Does R&D create additional business value through IT?

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Tie-nan Wang ◽  
Xin Li

Purpose R&D indicates absorptive capacity, which may affect IT payoff. The purpose of this paper is to examine how R&D investment affects the relation between IT investment and firm performance and under what circumstances R&D intensity is more beneficial to IT returns. Such study has been lacking in R&D research and IT payoff literature. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model for linking IT investment, R&D investment, environmental dynamism and firm performance was developed and tested by data collected from Chinese listed firms from 2007 to 2013, using fixed effects regression model. Findings The results show positive moderating effects of firm R&D investment and government R&D subsidies on the relation between IT investment and firm performance. Furthermore, the impact of firm R&D investment on IT payoff is stronger for firms in more dynamic environments. The findings suggest that R&D investment creates additional business value through interactions with IT, and complementarities between R&D and IT, as manifested in their interaction effect on firm performance vary across industry sectors. Research limitations/implications This paper indicates the importance of complementarities between R&D and IT, which should prove helpful to researchers and practitioners engaged in Chinese business. Originality/value This paper presents one of the first attempts at examining the moderating effect of R&D investment on the relation between IT investment and firm performance. Especially this study helps to understand under what circumstances R&D investment is more or less likely to be beneficial to IT returns.

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 1110-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Kipkirong Tarus ◽  
Federico Aime

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of boards’ demographic diversity on firms’ strategic change and the interaction effect of firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – This paper used secondary data derived from publicly listed firms in Kenya during 2002-2010 and analyzed the data using fixed effects regression model to test the effect of board demographic and strategic change, while moderated regression analysis was used to test the moderating effect of firm performance. Findings – The results partially supported board demographic diversity–strategic change hypothesis. In particular, results indicate that age diversity produces less strategic change, while functional diversity is associated with greater levels of strategic change. The moderated regression results do not support our general logic that high firm performance enhances board demographic diversity–strategic change relationship. In effect, the results reveal that at high level of firm performance, board demographic diversity produces less strategic change. Originality/value – Despite few studies that have examined board demographic diversity and firm performance, this paper introduces strategic change as an outcome variable. This paper also explores the moderating role of firm performance in board demographic diversity–strategic change relationship, and finally, the study uses Kenyan dataset which in itself is unique because most governance and strategy research uses data from developed countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 129 (622) ◽  
pp. 2390-2423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Flabbi ◽  
Mario Macis ◽  
Andrea Moro ◽  
Fabiano Schivardi

Abstract We investigate the effects of female executives on gender-specific wage distributions and firm performance. Female leadership has a positive impact at the top of the female wage distribution and a negative impact at the bottom. The impact of female leadership on firm performance increases with the share of female workers. We account for the endogeneity induced by non-random executives’ gender by including firm fixed-effects, by generating controls from a two-way fixed-effects regression and by using instruments based on regional trends. The findings are consistent with a model of statistical discrimination in which female executives are better at interpreting signals of productivity from female workers. This suggests substantial costs of women under-representation among executives.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-201
Author(s):  
Marina Koelbl

PurposeThis study examines whether language disclosed in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) of US Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) provides signals regarding future firm performance and thus generates a market response.Design/methodology/approachThis research conducts textual analysis on a sample of approximately 6,500 MD&As of US REITs filed by the SEC between 2003 and 2018. Specifically, the Loughran and Mcdonald (2011) financial dictionary, and a custom dictionary for the real estate industry created by Ruscheinsky et al. (2018), are employed to determine the inherent sentiment, that is, the level of pessimistic or optimistic language for each filing. Thereafter, a panel fixed-effects regression enables investigating the relationship between sentiment and future firm performance, as well as the markets’ reaction.FindingsThe empirical results suggest that higher levels of pessimistic (optimistic) language in the MD&A predict lower (higher) future firm performance. Hereby, the use of a domain-specific real estate dictionary, namely that developed by Ruscheinsky et al. (2018) leads to superior results. Corresponding to the notion that the human psyche is affected more strongly by negative than positive news (Rozin and Royzman, 2001), the market responds solely to pessimistic language in the MD&A.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that the market can benefit from textual analysis, as investigating the language in the MD&A reduces information asymmetries between US REIT managers and investors.Originality/valueThis is the first study to analyze exclusively US REITs, whether language in the MD&A is predictive of future firm performance and whether the market responds to textual sentiment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 486-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Ying Lee

