The Impact of M&A on Technology Sourcing Strategies

The paper investigates the effects of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) on corporate research and development (R&D) strategies using Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data on the Dutch manufacturing sector. The focus of the research is whether M&A affect corporate innovation strategies, favouring in-house R&D and innovation expenses versus external technological sourcing. The results show that M&A activities have a positive and significant impact on innovation investments by firms, and particularly on R&D intensity and total expenditure on innovation. M&A affect corporate innovation strategies, favouring in-house R&D versus external technological sourcing. Firm post-merger behaviour favours the consolidation of the knowledge, competences and capabilities that have been acquired by merging with or by buying another firm, confirming that the reasons for a merger or acquisition are most often related to firms' innovative performance. Following involvement in a M&A, firms tend primarily to focus on fully integration of their resource bases in order to enable them to produce and sell innovative products that are new to the market.Technology sourcing; Innovation; M&A; Heckman two-stage; Bi-Tobit.

Firm Size and Growth Rate Variance: the Effects of Data Truncation

This paper discusses the effects of the existence of natural and/or exogenously imposed thresholds in firm size distributions, on estimations of the relation between firm size and variance in firm growth rates. We explain why the results in the literature on this relationship are not consistent. We argue that a natural threshold (0 number of employees or 0 total sales) and/or the existence of truncating thresholds in the dataset, can lead to upwardly biased estimations of the relation. We show the potential impact of the bias on simulated data, suggest a methodology to improve these estimations, and present an empirical analysis based on a comprehensive dataset of Dutch manufacturing and service firms. The only stable relation between firm size and growth rate variance is negative regardless of how we define the measure of firm growth.firm growth, growth rates variance; truncation; thresholds

A Matter of Life and Death: Innovation and Firm Survival

This paper examines the effects of innovation on the survival of manufacturing firms in the Netherlands. The demographics of firms according to their innovative performance and type of innovation are traced by using the Business Register population of all firms active in the Netherlands and the Community Innovation Survey. Through estimation of a parametric duration model, we observe that firms do benefit of an innovation premium that extends their life expectancy, independent of firm- specific traits such as age and size. Especially process innovation seems to have a distinctive effect on survival. Furthermore, our results confirm that survival chances increase with age and the growth rate of a firm, the latter representing a more crucial factor than the initial size. Finally, sectors at high intensity of technology, that is, science based and specialised suppliers are most favourable environments to the survival of firms.Firm Survival, Innovation, Firms Exit, Duration models.

Do some Firms Persistently Outperform?

This study analyses persistence in growth rates of the entire population of Dutch manufacturing firms. Previous literature on firm growth rates shows that extreme growth events are likely to be negatively correlated over time. A rebound effect following an extreme growth event questions the existence of persistent outperformers, indicated by a positive correlation over time. By supplementing the quantile regression analyses with transition probability matrices, our study shows that `bouncing' firms co-exist with persistent outperformers. This result is robust if we exclude firms involved in acquisitions or spin offs. Differentiating among different size classes, we find that the existence of persistent outperformers is especially pronounced in micro firms. We interpret this finding as supporting the notion of a Schumpeter Mark I regime, with small firms displaying strong heterogeneity in their growth patterns, versus a Schumpeter Mark II regime, with large firms displaying less heterogeneity of growth.firm growth; heterogeneity, persistence, transition probability matrices, quantile regression

Spatial Differentiation in Industrial Dynamics. A Core-Periphery Analysis Based on the Pavitt-Miozzo-Soete Taxonomy

