IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eecrev/v135y2021ics0014292121000775.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Productivity and firm boundaries

Author

Listed:
  • Kohler, Wilhelm
  • Smolka, Marcel

Abstract

We use property rights theory to study the effect of productivity on the trade-off between vertical integration and outsourcing at the firm-level. We develop a sharp empirical prediction that is robust across a range of property rights models, holding for single and multiple non-contractible inputs; any fixed cost difference between integration and outsourcing; and regardless of whether production is sequential or simultaneous in nature. Our prediction highlights a hitherto neglected ambiguity of the productivity effect that pushes firms towards integration in headquarter-intensive industries and towards outsourcing in supplier-intensive industries. We find considerable support for this prediction in Spanish firm-level data.

Suggested Citation

  • Kohler, Wilhelm & Smolka, Marcel, 2021. "Productivity and firm boundaries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:135:y:2021:i:c:s0014292121000775
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103724
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014292121000775
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103724?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
    ---><---

    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. Wilhelm K. Kohler & Marcel Smolka, 2012. "Global Sourcing: Evidence from Spanish Firm-Level Data," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Robert M Stern (ed.), Quantitative Analysis Of Newly Evolving Patterns Of International Trade Fragmentation, Offshoring of Activities, and Vertical Intra-Industry Trade, chapter 4, pages 139-193, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Giovanni Maggi & Gene M. Grossman, 2000. "Diversity and Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1255-1275, December.
    3. Pol Antràs & Davin Chor, 2013. "Organizing the Global Value Chain," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(6), pages 2127-2204, November.
    4. Laura Alfaro & Pol Antràs & Davin Chor & Paola Conconi, 2019. "Internalizing Global Value Chains: A Firm-Level Analysis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(2), pages 508-559.
    5. Broda, Christian & Greenfield, Joshua & Weinstein, David E., 2017. "From groundnuts to globalization: A structural estimate of trade and growth," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 759-783.
    6. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1990. "Property Rights and the Nature of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1119-1158, December.
    7. Andrew B. Bernard & J. Bradford Jensen & Stephen J. Redding & Peter K. Schott, 2010. "Intrafirm Trade and Product Contractibility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 444-448, May.
    8. Defever, Fabrice & Toubal, Farid, 2013. "Productivity, relationship-specific inputs and the sourcing modes of multinationals," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 345-357.
    9. Alireza Naghavi & Julia Spies & Farid Toubal, 2015. "Intellectual property rights, product complexity and the organization of multinational firms," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 48(3), pages 881-902, August.
    10. Gregory Corcos & Delphine M. Irac & Giordano Mion & Thierry Verdier, 2013. "The Determinants of Intrafirm Trade: Evidence from French Firms," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(3), pages 825-838, July.
    11. Holger Görg & Aoife Hanley & Eric Strobl, 2008. "Productivity effects of international outsourcing: evidence from plant‐level data," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(2), pages 670-688, May.
    12. Emanuel Ornelas & John L. Turner, 2012. "Protection and International Sourcing," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(559), pages 26-63, March.
    13. Ali Hortaçsu & Chad Syverson, 2007. "Cementing Relationships: Vertical Integration, Foreclosure, Productivity, and Prices," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115(2), pages 250-301.
    14. Carluccio, Juan & Bas, Maria, 2015. "The impact of worker bargaining power on the organization of global firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 162-181.
    15. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00879809 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. repec:hal:pseose:hal-00860203 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Jan De Loecker, 2013. "Detecting Learning by Exporting," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 1-21, August.
    18. Robert C. Feenstra & Gordon H. Hanson, 2005. "Ownership and Control in Outsourcing to China: Estimating the Property-Rights Theory of the Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 729-761.
    19. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    20. Arnaud Costinot, 2009. "An Elementary Theory of Comparative Advantage," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(4), pages 1165-1192, July.
    21. Fernandes, Ana P. & Tang, Heiwai, 2012. "Determinants of vertical integration in export processing: Theory and evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 396-414.
    22. Cragg, John G, 1971. "Some Statistical Models for Limited Dependent Variables with Application to the Demand for Durable Goods," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 39(5), pages 829-844, September.
    23. Masahiko Aoki, 2013. "Toward an Economic Model of the Japanese Firm," Chapters, in: Comparative Institutional Analysis, chapter 18, pages 315-341, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    24. Delgado, Miguel A. & Farinas, Jose C. & Ruano, Sonia, 2002. "Firm productivity and export markets: a non-parametric approach," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 397-422, August.
