IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/17890.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Exploiting Growth Opportunities: The Role of Internal Labor Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Fumagalli, Chiara
  • Cestone, Giacinta
  • Kramarz, Francis
  • Pica, Giovanni

Abstract

We explore how business groups use internal labor markets (ILMs) in response to changing economic conditions. We show that following the exit of a large industry competitor, group affiliated firms expand and gain market share by increasing their reliance on the ILM to ensure swift hiring, especially of technical managers and skilled blue collar workers. The ability to take advantage of this shock to growth opportunities is greater in firms with closer access to their affiliates’ human capital, as geographical proximity facilitates employee relocations across units. Overall, our findings point to the ILM as a prominent mechanism making affiliation with a business group valuable at times of change. For the ILM to perform its role in the face of industry shocks, group sectoral diversification must be combined with geographical proximity between affiliates.

Suggested Citation

  • Fumagalli, Chiara & Cestone, Giacinta & Kramarz, Francis & Pica, Giovanni, 2023. "Exploiting Growth Opportunities: The Role of Internal Labor Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 17890, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17890
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cepr.org/publications/DP17890
    Download Restriction: CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edward P. Lazear & Paul Oyer, 2012. "Personnel Economics [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
    2. Boutin, Xavier & Cestone, Giacinta & Fumagalli, Chiara & Pica, Giovanni & Serrano-Velarde, Nicolas, 2013. "The deep-pocket effect of internal capital markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 122-145.
    3. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D'Haultfœuille, 2020. "Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(9), pages 2964-2996, September.
    4. Francis Kramarz & Oskar Nordström Skans, 2014. "When Strong Ties are Strong: Networks and Youth Labour Market Entry," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 81(3), pages 1164-1200.
    5. Michael Waldman, 2012. "Theory and Evidence in Internal LaborMarkets [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
    6. Elisa Luciano & Giovanna Nicodano, 2014. "Guarantees, Leverage, and Taxes," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 27(9), pages 2736-2772.
    7. Francis Kramarz & David Thesmar, 2013. "Social Networks In The Boardroom," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 780-807, August.
    8. Stefan Bender & Nicholas Bloom & David Card & John Van Reenen & Stefanie Wolter, 2018. "Management Practices, Workforce Selection, and Productivity," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S1), pages 371-409.
    9. Jing Cai & Adam Szeidl, 2018. "Interfirm Relationships and Business Performance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 133(3), pages 1229-1282.
    10. Francis Kramarz & David Thesmar, 2013. "Social Networks In The Boardroom," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 780-807, August.
    11. Huneeus, Federico & Larrain, Borja & Larrain, Mauricio & Prem, Mounu, 2021. "The internal labor markets of business groups," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    12. Morten Bennedsen & Francisco Pérez‐González & Daniel Wolfenzon, 2020. "Do CEOs Matter? Evidence from Hospitalization Events," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(4), pages 1877-1911, August.
    13. Marianne Bertrand & Antoinette Schoar, 2003. "Managing with Style: The Effect of Managers on Firm Policies," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1169-1208.
    14. Samuel Muehlemann & Harald Pfeifer, 2016. "The Structure of Hiring Costs in Germany: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 193-218, April.
    15. Geoffrey Tate & Liu Yang, 2015. "The Bright Side of Corporate Diversification: Evidence from Internal Labor Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(8), pages 2203-2249.
    16. Vojislav Maksimovic & Gordon M. Phillips, 2013. "Conglomerate Firms, Internal Capital Markets, and the Theory of the Firm," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 225-244, November.
    17. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    18. Giacinta Cestone & Chiara Fumagalli & Francis Kramaz & Giovanni Pica, 2015. "Insurance Between Firms: The Role of Internal Labor Markets," CSEF Working Papers 386, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 22 Jan 2020.