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze product diversification, business structure and insurer performance with a comprehensive look at the property-liability (P/L) insurance operations. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel data, this study employs an ordinary least squares regression model, fixed effects model and random effects model to examine the impact of product diversification and business structure on the performance of P/L insurers. The study assesses insurer performance using both risk-adjusted return on assets and risk-adjusted return on equity. Findings The study finds that product diversification is significantly negatively related to the performance of P/L insurers. The results are consistent with the diversification discount theory. The empirical results reveal that business lines have significant impacts on firm performance, particularly on the lines of fire and marine insurances. Furthermore, the interaction between product diversification and firm size implies that product diversification significantly increases the performance of large-sized insurance firms. Originality/value The study provides some valuable insights into the effects of diversification and business structure on the performance of P/L insurers in a developing country. The study’s findings suggest that management of P/L insurers should clarify their objectives and carefully assess the company’s resources when dealing with product diversification and business structure. The results have practical implications for the financial services industry in Taiwan.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 663-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Delbufalo ◽  
Sara Poggesi ◽  
Simone Borra

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of product and geographic diversification on the performance of Italian manufacturing firms and evaluate the moderating role of family involvement. Design/methodology/approach – The hypotheses have been tested by using a fixed-effects panel data regression model. Findings – Results show a linear relationship between product diversification and firm performance and an inverted U-shaped relationship between geographic diversification and firm performance. Moreover, when considering the status of the family firm, family ties have a negative moderating role on the performance of companies that are product and internationally diversified. Originality/value – By providing theoretical explanations and empirical evidence, the study extends the diversification-performance research by testing this relationship in an unexplored context (i.e. Italy), and by identifying a still not well explored contingency factor (i.e. family involvement). In doing so, diversification and family involvement literatures are brought together and the results show the importance of the type of owner regarding the impact of product and international diversification on firm performance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrews Owusu ◽  
Charlie Weir

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact corporate governance, measured by a governance index, on the performance of listed firms in a developing economy, Ghana. It also evaluates the effect of the introduction of a code of corporate governance on compliance rates across Ghanaian firms as well as assessing the impact of the code’s introduction on firm performance for the study period 2000-2009. Design/methodology/approach The paper develops a Ghanaian corporate governance index (GCGI) containing 33 provisions to measure corporate governance quality during the pre-code and the post-code sub-periods. The authors use a panel data analytical framework and fixed effects regressions to analyse the governance-performance relationships. Findings After controlling for endogeneity, the authors find a statistically significant and positive relationship between the GCGI and firm performance. The analysis shows evidence of a statistically significant increase in the degree of compliance with the Ghanaian Code from the pre-2003 sub-period to the post-2003 sub-period. The authors also find that the introduction of the code has led to improved firm performance. However, not all elements of corporate governance appear to have a significant effect on firm performance. Research limitations/implications One limitation of this study is the development of a corporate governance index. The binary coding used to construct the GCGI may not reflect the relative importance of the different corporate governance provisions. This means that all elements included in the index are given equal weighting. Future research may assign weights to each of the corporate governance provisions but this may have the disadvantage of making subjective judgements relative to the importance of each corporate governance provision recommended by the Ghanaian Code. Practical implications These results have important implications for both policy makers and companies. For policy makers, it is encouraging for the development of a code of corporate governance to regulate firms rather than enforcing rigid laws that may not be value relevant. For companies, the improvement in compliance with a code of corporate governance can provide a means of achieving improved performance. Originality/value This paper adds to the limited evidence on the governance-performance relationship in developing economies and in particular it analyses the role of a governance index. It is also the first paper to compare the pre- and the post-code governance index-performance relationship in an African or developing country.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamish D. Anderson ◽  
Jing Liao ◽  
Shuai Yue

PurposeEmploying the anti-corruption campaign as an exogenous political shock, this paper examines how political intervention shapes the impact of financial expert CEOs on firm investment decisions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a sample of 2,808 Chinese firms listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2003 to 2016. Panel data is used for conducting the analysis controlling for firm, industry, and year fixed effects.FindingsThe authors found that CEOs with financial expertise are sensitive to political intervention when making investment decisions. First, financial expert CEOs spend more on R&D expenditure in private-owned companies and they are associated with less R&D expenditure in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Second, financial expert CEOs are associated with higher investment expenditure in general, but they become less likely to invest more in the post-anti-corruption period. The reduction in investment expenditure due to the anti-corruption campaign is more pronounced in SOEs than in private-owned companies. Third, the anti-corruption campaign promotes R&D investment in general, but in SOEs, expert CEOs tend to be less likely to invest more on R&D after the anti-corruption shock.Originality/valueThis paper enriches the growing literature on the impact of political intervention and the role of the anti-corruption campaign on corporate behaviour.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cong Feng ◽  
Jiong Sun ◽  
Yiwei Fang ◽  
Iftekhar Hasan

