China’s WTO Accession and Long-Term Profitability of Chinese Firms

As emerging economies integrate their markets with the rest of the world, competition-driven changes in profitability are increasingly affected by shocks of various types from the business environment. We examine the dynamics of profitability distributions under such conditions using China’s WTO accession as a natural experiment to carry out before and after comparisons. Our results suggest that after WTO accession, the long-run (ergodic) distribution of conditional profitability rates of Chinese firms has become more dispersed. Due to the large proportion of firms at the poor performance end, this suggests that the financial stability of the Chinese economy will be endangered if the business environment were to deteriorate. There is an urgent need to reduce the widening span of the distribution of profitability at the lower end by accelerating the restructuring of Chinese companies.     

What does (not) characterize persistent corporate high-growth?

Theoretical and empirical studies of firm–industry dynamics have extensively focused on the process of growth. Theory predicts innovation, efficiency, profitability and financial status as the central channels through which firms can possibly achieve outstanding growth performance. The question is whether such high-growth performance is sustained over time and, if so, what are the factors enabling persistent high-growth patterns. Exploiting panels of Italian, Spanish, French and UK firms, we relate high growth, persistent high growth and other growth patterns to measures of efficiency, innovativeness, profitability and financial conditions. We find that high-growth firms are characterized by higher productivity and leverage, and that persistent high-growth firms do not systematically differ from other high-growth firms in none of the considered economic and financial dimensions. The findings are robust across countries, manufacturing and services.     

Firm size,profitability, and savings in Canada

This paper explores the relationship between firm size, profitability, and corporate savings behavior in Canada. It shows that the long-run propensities to save out of profits are much the same for firms of all sizes, although foreign-owned firms generally retain more of their profits compared to domestic firms. Profitability has also been found to be largely independent of variations in firm size, although large foreign-owned firms generally earn higher profits than large domestic firms. The study also finds no evidence for the superiority of the “dividend effect” over the “retained effect”. It is suggested that the relatively high debt ratio experienced by small domestic firms might be better explained by the demand than the supply side of the markets for new equity.     

Dynamics of Firm Profitability and Growth: Do Knowledge-Intensive (Business) Services Persistently Outperform?

This paper explores the persistence of profitability and growth for firms operating in the Greek service sector, paying special attention to knowledge-intensive services (KIS) and knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). The generalized method of moments is used on a rich panel of firms over a recent nine-year period. Quantile regressions are complementarily applied for KIS and KIBS industries. The key results from both growth and profit dynamics suggest that firms in KIS and KIBS industries persistently outperform firms in less knowledge-intensive service industries, pointing to strategic advantages of the former. Importantly, KIS and KIBS seem to be able to sustain their growth and profitability persistent trends even in times of crisis. Further insight into these issues is provided by the quantile analysis, the exploration of the profitability and growth inter-linkages, and the investigation of differences among various size groups in KIS and KIBS.     

CEO Pay,Shareholder Returns,and Accounting Profits

We assess the impact on CEO pay (including salary, cash bonus, and benefits in kind) of changes in both accounting and shareholder returns in 99 British companies in the years 1972-89. After correcting for heterogeneity biases inherent in the standard specifications of the problem, we find a strong positive relationship between CEO pay and within-company changes in shareholder returns, and no statistically significant relationship between CEO pay and within-company changes in accounting returns. Differences between firms in long-term average profitability do appear to have a substantial effect on CEO pay, while differences between firms in shareholder returns add nothing to the within-firm pay dynamics.These findings call into question the rationale for explicitly share-based incentive schemes.     

Firm size and growth in Sweden's life insurance market between 1855 and 1947: A test of Gibrat's law

Using data for the period from 1855 to 1947 and the two sub-periods, 1855–1902 and 1903–47, the article examines whether the organic growth rates of 38 Swedish life insurance firms are independent of size, as predicted by Gibrat's (1931) Law of Proportionate Effects. Using panel unit root tests and panel Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) regression, the article finds a significant difference between the growth rates of small and large Swedish life insurance firms (with smaller firms tending to grow faster than larger firms), a result that clearly contradicts Gibrat's Law as a long-run tendency in the Swedish life insurance sector. significant influences were also found on firm growth from profitability, organisational form, reinsurance, the real rate of interest and the Swedish regulatory environment.     

