The survival of foreign subsidiaries and domestically-owned companies in Denmark, 1895–1995

Abstract

Over a long time period, 1895-1995, foreign subsidiaries in Denmark were found to have a lower survival-probability than domestically-owned manufacturing companies. The difference is highly significant and robust to control for size and industry effects. Since the number of foreign subsidiaries increased enormously throughout the period, lower relative survival rates are probably not an indicator of performance failure from the viewpoint of the parent companies. While low survival rates in foreign subsidiaries may be attributable to a number of factors (including differences between sales and production subsidiaries), this paper proposes governance differences between foreign subsidiaries and domestically-owned companies as a possible explanation. Consistent with hypothesized differences in corporate governance, domestically-owned companies are found to have higher equity reserves (equity/ assets ratios), which is found to have a positive impact on survival. For given equity - asset ratios no significant survival differences were found between the two groups.     

Nordic networks: patent agents and the business of technology intermediation in Sweden and Finland, 1860–1910

ABSTRACT

The article analyses Swedish and Finnish patent agents and their businesses at the turn of the twentieth century. Due to legal requirements, all foreign patent applications had to pass through the hands of patent agents. Despite the central role, this transnational business of technology intermediation has received only limited attention in the scholarship. The article studies the business relationships between the patent agents and their clients, and employs new datasets, which include information about all foreign patentees using a patent agent in 1860–1910. The main findings are that the transnational business relationships affected the specialisation of national patent agents, especially in Finland, where patent agents with a legal background contributed to the inflow of inventions managed by Swedish patent agents. Patent agent services also represented significant indirect costs of the patent systems for their foreign clients.     

国际投资保护对我国企业对外直接投资的影响——基于海外子公司视角的实证研究

在逆全球化态势下,以限制外资为动机的国际投资保护在全球范围内蔓延,影响了跨国投资的可持续发展。文章基于海外子公司视角考察国际投资保护对我国企业对外直接投资的影响,通过匹配国泰安《海外直接投资数据库》和OECD《外资限制指数》数据库开展微观层面的实证研究,得出以下结论：①国际投资保护在总体上不仅降低了我国对外直接投资企业海外子公司的经营效益,还降低了母公司对海外子公司的持股比例;②国际投资保护对海外子公司的不利影响具有异质性,发达国家国际投资保护的不利影响大于发展中国家,国有企业海外子公司因国际投资保护遭受的不利影响更大;③国际投资保护会通过削弱海外子公司从东道国技术溢出中获取的收益而产生间接不利影响;④母公司拥有更多海外背景高管和对东道国的文化输出分别是调节国际投资保护对海外子公司负面影响的微观和宏观因素。文章的研究意味着国际投资保护会危害我国对外直接投资企业海外子公司的正常经营,因而应对国际投资保护是实现我国对外直接投资可持续发展的迫切需要。     

Sources of and Responses to the Liability of Foreignness: The Case of Korean Companies in the Netherlands

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the liability of foreignness, or the additional difficulties of foreign companies compared to their local competitors. Past studies have found fair amount of empirical evidences for the liability of foreignness. The present study attempts to take one step further by addressing two questions: what are the sources of such disadvantages and what are the solutions sought by the companies? To do this, we conducted a field study exploring the on-going dynamics of foreign multinationals. Specifically, we collected primary data through interviews with Dutch and Korean managers of Korean multinational companies. Through the interviews, we found evidence for the existence of such disadvantages. We identified four sources of the liability of foreignness—cross-border transfer, interaction with the local government, local discrimination, and interaction within the multinational—and two ways in which these companies actively reduced their exposure to the problem—localization and unfamiliarity reduction. This study should be useful to both practitioners and theorists in international business with an interest in disadvantages connected to the foreign status of a company.     

