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on Business Economics |
| By: | Pouliakas, Konstantinos; Theodossiou, Ioannis |
| Abstract: | The increasing interest in incentive pay schemes in recent years has raised concerns regarding their potential damaging effect on intrinsic job satisfaction, or the security of employment. This study explores the impact of both individual and gain-sharing incentives on the overall job satisfaction of workers in the UK, as well as their satisfaction with various facets of jobs, namely total pay, job security, and the actual work itself. Using data from six waves (1998-2003) of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), and after correcting for the sorting problem that arises, no significant difference in overall job utility is found between those receiving performance-related pay (PRP) and those on other methods of compensation. In addition, non-economic arguments that PRP crowds-out the intrinsic satisfaction of jobs are also not supported, as are popular concerns regarding the adverse impact of PRP schemes on job security. An important asymmetry in the manner in which individual and gain-sharing incentives affect the utility of employees is nonetheless unearthed, as the latter are consistently found to have a positive effect on employee well-being. |
| Keywords: | performance-related-pay; job security; intrinsic satisfaction; sorting; |
| JEL: | J33 J28 |
| Date: | 2004–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1629&r=bec |
| By: | Kozo Kiyota; Miho Takizawa |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the pre-exit productivity performance and asks how productivity affects future survival, using firm-level data in Japan for 1995-2002. We found that firms did not face "sudden death" but there was a "shadow of death." Future exiting firms had lower performance four years before their exit. Besides, within a hair 's breadth of death, the unobserved heterogeneity of firm such as management effort played an important role in the firm survival. |
| Keywords: | Pre-exit performance, Productivity, Size, Unobserved heterogeneity, Firm survival |
| JEL: | D21 D24 L25 |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:hstdps:d06-206&r=bec |
| By: | Cowling, Marc |
| Abstract: | A simple model of the firms’ decision to pay workers performance related pay (PRP) is tested using company level data for 1,001 UK private sector businesses. From the basic sample statistics we observe that, on average, 26.5% of workers are covered by PRP systems. Yet this hides the fact that only 50.5% of businesses have any workers at all covered by PRP. Our empirical analysis offers support for the key hypotheses drawn from Lazear type PRP models, which emphasise the relations between firm size and implementation costs, and ease of measurement, as medium and large firms are more likely to have PRP systems. However, these results are over-turned when we consider the extent of workers covered by firm level PRP systems if they are in place. Here we observe that more workers are covered by PRP in micro and small firms. |
| Keywords: | performance related pay systems; firm size; quality of work |
| JEL: | J31 J33 |
| Date: | 2007–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1619&r=bec |
| By: | Susana Iranzo; Fabiano Schivardi; Elisa Tosetti |
| Abstract: | We study the relation between workers’ skill dispersion and firm productivity using a unique dataset of Italian manufacturing firms from the early eighties to the late nineties with individual records on all their workers. Our measure of skill is the individual worker’s effect obtained as a latent variable from a wage equation. Estimates of a generalized CES production function that depends on the skill composition show that a firm’s productivity is positively related to skill dispersion within occupational status groups (production and non-production workers) and negatively related to skill dispersion between these groups. Consistently, the variance decomposition shows that most of the overall skill dispersion is within and not between firms. We find no change over time in the share of each component, in contrast with some evidence from other countries, based on less comprehensive data. |
| Keywords: | Matched data, Skill distribution, Productivity, Segregation. |
| JEL: | D24 J24 L23 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:200617&r=bec |
| By: | P. P. M. A. R. HEUGENS; N. A. DENTCHEV |
| Abstract: | Organizations are exposed to increasing pressures from their constituents to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles into their ongoing business practices. But accepting new and potentially open-ended commitments is not a harmless exercise, and companies may well expose themselves to serious risks when embracing such principles. To identify these risks, we conducted two naturalistic studies: one exploratory, the other corroborative. The results show that CSR adoption is associated with at least seven different business risks, ranging from failing strategy implementation to legitimacy destruction. To alleviate these risks, we discuss a set of managerial mitigation strategies that have the potential to realign companies’ CSR activities with their strategic objectives. |
| Keywords: | Corporate social responsibility; Corporate social responsibility risks; Managerial implications; Mitigation strategies; Strategy implementation; Trojan horses. |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:07/434&r=bec |