    19. Nicholas Bloom & Renata Lemos & Raffaella Sadun & Daniela Scur & John Reenen, 2014. "Jeea-Fbbva Lecture 2013: The New Empirical Economics Of Management," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 835-876, August.
    20. Rongzhu Ke & Jin Li & Michael Powell, 2018. "Managing Careers in Organizations," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 197-252.
    21. Nicholas Bloom & Renata Lemos & Raffaella Sadun & Daniela Scur & John Van Reenen, 2014. "The New Empirical Economics of Management," NBER Working Papers 20102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Kalina Manova & Shang-Jin Wei & Zhiwei Zhang, 2015. "Firm Exports and Multinational Activity Under Credit Constraints," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(3), pages 574-588, July.
    23. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    24. Doruk Cengiz & Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer, 2019. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1405-1454.
    25. Xavier Giroud & Holger M. Mueller, 2015. "Capital and Labor Reallocation within Firms," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(4), pages 1767-1804, August.
    26. Blatter, Marc & Muehlemann, Samuel & Schenker, Samuel, 2012. "The costs of hiring skilled workers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 20-35.
    27. Francis Kramarz & Marie-Laure Michaud, 2002. "The Shape of Hiring and Separation Costs," Working Papers 2002-38, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    28. Sun, Liyang & Abraham, Sarah, 2021. "Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 175-199.
    29. Abowd, John M. & Kramarz, Francis, 2003. "The costs of hiring and separations," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 499-530, October.
    30. Christina Gathmann & Ines Helm & Uta Schönberg, 2020. "Correction to: Spillover Effects of Mass Layoffs," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 540-540.
    31. Bruce C. Greenwald, 1986. "Adverse Selection in the Labour Market," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 53(3), pages 325-347.
    32. Alan Manning, 2006. "A Generalised Model of Monopsony," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(508), pages 84-100, January.
    33. Milton Harris & Bengt Holmstrom, 1982. "A Theory of Wage Dynamics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 49(3), pages 315-333.
    34. Christina Gathmann & Ines Helm & Uta Schönberg, 2020. "Spillover Effects of Mass Layoffs," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 427-468.
    35. Heitor Almeida & Chang‐Soo Kim & Hwanki Brian Kim, 2015. "Internal Capital Markets in Business Groups: Evidence from the Asian Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(6), pages 2539-2586, December.
    36. Thesmar, David & Sraer, David, 2018. "A Sufficient Statistics Approach for Aggregating Firm-Level Experiments," CEPR Discussion Papers 12592, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    37. Tarun Khanna & Yishay Yafeh, 2007. "Business Groups in Emerging Markets: Paragons or Parasites?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 331-372, June.
    38. Bang Dang Nguyen & Kasper Meisner Nielsen, 2014. "What Death Can Tell: Are Executives Paid for Their Contributions to Firm Value?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(12), pages 2994-3010, December.
    39. Lorenzo Caliendo & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2012. "The Impact of Trade on Organization and Productivity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(3), pages 1393-1467.
    40. Robert Gibbons & John Roberts, 2012. "The Handbook of Organizational Economics," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 9889.
    41. Salas, Jesus M., 2010. "Entrenchment, governance, and the stock price reaction to sudden executive deaths," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 656-666, March.
    42. Mueller, Holger & Giroud, Xavier, 2015. "Capital and Labor Reallocation within Firms," CEPR Discussion Papers 10360, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    43. Larry H. P. Lang & Mara Faccio & Leslie Young, 2001. "Dividends and Expropriation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 54-78, March.
    44. Kramarz, Francis & Michaud, Marie-Laure, 2010. "The shape of hiring and separation costs in France," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 27-37, January.
    45. Luis Garicano, 2000. "Hierarchies and the Organization of Knowledge in Production," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(5), pages 874-904, October.
    46. Giacinta Cestone & Chiara Fumagalli & Francis Kramaz & Giovanni Pica, 2015. "Insurance Between Firms: The Role of Internal Labor Markets," CSEF Working Papers 386, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 22 Jan 2020.
