IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v10y1999i4p401-423.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Global Configuration of a Speculative Trading Operation: An Empirical Study of Foreign Exchange Trading

Author

Listed:
  • Elaine Mosakowski

    (The Anderson School, University of California, Los Angeles, 110 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095-1481, and Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, 1310 Krannert Building, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1310)

  • Srilata Zaheer

    (Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, 321 19th Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455)

Abstract

This paper proposes a theory of firm boundaries based on fore-knowledge development and exploitation in speculative or “informed” trading. Foreign exchange trading provides this study's empirical context. From research on information economics, we suggest optimal speculative trading operations are multiunit and globally dispersed. Alternatively, transaction cost economics suggests atomistic actors prevail in the market for fungible commodities like currencies. We also develop competing hypotheses about information technology's effects on foreign exchange trading operations. Speculation arguments predict that the global scope of trading operations will expand after the introduction of generic information technologies. Transaction cost economics proposes that, when atomistic actors do not prevail, trading operations will contract after this introduction. We test competing predictions with models of the expansion, contraction, and net change in a firm's global dispersion. We estimate these models with data from the population of banks worldwide engaged in interbank foreign exchange currency (FX) trading from 1974 to 1993. Our results uncover two types of firms: those that approach the atomistic actor of transaction cost economics, and those that resemble the globally dispersed multiunit configuration from our speculation discussion. These results encourage reflection on how the theory of the firm differs when firms trade to produce versus speculate.