| By: | Matthew Dey (Bureau of Labor Statistics); Susan Houseman (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research); Anne Polivka (Bureau of Labor Statistics) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effects of manufacturers' use of employment services—comprised primarily of temporary help and professional employer organizations—on measured employment and labor productivity in manufacturing between 1989 and 2004. A major contribution of the paper is the construction of panel data on employment by occupation and industry from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. We use these data to document the dramatic rise of production and other manual occupations within the employment services sector and, in conjunction with information from the Contingent Worker Supplements, to estimate the number of employment services workers assigned to manufacturing over the period. Although measured employment in manufacturing declined by 4.1 percent from 1989 to 2000, counting employment services workers assigned to manufacturing, employment in that sector actually rose by an estimated 1.4 percent. Factoring in manufacturers' use of employment services workers does not erase the large declines in manufacturing employment since 2000, but a growing share of manufacturing work in the United States is being performed by employees of staffing agencies. In 2004, employment services workers added an estimated 8.7 percent to direct-hire manufacturing employment, compared to just 2.3 percent in 1989. In addition, we estimate that manufacturers' outsourcing to employment services significantly inflated manufacturing labor productivity measures, accounting for 0.5 percentage points of the annual growth rate from 1989 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2004. Although multifactor productivity measures should adjust for such outsourcing, available evidence suggests that KLEMS, the multifactor productivity measure for manufacturing, does not fully capture the relatively large effects that outsourcing to staffing services has on manufacturing productivity. |
| Keywords: | productivity, manufacturing, outsourcing, measurement, houseman |
| JEL: | J24 J40 D24 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:07-132&r=bec |
| By: | CRISTINA SIMON (Instituto de Empresa) |
| Abstract: | The present paper presents a quantitative case study of a large financial services organization and explores the possible links among HR and individual and business unit levels of performance. Though being highly exploratory, the study raises a set of issues that might challenge some of the SHRM well-established statements such as the assumption of a direct, linear relationship between HR practices and business results, or the use of financial ratios as suitable indicators of the efficiency of people management practices. |
| Keywords: | Case study, Firm performance, Strategic HRM |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:emp:wpaper:wp07-01&r=bec |
| By: | Giulio, NICOLETTI; Olivier, PIERRARD |
| Abstract: | We augment a RBC model with capital and labor market frictions. We follow the approach of Wasmer and Weil (2004) which model market imperfections as search processes : firms must sequentially find a match with a bank first and then with a worker in order to start production. We show that the interactions between labor and capital market frictions may generate a financial accelerator or decelerator, depending on a parameter condition. We compare our model with US National Accounts data and with the empirical findings of DellÕAriccia and Garibaldi (2005) : we find that the financial accelerator as well as real wage rigidities help in improving the statistical propqerties of the model |
| Date: | 2006–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvec:2006053&r=bec |
| By: | Luigi Guiso; Fabiano Schivardi |
| Abstract: | We contrast two potential explanations of the substantial differences in entrepreneurial activity observed across geographical areas: entry costs and external effects. We extend the Lucas model of entrepreneurship to allow for heterogeneous entry costs and for externalities that shift the distribution of entrepreneurial talents. We show that these assumptions have opposite predictions on the relation between entrepreneurial activity and firm level TFP: with different entry costs, in areas with more entrepreneurs firms’ average productivity should be lower and vice versa. We test these implications on a sample of Italian firms and unambiguously reject the entry costs explanation in favor of the externalities one. We also investigate the sources of external effects, finding robust evidence that learning externalities are an important determinant of cross-sectional differences in entrepreneurial activity |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, clustering, agglomeration economies |
| JEL: | D24 D62 J23 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:200616&r=bec |
| By: | Benjamin E. Hermalin; Michael S. Weisbach |
