Using intervention analysis to assess catastrophic events on business environment

This article describes the use of Autoregressive Interactive Moving Average with impact assessment (intervention analysis) on a time series. In this case, a search was made for sudden changes in the business environment when a natural disaster struck a community. The catastrophic event was hurricane Hugo. Data were obtained from a public hospital. Admissions, outpatient visits, and emergency room visits were examined. All showed a significant increase in activity, not only for the period immediately following the event, but also for at least two years following the storm. Studies indicate that the long-term clean-up and reconstruction activities may have increased this public facility's case load in a manner somewhat different from other community hospitals.     

Evolutionary modelling of the macro-economic impacts of catastrophic flood events

This paper examines the possible contribution of evolutionary economics to macro-economic modelling of flood impacts to provide guidance for future economic risk modelling. Most macro-economic models start from a neoclassical economic perspective and focus on equilibrium outcomes, either in a static or dynamic way, and describe economic processes at a high level of aggregation. As a consequence, they typically fail to account for the complexity of social interactions and other behavioural responses of consumers and producers to disasters, which may affect the macroeconomic impacts of floods. Employing evolutionary principles and methods, such as agent-based modelling, may help to address some of the shortcomings of current macro-economic models. We explore and discuss the implications of applying consumer and producer heterogeneity, bounded rationality, network effects, social and technological learning, co-evolution and adaptive policy-making concepts into existing economic frameworks for the assessment of macro-economic impacts of floods.     

Optimal taxation of flow pollutants when firms may also inflict catastrophic environmental damage

In many industries firms affect the environment in two distinct types of ways. Firstly they emit routine, anticipated volumes of “flow pollutants”, secondly they can potentially inflict catastrophic environmental damage, liability for which may be overhanging or limited by the law. Operaters of chemical plants, nuclear power stations and oil tankers are three examples. If an emissions tax or charge is to be levied on the flow pollutants in these cases how should it be set? We use simple dynamic-programming techniques to characterise second-best optimality. We identify contexts in which the tax should be raised above its Pigovian level to take account of the catastrophic potential, and others where it should be set below that level. The analysis has significant implications for how policymakers should go about calibrating “ecological taxes” in a number of high profile industries.     

Measuring the productive efficiency of a group of firms

While the conventional Farrell-Färe approach to efficiency measurement can identify the most inefficient firms, it fails to consider the efficiency of a group of firms thoroughly. This paper introduces efficiency measures that can be used to find the efficiency of a group of firms and pinpoint whether the group inefficiency is due to inefficiency inside or outside individual firms. Furthermore, a new way of finding the revenue maximum shadow price vector is introduced to compute the allocative efficiency of individual firms when price data are not available.     

Investment opportunities and cash holdings of firms: an empirical study on Korean firms

We find that the cash flow sensitivity of cash holdings of firms whose investment opportunities are lower is significantly higher by examining a panel data of 898 Korean firms for 1999–2014. The cash flow sensitivity of investment is also found to be lower in case of low investment opportunity. Both findings suggest that firms decide to hold cash in response to an increase in cash flow when they do not have a good investment opportunity. Precautionary motive because of financial constraints and uncertainty, and agency problems, however, are not associated with the cash flow sensitivity of cash holdings. These findings imply that it is necessary to develop new investment opportunities to encourage firms to spend more cash in Korea.     

Financial costs,operating costs,and specialization of Spanish banking firms as distribution dynamics

There exists a remarkable concern among financial analysts and policy makers about the high level of cost dispersion in banking. A model of distribution dynamics is applied to the Spanish banking companies in order to analyse whether such a dispersion is so high and if some factors like, for instance, specialization factors might somewhat influence the dynamics of both financial and operating expenses. Results show that there does not appear to exist a decrease in the level of cost dispersion, although firms' relative positions are changing. Yet, when controlling for the varying output mixes, firms produce results which differ much, as dispersion - assessed by means of density functions estimated nonparametrically - decreases substantially, suggesting concurrence is higher among firms with similar output mixes.     

