Agglomeration elasticities and firm heterogeneity

This paper examines three key issues encountered when estimating the relationship between agglomeration and multi factor productivity (‘agglomeration elasticities’): the sorting of heterogeneous firms, the convexity of agglomeration effects, and the challenges of identifying the impact of persistent spatial differences in effective density. We use a firm-level panel containing production data together with detailed information on the geographic location of employment, covering a high proportion of the New Zealand economy. We are able to control for heterogeneity along firm, region, and industry dimensions, and to estimate separate agglomeration elasticities across industries and regions. Sorting leads to upward biased elasticity estimates but using firm fixed effects can lead to downward bias due to the highly persistent nature of agglomeration variables. Our preferred estimates control for sorting across regions and industries. Overall, we find a positive agglomeration elasticity of 0.066. Within industries and, to a lesser extent within regions, there is pronounced variation in the strength of agglomeration effects, and evidence of decreasing returns to agglomeration. High density areas attract firms that benefit most from agglomeration.     

Doing good or choosing well? Corporate reputation,CEO reputation,and corporate financial performance

Using data from Taiwan’s top 150 listed companies over the period 2003 to 2014, our study explores the influence of CEO reputation and corporate reputation on the financial performance of companies. The analysis focuses especially on the interaction between CEO reputation and corporate reputation to identify which dimension of reputation is more relevant to firm performance. We show that, though both corporate reputation and CEO reputation have an individual impact that benefits the financial performance of the company, the impact of CEO reputation is more persistent across different time periods and more comprehensive across different industries. Furthermore, we find that CEO reputation still has a positive impact on firm performance when corporate reputation is poor, indicating that CEO reputation is more important to firm performance. To pursue better financial performance, should a company make greater effort to build a good corporate reputation, or merely recruit a CEO with a good reputation? Our suggestion here is simple: “choosing well” is better than “doing good.”     

Firm survival in new EU member states

We analyze firm survival determinants in four new European Union member states (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). We employ the Cox proportional hazards model on firm-level data for the period of 2006–2015. We show that in all four countries, less concentrated control of large shareholders, higher solvency and more board directors are linked with an increased probability of firm survival. However, an excessive number of board directors has a detrimental effect. Firms with foreign owners and higher returns on their assets exhibit better survival chances. Conversely, across countries and industries, larger firms and those hiring international auditors have lower probabilities of survival. A number of specific determinants influence firm survival in different ways, emphasizing the importance of country and industry differences when studying firm survival. We also document that, in an economic sense, determinants associated with the legal form, ownership structure and corporate governance show the most beneficial effects with respect to firm survival.     

物流费用审核业务在欧美发展及在我国的机遇和挑战

通过分析物流费用审核业务在中国和欧美等发达国家开展情况,提出了在中国进行物流费用审核业务的可行性以及面临的挑战。研究过程中,大量地了解了欧美发达国家的物流费用审核外包状况及行业趋势,结合了笔者多年在某跨国企业从事物流费用核付业务的丰富工作经验,以及多年对国内企业物流费用核付业务的了解。分析了物流费用审核业务在国内开展的可行性以及可能面临的机遇和挑战。     

Innovation in cultural and creative industries firms with an academic origin (CCI-USOs): The role of regional context

Previous literature has focused on either the direct or indirect contribution of cultural and creative industries (CCI) firms to the innovation capability of the wider economy, while the reverse approach, that is, the effect of region on CCI firms’ innovation, has been completely neglected. In this paper, it is argued that the innovative performance of CCI firms with an academic origin (CCI-USOs) may be influenced by the regional context where they operate. In so doing, it is defended that the study of innovation in CCI firms can be advanced through the development of a more integrative framework. Relying on a sample of 92 Spanish CCI-USOs over the period 2001–2010 and applying multilevel modelling, this study sheds light on how regional and firm level factors simultaneously impact on CCI-USOs’ innovation. The findings show that the regional context determines the innovative performance of CCI-USOs. In addition, firm age has a negative effect on the probability of having patent activity, while firm size and venture capital exerts a positive influence on innovative performance. On the basis of these results, some policies for fostering innovation in CCIs are proposed.     

企业集团的适度规模经济与聚集经济研究——一个基于国际垂直分工视野的分析框架

基于国际垂直分工的理论视野,界定了单体企业的适度规模经济和企业集团总体的最适规模经济等概念范畴的内涵与外延,并结合垂直范围经济和聚集经济等相关概念,从技术经济角度给出了企业集团适度规模经济的模型框架和测度方法,揭示了企业集团在地域上的合理规模即集聚程度与集聚效益之间的倒U字形钟形关系。利用该分析框架,提出了在国际垂直分工视野下,生物医药和专用设备制造等重点行业实现企业集团适度规模经济战略选择的关键在于利用企业集团的集聚经济优势和范围经济优势,并通过产品细分的差别化定位,实现大型企业集团对中小企业集群的策略性替代。     

Concerns of the ceo

Interviews with 26 CEOs across a wide variety of industries reveals their concerns as well as agenda and behavior. The issues discussed have been placed against four intellectual frameworks to get a better picture of CEO concerns. These executives frequently ponder institutional and corporate strategy but very seldom business strategy and competitive markets. The plurality of the concerns deal with issues of management development and human resource management. Where the question is one of changing or redirecting the strategy of the firm, it is often put in the context of looking inside the firm at top managers and organization culture.     

