliates of European-owned companies. This paper examines whether the much higher degree of internationalization of corporate technology in European MNCs than in their US or Japanese counterparts is attributable to cross-border activity within Europe, or extends to European-owned research facilities in the US and Japan. While intra-European activity matters more for Dutch, Belgian and Swedish MNCs (and in the electrical equipment and computing industries), whose strategies are substantially based on corporate European integration, investments in the US are of greater significance for French and Swiss companies, and of the greatest importance for German and British firms (and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries), representing a more widely 'globalized' technological strategy.     

The Role of Multinational Corporations and National States in the Globalization of Innovatory Capacity: The European Perspective

The recent ability of multinational corporations (MNCs) to develop integrated technological networks, increasingly motivated within Europe by the further progress of economic integration, is argued to affect and be affected by national technological competitiveness. This paper examines the precise geographical dispersion of technological activity in Europe by the largest MNCs, and the potential impact of those MNCs on the level and structure of the technological capacity of European home and host countries, using data on patents granted to the world largest firms in the US. Since the late 1980s, the majority of the technological activity conducted in foreign-owned research facilities located in Europe, has taken place in affiliates of European-owned companies. This paper examines whether the much higher degree of internationalization of corporate technology in European MNCs than in their US or Japanese counterparts is attributable to cross-border activity within Europe, or extends to European-owned research facilities in the US and Japan. While intra-European activity matters more for Dutch, Belgian and Swedish MNCs (and in the electrical equipment and computing industries), whose strategies are substantially based on corporate European integration, investments in the US are of greater significance for French and Swiss companies, and of the greatest importance for German and British firms (and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries), representing a more widely ‘globalized’ technological strategy.     

投资者保护与公司股权结构:一个家族企业继任模型

本文借鉴家族企业继任模型,研究了投资者保护对公司股权结构安排产生影响的作用机理,认为投资者保护程度是决定公司股权结构安排的重要因素,公司治理结构中最优股权结构模式的选择在一定程度上受投资者保护的法律体系健全与否的影响。     

Why is the corporate tax rate lower than the personal tax rate?: The role of new firms

In many OECD countries, statutory corporate tax rates are lower than personal income tax rates. This tax rate difference is often particularly large for small firms. The present paper argues that a reduction of the corporate tax rate below the personal tax rate is an optimal tax policy if there are problems of asymmetric information between investors and firms in the capital market. The reduction of the corporate tax rate below the personal tax rate encourages equity financing and thus mitigates the excessive use of debt financing induced by asymmetric information. Our main theoretical result stands in marked contrast to the traditional view of corporate taxation and corporate finance theory, according to which there is a tax disadvantage to equity financing. More recent empirical evidence on this issue, however, is in line with our result.     

企业金融化、高管股权激励与研发投资

以2010-2015年沪深584家A股上市公司为样本,从产权异质性角度考察企业金融化、高管股权激励与研发投资关系。研究发现:①非货币金融资产持有比例与研发投资呈负相关,反映企业金融化对研发投资具有挤出效应,且高管股权激励能弱化企业金融化与研发投资的负向关系。挤出效应和弱化效应在投资性金融资产上体现非常明显,而在交易类金融资产上体现不明显;②与非国有企业相比,非货币金融资产的挤出效应和高管股权激励的弱化效应在国有企业中表现更为显著。投资性金融资产的挤出效应在国有企业中较为显著,而在非国有企业中不太显著,但高管股权激励的抑制作用在国有或非国有企业均较为明显。不论产权异质性,交易类金融资产的挤出效应和高管股权激励的抑制作用均不显著。     

The Motives for Joint Ventures: A Transaction Costs Analysis of Japanese MNES in the UK

What factors determine the choice of Japanese companies between part and full ownership of their UK subsidiaries? In seeking to answer this question, this study employs data of Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI), through joint ventures, in the UK, not previously used. The main findings of the econometric work presented is that transaction costs are the principal consideration when Japanese firms choose between part and full ownership of their UK subsidiaries{softhyphen}. Variables that have featured prominently in studies relating to either US parents or for subsidiaries in the US do not appear to play a significant role. The European Union (EU) market appears to be the target of Japanese foreign direct investment in the UK.     

股权结构与企业价值——对家电行业上市公司实证分析

本文以家电行业 2 0家上市公司为样本 ,分析股权结构与企业价值的相关性。结果表明 ,在竞争比较激烈的家电行业 ,股权结构与企业价值并无显著相关性。我们认为 ,增强资本市场对上市公司战略、经营绩效业绩和公司治理质量的评价功能和控制权收购功能 ,可以促进上市公司在日益激烈的产品市场和评价、控制权收购功能日益有效的资本市场双重压力下 ,选择有利于驱动公司长期可持续发展和股东价值增长的股权结构。     

何种内部治理机制影响了公司权益代理成本--大股东与董事会治理效率的比较

文章采用相对管理费用作为权益代理成本的代理变量,以1999~2002年上市公司为对象,检验了两种核心的内部治理机制———大股东和董事会对公司经营者代理问题的影响。研究发现,董事会独立性在国家控股公司与非国家控股公司之间存在一定的差异,但对公司权益代理成本几乎没有影响;相反,终极控股权性质对权益代理成本产生了显著影响,即无论是否考虑董事会独立性的影响,国家控股公司的代理成本显著高于非国家控股公司;并且,在国家控股公司中,控股股东持股比例越高,公司权益代理成本越高。此外,文章还发现,国家控股方式影响了公司权益代理成本,国资部门控股公司代理成本显著高于其他的国家控股公司。     

The transatlantic productivity gap: Is R&D the main culprit?

