Topic Firms

Determinants of Internationalization: Differences between Service and Manufacturing SMEs

This paper empirically investigates the antecedents of internationalization of SMEs, focusing on differences between the manufacturing and service sectors. Specifically, employing a bivariate probit model based on survey data of approximately 3,900 East German firms, I analyze which firm-related and external factors affect a firm's decision to export and/or relocate production or other operations abroad. ...

Subsidiary Role and Skilled Labour Effects in Small Developed Countries

This paper considers the proportion of skilled labour employed by subsidiaries in small countries in the context of the strategic role of subsidiaries. Strategic role is connected to autonomy and intra-organisational relationships and the mandates given to the subsidiary. In the paper, we draw on the literature on the strategic development of multinational corporations, and insights from inward foreign ...

Does Corporate Governance Determine Dividend Payouts in Poland?

This study examines the relation between corporate governance practices measured by the Transparency Disclosure Index (TDI) and dividend payouts in Poland. Our empirical approach lies in constructing measures of the quality of the corporate governance in 110 non-financial companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange between 1998 and 2004.We find evidence that an increase in the TDI or its sub-indices ...

Is Entrepreneurial Success Predictable? An Ex-Ante Analysis of the Character-Based Approach

This paper empirically analyzes whether the character-based approach, which focuses on the personality structure and the human capital of business founders, allows prediction of entrepreneurial success. A unique data set is used consisting of 414 persons whose personal characteristics were analyzed by different methods, namely an one-day assessment center (AC) and a standardized questionnaire, before ...

Uncertainty Determinants of Firm Investment

We investigate the impact of measures of uncertainty on firms' capital investment behavior using a panel of U.S. firms. Increases in firm-specific and CAPM-based measures have a significant negative effect on investment spending, while market-based uncertainty has a positive impact

Corporate Debt Maturity Choice in Transition Financial Markets

This paper investigates the determinants of liability maturity choice in transition markets. We formulate a model of firm value maximization that describes managers' choice of optimal debt structure. The theoretical predictions are tested using a unique panel of 4,300 Ukrainian firms during the period 2000-2005. Our estimates confirm the importance of liquidity, signaling, maturity matching, and agency ...

Locational Conditions, Cooperation, and Innovativeness: Evidence from Research and Company Spin-offs

This paper has two goals. First, it analyzes the extent to which the innovativeness of spin-offs, either born from a research facility or from another company, is influenced by locational conditions. Second, it provides evidence on how important local cooperation links are in comparison to nonlocal ones. Using a sample of approximately 1,500 East German firms from knowledge-intensive sectors, we estimate ...

Corporate Debt Maturity Choice in Transition Financial Markets

The Promotion of Regional Innovative Networks: Lessons from the German InnoRegio-Programme

Export Orientation of Service Companies on the Increase

In the course of increasing internationalisation of the German economy, growth in export can also be expected for the German service sector. However, there has only been limited information about the export behaviour of German service companies so far. This gap can be closed to some extent by statistics existing since 2000. This study confirms that export orientation increased between 2000 and 2005. ...