Multinationals and plant survival

The aim of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate how different ownership structures affect plant survival, and second, to analyze how the presence of foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) affects domestic plants’ survival. Using a unique and detailed data set on the Swedish manufacturing sector, I am able to separate plants into those owned by foreign MNEs, domestic MNEs, exporting non-MNEs, and purely domestic firms. In line with previous findings, the result, when conditioned on other factors affecting survival, shows that foreign MNE plants have lower survival rates than non-MNE plants. However, separating the non-MNEs into exporters and non-exporters, the result shows that foreign MNE plants have higher survival rates than non-exporting non-MNEs, while the survival rates of foreign MNE plants and exporting non-MNE plants do not seem to differ. Moreover, the simple non-parametric estimates show that domestic MNE plants are more likely to exit the market than other plants, also when controlling for plant-specific differences. Finally, foreign presence in the market seems to have had a negative impact on the survival rate of plants in non-exporting non-MNEs, but not to have affected plants in exporting non-MNEs or plants in domestic MNEs.     

出口行为与企业生存:内部资源、政府补贴重要吗

文章利用1998-2011年新成立的中国工业企业纵向数据,采用Cox比例风险模型估计方法,实证检验了出口行为对企业生存的影响效应及内部资源、政府补贴的调节效应。研究结果表明,出口倾向负向影响企业生存,而出口强度与企业生存之间存在非线性的“S型”关系。管理冗余和创新资源显著调节出口行为与企业生存之间的关系,有效缓冲了出口企业在国外市场面临的生存风险。然而,财务冗余和政府补贴对出口行为与企业生存关系的调节效应并不显著。采用加速失效时间模型进行稳健性检验,本项研究的结论依然成立。     

The role of foreign direct investment in the host-country firm selection process: firm-level evidence from Slovenian manufacturing

This paper examines the role of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in firm selection processes in the Slovenian manufacturing sector in the 1994–2003 period. It adopts the firm dynamics framework that allows testing of selection effects directly by assessing the impact of foreign firms’ activity on the probability of exiting of local firms (crowding out). The results show that intra-industry productivity spillover effects offset only a minor part of the competition pressure which results from foreign firm entry, hence incumbent firms experience a drop in their survival probability upon a foreign firm’s entry within a particular industry. This result is driven by foreign firm entry of the greenfield type, as entry through the acquisition of existing firms has no significant effect. The strength of the crowding-out effect decreases with the incumbent firm’s export propensity. There is no significant evidence that inward FDI would stimulate the selection process through backward linkages in the upstream supplying industries, whereas foreign firms’ activity reduces the exit probability of downstream local customers (through forward linkages).     

Firm Productivity and Foreign Direct Investment into Non‐core Activities*

As foreign direct investment (FDI) often originates from multinational enterprises (MNEs) with non‐core activities and not single‐product firms, as MNE theory typically suggests, we hypothesize that such firms are more productive than MNEs without non‐core activities as well as non‐MNE firms. We test this hypothesis using Kolmogorov–Smirnov stochastic dominance Tests and Japanese firm‐level productivity and FDI data for the period 1985–2001. We find that both manufacturing and service multinational firms with non‐core foreign investments stochastically dominate firms without non‐core activities. We also find cost‐complementarities between certain core and non‐core FDI activities that span both manufacturing and service affiliates.     

Closure within multi-plant firms: evidence from Japan

In the literature there is substantial evidence that a plant is more likely to be closed down if it is owned by a firm with other plants or is owned by a multinational enterprise (MNE). But does ownership or multi-plant status matter for which plants are closed? Using Japanese data we study plant closure by multi-plant MNEs and non-MNEs. We show that both organisational forms raise the probability of plant exit and that plants that are relatively small and capital unintensive relative to the rest of the firm are significantly more likely to exit.     

Entry in Foreign Markets under Asymmetric Information and Demand Uncertainty

This paper examines the mode of entry of a multinational firm that has less information about the host market stochastic demand than the local firm. The foreign firm can enter the market either through direct investment or exports. Each entry mode entails different costs and has different informational implications. Entry through foreign direct investment (FDI) is favored by greater variability in demand. Interestingly enough, strategic behavior by the incumbent firm, which deviates from its first period monopoly output, might be aimed at increasing the probability of foreign entry through FDI despite having to compete against an equally informed and efficient entrant; this never happens in a symmetric information environment. Such host firm behavior is aimed at reducing the strategic uncertainty derived from the foreign firm's beliefs. Compared with the symmetric information setting, entry via direct investment may occur in more cases.     