Suggested Citation

  • Elaine Mosakowski & Srilata Zaheer, 1999. "The Global Configuration of a Speculative Trading Operation: An Empirical Study of Foreign Exchange Trading," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(4), pages 401-423, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:10:y:1999:i:4:p:401-423
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.10.4.401
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.10.4.401
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.10.4.401?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hirshleifer, Jack, 1977. "The Theory of Speculation under Alternative Regimes of Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(4), pages 975-999, September.
    2. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    3. David J. TEECE, 2008. "Profiting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 5, pages 67-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Kirk Monteverde & David J. Teece, 1982. "Supplier Switching Costs and Vertical Integration in the Automobile Industry," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(1), pages 206-213, Spring.
    5. Engle, Robert F & Ito, Takatoshi & Lin, Wen-Ling, 1990. "Meteor Showers or Heat Waves? Heteroskedastic Intra-daily Volatility in the Foreign Exchange Market," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(3), pages 525-542, May.
    6. Williamson, Oliver E, 1979. "Transaction-Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractural Relations," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(2), pages 233-261, October.
    7. Hart, Oliver D & Kreps, David M, 1986. "Price Destabilizing Speculation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 927-952, October.
    8. David J. Teece, 2008. "Technology Transfer By Multinational Firms: The Resource Cost Of Transferring Technological Know-How," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 1, pages 1-22, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 2010. "Models of the Multinational Enterprise," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Multinational Enterprise Revisited, chapter 7, pages 147-176, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Kenneth Arrow, 1962. "Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention," NBER Chapters, in: The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, pages 609-626, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Benninga, Simon, 1992. "Non-Walrasian equilibria with speculation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 241-256, March.
    12. Stein, Jeremy C, 1987. "Informational Externalities and Welfare-Reducing Speculation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(6), pages 1123-1145, December.
    13. Madrigal, Vicente, 1996. "Non-fundamental Speculation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(2), pages 553-578, June.
    14. Canova, Fabio, 1991. "An Empirical Analysis of Ex Ante Profits from Forward Speculation in Foreign Exchange Markets," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(3), pages 489-496, August.
    15. Salant, Stephen W, 1983. "The Vulnerability of Price Stabilization Schemes to Speculative Attack," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(1), pages 1-38, February.
    16. Lyons, Richard K., 1996. "Optimal Transparency in a Dealer Market with an Application to Foreign Exchange," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 225-254, July.
    17. Denton, Frank T, 1985. "The Effect of Professional Advice on the Stability of a Speculative Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(5), pages 977-993, October.
    18. Lyons, Richard K., 1995. "Tests of microstructural hypotheses in the foreign exchange market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2-3), pages 321-351.
    19. Hirshleifer, Jack, 1971. "The Private and Social Value of Information and the Reward to Inventive Activity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(4), pages 561-574, September.
    20. Srilata Zaheer & Elaine Mosakowski, 1997. "The Dynamics Of The Liability Of Foreignness: A Global Study Of Survival In Financial Services," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(6), pages 439-463, June.
    21. Bernett, Richard C., 1992. "Speculation, incomplete currency market participation, and nonfundamental movements in nominal and real exchange rates," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1-2), pages 167-186, August.
    22. Anat R. Admati, Paul Pfleiderer, 1988. "A Theory of Intraday Patterns: Volume and Price Variability," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 3-40.
    23. Elaine Mosakowski, 1998. "Entrepreneurial Resources, Organizational Choices, and Competitive Outcomes," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(6), pages 625-643, December.
    24. Froot, Kenneth A & Scharftstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1992. "Herd on the Street: Informational Inefficiencies in a Market with Short-Term Speculation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1461-1484, September.
    25. Anoop Madhok, 1996. "Crossroads---The Organization of Economic Activity: Transaction Costs, Firm Capabilities, and the Nature of Governance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 577-590, October.
    26. Takatoshi Ito & Richard K. Lyons & Michael T. Melvin, 1998. "Is There Private Information in the FX Market? The Tokyo Experiment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(3), pages 1111-1130, June.
    27. David J. Teece, 2003. "Towards an Economic Theory of the Multiproduct Firm," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Essays In Technology Management And Policy Selected Papers of David J Teece, chapter 15, pages 419-446, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    28. Richard T. Baillie & Tim Bollerslev, 1991. "Intra-Day and Inter-Market Volatility in Foreign Exchange Rates," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(3), pages 565-585.
    29. Masten, Scott E & Meehan, James W, Jr & Snyder, Edward A, 1991. "The Costs of Organization," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(1), pages 1-25, Spring.
    30. Erin Anderson & David C. Schmittlein, 1984. "Integration of the Sales Force: An Empirical Examination," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 15(3), pages 385-395, Autumn.
    31. Erin Anderson, 1985. "The Salesperson as Outside Agent or Employee: A Transaction Cost Analysis," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 234-254.
    32. Udo Zander & Bruce Kogut, 1995. "Knowledge and the Speed of the Transfer and Imitation of Organizational Capabilities: An Empirical Test," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 76-92, February.
    33. J. Hirshleifer, 1975. "Speculation and Equilibrium: Information, Risk, and Markets," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 89(4), pages 519-542.
    34. Hirshleifer, Jack, 1973. "Where Are We in the Theory of Information?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(2), pages 31-39, May.
    35. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1993. "Differences of Opinion Make a Horse Race," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 6(3), pages 473-506.
    36. Jaffe, Jeffrey F & Winkler, Robert L, 1976. "Optimal Speculation against an Efficient Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 31(1), pages 49-61, March.
    37. S.A. Lippman & R.P. Rumelt, 1982. "Uncertain Imitability: An Analysis of Interfirm Differences in Efficiency under Competition," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(2), pages 418-438, Autumn.
    38. Hogan, Kedreth Jr. & Melvin, Michael T., 1994. "Sources of meteor showers and heat waves in the foreign exchange market," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3-4), pages 239-247, November.
    39. Elaine Mosakowski, 1997. "Strategy Making Under Causal Ambiguity: Conceptual Issues and Empirical Evidence," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(4), pages 414-442, August.
