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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2007‒08‒14
six papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | Giancarlo Corò (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); Stefano Micelli (Department of Business, University Of Venice Cà Foscari) |
| Abstract: | This essay examines the situation and the lines of development of industrial districts from the point of view of local systems of innovation. First of all, this article points out to the modernity factors of the district model – which are ascribable to the supply chain economy, to entrepreneurial dynamics and to the importance of geography as a competitive resource – through the analysis of recent contributions of economic literature that examined the emerging organizational models in knowledge economy. Secondly, the outcomes of recent research on leading companies of Italian industrial districts will be presented, looking at three particularly topics of ongoing changes: the process of international opening of the value chain, the technological conditions of competitive advantage, the relationship between strategies and economic performance. Finally, some considerations on the issue of policies will be developed. Such considerations underline the need to re-think the traditional models of local governance of development and suggest to look at the new external district economies, based on service economies, on much more considerable investments in training, technological and cultural activities and, finally, on more aware institutional actions with reference to the association of companies in innovation projects. |
| Keywords: | Industrial districts, Innovation Systems, Entrepreneurship, Global Value Chain |
| JEL: | L26 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:04_07&r=cse |
| By: | Dirk Hackbarth (Department of Finance, Olin School of Business, Washington University in St. Louis); Jianjun Maio (Department of Economics, Boston University and Department of Finance, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a continuous time real options model to study the interaction between industry structure and takeover activity. In an asymmetric industry equilibrium, firms have an endogenous incentive to merge when restructuring decisions are motivated by operating and strategic benefits. The model predicts that (i) the likelihood of restructuring activities is greater in more concentrated industries or in industries that are more exposed to exogenous shocks; and (ii) the magnitude of returns arising from restructuring to both merger firms and rival firms are higher in more concentrated industries. While recent real options models contend that competition erodes the option value of waiting and hence accelerates the timing of mergers, in our model, increased competition delays the timing of mergers. |
| Keywords: | industry structure; anticompetitive effect; real options; takeovers. |
| JEL: | G13 G14 G31 G34 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bos:wpaper:wp2007-018&r=cse |
| By: | Mark Sanders; Jaap Bos; Claire Economidou |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we present a model of the industry life cycle that drives and is driven by R&D. In the model, firms have the option to improve the quality of their output or to invest R&D resources in efficiency gains. Faced with this tradeoff, less mature industries, in which young firms dominate, opt for quality improvements instead of efficiency improvements, whereas more mature industries will do both. This switch is endogenous and depends on the level of quality achieved. We explore these two hypotheses empirically using a panel of manufacturing industries across six European countries over the period 1980-1997. Our empirical results provide support for the model's predictions. |
| Keywords: | Growth, Life Cycle, Innovation, Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Manufacturing Industries |
| JEL: | C23 L23 L60 O32 O47 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:use:tkiwps:0718&r=cse |
| By: | Melecky, Martin |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes results of a survey on debt management strategies conducted by the Banking and Debt Management Department of the World Bank. The analysis focuses on (1) whether a public debt management strategy exists in a given country, (2) whether it is made public, and (3) in which form it is imparted. The paper analyzes the distribution of the latter characteristics over different regions, income groups, and levels of indebtedness using graphical analysis. Using regression analysis, it investigates the extent to which basic economic f actors can explain the characteristics of public debt management strategies across countries. |
| Keywords: | External Debt,Debt Markets,,Public Sector Economics & Finance,Economic Theory & Research |
| Date: | 2007–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4287&r=cse |
| By: | Reena Aggarwal; Isil Erel; René Stulz; Rohan Williamson |
| Abstract: | Using an index which increases as a firm adopts more governance attributes, we find that 12.7% of foreign firms have a higher index than matching U.S. firms. The best predictor for whether a foreign firm adopts more governance attributes than a comparable U.S. firm is whether the firm comes from a common law country. We show that the value of foreign firms is negatively related to the difference between their governance index and the index of matching U.S. firms. This relation is robust to various approaches to control for the endogeneity of corporate governance and is consistent with the hypothesis that foreign firms are valued less because country characteristics make it suboptimal for them to invest as much in governance as comparable U.S. firms. Overall, our evidence suggests that firm-level governance attributes are complementary to rather than substitutes for country-level investor protection, so that better country-level investor protection makes it optimal for firms to invest more in internal governance. Our evidence supports the view that minority shareholders of a typical foreign firm would benefit from an increase in investment in governance, but that the firm's controlling shareholder and possibly other stakeholders would not. |
| JEL: | G30 G32 G34 G38 K22 |
| Date: | 2007–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13288&r=cse |
| By: | Stefanie Haller (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)); Iula Traistaru-Siedschlag (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines factors driving ICT adoption at firm level. We use a novel data set including information on ICT and e-commerce in Irish manufacturing firms over the period 2001-2004 and estimate a model derived from the new technology adoption literature that relates ICT adoption indicators to two sets of factors: characteristics of firms and characteristics of the environment in which firms operate. Our research results indicate that the adoption of ICT in Irish manufacturing has been uneven across firms, industries and space. On average, other things equal, firms with more skilled workers, operating in ICT producing and ICT using industries, located in the capital city region have been relatively more successful in adopting and using ICT. To a certain extent, patterns of ICT adoption have been different for domestic and foreign-owned firms, in particular with respect to the effects of international competitive pressure and firm size. |
| Keywords: | ICT adoption, Human capital, Industrial structure, Information spillovers |
| JEL: | L21 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp204&r=cse |