scholarly journals TFP determinants in the manufacturing sector: the case of Ecuadorian firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Segundo Camino-Mogro
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Competition Intensity ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Technological Intensity ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Using a large firm-level data set, this paper examines total factor productivity (TFP) and its determinants in the Ecuadorian manufacturing sector in the period 2007–2018. Design/methodology/approach I analyze the role played by traditional TPF determinants, including internal firm characteristics, international trade activities, financial constraints and competition intensity. I contribute to the literature by presenting quantile regression results. Moreover, I analyze industry patterns, distinguishing between industries according to their technological intensity (following the organisation for economic co-operation and development classification). Findings My results confirm that firm age is positively related to TFP level but negatively related to TFP growth. I also find that being an exporter and an importer at the same time is associated with higher TFP levels and that this effect is higher than when being only an exporter or an importer. Additionally, l find that credit is positively related to TFP levels. Finally, I find that more competition is positively related to productivity in lower quantiles of output. Practical implications The results are the source of tools to propose policy recommendations, which are stated in the present document. Originality/value This paper aims to reopen the debate of firm productivity determinants in a developing country such as Ecuador. The authors use a set of covariates less analyzed in this issue.

Using the eurostat-OECD definition of high-growth firms: a cautionary note

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven-Olov Daunfeldt ◽  
Dan Johansson ◽  
Daniel Halvarsson
Keyword(s):  
Small Firms ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Growth Firms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – High-growth firms (HGFs) have attracted an increasing amount of attention from researchers and policymakers, and the Eurostat-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) definition of HGFs has become increasingly popular. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a longitudinal firm-level data set to analyze the implications of using the Eurostat-OECD definition. Findings – The results indicate that this definition excluded almost 95 percent of surviving firms in Sweden, and about 40 percent of new private jobs during 2005-2008. Research limitations/implications – The proportion of small firms and their growth patterns differ across countries, and the authors therefore advise caution in using this definition in future studies. Practical implications – Policy based on the Eurostat-OECD definition of HGFs might be misleading or even counterproductive. Originality/value – No previous studies have analyzed the implications of using the Eurostat-OECD definition of HGFs.

The effect of industry association on firm innovation in Chinese private ventures

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 2414-2435
Author(s):  
Wenge Zhang ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Yiyuan Mai
Keyword(s):  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Firm Innovation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Industry Association ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emerging Industries ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Firm Learning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between industry association membership and firm innovation in Chinese private ventures. A secondary objective is to investigate potential moderating effects of firm learning practices and founder characteristics on the above relationship, and to draw out implications for policymakers and practitioners. Design/methodology/approach The paper utilizes data from a sample of 567 Chinese entrepreneurial firms operating in 9 designated emerging industries. Hierarchical regression models were employed to analyze the effect of industry association membership on firm innovation, and the potential moderating effects. A 2SLS procedure was adopted to control for potential endogeneity issue. Supplemental analyses were conducted to ensure the robustness of the findings. Findings The paper provides empirical insights about how industry association membership, along with firm learning practice and founder leadership, affect firm innovation in Chinese private ventures in emerging industries. It suggests that industry association membership positively affects firm innovation. Further, there is a three-way interaction effect of industry association membership, learning practice and founder power on innovation. Research limitations/implications Due to the design of the data set, there are some limitations. First, the study only considered whether a firm belongs to an industry association, but not the nature of such membership (length, firm status in the association, etc.). Second, the cross-sectional design may limit the power of the study to make casual implications about the tested relationships. Practical implications The paper provides important practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs in China. In general, the results suggest that private ventures pursuing innovation in emerging industries can benefit from industry associations, and entrepreneurs shall actively engage in firm-level and personal-level learning. For policymakers, the study suggests that to foster innovation in an emerging industry, special attention shall be paid to building necessary institutional support to develop and to strengthen the role of industry association in the industry. Originality/value This paper fulfills an important gap in the literature in that it is one of the first, which investigates the role of the industry association in firm innovation, especially in a non-western context. This paper provides new insights into the role of industry association and firm innovation in an under-researched developing economy context.