| Abstract: | An objective of many proposed corporate governance reforms is increased transparency. This goal has been relatively uncontroversial, as most observers believe increased transparency to be unambiguously good. We argue that, from a corporate governance perspective, there are likely to be both costs and benefits to increased transparency, leading to an optimum level beyond which increasing transparency lowers profits. This result holds even when there is no direct cost of increasing transparency and no issue of revealing information to regulators or product-market rivals. We show that reforms that seek to increase transparency can reduce firm profits, raise executive compensation, and inefficiently increase the rate of CEO turnover. We further consider the possibility that executives will take actions to distort information. We show that executives could have incentives, due to career concerns, to increase transparency and that increases in penalties for distorting information can be profit reducing. |
| JEL: | G32 G38 M41 |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12875&r=bec |
| By: | Ugur Lel; Darius P. Miller |
| Abstract: | We examine a primary outcome of corporate governance, the ability to identify and terminate poorly performing CEOs, to test the effectiveness of U.S. investor protections in improving the corporate governance of cross-listed firms. We find that firms from weak investor protection regimes that are cross-listed on a major U.S. exchange are more likely to terminate poorly performing CEOs than non-cross-listed firms. Cross-listings on exchanges that do not require the adoption of the most stringent investor protections (OTC, private placements and London listings) are not associated with a higher propensity to shed poorly performing CEOs. Overall, our results provide direct support for the bonding hypothesis of Coffee (1999) and Stulz (1999), and suggest that the functional convergence of legal systems is indeed possible. |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgif:877&r=bec |
| By: | Pol Antras; Elhanan Helpman |
| Date: | 2007–01–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cla:levrem:321307000000000810&r=bec |
| By: | Wei Chi; Richard B. Freeman; Morris M. Kleiner |
| Abstract: | This study uses a 10-year longitudinal database on U.S. manufacturing establishments to analyze the dynamics of the adoption and termination of employee involvement programs (EI). We show that firms' use of EI has not grown continuously, but rather introduce and terminate EI policies in ways that imply that the policies are complementary with each other and with other advanced human resource practices, seemingly moving toward an equilibrium distribution of EI policies. Using a Markov model, we estimate the long-run distribution of the number of EI programs in firms and find that adjustment to the steady-state distribution takes about 20 years. |
| JEL: | J0 J53 |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12878&r=bec |
| By: | Erzo G.J. Luttmer |
| Abstract: | This paper describes a simple model of aggregate and firm growth based on the introduction of new goods. An incumbent firm can combine labor with blueprints for goods it already produces to develop new blueprints. Every worker in the economy is also a potential entrepreneur who can design a new blueprint from scratch and set up a new firm. The implied firm size distribution closely matches the fat tail observed in the data when the marginal entrepreneur is far out in the tail of the entrepreneurial skill distribution. The model produces a variance of firm growth that declines with size. But the decline is more rapid than suggested by the evidence. The model also predicts a new-firm entry rate equal to only 2.5% per annum, instead of the observed rate of 10% in U.S. data. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedmwp:649&r=bec |
| By: | E. COOLS; H. VAN DEN BROECK |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study was to get more insight into what typifies Flemish entrepreneurs. We compared entrepreneurs with non-entrepreneurs for five traits (tolerance for ambiguity, selfefficacy, proactive personality, locus of control, need for achievement) and for cognitive styles. Additionally, we used these trait and cognitive characteristics to predict variances in entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Whereas the link between EO and organizational performance has been studied intensively, the examination of possible antecedents of EO remains a white space. We found that entrepreneurs (N = 177) score significantly higher on all traits than nonentrepreneurs (N = 60). For the cognitive styles (measured with the Cognitive Style Indicator), we found that non-entrepreneurs score higher on the knowing and planning style. No differences were found for the creating style. With regard to the link between the entrepreneur’s profile and EO, we found a significant contribution of tolerance for ambiguity and proactive personality to EO. |
| Keywords: | traits; cognitive styles; entrepreneurial orientation; entrepreneurs versus nonentrepreneurs |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:06/427&r=bec |
