Relationship-Specificity, Spatial Clustering and Production to Order Choice
Abstract
We study the determinants of the firm-level choice to produce following an order placed by a downstream firm (production to order) or to produce in advance. We rationalize this choice through a simple theoretical model and apply it to a firm-level empirical analysis. Relying on a large dataset of Italian manufacturing firms, we show that two main variables affect this choice: the extent of spatial clustering of the industry, and the degree of product complexity and relationship-specificity of the goods that are traded. The sign of the impact of clustering on the choice of producing to order crucially depends on product complexity. If product complexity is high, production to order prevails when firms are clustered together. On the contrary, clustering is associated to production in advance for sectors where goods are standardized.Download Info
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Paper provided by Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna in its series Working Papers with number 685.Length:
Date of creation: Nov 2009
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Handle: RePEc:bol:bodewp:685
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Keywords:Find related papers by JEL classification:
- D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
- F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General
- L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
- R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General
- R34 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Input Demand Analysis
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2009-12-19 (All new papers)
- NEP-COM-2009-12-19 (Industrial Competition)
- NEP-GEO-2009-12-19 (Economic Geography)
- NEP-MIC-2009-12-19 (Microeconomics)
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