Does investment in innovation impact firm performance in emerging economies? An empirical investigation of the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-248
Author(s):  
Manogna R.L. ◽  
Aswini Kumar Mishra

Purpose The study aims to analyze the impact of Research & Development (R&D) intensity on the firm’s performance, measured by growth of sales in the emerging market like India. Innovation strategy and its outcomes for firms may be different in developing countries as compared to developed countries. Thus, a study that focuses on the emerging economy like India, with a majority of the population dependent on agriculture, is of prime importance to the firm performance in the food and agricultural manufacturing industry. For this study, the broader focus will be on one widely recognised factor which may influence the growth rate of firms, i.e. investment in innovations which is in terms of R&D expenditure. Design/methodology/approach The paper investigates the relationship between the R&D efforts and growth of firms in the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry during 2001–2019. To empirically test the relationship between firm’s growth (FG) and R&D investments, system generalised method of moments technique has been used, hence enabling to avoid problems related to endogeneity and simultaneity. Findings The findings reveal that investments in innovations have a positive effect on the growth of firms in the Indian food and agricultural manufacturing industry. Investment in R&D also enables the firms to reap benefits from externalities present in the industry. Further analysis reveals that younger firms grow faster when they invest in R&D. More specifically, this paper finds evidence in the case of the food and agricultural industry that import of raw materials negatively affects the FG and export intensity positively affects the growth in the case of R&D firms. Research limitations/implications This study suggests that the government should encourage the industries to invest optimally in R&D projects by providing favourable fiscal treatments and R&D subsidies which are observed to have positive effects in various developed countries. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, the current paper is the first to analyse the impact of innovation in food and agricultural industry on firm’s performance in an emerging economy context with the latest data. This paper agrees that a government initiative to increase private R&D expenditure would have favourable effects on FG as growing investments in R&D lead to further growth of the firms.

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Badrul Muttakin ◽  
Arifur Khan ◽  
Nava Subramaniam

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of family ownership on firm performance. In particular the authors investigate whether family firms outperform non-family firms and whether first generation family firms perform better than second generation family firms in an emerging economy using Bangladesh as a case. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a data set of 141 listed Bangladeshi non-financial companies for the period 2005-2009. The methodology is based on multivariate regression analysis. Findings – The result shows that family firms perform better than their non-family counterparts. The authors also find that family ownership has a positive impact on firm performance. The analysis further reveals intergenerational differences where family firms and performance are associated positively only when founder members act as CEOs or chairmen. However, when descendents serve as CEOs or chairmen family firms are associated with poorer firm performance. Originality/value – The authors extend the findings of previous studies that investigate the family ownership and firm performance relationship in developed economy settings, but neglected emerging economies. The study also informs the literature about the intergenerational impact of family firms on performance in an emerging market.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahfuzur Rahman ◽  
Dieu Hack-Polay ◽  
Sujana Shafique ◽  
Paul Agu Igwe

PurposeInternationalisation is considered as a key strategy for the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between dynamic capability, SMEs internationalisation and firm performance in the context of emerging economies and to evaluate the impact of financial, asset and market expansion on internationalisation of SMEs.Design/methodology/approachUsing primary data from 212 SMEs from Bangladesh, structural equation modelling and mathematical (hierarchical reflective) model, the analysis enabled the measurement of the casual relationship on the impacts of internationalisation.FindingsThe results revealed that internationalisation of SMEs has significant impact on both financial and non-financial performance of SMEs in an emerging economy- Bangladesh. The paper found internationalisation impacts on two dimensions (financial and non-financial) with eight defined indicators – higher sales, higher profit, assets maximisation, market expansion, competitive advantage, better reputation, better customer service and added knowledge.Originality/valueDespite several studies that examine the relationship between SME internationalisation and firm performance, limited research exists on emerging economies. This is contrary to the fact that SMEs are one of the main vehicles for growth in those economies such as Bangladesh. In this research, the authors use the theories of dynamic capabilities to conceptualise how internationalisation becomes a core SME capability for SMEs in an emerging economy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nufazil Altaf ◽  
Farooq Ahmad

