Internationalization and industrial districts: evidence from the Italian automotive supply chain

In this paper we focus on the determinants of internationalization and, in particular, on the specific role played by the agglomeration of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through their proximity to a large firm. We study the characteristics of the internationalization process in a representative sample of 786 firms in the Italian automotive supply chain. After building an Internationalization Strategy Index (ISI), we perform a multinomial logit econometric analysis. The main findings of the empirical analysis are: (a) Italian automotive supplier firms mainly go in the foreign markets through export, i.e. the simplest internationalization mode; (b) as predicted in the literature, individual firm characteristics play a significant role in the probability of internationalization; (c) firms located in the province of Turin, where the dominant car assembler (Fiat) in Italy has its headquarters, or more generally, in large automotive industry districts, enjoy a clear localization advantage; (d) interestingly, we also find that internationalization is negatively correlated with the share of Fiat in suppliers’ sales, and that suppliers located in a district and less dependent on Fiat are also those adopting the most advanced internationalization strategies.     

Do not change horses: specialist CEOs enhance innovation

This study examines the relation between specialist Chief Executive Officers(CEOs) and their firms’ future performance, particularly regarding innovation. While human capital theory predicts that firms should innovate better when their CEOs possess more human capital, this relationship has been hard to measure empirically. As a result, little is known about the role of individual CEOs on innovation performance. Using a unique dataset on CEO human capital characteristics for S&P 1500 firms between 1993 and 2010, we examine whether specialist CEOs with strong firm-specific human capital have a significant long-term influence on firm innovation. Our findings support the idea that specialist CEOs promote both a higher magnitude of innovation and higher quality innovation for their current firms. The evidence indicates that the specificity of CEO human capital matters in the context of innovation as a long-term firm outcome.     

Security analyst firm reputation and investors’ response to forecasted stocks in the biotechnology sector

ABSTRACT

Stock analyst reputation bridges the gap between technical knowledge of the high-technology and the investor's response to its stock, implying that the reputation of the stand-alone analyst serves this purpose. However, global firms have a stronger influence on their stock analysts than do small firms with 2 personnel. Does firm reputation affect the individual analyst and attract investor attention to forecasted stocks? Evidence from SAFs (security analyst firms) in the biotechnology sector supports this question and proposition. Four moderators (interactive predictors of organisational reputation) show positive correlations. They are the SAF's age, size, performance, and media coverage. These organisational level measures contribute to the institutional theory compared to the literature that focuses on the individual analyst without their organisations. In line with institutional theory, we make three explicit points. First, high uncertainty in the biotechnology sector turns investors to the organisational legitimacy and reputation of the analyst. Second, the organisational age, size, performance and media coverage of the security firm reduces uncertainty of the investor in the biotechnology sector. Third, the reputation of security firm flow to its individual analysts as well as from the individual analyst to the security firm. Thus, the organisational context matters in a social setting.     

The impact of formal and informal appropriability regimes on SME profitability in medium high-tech industries

Innovation is assuming increasing relevance in current economies, but being able to complete the innovation process is not enough for firms if they could not appropriate the value of their investments. Within this context, the aim of this paper is to understand whether SMEs may reap higher economic benefits while relying on formal regimes, in terms of patents, or informal ones in order to protect their innovations, which represents an under-investigated issue. On the basis of a panel regression and a cluster analysis on Italian SMEs, results suggest that firms relying more on informal mechanisms, in particular time-to-market and unique skills of employees, over patents, register superior performance.     

ICT diffusion in public administrations and business dynamics: Evidence from Italian municipalities

Public administrations have been adopting information and communication technologies (ICT) to transform their internal organization and provide better public services to citizens and firms. However, the external benefits, despite being deemed relevant, have been empirically overlooked. We first explore the relation between ICT diffusion in public administrations and business demography at the municipal level by studying the Italian context. Our results show that ICT diffusion in the PA contributes to significantly reducing the death rate of firms and boosting their turnover rate. The adoption of ICT in the PA also exerts a positive impact on the firm birth rate, although it is not statistically significant. These results shed light on the importance of promoting e-government and framing coherent digital agendas as public instruments for supporting entrepreneurship and regional economic development.     