浅谈国有企业的人才管理

随着经济全球化和知识经济的到来,智力资本成为企业竞争的第一要素,人才的流动是所有行业尤其是国有企业必须正视的问题。文章从国有企业人才流失的现状入手,剖析了人才流失的原因。并就此提出了建立和健全好的用人、留人机制的措施,从而为企业的长远发展打下坚实的人才基础。     

Value relevance on intellectual capital valuation methods: the role of corporate governance

Development of a knowledge economy has changed the main value of a firm from traditional physical assets to intellectual capital or intangible assets. Therefore, the accumulation and management of intellectual capital is the competitive advantage of knowledge-based industries. Intellectual capital valuation is the essential factor in firm valuation. Scholars have presented valuation methods of intellectual capital, such as Tobin’s Q, Knowledge Capital Earnings (KCE), and Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC). Management power of modern firms is separate from ownership, and easily occurs in the agency problem; therefore, firms must implement corporate governance to solve this problem. Researchers have presented that a complete appraisal of the firm value includes the effect of corporate governance. This study is the first to apply multi-regression models to examine value relevance on valuation methods of intellectual capital, and to further analyze the role of corporate governance for the information and electronic industry in Taiwan. The results show that Tobin’s Q, KCE, and VAIC have a positive relationship to firm value. The characteristic of director board, including board size, the ratio of outside directors, employed independent directors, and the manager concurrently the director, are correlated with the valuation of intellectual capital.     

The moderating role of entrepreneurial management in the relationship between absorptive capacity and corporate entrepreneurship: an attention-based view

Despite a growing interest in corporate entrepreneurship, we know little of how managers can better utilise their firm’s absorptive capacity to increase levels of corporate entrepreneurship. Building on the attention-based view, we investigate entrepreneurial management as an attentional driver to channel absorptive capacity towards corporate entrepreneurship. From the analysis of a sample of 298 supplier companies providing products and services to the mining industries in Australia and Iran, we observed that absorptive capacity fosters corporate entrepreneurship. Our findings also demonstrate that the dimensions of entrepreneurial management differentially affect the relationship between absorptive capacity and corporate entrepreneurship. The results show that a firm’s absorptive capacity in tandem with other organisational factors may generate higher levels of corporate entrepreneurship.     

Specialization and Success: Evidence from Venture Capital

This paper examines how organizational structure affects behavior and outcomes, studying the performance of different types of venture capital organizations. We find a strong positive relationship between the degree of specialization by individual venture capitalists at a firm and its success. When the individual investment professionals are highly specialized themselves, the marginal effect of increasing overall firm specialization is much weaker. The poorer performance by generalists appears to be due to both an inefficient allocation of funding across industries and poor selection of investments within industries. Venture capital organizations with more experience tend to outperform those with less experience.     

企业成长性、CEO财务专长与企业价值

中国有一个成语叫"南橘北枳",意思是同一个物种在不同的生长环境下会表现出不同的性状.举一反三,企业管理者的才能是否也会因为组织环境的差异而发挥不同的作用?本文结合企业的成长性水平,从投资行为和成本管控的视角,系统分析与检验了CEO财务专长对企业价值的影响.研究结果显示,对于高成长性企业,财务出身的CEO会抑制企业的投资水平,易错失投资机会,有损企业价值;而对于低成长性企业,CEO的财务专长则有助于企业实现成本领先,提升企业价值.路径检验发现,对于高成长性企业,CEO的财务专长对企业价值的影响存在部分的投资水平路径;对于低成长性企业,CEO的财务专长对企业价值的影响存在部分的成本管控路径.进一步研究发现,CEO财务专长对企业投资水平、企业价值的抑制作用,只存在于具备高成长性的国有企业之中;成长性水平降低后,无论是国有企业还是民营企业,具有财务专长的CEO均能够显著提高企业成本管控水平,促进企业价值上升.     

Measuring regional efficiency: A method tested on the fabricated metal products industry in Sweden, 1973–1975

This paper presents a method of measuring the efficiency of regions as production environments of manufacturing industries. The approach is a rather general view of the firm in a market economy. The functions which the firms must perform are discussed. From that, hypotheses are made regarding the elements of the environment which should constitute the regional production milieu and thus influence the efficiency of the firms. By way of factor analysis the original variables are reduced to seven regional factors, which are put into productivity functions where their parameters are estimated. From those parameters indexes of regional efficiency are calculated.     