Export and Strategic Currency Hedging

This paper examines an international Cournot duopoly wherein a home firm and a foreign firm compete in the home market under exchange rate uncertainty. The foreign exporting firm, being risk averse, has incentives to hedge its exchange rate risk exposure. In a two-stage setting, we show that hedging via an unbiased currency futures market acts as a strategic device. In particular, under either constant or decreasing absolute risk aversion, an increase in the hedging volume of the foreign firm promotes its exports and deters the home firm’s output. In contrast to the well-known full-hedging result in a perfectly competitive environment, we find that the foreign firm over-hedges for strategic reasons. Furthermore, the separation result from the hedging literature under perfect competition no longer holds in our duopoly framework, i.e., equilibrium output levels depend on the risk attitude of the foreign firm as well as the probability distribution of the spot exchange rate.     

国有控股、经营者晋升和公司绩效

本文从终极控股角度,以国有控股上市公司为样本,研究经营者晋升的决定因素。研究发现:会计度量的公司绩效对经营者晋升的影响为正,随着经营者年龄、任期增加,晋升机会对公司绩效的敏感性下降;相对年度绩效,任期内平均绩效对晋升机会的影响更大,而相对于行业和前任经营者来说的相对绩效评价作用并不显著;政府的控股层数越多,晋升机会对绩效的敏感性越强,公司的中央或地方属性以及规模对晋升机会的影响不显著。     

The effect of export tax rebates on export performance: Theory and evidence from China

This paper develops a Cournot quantity competition model to examine the effect of export tax rebate policy on export performance. The main conclusions drawn are as follows: (i) when a government raises the export rebate rate, the output of final goods for export by the domestic firm increases, while the output of the foreign competitor decreases; (ii) when a government raises the export rebate rate, the profit of the domestic firm increases, while that of the foreign competitor decreases; and (iii) the optimum export rebate rate is positive and greater than 1, indicating that the domestic government not only refunds fully the custom duties paid by the domestic firm on imported intermediate goods, but also offers export subsidies for its export of final goods.To corroborate the conclusions drawn based on the theoretical model, empirical analysis was carried out using the statistical data of China from 1985 to 2002. The test results of Spearman rank correlation coefficient show that China's export tax rebate policy has significant positive correlation with its exports, final domestic consumption, and foreign exchange reserve.     

Winners and Losers during a Deep Economic Crisis: Firm‐level Evidence from Indonesian Manufacturing*

What happens to firms during periods of deep economic crisis? Depending on the nature of the crisis, the general effects are well known. However, owing to data availability, there are relatively few detailed firm‐level studies. With the aid of an unusually rich database, the present paper investigates the effects of Indonesia's 1997–1998 crisis on manufacturing establishments. Consistent with studies of other crisis episodes, foreign ownership and prior export orientation are found to be highly significant determinants of survival and recovery. The effects of firm size are ambiguous. The industry in which firms are located, in particular its factor proportions, is also found to be significant.     

高技术行业上市公司高管薪酬与经营业绩研究

文章通过我国192家高技术行业上市公司面板数据的实证分析,发现其高管薪酬与公司业绩无显著相关性,与公司规模显著正相关,非公有制控制的公司高管薪酬高于公有制控制的公司,而股权激励比例偏低,高技术行业上市公司高管薪酬机制的有效性有待提高。建议提高高管薪酬水平,完善薪酬结构,积极加大股权激励力度,逐步降低国有持股比例。     

Property rights security and firm survival: Micro-data evidence from China

The security of property rights has been found to play important roles in various aspects of firm behaviors. However, its effects on firm survival have been largely neglected in previous research. Using annual data of Chinese manufacturing firms over the period 1998–2008, we analyze the link between property rights security and firms' survival probabilities, differentiating firms into stated-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs, and considering whether the linkage evolves over time. Examining a wide range of specifications, we find that the protection of property rights, by limiting government intervention and promulgating laws and rules, is crucial for firm survival. Moreover, better security of property rights benefits non-SOEs more. We also find that the beneficial effects of secure property rights on firm survival are more pronounced for years after 2003 when China speeded up deregulation to comply with its WTO commitments and reform target to establish a modern system of property rights than for years before 2002.     

FIRM AND GOVERNMENT AS ACTORS IN PENROSE'S PROCESS THEORY OF INTERNATIONAL GROWTH: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RESOURCE-BASED VIEW AND OWNERSHIP–LOCATION– INTERNATIONALISATION PARADIGM

Edith Penrose's The Theory of the Growth of the Firm proposed a process theory of growth based on the pursuit of knowledge by the firm and unconstrained by government. In her subsequent studies of foreign direct investment by large firms in developing countries, Penrose considers the firm and government as actors in the same growth process. This paper explores the development of Penrose's expanded process theory of growth from 1955 to 1973 in which she assumes that neither dual actors nor foreign expansion requires a new or special theory. This finding has implications for the resource-based view and the eclectic ownership–location–internationalisation paradigm interpretations of international business.     