The path-to-profitability of Internet IPO firms

Extant empirical evidence indicates that the proportion of firms going public prior to achieving profitability has been increasing over time. This phenomenon is largely driven by an increase in the proportion of technology firms going public. Since there is considerable uncertainty regarding the long-term economic viability of these firms at the time of going public, identifying factors that influence their ability to attain key post-IPO milestones such as achieving profitability represents an important area of research. We employ a theoretical framework built around agency and signaling considerations to identify factors that influence the probability and timing of post-IPO profitability of Internet IPO firms. We estimate Cox Proportional Hazards models to test whether factors identified by our theoretical framework significantly impact the probability of post-IPO profitability as a function of time. We find that the probability of post-IPO profitability increases with pre-IPO investor demand and change in ownership at the IPO of the top officers and directors. On the other hand, the probability of post-IPO profitability decreases with the venture capital participation, proportion of outsiders on the board, and pre-market valuation uncertainty.     

Labor-Friendly Corporate Practices: Is What is Good for Employees Good for Shareholders?

As corporate managers interact with non-shareholder stakeholders, potential tradeoffs emerge and questions arise as to how these interactions impact shareholder value. We argue that this shareholder–stakeholder debate is an important issue within the overall corporate governance and corporate policy domain and examine one such stakeholder group – employees – by studying labor-friendly corporate practices. We find that announcements of labor-friendly policies are associated with positive abnormal stock returns. Labor-friendly firms also outperform otherwise similar firms, both in terms of long-run stock market returns and operating results. In addition, we find that the probability and benefits of labor-friendliness increase with the demand for highly skilled labor. Our analysis of excess executive compensation suggests that top management derives no pecuniary benefits from labor-friendly practices. We interpret our results as consistent with a genuine concern for employees translating into higher productivity and profitability, which in turn facilitate value creation. It appears that the benefits of labor-friendly practices significantly outweigh the costs and that what is good for employees is good for shareholders.     

Trade credit and SME profitability

Financial literature discusses the motives for trade credit provision by suppliers in depth. However, there is no empirical evidence of the effect of granting trade credit on the profitability of small and medium-sized firms. We examine the profitability implications of providing financing to customers for a sample of 11,337 Spanish manufacturing SMEs during the 2000–2007 period. This article also examines the differences in the profitability of trade credit according to financial, operational, and commercial motives. The findings suggest that managers can improve firm profitability by increasing their investment in receivables and that the effect is greater for financially unconstrained firms (larger and more liquid firms), for firms with volatile demand, and for firms with bigger market shares.     

Is ‘Good’ governance good for business? A cross-national analysis of firms in African countries

Good governance can reduce uncertainty, transaction, search and production costs, and ultimately affect firm performance. In this paper, we explore the link between good governance and the profitability of individual firms in African countries. We employ the governance indices developed at the World Bank and assemble a sample of companies from 21 countries over four years. Contrary to prior research that found a negative association between institutional development and profitability, our evidence shows that an improvement of good governance in countries currently with low levels of governance ratings has greater positive effects on the firm profitability than a similar improvement in countries with relatively higher ratings of good governance. Good governance reduces the variability of the company's profitability, leading to high-return and low-risk investments. Finally, we find that the role of good governance depends upon the country's income level. When the income level is lower, an improvement in public governance is more likely to impact firm performance than when the income level is relatively higher. Good governance is more important for the stability of the profitability of firms in countries with higher levels of good governance ratings than lower ratings.     