Measuring the persistence in innovation in Spanish manufacturing firms: empirical evidence using discrete-time duration models

This paper measures the level of persistence in innovation using a large representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990–2008. We determine survival in innovation activities using discrete-time duration models, which control for some of the existing problems in the continuous-time duration models used in previous studies (namely, unobserved heterogeneity and the proportional hazards assumption). This paper examines the relationship between the firm-specific characteristics of technological regimes and the persistence measured by innovative spells at the firm level. The results show that high technological opportunities, patents, cumulativeness of learning based on previous experience and accumulated R&D, as well as the use of generic knowledge provided by universities enhance persistence in innovative activity.     

Measuring the influences of supplier selection and supply chain tasks on firm performance among manufacturing firms in India

The primary objective of this research is to empirically probe the various aspects and variables that have been already addressed in the previous literature related to supplier selection criterion, supply effort management and firm performance. Further, this research aims to develop a measurement framework and pragmatically prove the framework through a measurement model. First, a factor structure for various constructs is made and the initial validity is determined from practicing managers and academicians. This research employs survey method and the data is collected from 358 supply chain professionals working in manufacturing firms in India. A measurement model is developed and proved with various tests of reliability and validity. Finally, three major latent constructs were formulated, namely, criterion of supplier selection, supply effort management and firm performance. The factor scores of these latent variables were used for further analysis. A six-stage approach was followed in the analysis of data. Firm performance was regressed against supplier selection criterion and supply effort management. The results indicate that the predictive variable has positive and significant effect on firm performance and they do not have any interaction and multicollinearity effects.     

The value of online banking to small and medium-sized enterprises: evidence from firms operating in the uae free trade zones

This study estimates the willingness to pay of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for a business online banking services. The estimation utilizes a contingent valuation method employing data from 400 SMEs in the United Arab Emirates free zones. An interval regression model is used to identify company characteristics affecting WTP. The results indicate an average WTP for online banking of $518.50 per month. Firms engaging in international trade value these services at least 10% more than those with only domestic operations. Other variables that significantly affect WTP include number of employees and the transportation cost of using traditional branch banking.     

Innovation and productivity in family firms: evidence from a sample of European firms

ABSTRACT

Using firm-level data, we estimate the returns to R&D investments for a sample of European manufacturing firms over the period 2007–2009. Results confirm that R&D efforts are positively related to productivity regardless of firm type (family or nonfamily firms). Additionally, we find that family firms invested more in R&D than nonfamily firms, but the returns to their R&D investments are low, emphasizing that they have a lower capacity to translate R&D investments into economic gains.     

Internal finance and growth: Microeconometric evidence on Chinese firms

Using a panel of 79,841 Chinese firms over the period 2000-2007, we examine the extent to which liquidity constraints affect firms' assets growth. We find that state owned enterprises are not affected, while the availability of internal finance represents a binding constraint for the growth of private firms, especially those operating in coastal regions, with negligible foreign ownership. Thanks to their high productivity, cash flow is, however, so abundant for these firms that they are able to grow at a very fast rate, despite being discriminated against by financial institutions. Hence, well developed external capital markets may not always be needed for fast economic growth.     

MNEs and market valuation of firms: a cross-sectional study of Indian electrical and electronic goods manufacturing firms

This paper argues that inter-firm differences in the direction of change in market valuation will depend mainly on the ‘salience’ and unique risk characteristics of the firms. These characteristics are largely influenced by mulinational enterprise (MNE) affiliation. The sample for the study consists of electrical and electronic manufacturing firms in India for 1994–1996. Maximum Likelihood Estimates of the Probit model show that even during a downswing in the stock market MNE affiliates were able to hold their own and increase their market valuation. These results hold good for a wide variety of products produced in this sector where both MNEs and local firms compete. The results have implications for theories relating to MNEs, stock market valuation and also for policy makers.     

Young firms and innovation: A microeconometric analysis

This paper discusses the sources of product innovation in young innovative companies (YICs), here defined as firms engaged in product innovation and with less than 8 years of activity. In particular, we look at in-house and external R&D and at the acquisition of external technology in its embodied and disembodied components. These input–output relationships are tested on a sample of 2713 innovative Italian firms. A sample-selection approach is applied to study both the determinants of product innovation and the factors affecting the intensity of innovation.Results show that in-house R&D is linked to the propensity to introduce product innovation both in mature firms and YICs; however, innovation intensity in the YICs is mainly dependent on embodied technical change from external sources, while in-house R&D does not play a significant role.     