垂直产品差异、外国企业纵向控制与研发政策

在Spencer和Brander(1983)模型的基础上,本文引入产品纵向控制因素,考虑生产高质量产品的非一体化企业与另一国生产低质量产品的一体化企业进行市场竞争时,政府的最优研发政策。在企业进行Cournot竞争的情形下,若产品质量差异较大(小),非一体化企业所在国政府的最优研发政策为征税(补贴),而在企业进行Bertrand竞争的情形下,非一体化企业所在国政府的最优研发策略则是征税。     

Injury-Based Protection with Auditing under Imperfect Information

We analyze optimal protection when a benevolent government must maintain nonnegative domestic profits and when the domestic import-competing firm has private information about its costs. A costly audit mechanism can deter strategic manipulation of this private information. We show that a high penalty/low probability of investigation is optimal when the shadow price of the firm profit is low compared with the audit cost. A low penalty/high probability of investigation is optimal when there is a low investigation cost and a high shadow price of firm profit. In this latter case, the trade authority obtains truthful announcements by directly auditing the firm.     

Non-traded goods,firm dynamics and wages in a service economy

By considering the term-of-trade and volume-of-trade effects, Jones (2012) examines the distributive effect in a competitive economy with non-traded goods. This paper reexamines the effect in an imperfectively competitive economy with firm dynamics. A rise in foreign demand can generate revenue and also mitigate market distortion, whereas skilled-unskilled wage inequality can be magnified or mitigated via the effect on firm entry or exit. Thus, how to achieve the trade-off among growth, inequality and the environment becomes an important task for government decision-makers, especially so during the pandemic of Covid-19.     

股权的家族化、家族高管与家族企业业绩

文章利用2004-2015年中国A股家族控股上市公司的相关年度数据,从家族企业股权家族化视角出发,实证检验了股权家族化对家族企业业绩以及对企业是否聘任家族成员担任公司高管的经验影响关系。结果发现：（1）同等条件下,控股家族股权分配的家族化水平越高,其经营业绩表现越差;（2）家族成员担任CEO或董事长等关键高管会加剧股权家族化对家族企业业绩的负向影响关系;（3）同等条件下,公司股权的家族化更可能促使家族企业聘请家族成员担任CEO或董事长。此外,文章进一步分析发现,非核心家族成员参股企业会降低股权家族化与聘请家族成员担任公司CEO之间的正向影响关系。     

The impact of foreign direct investment in China on employment adjustments in Taiwan: Evidence from matched employer–employee data

Using a unique matched employer–employee dataset on Taiwanese manufacturing, we examine the impact of foreign direct investment in China on domestic employment adjustments controlling for firm and worker heterogeneity as well as for potential endogeneity of firms’ expansion in China. Our findings suggest that workers employed at firms with higher levels of investment in China are more likely to leave the firm, compared with workers at firms with zero or lower levels of investment in China. We provide evidence that foreign expansion in China decreases worker employment security at parent companies, particularly for low-skilled workers. Employment adjustments through employer-to-employer transitions are found to be highly associated with wage losses, with the strongest wage effects for low-skilled workers who shift employment between industries. Moreover, we find no evidence that FDI in China contributes to skill upgrading at parent companies.     

The Impact of Special Economic Zones and Government Intervention on Firm Productivity: The Case of Batam,Indonesia

Various studies have explored the effects of industrial agglomeration and special economic zones (SEZs) in Asia, but there has been a lack of data-driven analysis of SEZ performance. This paper provides a case study on Batam, which has been developed as an SEZ through government-to-government (G2G) cooperation, offering lessons for other developing countries. The study examines the effects of industrial zones, foreign investment and government intervention on firm productivity, using an ex-post evaluation method and econometric models. The paper does not find conclusive evidence that Batam’s status as an SEZ affects firm productivity and growth. Although firm agglomeration proves beneficial for firm productivity, it is not clear that SEZ policy has driven this productivity. The paper argues that government policies should stimulate innovation and inter-firm cooperation to increase knowledge spillovers and technology transfer instead of focusing on attracting investment.     

Export survival pattern and its determinants: an empirical study of Chinese manufacturing firms

While empirical studies of export entry have proliferated, less attention has been devoted to the study of export survival in foreign markets. This paper explores the patterns and determinants of export survival using data on Chinese manufacturing firms for the period 1998–2007. The analytical methods used include non‐parametric techniques and the estimation of a discrete‐time duration model. Our results show the high probability of exit of exporters at the start of the period. We also find that large, highly productive and more export‐oriented firms are more likely to export for a longer period. In addition, foreign ownership is found to be an important determinant of export survival, while state ownership increases the risk of export failure.