An analysis of non-financial factors associated with financial distress

This article examines factors associated with financial distress among 1006 Spanish manufacturings (SMEs), distinguishing high and low technology industries. Financial distress is analysed using industrial organizational theory through the Porter's five competitive forces model (external factors) and the resource based view through strategic variables (internal factors), such as training, planning, innovation, technology and quality. Two different sources of information were used in the study: Qualitative information related to environmental conditions and strategic variables was gathered through a questionnaire addressed to the firm manager. Quantitative information to identify whether the firm was in financial distress was gathered from the balance sheets and earning statements of the firms. Evidence from this study shows that environmental conditions and some strategic variables are associated with financial distress. The results found that young SMEs with low technology and in a highly competitive environment had a higher probability of financial distress. High bargaining power of buyers and high degree of rivalry among existing competitors were positively associated with financial distress. Financial distress in high-technology industries was not affected by external factors. However, firms with a quality certification have better quality control procedures that ultimately improve financial performance of firms in the technology industries.     

Strategic human resource management and MNEs' performance in China

This study tested a perspective of strategic human resource management (SHRM) and compared human resource practices among multinational enterprises (MNEs) in two industries in China. Specifically, empirical data from firms in China's soft-drinks and electronics industries were analysed. The results supported a number of basic assumptions of the SHRM model, such as those regarding the relationship among firm environments, firm strategy, firm human resource practices and firm performance.     

Property rights for natural resources and sustainable growth in a two-country trade model

We analyze a dynamic two-country trade model between a technological leading country and a technological follower economy. The output production in the follower economy needs a renewable natural resource as an essential input. We first prove that the innovation developed in the leading country guarantees sustainable growth in this economy. Moreover, trade of innovation also enables sustainability in the resource-dependent economy. We analyze different property rights regimes depending on whether the resource is managed by a central authority (a monopoly firm in the leading economy or the government in the follower country) or the exploitation rights are equally distributed among many harvesters in the follower country. The second main goal of the paper is to analyze how the ownership and distribution of the exploitation rights upon the natural resource may affect the sustainable growth rate for the two trading economies, the resource conservation and the consumers’ welfare. We obtain the standard result that the resource is better preserved when owned by a monopolistic agent (either a foreign firm or the government). When the property rights belong to a monopoly located in the leading country, the two economies grow faster than when they belong to either the government or many owners in the follower country. When the resource is monopoly-owned, consumers in the leading economy attain a higher welfare when the monopoly is located in this country, but the equivalent is not true for consumers in the follower economy. The comparison of welfares with the case of multiple owners is unclear.     

Exploring the antecedents of born-global companies’ international development

In recent years the emergence of so-called born-global firms -firms which start their international activities from their start up- has challenged traditional theoretical assumptions about the incremental process of internationalization, giving birth to the development of a new stream of studies. In order to give a contribution to this area of studies, the purpose of this paper is to empirically test a model to explain how well some factors are able to explain the level of international development of born global companies. A mail survey was conducted within a sample of born-global Italian companies, belonging to the most representative industries for the Italian economy (metal products and machinery equipment; furniture; chemicals and food). Findings support the validity of a model including five significant predictors: uncertainty and dynamism in the firm’s industry, operating in niche-based industries, markets’ and segments’ knowledge held by the founder/managers, product innovation and firms’ innovativeness, access to networks. Findings are discussed and managerial implications are drawn.     

山区县域经济特色产业的选择与实证分析

山区县域经济是我国县域经济发展的薄弱环节,如何推进山区县域经济的快速发展是建设社会主义和谐社会的重要任务,而选择山区县域特色产业并进行培育,无疑是山区县域经济发展的一个重要途径。本文对县域特色产业的涵义、选择的基础进行了分析,并以河南省西峡县这个深山区县的特色产业选择、培育进行了实证分析。     

High tech,basic industry,and the future of the american economy

A growing number of economists, public policy analysts, and government officials have heralded a transformation said to be occurring in the American economy. The American-in-transformation thesis holds that new high-tech information-oriented industries are replacing basic industries as the primary source of America's economic stability and growth. This thesis, the authors point out, overstates the extent of the changes which are taking place. According to the best available projections, basic industries will continue to be an important sector of the American economy. Further, basic industries will serve as markets for high-tech products and services as they modernize their operations. Both sectors of the economy will be needed to sustain an integrated, two-track economy.     

The effect of environmental dynamism on returns to inventory leanness

This paper adds to the empirical inventory management literature by examining the moderating effects of environmental dynamism on the relationship between inventory leanness and financial performance. While the financial implications of inventory management practices have been extensively studied in the literature, it is clear that lean inventory strategies may not have the same payoff for all firms in all industries. Grounded in inventory theory, this study explores how firm characteristics and environmental dynamism—measured in terms of innovative intensity, demand uncertainty and competitive intensity—moderate the inventory leanness–performance link. We use hierarchical linear modeling to analyze a data set of 5749 firm-year observations from 123 U.S. manufacturing industries. In line with the hypotheses set forth, the results indicate that innovative intensity in an industry increases the effect of inventory leanness on firm performance while competitive intensity has the opposite effect. The hypothesis with respect to the moderating role of demand uncertainty is not supported. Another interesting and important finding is that inventory leanness accounts for nearly one third of the variation in firm performance after controlling for firm size and growth, thus underlining the importance of efficient and effective inventory management for overall firm success.