    47. Lazear, Edward P., 2012. "Leadership: A personnel economics approach," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 92-101.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Giacinta Cestone & Chiara Fumagalli & Francis Kramaz & Giovanni Pica, 2015. "Insurance Between Firms: The Role of Internal Labor Markets," CSEF Working Papers 386, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 22 Jan 2020.
    2. Giacinta Cestone & Chiara Fumagalli & Francis Kramaz & Giovanni Pica, 2015. "Insurance Between Firms: The Role of Internal Labor Markets," CSEF Working Papers 386, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 22 Jan 2020.
    3. Mara Faccio & William J. O’Brien, 2021. "Business Groups and Employment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(6), pages 3468-3491, June.
    4. Lee, Kyounghun & Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl & Shin, Donglim & Yoon, Heejin, 2023. "Internal labor markets and corporate innovation: Evidence from Korean chaebols," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 146-162.
    5. Jenter, Dirk & Cziraki, Peter, 2021. "The Market for CEOs," CEPR Discussion Papers 16281, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Huneeus, Federico & Larrain, Borja & Larrain, Mauricio & Prem, Mounu, 2021. "The internal labor markets of business groups," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Ataullah, Ali & Le, Hang & Wang, Zilong & Wood, Geoffrey, 2022. "Corporate diversification and downsizing decisions: International evidence from sharp and sudden performance shocks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    8. Colak, Gonul & Liljeblom, Eva, 2022. "Easy cleanups or forbearing improvements: The effect of CEO tenure on successor’s performance," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    9. Pedro Ortin Ángel & Ana Millan Tapia & Stefan Sundgren, 2016. "Are the Most Capable Auditors in the Big 4 Firms? Model," Working Papers 1601, Departament Empresa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, revised Jan 2016.
    10. Marta Silva & José Garcia-Louzão, 2021. "Coworker Networks and the Labor Market Outcomes of Displaced Workers: Evidence from Portugal," Working Papers w202121, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    11. Luis Garicano & Claire Lelarge & John Van Reenen, 2016. "Firm Size Distortions and the Productivity Distribution: Evidence from France," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(11), pages 3439-3479, November.
    12. Boyd, Gale A. & Curtis, E. Mark, 2014. "Evidence of an “Energy-Management Gap” in U.S. manufacturing: Spillovers from firm management practices to energy efficiency," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 463-479.
    13. Colonnelli, Emanuele & Lagaras, Spyridon & Ponticelli, Jacopo & Prem, Mounu & Tsoutsoura, Margarita, 2022. "Revealing corruption: Firm and worker level evidence from Brazil," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(3), pages 1097-1119.
    14. Samuel Muehlemann & Harald Pfeifer, 2016. "The Structure of Hiring Costs in Germany: Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 193-218, April.
    15. Kim, Hyonok & Wilcox, James A. & Yasuda, Yukihiro & 安田, 行宏, 2020. "Internal and External Lending by Nonfinancial Businesses," Working Paper Series G-1-23, Hitotsubashi University Center for Financial Research.
    16. Pinotti, Paolo & Bhalotra, Sonia & Britto, Diogo & Sampaio, Breno, 2021. "Job Displacement, Unemployment Benefits and Domestic Violence," CEPR Discussion Papers 16350, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Altomonte, Carlo & Ottaviano, Gianmarco & Rungi, Armando & Sonno, Tommaso, 2021. "Business groups as knowledge-based hierarchies of firms," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113855, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Viswanathan Nagarajan & Pitabas Mohanty & Apalak Khatua, 2023. "Financing effects of corporate diversification: A review," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(7), pages 2555-2585, October.
    19. Chakraborty, Pavel & Raveh, Ohad, 2018. "Input-trade liberalization and the demand for managers: Evidence from India," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 159-176.
    20. Boddin, Dominik & Kroeger, Thilo, 2021. "Structural change revisited: The rise of manufacturing jobs in the service sector," Discussion Papers 38/2021, Deutsche Bundesbank.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor market frictions;

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:cpr:ceprdp:17890. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cepr.org .

    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.