| By: | Knippenberg, D.L. van; Dick, R. van; Tavares, S. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | Integrating insights from the social exchange perspective and the social identity perspective on the psychological relationship between the individual and the organization, we propose that evaluations of the support received from the organization and its representatives, and organizational identification interact in predicting withdrawal from the job. Specifically, the relationship of support with withdrawal is proposed to be weaker the stronger employees identify with the organization. This prediction was confirmed in two samples focusing on different operationalizations of support and withdrawal. Sample 1 concerned the interaction of organizational support and organizational identification in predicting turnover intentions, Sample 2 concerned the prediction of absenteeism from supervisor support and organizational identification. We conclude that the present study yields promising first evidence that may lay the basis for further integration of social exchange and social identity analyses of organizational behavior. |
| Keywords: | Organizational identification;Organizational support;Social identity;Organizational behavior; |
| Date: | 2005–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30009539&r=bec |
| By: | Frey, Rainer; Hussinger, Katrin |
| Abstract: | Technological change is often hypothesized as one of the main drivers of merger activities. This paper analyzes the role of technology in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) at the firm level. Based on a newly created data set that combines financial information and patent data for public limited companies in Europe as well as country level variables, we apply a structural model to investigate technology-related motivations behind merger formation. Distinguishing between cross-border and domestic M&As, we find that technological relatedness of the M&A partners reduces uncertainty and the expected risk of failure associated with cross-border acquisitions significantly, whereas there is no evidence for technological complementarities driving domestic M&As. The relevance of technology for crossborder M&As further illustrates the international character of technology markets. |
| Keywords: | domestic versus cross-border M&As, technological relatedness, market relatedness |
| JEL: | C25 G34 O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:bubdp1:5194&r=bec |
| By: | D. VANDAELE; P. GEMMEL |
| Abstract: | Business companies are increasingly dealing with external sourcing agents in today’s marketplace. However, few research studies have investigated how purchased business services should be governed after the sourcing decision, during the interaction between buyer and seller. In this study, we investigate business service exchange governance, both contractual and relational, after the purchase decision and taking into account the impact of asset specificity and uncertainty. The results reveal that contracts should not just be used to establish business relationships as these formal agreements do impact business services exchanges after the sourcing decision. The two components of contractual governance, specificity and flexibility, each have a distinct impact on business services exchanges, indicating that both need to be developed carefully when drafting a contract. Though formal agreements influence business service exchange governance in the life after the purchase, informal mechanisms such as relational governance should not be overlooked. The relational norms developed during the buyer-seller interaction complement the contractual arrangements made. In business services settings, governance mechanisms are more strongly determined by uncertainty related to behavioral than to environmental aspects. Specific investments of the buyer are reflected in the informal governance aspects of the relationship, while specific investments made by the supplier are also safeguarded by contractual arrangements. Based on the results, an integrated governance scheme for business services transactions is developed. |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:07/432&r=bec |
| By: | John Forth, Alex Bryson; Alex Bryson |
| Abstract: | This review focuses on pay variance across workers, employers and across time and illustrates how theories of pay determination can shed light on this variance. We discuss the limitations of the orthodox economic approach to pay setting and emphasise the importance of labour market imperfections and the unique character of the labour contract in determining wage outcomes. Two broad conclusions emerge: first that no single theory of pay setting has an over-riding claim to virtue; and second that, in spite of the institutional knowledge generated by industrial relations, obtaining a greater understanding of the general pattern of wages remains one of the principal challenges to the discipline at the present time. |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsr:niesrd:285&r=bec |
| By: | Lawrence A. Plummer |
| Abstract: | The research uses 377 firms that filed initial public offerings from 1990 to 1993 as the basis for existing firms and follows their financial performance from 1990 to 2004. In the first year of a new firm’s existence, before the entrant has time to contribute to positive local effects, its entry is more likely to hurt the financial performance of existing firms. By the third year after entry, however, the effect on the financial performance of existing firms is positive. In the short term, entrants are foes and in the long term, entrants are friends. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sba:wpaper:07lp&r=bec |
| By: | Brons, Lajos |