Global Value Chains,Horizontal Intra-Industry Trade and the Heterogeneous Firm

This paper examines global value chains at the level of the heterogeneous firm. The context is a world of horizontal intra-industry trade, characterized by imperfect competition and product differentiation at the firm level. Standard microeconomic tools are employed to assess the effects of inter-firm dissimilarities in both demand and supply on firms’ responses to changes in trade policy. In this set-up, dissimilarities in firm characteristics play roles similar to factor endowments and technology differences in traditional trade models. When cross-border production sharing (“fragmentation”) is introduced into this framework, those differences in firm characteristics determine the degree to which individual firms will enter into production networks. In this context, horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade elements interact in their effects on firm decisions. Traditional comparative advantage considerations still govern the choice of off-shored activities, while direct competition between imports and exports expands the range of possible outcomes. Finally, it is shown that cross-border production sharing reduces the sensitivity of firms to variations in exchange rates, matching a phenomenon that has been observed in traditional country-level models.     

Shareholding structure, depoliticization and firm performance

In this study we use a dataset that provides information on Chinese Communist Party grassroots organizations’ political control over decision‐making in China's listed firms. Specifically, we examine how different types of shareholders affect (1) the party's level of decision‐making power and (2) the implications of party control for firm performance. We obtain two major results. First, we find that the proportion of shares held by domestic individual shareholders is negatively related to the party's level of decision‐making power. Second, we find that the existence of large institutional investors is associated with a reduced negative performance effect of party control. Our results suggest that both the exit and the voice channels may offer mechanisms for depoliticizing China's listed firms and improving their performance. This study both addresses an important corporate governance issue relevant to China's listed firms and offers interesting information in terms of comparative studies of corporate governance and reform strategies in transitional economies.     

产业技术创新联盟中企业联盟能力的构建——一个多层面互动的模型

在新的竞争环境下,产业技术创新联盟成为了企业实施技术创新战略的主要形式,而对创新联盟以及创新联盟网络的管理能力也因此成为了企业竞争优势的关键来源。文章超越了现有大多数联盟能力研究所采取的单一分析层面的做法,着重探索了影响产业技术创新联盟中企业联盟能力的组织和个体两个层面的多因素互动机制。在案例研究的基础上,建立了一个联盟能力的多维动态框架,包括组织维度的战略和结构以及个体维度的能力等因素,分别从战略锚定、支持结构和联盟思维等方面阐述了企业联盟能力构建的途径和方法,强调组织层面的因素与个体层面的因素之间的互动是创新联盟中企业联盟能力构建的关键,联盟能力是企业组织层面的战略-结构因素与个体层面的认知结构和能力因素交互作用的函数,从而为企业构建联盟能力以更好地从技术创新联盟中获益提供了一定的指导和借鉴。     

在孵企业创业导向对孵化网络协调绩效影响研究

以陕西省24家孵化器274家在孵企业为样本，运用层级递归模型，验证在孵企业创业导向、社会资本对孵化网络协调绩效的影响。结果表明：①在孵企业创业导向、内外部社会资本对孵化网络协调绩效均具有显著正向影响；②在孵企业内部社会资本在其创业导向对网络协调绩效的影响中具有显著正向调节作用，外部社会资本调节效应不显著；③在孵企业内、外部社会资本具有显著的正向混合调节作用，即当在孵企业同时具有高内部社会资本（高中心性）和高外部社会资本（高外部桥接水平）时，其创业导向对孵化网络协调绩效的影响更显著，而当外部社会资本（外部桥接水平）较低时，低内部社会资本（低中心性）在孵企业创业导向对网络协调绩效具有更强作用。     

Multinational status and firm exit in the Italian manufacturing and service sectors

The aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants of survival for Italian firms according to their ownership status. To this end, we analyze firm survival distinguishing the Italian firms in foreign multinationals (FMNEs), domestic multinationals (DMNEs) and domestic non-multinational firms (NMNEs). The empirical analysis, carried out over the period 2004–2008, is based on the Cox Proportional Hazard Model, in which we look for the impact of ownership dummies on firm survival controlling for several firm and industry specific covariates. Our main findings reveal that FMNEs are more likely to exit the market than national firms in manufacturing and services. In contrast, DMNEs have a higher chance of survival compared with the other firm categories in services. However, when we conduct a finer level of industry classification, we observe the presence of some heterogeneity in the patterns of firm survival. Moreover, we find that the presence of foreign firms has a positive impact on firms’ survival mainly in the service sectors.     