    25. Juan Carluccio & Thibault Fally, 2012. "Global Sourcing under Imperfect Capital Markets," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(3), pages 740-763, August.
    26. Arnaud Costinot & Jonathan Vogel, 2010. "Matching and Inequality in the World Economy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(4), pages 747-786, August.
    27. repec:ilo:ilowps:239505 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Schwarz, Christian & Suedekum, Jens, 2014. "Global sourcing of complex production processes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 123-139.
    29. Ornelas, Emanuel & Turner, John L., 2008. "Trade liberalization, outsourcing, and the hold-up problem," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 225-241, January.
    30. Pol Antràs & Robert W. Staiger, 2012. "Offshoring and the Role of Trade Agreements," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(7), pages 3140-3183, December.
    31. Michael D. Whinston, 2003. "On the Transaction Cost Determinants of Vertical Integration," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 1-23, April.
    32. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    33. Stefano Federico, 2010. "Outsourcing versus Integration at Home or Abroad," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 742, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    34. Stephen Ross Yeaple, 2006. "Offshoring, Foreign Direct Investment, and the Structure of U.S. Trade," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 4(2-3), pages 602-611, 04-05.
    35. Tomiura, Eiichi, 2007. "Foreign outsourcing, exporting, and FDI: A productivity comparison at the firm level," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 113-127, May.
    36. Silke J. Forbes & Mara Lederman, 2010. "Does vertical integration affect firm performance? Evidence from the airline industry," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 41(4), pages 765-790, December.
    37. Kohler Wilhelm K & Smolka Marcel, 2011. "Sourcing Premia with Incomplete Contracts: Theory and Evidence," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-39, February.
    38. Andrea Andrenelli & Charles Cadestin & Koen De Backer & Sébastien Miroudot & Davide Rigo & Ming Ye, 2018. "Multinational production and trade in services," OECD Trade Policy Papers 212, OECD Publishing.
    39. Nunn, Nathan & Trefler, Daniel, 2013. "Incomplete contracts and the boundaries of the multinational firm," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 330-344.
    40. Caves, Douglas W & Christensen, Laurits R & Diewert, W Erwin, 1982. "Multilateral Comparisons of Output, Input, and Productivity Using Superlative Index Numbers," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(365), pages 73-86, March.
    41. Francine Lafontaine & Margaret Slade, 2007. "Vertical Integration and Firm Boundaries: The Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(3), pages 629-685, September.
    42. Daniel A. Ackerberg & Kevin Caves & Garth Frazer, 2015. "Identification Properties of Recent Production Function Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 83, pages 2411-2451, November.
    43. Riordan, Michael H. & Williamson, Oliver E., 1985. "Asset specificity and economic organization," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 365-378, December.
    44. Young, S. & Hood N. & Hamill J., 1985. "Decision-making in foreign-owned multinational subsidiaries in the United Kingdom," ILO Working Papers 992395053402676, International Labour Organization.
    45. Kohler, Wilhelm & Smolka, Marcel, 2014. "Global sourcing and firm selection," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 411-415.
    46. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    47. Del Prete, Davide & Rungi, Armando, 2017. "Organizing the global value chain: A firm-level test," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 16-30.
    48. Stefano Federico, 2010. "Outsourcing versus integration at home or abroad and firm heterogeneity," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 47-63, February.
    49. Stefano Federico, 2012. "Headquarter intensity and the choice between outsourcing versus integration at home or abroad," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 21(6), pages 1337-1358, December.
    50. Bergstrand, Jeffrey H. & Egger, Peter & Larch, Mario, 2013. "Gravity Redux: Estimation of gravity-equation coefficients, elasticities of substitution, and general equilibrium comparative statics under asymmetric bilateral trade costs," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 110-121.
    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. Berlingieri, Giuseppe & Pisch, Frank & Steinwender, Claudia, 2018. "Organizing global supply chains: input costs shares and vertical integration," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 91706, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Giuseppe Berlingieri & Frank Pisch & Claudia Steinwender, 2021. "Organizing Global Supply Chains: Input-Output Linkages and Vertical Integration," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1816-1852.
    3. Matthias Fauth & Benjamin Jung & Wilhelm Kohler, 2023. "German Firms in International Trade: Evidence from Recent Microdata," CESifo Working Paper Series 10523, CESifo.
    4. Eppinger, Peter & Kukharskyy, Bohdan, 2021. "Contracting institutions and firm integration around the world," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    5. Liu, Mengxiao, 2021. "The missing option in firm boundary decisions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    6. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Kukharskyy, Bohdan & Roland, Gerard, 2024. "Cultural distance, firm boundaries, and global sourcing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    7. Marta Bernasconi & Sara Galetti & Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale, 2022. "Contract Incompleteness and the Boundaries of the Firm in Times of COVID-19," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 371-409, December.