Outward FDI and profitability of emerging economy firms: Diversifying from home resource dependence in early stage internationalization

We investigate the effect of conducting FDI on the profitability of emerging economy firms in early stage internationalization. We argue that FDI can be an effective strategy to alleviate liabilities of emergingness, thus generating positive performance outcomes. We hypothesize that, contingent on factors altering motivation and capability of firms to diversify from home resource dependence, emerging economy firms can benefit from conducting FDI, resulting in a greater rate of intangible assets growth and enhanced profitability. Using panel data of Chinese firms prior to the global financial crisis, and through combining matching techniques with difference-in-difference analysis, we find empirical support for our arguments.     

中美银行业盈利能力比较分析

选取ROA(资产收益率)作为衡量中美银行业盈利能力的最终指标,本文将ROA分解为多项中间指标,分别从收入和支出方面分析中美银行业盈利能力的差异及原因。研究结果显示:与美国银行业相比,中国银行业在利息支出、营业支出和所得税方面有一定的优势,但在利息收入、非利息收入方面劣势明显,最终导致中国银行业的盈利能力低于美国银行业。中国银行业应在现有低成本的优势下居安思危,学习美国盈利能力高的银行先进的资产负债管理技术,提高利息和非利息收入占总资产的比重,努力缩小和美国盈利能力较高银行业之间的差距。     

The domestic content of Mexico's maquiladora exports: A long-run perspective

This paper studies the domestic value-added content of exports by Mexico's maquiladoras (export-processing firms) during the period from 1981 to 2006. We combine a specific input–output table for maquiladora firms with detailed longitudinal data on outputs and inputs. Policy shifts and major currency devaluations (both taking place in 1982 and 1994) drastically altered the foreign sourcing structure of most maquila firms and conditioned their demand for domestic inputs in the years thereafter. A long-run gradual decline in aggregate domestic value added in maquiladora exports is largely accounted for by the falling domestic content within electronics manufacturing.     

Voluntarily Disclosing Prosocial Behaviors in Korean Firms

Instrumental CSR perspectives suggest that selective investments in prosocial, voluntary behaviors are largely profit-driven, whereas institutional theory emphasizes legitimacy-seeking as a significant mechanism for explicit CSR disclosure. We test both profit-seeking and legitimacy-seeking mechanisms, derived from empirical findings of Western-oriented firms, in a unique setting to understand voluntary CSR disclosure in an Eastern context: South Korea. By examining voluntary disclosure of the 500 largest South Korean firms’ social contributions from 2006 to 2012, a time period purposefully encompassing the global financial crisis (GFC), we highlight the limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR) theorizing when East meets West. Our findings suggest profitability is not significantly related to voluntary disclosure as predicted by Western, instrumental CSR literature. Overall, we found support for legitimacy-seeking mechanisms as the likelihood of disclosure increased for publicly listed firms and those employing a larger number of workers for all years between 2006 and 2012. Further, firms affiliated with chaebols (Korean business groups) are more likely to disclose prosocial behaviors prior to, and after, the GFC compared to firms that are not affiliated with chaebols regardless of profitability further suggesting that legitimacy-seeking mechanisms may underlie CSR reporting in Korean firms.     

Government connections and the persistence of profitability: Evidence from Chinese listed firms

We find that state owned enterprises (SOEs hereafter) have lower (higher) mean-reverting rates when profitability is better (worse) than the norm; while non-SOEs with politically connected executives have lower (higher) mean-reverting rates when profitability is extremely better (worse) than the norm. In addition, SOEs controlled by the central government have lower mean-reverting rates than those controlled by local governments. Our results are robust to a series of robustness tests and a test using alternative measures of profitability. We argue that government connections help firms maintain a relatively competitive advantage and thus have an important influence on mean-reverting patterns of profitability for Chinese firms.     