| Abstract: | Demographies of organizations apply demographic methods to study change in populations of organizations. There are (at least) five relatively independent demographies of organizations. All of these have to deal with the same conceptual and theoretical problems that are mainly the result of the biological analogies on which they are based. All of these demographies lack a clear and consistent conceptual framework. Such a framework could not only help solve these conceptual problems, but would also improve the possibility of knowledge exchange between the different fields. Ontology is – among others – the scientific field that specifies such conceptual frameworks. Besides introducing and explaining this type of ontology, this paper proposes an ontology of events in the demographies of organizations. Eight basic types of vital events can be distinguished and are defined by means of symbolic logic and set theory: founding, termination, split-off, take-over, split-up, merger, essential change, and population transfer. All other types of events are either supertypes or are non-vital events. Non-vital events can be transformed into population transfer events. All demographies of organizations share these events, this ontology. |
| Keywords: | ontology; taxonomy; events; demography; organizations; firms; households |
| JEL: | B41 |
| Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1610&r=bec |
| By: | Cowling, Marc |
| Abstract: | There is increasing evidence of a widening in the cross-country dispersion in general working hours. More recently, however, there has been considerable attention given to the “long hours culture” phenomenon identified in certain segments of the labour market, in particular amongst professional and managerial staff, and potential causes and impacts of such a culture. In this study we use a large-scale European worker survey to test the validity of several competing hypotheses of why people work long hours. Our results show that there is a labour – quality of leisure trade-off for women, but not for men. Other key determinants of long working hours are industry sector, occupational status, gender and job security proxied by employment contracts. |
| Keywords: | long hours work; labour-leisure trade-offs; labour supply |
| JEL: | J24 J22 |
| Date: | 2007–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1614&r=bec |
| By: | Kleef, G.A. van; Steinel, W.; Knippenberg, D.L. van; Hogg, M.A.; Svensson, A. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | How does a representative's position in the group influence behaviour in intergroup negotiation? Applying insights from the social identity approach (specifically self-categorization theory), the effects of group member prototypicality, accountability, and group attractiveness on competitiveness in intergroup bargaining were examined. As representatives of their group, participants engaged in a computer-mediated negotiation with a simulated outgroup opponent. In Exp. 1 (N = 114), representatives with a peripheral status in the group sent more competitive and fewer cooperative messages to the opponent than did prototypical representatives, but only under accountability. Exp. 2 (N = 110) replicated this finding, and showed that, under accountability, peripherals also made higher demands than did prototypicals, but only when group membership was perceived as attractive. Results are discussed in relation to impression management and strategic behaviour. |
| Keywords: | Group Member Prototypicality;Intergroup Negotiation;Negotiation Behaviour;Representatives Bahaviour; |
| Date: | 2006–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30009545&r=bec |
| By: | Jean J. GABSWEWICZ, Skerkilajda ZANAJ (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Department of Economics); Skerdilajda, ZANAJ |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses successive markets where the intra-market linkage depends on the technology used to produce the final output. We investigate entry of new firms, when entry obtains by expanding the economy as well as collusive agreements between firms. We highlight the differentiated effects of entry corresponding to a constant or decreasing returns, free entry in both markets does not entail the usual tendency for the input price to adjust to its marginal cost while it does under constant returns. Then, we analyse collusive agreements by stressing the role of upstream linkage on the profitability of horizontal mergers ˆ la Salant, Switzer and Reynolds |
| Keywords: | Oligopoly, entry, horizontal collusion, foreclosure |
| JEL: | D43 L1 L22 L42 |
| Date: | 2006–10–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvec:2006055&r=bec |
| By: | Alexander Dyck; Adair Morse; Luigi Zingales |
| Abstract: | What external control mechanisms are most effective in detecting corporate fraud? To address this question we study in depth all reported cases of corporate fraud in companies with more than 750 million dollars in assets between 1996 and 2004. We find that fraud detection does not rely on one single mechanism, but on a wide range of, often improbable, actors. Only 6% of the frauds are revealed by the SEC and 14% by the auditors. More important monitors are media (14%), industry regulators (16%), and employees (19%). Before SOX, only 35% of the cases were discovered by actors with an explicit mandate. After SOX, the performance of mandated actors improved, but still account for only slightly more than 50% of the cases. We find that monetary incentives for detection in frauds against the government influence detection without increasing frivolous suits, suggesting gains from extending such incentives to corporate fraud more generally. |