Exploring the factors of cluster linkages that influence innovation performance of firms in a cluster

Clusters being considered as the proponents of innovation, there is a reasonable consensus among researchers and policy-makers that they are the sources of innovation. Therefore, of late, both researchers and policy-makers have increasingly focused on demystifying the factors driving innovation among the firms in a cluster, especially in a high-tech cluster. At the surface level, researchers have identified that the dynamism through interactions of a firm with other firms and associated institutions is one of the key drivers of innovation in a firm residing in a cluster. However, the factors that constitute degree of cluster interactions of firms that determine their innovation levels have not been explored adequately. Bengaluru being one of the highly ranked global hubs of technological innovation in Asia, houses densely interconnected network of high-tech manufacturing firms. It is in the context of Bengaluru cluster that this paper discerned the factors constituting degree of cluster linkages of firms that differentiated the innovation performance among the firms in a cluster. It was found that the ability of a firm to integrate global value chain both vertically and horizontally through extra-cluster linkages determines the innovation performance of a firm in a cluster.     

Price discovery and intermediation in linked emissions trading markets: A laboratory study

Many new and proposed emissions trading systems involve multiple countries and regions. The introduction of interregional trading raises questions about how flexible state- or national-level authorities should be in allowing individual firms to trade with firms or authorities in other states or countries. This paper uses laboratory methods to evaluate the efficiency and pricing performance of linking trading across regions at the firm-to-firm level. In one treatment, individual firms trade directly with firms or authorities in other regions. We compare performance in this treatment to an intergovernmental trading treatment, where emissions trading is restricted to occur only between intermediaries. A baseline treatment of autarky, where firms only trade with other firms in their country or region, provides a benchmark to assess the efficiency benefits of allowing linking. Although efficiency and price discovery are both improved by allowing intermediation in linked permit markets, we find that further gains can be realized through direct firm to firm trading. Buyers in high cost regions and sellers in low cost regions benefit the greatest from linking.     

Heterogeneous firms,corporate taxes and export behavior: A firm-level investigation for Italy

This paper analyses the effect of home corporate taxes on a firm’s decision to expand the scale of its activity through exports using a rich dataset on Italian firms. Starting out from the observation that firms’ export activity vary greatly among them and tend to be systematically related to firm’s characteristics, we relate differences in firms’ export choices to firm level incidence of corporate taxes. Our results suggest that (i) corporate taxes matter at both the extensive and the intensive margin and (ii) higher corporate taxes may increase the probability of new firms’ entry in the foreign market while they decrease the export intensity of incumbent exporters.     

政府创新政策对企业创新绩效的影响机制

从创新行为和创新绩效两个角度,构建了政府的两类创新政策对企业创新绩效的影响机制模型。利用2013年河北省高新企业的数据,通过回归分析研究了财政补贴和税收两类创新政策对企业创新绩效的影响机制。研究发现:政府的财政补贴和税收政策均对企业创新绩效起正向促进作用,且企业的创新合作行为在上述过程中起部分中介作用;企业创新能力同时调节创新政策对创新绩效的直接影响和间接影响。     

Firm Organization,Technology And Performance: An Empirical Study ∗

The purpose of the study is to characterize different styles of work organization in French firms and their current changes and to link them to the use of specific technologies and to firms performance. The data which are used arc of two kinds: a labor force survey (1 470 blue collar) and a business survey (7 089 firms). We show that two main variables create differences among firms' organization devices: the intensity of communication within the workshop and the level of autonomy of workers (facing technological and hierarchical constraints). The use of advanced technologies and the skill of the labor force are positively linked to both organizational variables. Therefore. ‘Communicating organization’ and organizational innovation seem to aim at creating conditions for individual and collective learning on new technologies. They also enhance the ability of the firm to adapt to changing market conditions through technological innovation and inventory reduction, These views are supported by econometric estimation.     