Voluntary zero-dividend paying firms: characteristics and performance

We investigate the characteristics of ‘voluntary zero dividend paying’ firms and their subsequent performance. We define NDR_HP (no dividends or repurchases, with high profitability) firms as those with profits above the industry median and yet pay out zero dividends (including share repurchases). Signalling, agency, residual dividend, and life cycle theories explain firm characteristics and dividend payouts, to which we add the novel variables CEO overconfidence and market competition. We discover that growth opportunity, capital expenditure, and CEO overconfidence are positively related to NDR_HP. In addition, we find that the NDR_HP group outperforms all other groups in terms of future performance.     

Ownership of firms and efficiency: The competence argument

To assess alternative forms of ownership of firms and allocation of capital, the standard incentive argument is complemented and qualified by an argument considering competence. Regarding capital as a currency conveying decision authority for organizing production, this argument recognizes that the competence for exercising this authority is scarce. The allocation of this competence is studied as the key part of the allocation of scarce economic competence, which requires organizational change and determines the efficiency of allocation of all scarce resources, including economic competence itself. Comparative institutional analysis reveals the superiority of a constitution that requires private and tradeable ownership of firms and open entry to capital markets in the organization of supply, while it limits economic inequalities and provides for policies intervening in competence-requiring final demand.     

Arrested development: the experience of European hard disk drive firms in comparison with US and Japanese firms

This paper analyses how US, Japanese, and European HDD firms responded to technological shifts in the hard disk industry from 1973 through 1996. Leading incumbent US HDD firms were frequently forced out of the market. Leading Japanese incumbent firms in the same industry, however, were not displaced by these changes. US startup firms thrived under these technological shifts, displacing US incumbent firms. Japanese startups did poorly. European firms encountered the worst of both worlds: its incumbent firms were frequently displaced by technological changes, as were US firms; while startup firms (with one exception) performed as poorly as those in Japan.     

Relationship lending and innovation: empirical evidence on a sample of European firms

This paper investigates the impact of relationship lending on innovation (the probability to innovate and the intensity of innovation). Using a unique dataset providing detailed information on bank–firm relationships across European firms, we relate different proxies of relationship lending (soft information, long-lasting relationships, number of banks and share of the main bank) to innovation. We find a very strong and robust positive effect of ‘soft-information-intensive’ relationships, a less robust positive effect of long-lasting relationships and a negative effect of credit concentration as measured by the number of banking relationships. We also find that ‘soft-information-intensive’ relationships reduce credit rationing for innovative firms, while long-lasting relationships seem to favour innovation via other relational channels. These results raise some concern on the impact of screening processes based on automatic procedures, as those suggested by the Basel rules, on firms' capability to finance innovative activities in Europe.     

Entry and market selection of firms: A laboratory study

We study how markets adjust to the entry of new firms under different conditions. Two incumbents face entry by three other firms. When firms’ costs are equal, entry always leads consumer surplus and profits to their equilibrium levels. When entrants are more efficient than incumbents, entry leads consumer surplus to equilibrium. With cost asymmetries, market behavior is satisfactory from the consumers’ standpoint but does not yield adequate signals to other potential entrants. Simultaneous entry is in the short run more favorable to consumers than sequential entry. A longer incumbency phase favors consumers after entry.     

Asymmetric spiders: Supplier heterogeneity and the organization of firms

We consider a property rights model of a firm with two heterogeneous suppliers and analyze which sourcing mode (outsourcing or vertical integration) is chosen for which of the asymmetric inputs. If components are close substitutes, the firm tends to outsource the technologically more important input while keeping the less important one inside its boundaries. This pattern can be reversed, however, if the two inputs are strongly complementary. The firm also tends to outsource low‐cost inputs and components with low sophistication. These theoretical predictions are consistent with numerous case studies and recent empirical evidence on the internal organization of firms.     

A differential game between government and firms: Comments

It is argued here that the Nash equilibrium calculated by Gradus (1989) is not the Nash equilibrium found when applying the definition generally employed in differential game theory. The model presented by Gradus would call for a modified Nash equilibrium concept as outlined in this note.The author is indebted to Jan van Geldrop and an anonymous referee.