Corporate tax planning and corporate tax disclosure

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-364
Author(s):  
Mahfoudh Hussein Mgammal
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Tax Planning ◽  
Corporate Tax ◽  
Effective Tax Rate ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of corporate tax planning (TP) on tax disclosure (TD). Using tax expenses data set, with the detailed effective tax rate (ETR) by reconciling individual items of income and expenses. Design/methodology/approach A firm-level panel data set is used to analyse 286 non-financial listed companies on Bursa Malaysia that spans the period 2010-2012. Multivariate statistical analyses were run on the sample data. The empirical understanding of TD depends on public sources of data in the financial statement, characterized in the aggregated note of tax expenses. Fitting with Malaysian environment, the authors measured TD using modified ETR reconciling items. Findings Results show that TP, exhibit a robust positive influence on TD. This suggests that TP is related to lower corporate TD. In addition, companies with high TP attempt to mitigate the disclosure problem by increasing various TD. The authors further find significant positive impact between each of firm size and industry dummy, on TD. This means that company-specific characteristics are significant factors affecting corporate TD. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the literature on the effect of TP on TD. It depends on both the signalling theory and the Scholes–Wolfson framework, which are the main theories concerned with TP and TD. Therefore, from a theoretical side, the authors add to the current theories by verifying that users are the party influenced whether positively or negatively, by the extent of TD or the extent of TP activities through Malaysian organizations. Practical implications The evidence found in this paper has important policy and practical implications for the authorities, researchers, decision makers and company managers. The findings can provide them some relevant insights on the importance of TP actions from companies’ perspective and contribute to the discussion of who verifies and deduces from TD directed by companies. Originality/value This paper originality is regarded as the first attempt to examine the impact of TP on TD in a developing country such as Malaysia. Malaysian setting is an interesting one to examine because Malaysia could be similar to other countries in Southeast Asia. Results contribute significant insights to the discussion about TD regarding, which parties are responsible for the verification of TD by firms, and which parties benefit from this disclosure. Findings suggest that companies face a trade-off between tax benefits and TD when selecting the type of their TP.

Gender discrimination and firms’ profit: evidence from Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 801-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjun Liu ◽  
Tomokazu Nomura ◽  
Shoji Nishijima
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Productivity Shocks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Discrimination Model ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Female Employees ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose This paper investigates discrimination against women within the Brazilian labour market using firm-level data from the World Bank Investment Climate Survey. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the female employees in the Brazilian labour market are paid less than their productivity warrants due to the existence of discrimination. Design/methodology/approach Based on employer discrimination model proposed by Becker (1971) that considered the proportion of female employees as a proxy for the extent of discrimination, the authors estimate the profit function using OLS analysis, and regress it on the proportion of female employees and other firm characteristics. To address the endogeneity problem caused by unobservable productivity shocks, the authors employed the methods proposed by Olley and Pakes (1996) and Levinsohn and Petrin (2003), respectively. Findings The results indicate that the proportion of female employees has positive effect on firms’ profit in 2002, but has no effect in 2007. This finding gives evidence of the existence of discrimination against female employees within the Brazilian labour market in the early 2000s, while the gender discrimination was reduced overtime. Originality/value This paper’s main contribution is to provide an approach that differs from that of previous research to determine whether discrimination exists within the Brazilian labour market. This paper also provides policy insights for Brazilian labour market.

Does location in a science park really matter for firms’ intellectual capital performance?

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Schiavone ◽  
Antonio Meles ◽  
Vincenzo Verdoliva ◽  
Manlio Del Giudice
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Science Park ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Science System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of being located in a science park (SP) on the level of a firm's intellectual capital (IC) performance. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 183 Italian firms (i.e. 61 tenant and 122 non-tenant firms), and through the GLS technique, the authors regress the firms’ IC performance across various explicative variables including a dummy that discriminates tenant and non-tenant firms. Findings – Consistently with expectations, the results show that the location of a firm in a SP leads to improved IC performance. Moreover, the authors find that some other firm characteristics, such as size, age, and leverage, are important predictors of its IC-based performance. Research limitations/implications – The sample is small and the impact on performance might be biased by factors related to the regional context (e.g. level of industrialization, quality of education, and science system). Practical implications – Implications for policy makers: support the growth of firms in SPs especially in those industries full of firms with scarce performance in IC. Implications for SP managers: they could “sell” (in terms of marketing) to both entrepreneurs to attract and policy makers this result. Implications for institutional investors: they should look at SPs with greater interest to find high-quality firms and improve their screening activity. Originality/value – This paper aims to extend literature about factors explaining the level of a firm's IC performance and the current understanding of the impact of SPs at firm level.

Doing good does not preclude doing well: corporate responsibility and financial performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 764-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jegoo Lee ◽  
Samuel B. Graves ◽  
Sandra Waddock
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Corporate Responsibility ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Windows Of Opportunity ◽  
Business Cases ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to propose and test a modified interpretation of long-standing issues on the corporate responsibility (CR)–corporate financial performance (CFP) relationship: companies involved in CR are in general no better and no worse in their level of financial performance than companies without such engagement because of the trade-off between benefit and cost at firm level and imbalance between supply and demand at industry (market) level. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply this frame to a data set with more than 12,000 observations over a 14-year period, using confidence intervals, as a useful and statistically valid approach for testing the null hypothesis. Findings The present study’s findings support neutrality between CR and CFP at the firm and industry levels, implying that a firm’s CR involvement neither penalizes nor improves its CFP. Research limitations/implications CR activities may provide windows of opportunity for companies but do not systematically improve financial performance. Practical implications “Doing good” is not a panacea for corporate achievement with respect to market-facing activities. For firms to succeed, instead, they need to create and implement their business cases and models by converting their involvement in CR activities into drivers for better outcomes because investments in CR practices do alone not guarantee improved financial performance. Originality/value The innovations in this study are twofold. Conceptually, this paper proposes a comprehensive approach for a neutral CR–CFP linkage. Empirically, it introduces a novel and appropriate method for testing neutrality. These will mark an important advance in the theoretical and empirical debates over CR and CFP.