The literature has pointed to different causes to explain the productivity gap between the EU and the US in the last decades. This paper tests the hypothesis that the lower European productivity performance in comparison with the US can be explained not only by a lower level of corporate R&D investment but also by a lower capacity to translate R&D investment into productivity gains. The proposed microeconometric estimates are based on a unique longitudinal database covering the period 1990–2008 and comprising 1,809 US and EU companies for a total of 16,079 observations. Consistent with previous literature, we find robust evidence of a significant impact of R&D on productivity; however, using different estimation techniques, the R&D coefficients for the US firms always turn out to be significantly higher. To see to what extent these transatlantic differences in the R&D/productivity relationship may be related to the different sectoral structures in the US and the EU, we differentiated the analysis by sectors. The result is that bothin manufacturing, services and high‐tech manufacturing sectors US firms are more able to translate their R&D investments into productivity increases.     

Hybrid Corporate Governance and its Effects on Innovation: A Case Study of AstraZeneca

This case study looks at the relationship between the UK/Swedish pharmaceutical firm, AstraZeneca, and its shareholders from the point of view of its effects on innovation. It uses a theoretical framework on corporate governance and innovation that differentiates sectors according to the novelty, visibility and appropriability of technological change. High novelty requires a corporate governance system with strong industry-specific expertise; low visibility requires good firm-specific perceptiveness. High appropriability favours shareholder supremacy as against stakeholder inclusion. The pharmaceutical industry appears to be high in all three, and this (according to accepted stereotypes) should favour the outsider-dominated corporate governance system of the UK as against the insider-dominated Swedish system. It is found that the corporate governance that resulted from the merger could indeed be described as hybrid, but that (following the building up of one major US shareholding) it was a UK/Swedish/US hybrid. In spite of the apparent similarity of the UK and US 'outsider-dominated' systems, the US element made a crucial difference, in giving engagement by a strong and well-informed shareholder who had some influence on other shareholders. This in turn helped to protect the firm to a significant extent from short-term pressures within the UK stock market, and thus to allow it to maintain its emphasis on long-term innovation.     

OPTIMAL INTERNATIONAL ASSET ALLOCATION WITH TIME-VARYING RISK

This paper examines the optimal allocation each period of an internationally diversified portfolio from the different points of view of a UK and a US investor. We find that investor location affects optimal asset allocation. The presence of exchange rate risk causes the markets to appear not fully integrated and creates a preference for home assets. Domestic equity is the dominant asset in the optimal portfolio for both investors, but the US investor bears less risk than the UK investor, and holds less foreign equity – 20% compared with 25%. Survey evidence indicates actual shares are 6% and 18%, respectively, making the home‐bias puzzle more acute for US than UK investors. There would seem to be more potential gains from increased international diversification for the US than the UK investor.     

Hybrid Corporate Governance and its Effects on Innovation: A Case Study of AstraZeneca

This case study looks at the relationship between the UK/Swedish pharmaceutical firm, AstraZeneca, and its shareholders from the point of view of its effects on innovation. It uses a theoretical framework on corporate governance and innovation that differentiates sectors according to the novelty, visibility and appropriability of technological change. High novelty requires a corporate governance system with strong industry-specific expertise; low visibility requires good firm-specific perceptiveness. High appropriability favours shareholder supremacy as against stakeholder inclusion. The pharmaceutical industry appears to be high in all three, and this (according to accepted stereotypes) should favour the outsider-dominated corporate governance system of the UK as against the insider-dominated Swedish system. It is found that the corporate governance that resulted from the merger could indeed be described as hybrid, but that (following the building up of one major US shareholding) it was a UK/Swedish/US hybrid. In spite of the apparent similarity of the UK and US ‘outsider-dominated’ systems, the US element made a crucial difference, in giving engagement by a strong and well-informed shareholder who had some influence on other shareholders. This in turn helped to protect the firm to a significant extent from short-term pressures within the UK stock market, and thus to allow it to maintain its emphasis on long-term innovation.     

Patterns of Corporate Financing and Financial System Convergence in Europe

The paper investigates the possibility of convergence in the European Union (EU) in terms of the patterns of corporate financing by banks, bond markets, and stock markets; and in the context of whether the economies are converging towards an Anglo‐Saxon (capital‐market‐oriented) or a continental (bank‐oriented) financial system. GMM estimation of a dynamic fixed‐effects model is implemented to test for conditional and unconditional convergence using a panel of flow of funds data for the period 1972–1996 for seven EU member countries. It is found that the pattern of corporate financing is consistent with the pecking order theory of financing choices. Overall, the evidence suggests convergence of the EU financial systems on a variant of the Anglo‐Saxon model, depicting heavy reliance on internal financing as well as direct financing via equity and bond markets, while bank debt is becoming relatively less important.     

Preplanned exit strategies in venture capital

This paper empirically considers the role of preplanned exits (the investor's initial strategy to sell the investee firm via an acquisition or an initial public offering (IPO) at the time of initial contract with the entrepreneur), legal conditions and investor versus investee bargaining power in the allocation of cash flow and control rights in entrepreneurial finance. We introduce a sample of 223 entrepreneurial investee firms financed by 35 venture capital funds in 11 continental European countries, and these data indicate the following. First, preplanned acquisition exits are associated with stronger investor veto and control rights, a greater probability that convertible securities will be used, and a lower probability that common equity will be used; the converse is observed for preplanned IPOs. Second, investors take fewer control and veto rights and use common equity in countries of German legal origin, relative to Socialist, Scandinavian, and French legal origin. Third, more experienced entrepreneurs are more likely to get financed with common equity and less likely to be financed with convertible preferred equity, while more experienced investors are more likely to use convertible preferred equity and less likely to use common equity.