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital financing and firm performance for a sample of 437 non-financial Indian companies. In addition, this study examines the impact of financial constraints on working capital financing–performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on secondary financial data of 437 non-financial Indian companies obtained from Capitaline database, pertaining to a period of 10 years (2007–2016). This study employs two-step generalized method of moments techniques to arrive at results. Findings Results of the study confirm the inverted U-shape relationship between working capital financing and firm performance. In addition, the authors also found that the firms that are likely to be less financially constrained can finance greater proportion of working capital using short-term debt. Originality/value This study contributes to the scant existing literature by testing the impact of financial constraints on the relationship between working capital financing and firm performance, representing a typical emerging market in India.


2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (7) ◽  
pp. 2233-2251
Author(s):  
Tomofumi Miyanoshita ◽  
Tohru Yoshioka-Kobayashi ◽  
Daisuke Kanama

PurposeResearchers have pointed out that product packaging in the food industry has a significant influence on consumer decision-making. However, the impact of package development on firm performance has not been investigated due to the limited availability of analyses on package design. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between package development and firm performance in the Japanese food manufacturing industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically analyzed the relationship between package development and firm performance in the Japanese food manufacturing industry by using design patents data.FindingsAs a result of multiple regression analysis, it became clear that the number of design patents related to packaging is significantly linked to the operating profit ratio, growth rate of sales and increase in operating profits of firms. Moreover, the results show inverse U-shaped effects between design patents and firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe results imply the importance of effective package design management.Originality/valueThis study provides novel insight on both marketing strategy and intellectual property management in the food industry, and it also provides a new method for empirical analysis using design patent data.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Kei Tse ◽  
Minhao Zhang ◽  
Pervaiz Akhtar ◽  
Jill MacBryde

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the antecedents of firm’s supply chain agility (SC agility) and how SC agility impacts on firm’s performance. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a comprehensive literature review, a conceptual model was proposed, in which the interrelated hypotheses were tested by structural equation modelling methodology using a dataset collected from 266 Chinese electronics firms. Findings – Initially, it was found that SC integration and external learning positively influenced SC agility. Second, the results indicated that firm’s performance is positively impacted by SC agility. Moreover, SC agility also fully mediated the effect of SC integration on firm’s performance and the effect of external learning on firm’s performance. Research limitations/implications – The generalizability of this research sample might be the major limitation of this study. Therefore, future research can adopt other industry sectors samples, such as automobile manufacturing, or other country samples to validate the research model. Practical implications – This research outlines strategies for better preparedness to achieve SCs to be agile which is a core competency of electronic firms in emerging market. Findings reveal that the external coordination practices – external learning and SC integration – are important factors of SC agility. In addition, the findings contribute to understanding the important role of SC agility in improving firm’s performance. Originality/value – This research examines the impact of two antecedents (i.e. SC integration and external learning) on SC agility and is the first empirical research to analyze the mediation effect of SC agility on the relationship between SC integration and firm performance and the relationship between external learning and firm performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barney G. Pacheco ◽  
Syed Akhter

Purpose Current research on small to medium enterprise (SME) internationalization has generated valuable insight but continues to overlook the activities of business-to-business (B2B) SMEs located in small emerging economies. This study aims to fill this gap by testing the applicability of the ownership, location and internalization (OLI) framework to understand the internationalization strategies of small B2B firms in Trinidad and Tobago, a small emerging Caribbean economy. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative research design, which involved in-depth interviews with senior executives of three firms in the B2B sector who were knowledgeable about their firm’s internationalization process. Thematic analysis was then used to understand the motivations and strategies underpinning the internationalization approach adopted by each firm. Findings Contrary to the stereotype of SMEs in emerging markets as fragile enterprises, there is evidence that firms exploited the development of innovative products and processes to facilitate foreign market entry and expansion. Additionally, firms overcame resource limitations by relying on governmental ties and leveraging networking opportunities. The findings also call attention to the impact of organizational learning and the role of knowledge as a dynamic capability. Originality/value Both the context of the study and the application of the OLI framework contributes to the extant literature by yielding substantive insights into the internationalization strategies of B2B firms in a small emerging economy. The findings further highlight how the OLI framework can be supplemented by other theoretical perspectives to better understand internationalization by emerging market SMEs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-411
Author(s):  
Qaiser Rafique Yasser ◽  
Abdullah Al-Mamun