The Danish Agro Machinery Industry in a Global Perspective, 1945–2005

Abstract

Since the mid-nineteenth century, agriculture and the agro machinery industry has formed an integral part of the developed world, dominated by North America and Western Europe. After the Second World War, agricultural industrialization speeded up. Millions of small and mixed farms in the West disappeared to be replaced by large-scale and specialized farming. The technology needed to transform agriculture was supplied by an expanding agro machinery industry. As in other fields of industry, the agro machinery industry turned into an international business. By the turn of the twentieth century, farming and industry took an even bigger step as business and technology were being globalized. The agro machinery industry that served these global markets remained in the West, however. Eventually, transatlantic mergers consolidated firms into industries for plant, dairy and pig and poultry farming equipment. This article discusses how the Danish agro machinery increasingly became an integrated part of international and global developments.     

The geography of urbanization — Sweden and Finland,c. 1570–1770

Abstract

In this article Swedish urbanization is considered as a long term growth cycle. The urban system expanded both geographically and demographically during the seventeenth century. Many new towns were founded, and urban growth rates were generally high. Swedish urban geography was characterized by peripheral expansion mainly towards northern Sweden. At the same time there was a strong tendency towards the centralization of urban resources. The capital city, Stockholm, evolved from being a medium-sized town to becoming a city worthy of Sweden s great power status. During the eighteenth century several of the seventeenth century trends were reversed: the centralising tendency ended and indeed regressed, while general urban growth slowed down, turning into an ‘urban growth from below’. Stockholm became a stagnation metropolis' and the eastern-central part of Sweden experienced an urban setback relative to western Sweden, where several towns, including Gothenburg, profited from their close connections with the expansive markets of northern and western Europe.     

U.S. Distribution Entry Strategy of Japanese Manufacturing Firms: The Role of Keiretsu

This article identifies the determinants of three modes of foreign market entry into distribution activities—arm's-length contracts, joint ventures, and wholly owned subsidiaries—and assesses the impact of unique institutional structures on the decision. We examine 310 Japanese manufacturers' entries into the U.S. market and find evidence that keirestu affiliation significantly increases the likelihood that contracts are chosen, suggesting common keiretsu membership by manufacturers and general trading companies mitigates agency problems in contractual delegation of foreign distribution activities. Regading the choice between joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries, relaxed capital and information constraints increase the likelihood that keiretsu firms establish wholly owned subsidiaries. J. Japan. Int. Econ., March 2000, 14(1), pp. 43–72. Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, 110 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1481; A. T. Kearney, 222 West Adams, Chicago, Illinois 60606 Copyright 2000 Academic Press.Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: E23, L22, L14.     

The ‘Special’ World: Stalin's Power Apparatus and the Soviet System's Secret Structures Of Communication

ABSTRACT

Two of the most defining trends of the nineteenth century were the growth of international trade and the increased role of government activities in the economy. In the conjuncture between these developments lie taxes on foreign trade. Sweden was one of the examples where customs revenue became the single most important source of revenue before WWI. This article sets out to test how this source of revenue could increase as much as it did. The analysis focuses mainly on trade policy and how tariffs were set and how that affected revenue. The results show that Swedish liberalisation of trade forced a switch in the fiscal structure of tariffs, moving revenue to fewer commodities. Increased importance was given to consumption goods with lower elasticity of demand. Trade continued to increase under fiscal taxation, which led to increases in revenue. During the early period increased revenue was achieved with higher tariffs on a few key commodities. Towards the end of the century tariffs on agricultural and capital goods became more fiscally relevant, which could have clashed with protectionist intentions. The article highlights that more work is needed on this fiscal component of trade policy.     

A macroeconomic model of direct investment in foreign affiliates of Japanese firms

This paper analyses the operations of the Japanese multinational corporations in the world economy by constructing and estimating a Japanese foreign direct investment system. This system models the determinants of manufacturing foreign direct investment (FDI), the trade between Japan and her overseas affiliates as well as the sales of the manufacturing subsidiaries and those of the trading subsidiaries. The error-correction modelling techniques are adopted for estimation in order to capture both the short- and long-run adjustment processes. Finally, simulations are conducted on the model to analyse the effects of changes in the world economy.     