| JEL: | G3 |
| Date: | 2007–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12882&r=bec |
| By: | Nina Pološki Vokić (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb); Maja Vidović (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb) |
| Abstract: | Traditional sources of competitiveness, such as production capacities, financial resources, raw materials, distribution channels etc., are considered necessary, but no longer sufficient for organizational success. Human resources, their knowledge, skills and competencies as well as synergy among them, become the most valuable asset, the new source of wealth, and the key ingredient of competitive advantage. Consequently, the human resources function, which deals with recruiting, developing, and keeping the best people, now has the opportunity to move out of the background into the mainstream of organizational strategy and management. In other words, in a world in which all work is knowledge work and intellectual capital is crucial for economic success, it is logical that the ability to attract, retain, and use the talents of people provides a competitive edge. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the quality of HRM in Croatia, as excellent HR policies, programs and activities enable enterprises to be competitive through people. Therefore, the empirical research was conducted. The population were Croatian enterprises with more than 200 employees, out of which 80 form the final sample (response rate of 14.3%). In order to assess the value of HRM, the audit approach based on HR indicators was used. 55 HR indicators (26 quantitative and 29 qualitative ones) were analyzed, using 10 Croatian enterprises as benchmarks. The list of benchmark enterprises was generated using expert method. Precisely, enterprises from the sample that have the best HR practice were identified by the best Croatian HRM theoreticians. Results indicate that Croatian enterprises on average have insufficient HR activities. Precisely, independent samples t-test showed that 61.82% of analyzed HR indicators were significantly better for enterprises that were used as benchmarks, as well as that those enterprises have better absolute values for all of analyzed indicators. Consequently, HRM in Croatia could not be considered a solid ground for achieving competitiveness through people. |
| Keywords: | HRM, HR practices, competitive advantage, competitive advantage through people, audit approach, HR indicators, benchmarking |
| JEL: | M1 M12 |
| Date: | 2007–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zag:wpaper:0701&r=bec |
| By: | Mark Gehlhar (Economic Research Service, USDA); Anita Regmi (Economic Research Service, USDA); Spyro Stefanou (Pennsylvania State University); Barry Zoumas (Pennsylvania State University) |
| Abstract: | The globalization profile of US food firms is mixed. US sales from foreign direct investment is now over six times the level of exports, while US processed food trade balance has moved from +$9 billion in 1995 to -$7 billion in 2004. Competitive forces drive firms to seek new areas of growth, with either portfolio expansion or penetration and expansion in new markets. Although the forces that weigh heavily on a firm are recognized, their influence in determining a firm’s action in choosing a particular strategy is not well understood. As the nature of food manufacturing is evolving and the operational scope of a food manufacturing firm has grown from local, to regional, national, and global, is there a new role for policy? What we do know is that a firm trades with other firms and that aggregate trade patterns do not fully reflect how firms view prospects, make decisions and factor in policies as they organize themselves for trade. Addressing the potential characterizations of competitiveness for the industry and the firm followed by the conflicting influences of R&D on competitiveness, we focus on what is meant by a global food firm with the use of the experiences of three industry case studies. |
| Keywords: | Competitiveness, Food Manufacturing, Globalization, Case study |
| JEL: | L2 F2 Q18 |
| Date: | 2006–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crt:wpaper:0714&r=bec |
| By: | Jensen, Uwe; Rässler, Susanne (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This paper makes three contributions to the literature on the effects of collective bargaining on the performance of German establishments. We include the analysis of firms' efficiency and we model productivity and efficiency simultaneously. Confronted with 25 % observations with missing values, we check the missing data mechanisms and find effects of firm size and collective bargaining on it, among others. After proper multiple imputation of the missing values - thus avoiding obvious nonresponse bias -, the results on the collective bargaining effects on productivity and efficiency change significantly. Finally, we suggest to multiply impute implausible zero values in the capital proxy as well." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | C15 C24 C81 D24 J50 |
| Date: | 2007–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabfob:200703&r=bec |