We compare the industrial dynamics in the core, semi-periphery and periphery in The Netherlands in terms of firm entry-exit, size, growth and sectoral location patterns. The contribution of our work is to provide the first comprehensive study on spatial differentiation in industrial dynamics for all firm sizes and all sectors, including services. We find that at the aggregate level the spatial pattern of industrial dynamics is consistent with the spatial product lifecycle thesis: entry and exit rates are highest in the core and lowest in the periphery, while the share of persistently growing firms is higher in the periphery than in the core. Disaggregating the analysis to the sectoral level following the Pavitt-Miozzo-Soete taxonomy, findings are less robust. Finally, sectoral location patterns are largely consistent with the spatial product lifecycle model: Fordist sectors are over-represented in the periphery, while sectors associated with the ICT paradigm are over-represented in the core, with the notable exception of science-based manufacturing.Entry, exit, spatial product lifecycle, Fordist paradigm, ICT paradigm

FROM GIBRAT'S LEGACY TO GIBRAT'S FALLACY. A BAYESIAN APPROACH TO STUDY THE GROWTH OF FIRMS

We aim at testing Gibrat's Law, a building block of the corporate growth dynamics. Using a Bayesian statistical framework that nests previous approaches, we provide evidence against Gibrat's law on average, within or across industries. Notwithstanding, data show only weak evidence of mean reversion, i.e. initial larger firms do not grow relatively slower than smaller firms. Moreover, differences in growth rates and in size steady state are persistent and firm-specific. Previous results confirming Gibrat's argument are likely to be incorrect being based on models that do not exploit appropriately all information contained in a panel data set.Gibrat's Law; Panel Data; Heterogeneity; Bayesian Estimation

Corporate Growth and Industrial Structure. Some Evidence from the Italian Manufacturing Industry

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Do Some Firms Persistently Outperform ?

This study analyses persistence in growth rates of the entire population of Dutch manufacturing firms. Previous literature on firm growth rates shows that extreme growth events are likely to be negatively correlated over time. A rebound effect following an extreme growth event questions the existence of persistent outperformers, indicated by a positive correlation over time. By supplementing the quantile regression analyses with transition probability matrices, our study shows that ?bouncing? firms co-exist with persistent outperformers. This result is robust if we exclude firms involved in acquisitions or spin offs. Differentiating among different size classes, we find that the existence of persistent outperformers is especially pronounced in micro firms. We interpret this finding as supporting the notion of a Schumpeter Mark I regime, with small firms displaying strong heterogeneity in their growth patterns, versus a Schumpeter Mark II regime, with large firms displaying less heterogeneity of growth.firm growth; heterogeneity; persistence, transition probability matrices; quantile regression

Spatial differentiation in industrial dynamics A core-periphery analysis based on the Pavitt-Miozzo-Soete taxonomy

We compare the industrial dynamics in the core, semi-periphery and periphery in The Netherlands in terms of firm entry-exit, size, growth and sectoral location patterns. The contribution of our work is to provide the first comprehensive study on spatial differentiation in industrial dynamics for all firm sizes and all sectors, including services. We find that at the aggregate level the spatial pattern of industrial dynamics is consistent with the spatial product lifecycle thesis: entry and exit rates are highest in the core and lowest in the periphery, while the share of persistently growing firms is higher in the periphery than in the core. Disaggregating the analysis to the sectoral level following the Pavitt-Miozzo-Soete taxonomy, findings are less robust. Finally, sectoral location patterns are largely consistent with the spatial product lifecycle model: Fordist sectors are over-represented in the periphery, while sectors associated with the ICT paradigm are over-represented in the core, with the notable exception of science-based manufacturing.Entry, exit, spatial product lifecycle, Fordist paradigm, ICT paradigm

Industrial dynamics and economic geography: a survey

We review the literature on clusters and their effects on industrial dynamics as well on various lifecycle dynamics underlying the process of cluster formation and cluster dynamics. The review shows that there is little evidence that clusters enhance firm growth and survival. In the absence of localization economies, the emergence of clusters is best understood as an evolutionary process of capability transmission between parents firms and their spinoffs. We discuss various future research avenues and call for theorising based on firm heterogeneity as well as empirical research based on common methodological standards.entry, exit, cluster, localization economies, lifecycle, firm heterogeneity