Purpose This paper aims to examine the presence of an executive with customer experience (ECE) in a supplier firm’s top management team (TMT). The role of ECE presence remains understudied in the marketing literature. This study attempts to examine the relationship between ECE presence and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on the resource-based view of the firm and adopts a panel firm fixed effects estimator to test the proposed hypotheses. The empirical analysis uses a sample of 1,974 firm-year observations with 489 unique supplier firms. Selection-induced endogeneity is mitigated through the Heckman procedure. Findings ECE presence improves firm performance. Additionally, firms benefit less from ECE presence if a board member with customer experience (BCE) is also present, if a chief executive officer commands a higher pay slice (compared to other executives), and if a TMT is more functionally diversified. However, ECE presence is particularly beneficial if the overall economy is in contraction. Comparing the functional positions held by ECEs reveals that ECE in the marketing function (as a chief marketing officer) offers the largest benefit to an average supplier firm. ECE presence is also associated with other firm outcomes (e.g. bankruptcy odds, innovation and customer orientation). Research limitations/implications This study makes four contributions to the literature. First, this research contributes to existing studies that investigate marketing expertise in the upper corporate pyramid. Second, the study contributes to the burgeoning body of work across business disciplines that attempt to understand the impact of CxOs on firm performance. Third, the study contributes to the vast literature on customer orientation indirectly. Finally, this paper contributes to the broader literature studying the influence of board and TMT characteristics. Practical implications The findings are of particular importance to business-to-business firms. This paper shows that suppliers can benefit significantly from managers with customer experience. Four contingency factors moderate the relationship between ECE presence and firm performance. Among the various functional positions held by an ECE, the findings suggest that hiring an ECE for the marketing functional area is the most beneficial. ECE stands out as a better option for a company than BCE to improve firm performance. ECE presence is also associated with bankruptcy odds, innovation and customer orientation. Originality/value This paper provides the first empirical evidence regarding how ECE affects firm performance and also extends prior research on the value of human capital in TMT.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Bugshan ◽  
Walid Bakry ◽  
Yongqing Li

PurposeThis study examines the impact of oil price volatility on firm profitability. As Shariah-compliant firms operate under restrictions, the study also explores whether oil price volatility affects Shariah-compliant firms differently from their non-Shariah-compliant counterparts.Design/methodology/approachThe study sample includes all non-financial firms listed on Gulf Cooperation Council stock exchanges from 2005 to 2019. In evaluating the oil price volatility–profitability relationship, static (panel fixed effects) and dynamic (system generalised method of moments) models were used.FindingsOil price volatility significantly depresses firm profitability. In addition, Shariah-compliant firms are more significantly affected by oil price volatility than their non-Shariah-compliant peers. The results suggest that high oil price volatility exposes Shariah-compliant firms to higher bankruptcy risk than non-Shariah-compliant firms and that positive and negative oil price shocks have asymmetric effects on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the paper call for more economic diversification by supporting non-oil sectors in the region and raise the need for more development of Islam-compliant products that compete with traditional instruments to help Shariah-compliant firms cope with uncertainty. Moreover, managers need to prepare quick alert and response procedures to reduce the negative impacts of oil price volatility on profitability.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the relationship between oil price volatility and profitability of non-financial firms. Further, the study extends prior Islamic corporate finance literature by enhancing the understanding of how Islamic corporate decisions affect firm performance during instability.


foresight ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aboobucker Ilmudeen

Purpose Though prior studies have attempted to explore the various effects of managing information technology (IT) investment on firm performance, the mechanism through which management of IT impact on firm performance rests less clear. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of managing IT and business-IT alignment on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the resource-based theory and process theory, this study examines how managing IT impacts business-IT alignment and firm performance. The primary survey of 182 responses from IT and business managers from Sri Lanka was empirically examined. Findings The findings reveal that managing IT has a positive and strong impact on business-IT alignment and firm performance. Further, business-IT alignment partially mediates between managing IT investment and firm performance relationships. Research limitations/implications Today, businesses have invested a massive amount of money in IT investment, and the return on this investment is always a serious concern for managers and industry practitioners. This study finding proposes meaningful insights on managing IT, business-IT alignment and firm performance. Originality/value This study opens up the black box on the above nomological linkage and contributes to the literature by extending the theoretical lenses while suggesting insightful and practical implications.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document