FDI and incumbent R&D behavior: evidence from Indian manufacturing sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qayoom Khachoo ◽  
Ruchi Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Foreign Firms ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Domestic Firms ◽  
Indian Manufacturing Sector ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Two Step Estimation

Purpose The study is an attempt to analyze the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on research and development (R&D) behavior of incumbent firms’, both domestic and foreign, operating in Indian manufacturing sector. FDI inflows into the host country escalates the level of competition compelling domestic as well as existing foreign firms to adjust their spending on R&D. The purpose of this paper is to propose that response of domestic and existing foreign firms to the FDI entry vary, with domestic firms increasing their spending on R&D whereas foreign firms reducing it. Design/methodology/approach Using a rich firm level data set from Indian manufacturing for the period 2000-2012, the study utilizes Heckman’s two- step estimation strategy to estimate the impact of FDI entry on R&D behavior of incumbents. Findings FDI entry significantly increases the tendency of domestic and foreign firms to invest in R&D; however, the impact on R&D intensity for both domestic and foreign firms appears to be minimal. Originality/value The study contributes to the existing literature on two fronts. One, unlike other studies, it examines the impact of FDI entry not only on R&D behavior of domestic firms but also on the R&D behavior of existing foreign firms. Second, it addresses the problem of selection bias that has been largely ignored by majority of empirical studies on R&D.

The impact of training on productivity: evidence from a panel of Italian firms

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1140-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio Colombo ◽  
Luca Stanca
Keyword(s):  
Unobserved Heterogeneity ◽  
Occupational Groups ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Training Activity ◽  
Blue Collar Workers ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Effective Training ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of training activity on labor productivity in a panel of Italian firms. Design/methodology/approach – The use of a large panel data of individual firms allows the author to properly account for the possible endogeneity of training activity and avoid aggregation biases typical in industry-level data. Findings – The paper finds that training has a positive and significant impact on productivity. While unobserved heterogeneity leads to overestimate the impact of training, failing to account for the endogeneity of training leads to underestimate its effects on productivity. Within occupational groups, training has large and significant effects for blue-collar workers, while the effects for executives and clerks are relatively small. Finally, using a measure of effective training intensity the paper finds that failing to account for training duration may lead to underestimate the effect of training on productivity. Originality/value – Our data set is unique in terms of size and coverage and overcomes several limitations of previous research using firm-level data. Moreover, besides estimating the overall effect of training on productivity, the paper allows to address some more specific questions. Does the effect of training depend on the type of worker being trained? What is the relevance of effective participation to training activity?

Personnel policy adjustments when apprentice positions are unfilled

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 958-978
Author(s):  
Tina Hinz
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Personnel Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Apprenticeship Training ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Iab Establishment Panel ◽  
Policy Adjustments ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose German establishments face increasing difficulties in filling their apprentice positions. Thus, firms are less able to train (and later retain) their own skilled workforce. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the firms’ personnel policy adjustments in response to unfilled apprentice positions. Design/methodology/approach To estimate the within-firm personnel policy adjustments when unfilled apprentice positions arise, fixed effects panel estimations are applied to a large German establishment-level data set, the IAB Establishment Panel (2008–2016). Findings The estimates indicate that some firms post slightly more apprentice positions in the period after facing unfilled apprentice positions. Moreover, the results reveal that affected craft establishments in urban regions retain more apprenticeship graduates. Besides of these findings, there are no indications of emphasised personnel policy adjustments. Practical implications The multivariate results do not support the claim that training firms may abstain from apprenticeship training when facing unfilled apprentice positions. Originality/value The study shows first evidence of firms’ personnel policy adjustments when apprentice positions remain vacant in Germany, a country with a traditionally high relevance of apprenticeship training.

Wage differentials between foreign invested and domestic enterprises in the manufacturing

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1056-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kien Trung Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Wage Differentials ◽  
Wage Differential ◽  
Capital Intensity ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Size Firm ◽  
Unskilled Workers ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of trade and investment liberalization on the wage skill premium between skilled and unskilled workers in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach – An analysis is undertaken by means of descriptive statistics and econometric investigation using a firm-level data set from the Enterprise Survey of Vietnam. Findings – It is shown that there has been a positive wage differential between foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and domestic enterprises over the period 2000-2009. More importantly, the FIE-domestic wage differentials are found to be significantly positive after accounting for differences in capital intensity, size, firm location, and industry features. Furthermore, statistical evidence shows that these wage differentials narrowed over the period 2006-2009. Originality/value – One of the first study examines the FIE-domestic wage differentials given the outward-oriented economic reforms since 2000 in Vietnam.

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