    40. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1996. "What Firms Do? Coordination, Identity, and Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 502-518, October.
    41. Akbar Zaheer & Srilata Zaheer, 1997. "Catching the Wave: Alertness, Responsiveness, and Market Influence in Global Electronic Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(11), pages 1493-1509, November.
    42. David K. Levine & Steven A. Lippman (ed.), 1995. "The Economics Of Information," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, volume 0, number 567.
    43. Michael Manove, 1989. "The Harm from Insider Trading and Informed Speculation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(4), pages 823-845.
    44. Szpiro, George G., 1994. "Exchange rate speculation and chaos inducing intervention," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 363-368, August.
    45. Kathleen R. Conner & C. K. Prahalad, 1996. "A Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: Knowledge Versus Opportunism," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(5), pages 477-501, October.
    46. Allen, Beth, 1990. "Information as an Economic Commodity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 268-273, May.
    47. Lyons, Richard K., 1997. "A simultaneous trade model of the foreign exchange hot potato," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3-4), pages 275-298, May.
    48. J. Michael Harrison & David M. Kreps, 1978. "Speculative Investor Behavior in a Stock Market with Heterogeneous Expectations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 92(2), pages 323-336.
    49. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    50. Masten, Scott E, 1984. "The Organization of Production: Evidence from the Aerospace Industry," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(2), pages 403-417, October.
    51. Leach, John, 1991. "Rational Speculation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(1), pages 131-144, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kandogan, Yener, 2014. "The effect of foreign trade and investment liberalization on spatial concentration of economic activity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 648-659.
    2. Nielsen, Bo Bernhard & Asmussen, Christian Geisler & Weatherall, Cecilie Dohlmann, 2017. "The location choice of foreign direct investments: Empirical evidence and methodological challenges," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 62-82.
    3. Ly, Amadú & Esperança, José & Davcik, Nebojsa S., 2018. "What drives foreign direct investment: The role of language, geographical distance, information flows and technological similarity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 111-122.
    4. Lilach Nachum & Srilata Zaheer & Shulamith Gross, 2008. "Does It Matter Where Countries Are? Proximity to Knowledge, Markets and Resources, and MNE Location Choices," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(7), pages 1252-1265, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ledenyov, Dimitri O. & Ledenyov, Viktor O., 2015. "Wave function method to forecast foreign currencies exchange rates at ultra high frequency electronic trading in foreign currencies exchange markets," MPRA Paper 67470, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Takatoshi Ito & Richard K. Lyons & Michael T. Melvin, 1996. "Is There Private Information in the FX Market? The Tokyo Experiment," Working Papers _005, University of California at Berkeley, Haas School of Business.
    3. Jain, Amit, 2011. "Connaissance, ressources, concurrence et les frontières de l'entreprise," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/6403 edited by Thiétart, Raymond-Alain.
    4. Lajili, Kaouthar & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2005. "Revisiting Agency and Transaction Costs Theory Predictions on Vertical Financial Ownership and Contracting: Electronic Integration as an Organizational Form Choice," Working Papers 05-0106, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    5. Gibbons, Robert, 2005. "Four forma(lizable) theories of the firm?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 200-245, October.
    6. Pettus, Michael L. & Kor, Yasemin Y. & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2007. "A Theory of Change in Turbulent Environments: The Sequencing of Dynamic Capabilities Following Industry Deregulation," Working Papers 07-0100, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    7. Gonzalez-Diaz, Manuel & Arrunada, Benito & Fernandez, Alberto, 2000. "Causes of subcontracting: evidence from panel data on construction firms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 167-187, June.
    8. Manuel González & Benito Arruñada & Alberto Fernández, 1997. "La decisión de subcontratar: el caso de las empresas constructoras," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 21(3), pages 501-521, September.
    9. Mehmet Ali Köseoglu & John A. Parnell & Melissa Yan Yee Yick, 2021. "Identifying influential studies and maturity level in intellectual structure of fields: evidence from strategic management," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(2), pages 1271-1309, February.
    10. Fan, Joseph P. H., 2000. "Price uncertainty and vertical integration: an examination of petrochemical firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 345-376, December.
    11. Melissa A. Schilling & H. Kevin Steensma, 2002. "Disentangling the Theories of Firm Boundaries: A Path Model and Empirical Test," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 387-401, August.
    12. Aseem Kaul, 2013. "Entrepreneurial Action, Unique Assets, and Appropriation Risk: Firms as a Means of Appropriating Profit from Capability Creation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(6), pages 1765-1781, December.
    13. Kim, Jongwook & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2008. "A Strategic Theory of the Firm as a Nexus of Incomplete Contracts: A Property Rights Approach," Working Papers 08-0108, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    14. Laurence Capron & Will Mitchell, 2009. "Selection Capability: How Capability Gaps and Internal Social Frictions Affect Internal and External Strategic Renewal," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 294-312, April.
    15. Namgyoo Park & John Mezias & Jinju Lee & Jae-Hoon Han, 2014. "Reverse knowledge diffusion: Competitive dynamics and the knowledge seeking behavior of Korean high-tech firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 355-375, June.
    16. Alex Eapen & Rekha Krishnan, 2019. "Transferring Tacit Know-How: Do Opportunism Safeguards Matter for Firm Boundary Decisions?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(4), pages 715-734, July.
    17. Kentaro Iwatsubo & Yoshihiro Kitamura, 2008. "Intraday Evidence of the Informational Efficiency of the Yen/Dollar Exchange Rate," Discussion Papers 0801, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    18. repec:uts:finphd:39 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Bruce Heiman & Jack Nickerson, 2002. "Towards Reconciling Transaction Cost Economics and the Knowledge-based View of the Firm: The Context of Interfirm Collaborations," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 97-116.
    20. Filipe M. Santos & Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, 2005. "Organizational Boundaries and Theories of Organization," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(5), pages 491-508, October.
    21. Jaeyong Song & Paul Almeida & Geraldine Wu, 2003. "Learning--by--Hiring: When Is Mobility More Likely to Facilitate Interfirm Knowledge Transfer?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(4), pages 351-365, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:10:y:1999:i:4:p:401-423. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.