冷战与东欧——近二十年国外学界相关代表性研究及述评

20世纪80年代末90年代初,东欧八个社会主义国家相继发生政治剧变,并自此走上了以建立并巩固多党制为基础的议会民主制、确立并完善私有制为基础的市场经济体制、融入欧洲一体化为转型目标的综合性历史进程。此后迄今为止的20年间,东欧社会主义作为一段完整的历史、一个政治现象,受到了前所未有的关注,并极大地拓展了国际冷战史、比较政治学、社会主义学等诸多学科领域的研究视野。相关成果涉及问题既广且深,不仅包括对东欧社会主义的历史脉络从整体和国别两个层面重新加以细致归理与阐释,还集中体现在利用新解密的多边档案对那些深刻地影响了东西方冷战进程特别是东欧各国以至苏联自身历史演进的重大危机事件进行更为深入的研究。此外,还有基于新材料、新发现、新解读透过东欧剧变对具有普遍意义的一些社会主义基本问题展开的系统反思和理论总结等。本文的要旨即在于对20世纪90年代以来国外有关冷战时期东欧研究的大体情况及主要结论加以介绍和评述,以期对中国同领域的研究提供可能的借鉴与参考。     

当前世界经济周期波动特点与趋势分析

上世纪90年代,由新经济推动的世界经济周期于2001年底到达谷底,2002、2003年世界经济渐渐复苏,进入新一轮周期的增长期。2007年次贷危机爆发并由此引发全球金融危机,促使该轮世界经济周期进入衰退期。本文对当前世界经济周期波动特点及其变动趋势进行研究,尤其对此次金融危机对当前世界经济周期波动特征的影响进行研究,在此基础上得出朱格拉世界经济中周期以及康氏世界经济长周期的变动趋势,对我国的经济运行提出几点建议。     

Foreign Holding Companies and the US Taxation of Foreign Earnings: Evidence from the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005*

I analyze US multinationals' (MNCs) use of foreign holding companies in their organizational structures and the impact of holding companies on internal capital markets. The look-thru rule in the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA) reduces the after-tax cost of foreign intercompany financing transactions. I use TIPRA as a natural experimental setting to test whether a shift in US tax policy that reduces the cost of moving foreign capital increased firms' reliance on foreign holding company subsidiaries. I find that MNCs responded to TIPRA by creating more foreign holding companies. Furthermore, consistent with the policy objectives of TIPRA, I document that MNCs that rely on holding companies gained tax efficiencies in their post-TIPRA foreign internal capital markets, reducing domestic taxation on foreign earnings and easing financial constraints. Overall, my results expand our understanding of foreign organizational structure decisions and their internal financing benefits. I contribute to the tax literature by documenting a response to TIPRA that sheds light on the growing complexity of foreign subsidiary ownership structures.     

The Current State of Business History in Latin America

Business history in Latin America has seen significant growth in the past 25 years, most notably since the beginning of this century. Although the sub‐discipline benefitted from seminal studies by British and U.S. scholars, most works of note are currently produced by local scholars. Latin American business history holds great comparative potential for business historians in other parts of the world undertaking studies in the areas of emerging economies, business‐state relationships, the role of entrepreneurship, business groups, entrepreneurial families, and foreign investment and imperialism.     