We adopt a multi-theoretic approach to investigate a previously unexplored phenomenon in extant literature, namely the differential impact of ownership identity and director dominate shareholding on the performance of emerging market firms. The main research question addressed is, whether the impact of this relationship is conditional on the identity of the block investor. First, the relationship between overall block ownership and firm performance is tested by employing multiple regressions on 500 firm-year observations for the period from 2007 to 2011. Then, the block ownership is classified as the state, individuals, insiders, financial institutions, corporate and foreign investors and the influence of these identities on firm performance is examined. It was found that only the ownership categories such as the government, institutions and foreign ownership have positive influence on the firm performance. The results also indicate that high level of insider ownership also negatively associated with the firm performance. The main contribution of this paper is the examination of the relationship between block ownership and firm performance from the perspective of the identity of investors


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Shao ◽  
Zhukun Lou ◽  
Chong Wang ◽  
Jinye Mao ◽  
Ailin Ye

PurposeThis study investigates the impact of AI finance on financing constraints of non-SOE firms in an emerging market.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of non-SOE listed companies in China from 2011 to 2018, this research employs the cash–cash flow sensitivity model to examine the effect of AI finance on financing constraints of non-SOE firms.FindingsWe find that the development of AI finance can alleviate the financing constraints of non-SOE firms. Further, we document that such effect is more pronounced for smaller firms, more innovative firms and firms in developing areas.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that emerging market countries can ease the financing constraints of non-SOE firms by promoting AI finance development.Originality/valueThis study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first one to explore the relationship between AI finance development and financing constraints of non-SOE firms in emerging markets.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1823-1843
Author(s):  
Mastura Ab Wahab ◽  
Ekrem Tatoglu

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of chasing productivity demands on worker well-being and firm performance in manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Flexible work arrangements and human resources support are used as moderators to mitigate the adverse impacts associated with chasing productivity demands.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 213 workers from manufacturing firms through a survey questionnaire utilizing structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings of the study show that flexible work arrangements play a significant role in moderating the relationship between chasing productivity demands and well-being, and between chasing productivity demands and firm performance. The study also shows that flexible work arrangements are important to buffer the adverse effects of chasing productivity demands on worker well-being. In addition, flexible work arrangements strengthen the positive effect of worker well-being on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study highlights the importance of flexible work arrangements in overcoming the negative impact of the relationship between chasing productivity demands and worker well-being and strengthening the positive impact of the relationship between worker well-being and firm performance.Originality/valueThis study has extended the variable of chasing productivity demands in the existing literature on the job demands–job control model, specifically in manufacturing firms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-588
Author(s):  
Ahmed A. Diab ◽  
Ahmed Aboud ◽  
Arafat Hamdy

Purpose The purpose of this study is to address the impact of the related party transactions (RPTs) on firm value. The authors bring evidence from a usually ignored empirical setting: an African emerging market. Design/methodology/approach In particular, the authors focus on companies listed on the Egyptian stock market using a sample of EGX 30 from 2012 to 2017. Findings Unlike the literature, the authors find no significant relationship between RPTs and market value. Practical implications This research provides insights for policymakers and other interested parties concerning the perception of RPTs in Egypt. Originality/value The reported different findings of this study assure the intermediary role of the context and the local culture in the relationship between RPTs and firm value, in contrast to the negative view that is mostly reported in the literature.


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