    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. Wilhelm Kohler & Marcel Smolka, 2015. "Global Sourcing of Heterogeneous Firms: Theory and Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 5184, CESifo.
    2. Eppinger, Peter & Kukharskyy, Bohdan, 2021. "Contracting institutions and firm integration around the world," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    3. Eppinger, Peter S. & Kukharskyy, Bohdan, 2017. "Contracting institutions and firm boundaries," University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics 100, University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics.
    4. Kohler, Wilhelm & Smolka, Marcel, 2014. "Global sourcing and firm selection," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 411-415.
    5. Liu, Mengxiao, 2021. "The missing option in firm boundary decisions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    6. Karabay, Bilgehan, 2022. "A new dimension in global value chains: Control vs. delegation in input procurement," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    7. Marta Bernasconi & Sara Galetti & Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale, 2022. "Contract Incompleteness and the Boundaries of the Firm in Times of COVID-19," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 371-409, December.
    8. Valeria Gattai & Valentina Trovato, 2014. "Estimating sourcing premia with Italian regional data," Working Papers 276, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Jun 2014.
    9. Antrà s, Pol & Yeaple, Stephen R., 2014. "Multinational Firms and the Structure of International Trade," Handbook of International Economics, in: Gopinath, G. & Helpman, . & Rogoff, K. (ed.), Handbook of International Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 55-130, Elsevier.
    10. Chen, Xiaoping & Lu, Yi & Zhu, Lianming, 2017. "Product cycle, contractibility, and global sourcing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 283-296.
    11. Verena Nowak & Christian Schwarz & Jens Suedekum, 2012. "On the Organizational Structure of Multinational Firms - Which Sourcing Mode for which Input?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3823, CESifo.
    12. Schwarz, Christian & Suedekum, Jens, 2014. "Global sourcing of complex production processes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 123-139.
    13. Pol Antràs, 2014. "Grossman–Hart (1986) Goes Global: Incomplete Contracts, Property Rights, and the International Organization of Production," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 30(suppl_1), pages 118-175.
    14. Peter Eppinger & Hong Ma, 2023. "Optimal Ownership and Firm Performance: An Analysis of China’s FDI Liberalization," CESifo Working Paper Series 10551, CESifo.
    15. Pietro De Ponti & Valeria Gattai, 2022. "Family Firms and Input Procurement: Firm-Level Evidence from Italy," Working Papers 499, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Jun 2022.
    16. Del Prete, Davide & Rungi, Armando, 2017. "Organizing the global value chain: A firm-level test," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 16-30.
    17. Kukharskyy, Bohdan, 2020. "A tale of two property rights: Knowledge, physical assets, and multinational firm boundaries," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    18. Defever, Fabrice & Toubal, Farid, 2013. "Productivity, relationship-specific inputs and the sourcing modes of multinationals," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 345-357.
    19. Stefano Bolatto & Alireza Naghavi & Gianmarco Ottaviano & Katja Zajc Kejžar, 2023. "Intellectual property and the organization of the global value chain," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(359), pages 707-745, July.
    20. João Amador & Sónia Cabral, 2014. "Global Value Chains: Surveying Drivers, Measures and Impacts," Working Papers w201403, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Global sourcing; Incomplete contracts; Property rights theory; Firm productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F19 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Other
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production

    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:eee:eecrev:v:135:y:2021:i:c:s0014292121000775. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eer .

    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.