跨国公司资金管理策略与我国的对策

跨国公司全球化运作,要求跨国公司在全球范围内安排资金、人力和物力等企业资源,其中,对跨国公司的资金管理成了跨国公司各项业务的首要,是跨国公司管理的核心。为了有效推动公司全球战略的实施,跨国公司制定了严密的资金管理目标、策略,同时对资金管理技术也做了较为全面的规划。面对跨国公司全球资金管理策略,中国必须采取相应措施,在利用好外资的同时,防止外资运动对我国经济的不良影响。     

Demographic Aspects of Urbanization in Korea

Abstract

This study analysed the location selection determinants of Korean foreign direct investment (KFDI) from the perspectives of OLI paradigm and resource- and knowledge-based views. The study involved a sample of 1911 Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs) and their 3095 foreign subsidiaries during the period of 1999–2004. Specifically, the study compared the differences of foreign direct investment (FDI) location decisions (1) between less-developed and developed countries (LDCs and DCs) and (2) between chaebols and non-chaebols. The results showed that the partitioned sample model of chaebols versus non-chaebols was found to have more detailed effects on the location decision between the two regions than the combined full sample model. In addition, the results showed that there are clear, effectual differences for subsidiary scale and prior host country experience between chaebols and non-chaebols.     

Motives for Japanese DFI Survey,analysis, and implications in light of the Asian crisis

This paper assesses the motives for Japanese outward direct foreign investment (DFI), drawing on a comprehensive private-sector survey (Toyo Keizai) of parent companies of foreign subsidiaries. It shows that the motivations behind Japanese DFI outflows are many and varied, with “securing market share” constituting the most salient motivation. DFI as a means of avoiding trade frictions is relevant only in developed countries in five industries, including transportation equipment, machinery, and electronics. Motivations are found to differ between developed and developing host economies, as expected.JEL classification: F2     

Global competition and cooperation in the electronics industry: the case of X-ray equipment, 1900–1970

The electronics industry is often regarded by scholars as an example of a sector driven by endless technological innovation and major competition between a few large companies, thus embodying the common view whereby the free market leads firms to innovate. On the other hand, some business historians have also emphasised that, since the beginning of the twentieth century, most of these companies were engaged in various international cartel agreements. The business and economic history literature on this industry reveals a clear-cut divide between the inter-war years and the post-war era. In this paper, however, we argue that technical and commercial cooperation between large electronics companies continued in various forms despite the spread of anti-trust policies after 1945. In this case study, we explore the global X-ray equipment industry from its beginnings around 1900 to the advent of the CT scanner in the early 1970s. The paper focuses on Siemens and Philips, the two largest manufacturers of radiological equipment. It demonstrates that both companies pursued their commercial and technical cooperation at least until the 1970s, although it was much less overt as during the interwar years.     

A global corporate census: publicly traded and close companies in 1910

In 1910 the world had almost half a million corporations, only one‐hundredth of today's total. About one‐fifth—with over half of corporate capital—were publicly tradable, higher portions than today. Most publicly quoted corporations traded in Europe and the British Empire, but most close (private) corporations operated in the US, which, until the 1940s, had more corporations per capita than anywhere else. The 83 countries surveyed here differed markedly in company numbers, corporate capital/GDP ratios, and average corporate size. Enclave economies—dominated by quoted (and often foreign‐owned) companies—had the largest average sizes, while other nations had more varied mixes of large quoted corporations and close company small and medium enterprises.     

The competitive position of the finnish sawmill industry in the 1920s and 1930s

Abstract

The days of glory of the Finnish sawn timber exporters lasted from the beginning of the twentieth century to the early 1930s. During this period the sawmill industry was unquestionable the major industrial sector in the country, measured by the gross value of its output. In foreign trade, sawn timber accounted for about 40% of Finland's total exports. In some years nearly half of the total export revenue was earned by this sector alone. At the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, sawn timber accounted for only 7-8 % of exports and the sawmill industry had slipped far from the top, even measured by total output value.     

The decline and fall of the European film industry: sunk costs,market size,and market structure, 1890–19271

In the 1900s, the European film industry exported throughout the world, at times supplying half the US market. By 1920, however, European films had virtually disappeared from America, and had become marginal in Europe. Theory on sunk costs and market structure suggests that an escalation of sunk costs during a rapid US growth phase resulted in increased concentration; eight surviving companies dominated international film production and distribution forever after. European film companies, although overall profitable, could not take part, and after the war could not catch up. US, British, and French time series data for 1890–1930 support the theory.