Real effects of private equity investments: Evidence from European buyouts

This study investigates the effects of buyout deals on the ex-post performance of target companies. The analysis is based on a sample of 241 private-to-private buyouts involving European companies between 1997 and 2004 and a control sample of non-buyouts selected through a propensity score matching methodology. The paper explores three different dimensions of firm performance: size, profitability and productivity. The results indicate a positive impact of buyouts on the growth of total assets and of employment in target firms in the short- and mid-term. An equivalent clear pattern cannot be identified for productivity, while we estimate a lower operating profitability for buyout companies with respect to the control group three years after a deal is made. When we restrict the analysis to the sub-sample of buyout companies, we find that generalist funds negatively and significantly impact the mean ex-post operating profitability of PE-backed firms, while turnaround specialists are positively associated with operating profitability. The evidence also highlights that target companies whose lead investor is located in the same country show relatively higher ex-post profitability performance.     

Does female human capital constrain earning management: The case of the United Kingdom

This paper examines how the presence of female directors on corporate boards influences the practice of real and accrual earning management in U.K. firms. We account for the endogeneity of a range of corporate governance measures, including female board representation, with regards to earning management and demonstrate that ignoring this problem may lead to perverse results. We find that female board representation constrains both forms of earning management. Our results provide evidence that female directors bring considerable and diverse human capital, enhance board monitoring and contribute to a qualitative shift in the decision-making process in the boardroom. We suggest that boards’ gender diversity and earning management is an overlooked area in the United Kingdom and globally and may require the attention of regulators.     

Institutional development and firm profitability in transition economies

Although transition economies experience significant institutional transformations that vary in their pace and magnitude, our understanding of how such changes influence firm performance is rather limited. We examine how variations in institutional reforms and international openness in 16 transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) influence firm profitability. We enhance the understanding of this subject by showing that such institutional changes have different effects on the competitive advantages and in turn profitability of domestic firms and foreign subsidiaries. Our analysis of over 230,000 observations reveals that institutional reforms benefit domestic firms. Conversely, a completely different pattern emerges for foreign subsidiaries, indicating that institutional reforms have negative consequences for their profitability. Hence, in contrast to the established assumption that developed institutional environments are advantageous for foreign subsidiaries, the nature of institutional changes makes domestic firms the main beneficiaries.     

The hidden hand and the license raj to An evaluation of the relationship between age and the growth of firms in India

The study that this article reports on considers the consequences of nationally variable macroinstitutional environments, and the implications of major alterations in such environments, on organizational level behavior and performance. Specifically, it examines the relationship between firm age and growth for a large sample of Indian firms using contemporary data. Firms are classified as falling into three specific categories: those incorporated, or born, prior to 1956; those incorporated between 1956 and 1980; and those incorporated after 1980.Each of these selected periods defines and denotes specific policy regimes affecting Indian industry. These policy regimes have been dictated by the national macroinstitutional environmental considerations that were in existence for the Indian economy. No significant relationship is established between the age variable and growth for firms incorporated prior to 1956, while a negative relationship is established between the age variable and growth for firms incorporated between 1956 and 1980. These were the years when the command and control industrial policy regime, popularly known as the “license raj,” was in operation in India. Conversely, for firms incorporated after 1980 when market forces began to be encouraged, and the “hidden hand” started becoming visible to some degree in the Indian context, the age and growth relationship is established to be positive.The evidence suggests that entrepreneurial behavior is an extremely important feature of contemporary Indian industry. Recent anecdotes about Indian firms, particularly in the information technology sector, suggest that there has been a resurgence of industrial activity in the country. These beliefs are well borne out by the large-scale empirical analysis that this article reports on. The younger Indian firms, those which have not been imprinted by the taints of a command and control regime, are going to drive India's industrial progress forward. The “hidden hand” is alive and well in India.Conversely, older firms, which might seem to possess a stock of capabilities developed over time, are going to find that these are unlikely to be readily deployable in the future. Older firms might have had the attributes that led to corporate success in an environment where rent seeking was the norm. In the present milieu, such abilities are not conducive to corporate progress. In particular, the “license raj” firms have no capability to succeed, as shown by the negative age and growth relationship.Additionally, the relationship between size and the growth of Indian firms is found to be negative. This suggests that a process of industrial fragmentation may be taking place in Indian industry, with small firms growing faster than larger firms and reducing the importance of larger firms in Indian industry. This has important implications for the future competitiveness of Indian industry.