The dynamic specification of the modified pecking order theory: Its relevance to Italy

This paper proposes an empirical model for the modified pecking order theory (MPO) in which both trade-off (TO) and pecking order (PO) models are nested. The MPO model is specified as an error-correction mechanism and applied to a vast panel data-set. Unlike previously estimated financial models, it avoids a number of problems: the mis-specification of dynamics, the approximation of the target leverage using the historical mean, the constrained estimation of the free cash flow components in a unique parameter. The MPO model is particularly good at explaining “hybrid” systems (neither market-based nor bank-based) such as the Italian one, in which companies are a mixture of two types: TO-type firms with a long-term optimal debt ratio towards which they converge; PO-type firms for whom the short-term availability of internal funds for investment may interfere with the process of adjustment towards the target leverage. Finally, the MPO model enables us to separately test the individual relevance of each of the restricted (“pure”) TO and PO models: results confirm their mis-specification and clearly point towards the excellent empirical performance of the MPO model. First version received: May 2000/Final version received: September 2000     

Effects of coordinated strategies on product and process R&;D

Using a game theoretical model on firms’ simultaneous investments in product and process R&D, we advance and empirically test hypotheses on the role of externalities on the optimal R&D portfolio of cooperating firms and independently competing firms. We use Community Innovation Survey data on 3,696 Italian manufacturing firms. In line with our model we find that members of a group of firms invest significantly more into product, process, and aggregate R&D than independent firms. Further, their R&D portfolios tend to show a higher product versus process ratio. However, with regard to R&D performance and efficiency we find that independent firms are superior.      

The impact of innovation on companies’ performance: an entropy-based analysis of the STAR market segment of the Italian Stock Exchange

This paper proposes the use of a class of concentration-based entropy measures as a new instrument to quantify business performances through an analysis of growth, profitability and productivity. Such measures are tested against a complex analysis of the link between innovation and performance for firms listed in the STAR market segment of the Italian Stock Exchange. In so doing, two targets are achieved: (1) the identification of parameters that are relevant for explaining the relationship between innovation and performance for the considered sample, with special focus on innovation type, innovation level and business size; (2) the elaboration of a new methodology – based on information theory – for the analysis of the impact of innovation on performance. The study shows that type of innovation and size play a key role in determining company performance.     

How Much do Technological Gap,Firm Size,and Regional Characteristics Matter for the Absorptive Capacity of Italian Enterprises?

The absorptive capacity—the ability of enterprises to efficiently absorb and internalise knowledge from outside sources—represents the link between firms’ capabilities to implement new products and the external stock of technological opportunities, such as those gleamed from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). This paper explores whether the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the productivity of Italian domestically-owned firms (DOFs) is dependent on their absorptive capacity. In particular, given the peculiar characteristics of the Italian productive system, our analysis focuses on three different dimensions of the absorptive capacity: the size of the technological gap between foreign-owned firms (FOFs) and DOFs, firm size, and the regional distribution of firms. Our findings suggest that technological gap and firm size matter considerably for the spillover effect. Moreover, spillovers exhibit a sub-national dimension present only in the northeastern region of the peninsula.     

Risk aversion,innovation and performance in family firms

An analysis of the effect of family governance on the relationships among risk aversion, innovation and performance is the purpose of this study. Beyond the level of risk and innovation, we are interested in analysing the relationship between them and their influence on performance in family firms. Traditionally, risk-seeking has been associated with innovation and performance. Our results confirm both components to be independent and, furthermore, show relationships with opposite signs as expected in the literature. In a sample of 500 firms, the results confirm an idiosyncratic behaviour in family firms; innovation contributes to performance to a higher extent in family firms, and at the same time, risk aversion is positively associated with performance only in non-family firms.