IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ororsc/v24y2013i3p831-845.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Information Technology, Productivity, and Asset Ownership: Evidence from Taxicab Fleets

Author

Listed:
  • Evan Rawley

    (Columbia Business School, New York, New York 10027)

  • Timothy S. Simcoe

    (School of Management, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215)

Abstract

We develop a simple model that links the adoption of a productivity-enhancing technology to increased vertical integration and a less skilled workforce. We test the model’s key prediction using novel microdata on vehicle ownership patterns from the Economic Census during a period when computerized dispatching systems were first adopted by taxicab firms. Controlling for time-invariant firm-specific effects, firms increase the proportion of taxicabs under fleet ownership by 12% when they adopt new computerized dispatching systems. An instrumental variables analysis suggests that the link between dispatching technology and vertical integration is causal. These findings suggest that increasing a firm’s productivity can lead to increased vertical integration, even in the absence of asset specificity.

Suggested Citation

  • Evan Rawley & Timothy S. Simcoe, 2013. "Information Technology, Productivity, and Asset Ownership: Evidence from Taxicab Fleets," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 831-845, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:24:y:2013:i:3:p:831-845
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1120.0758
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0758
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/orsc.1120.0758?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. Nicholas Bloom & Luis Garicano & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2014. "The Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(12), pages 2859-2885, December.
    2. 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.
    3. Evan Rawley & Timothy S. Simcoe, 2010. "Diversification, Diseconomies of Scope, and Vertical Contracting: Evidence from the Taxicab Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(9), pages 1534-1550, September.
    4. Erik Brynjolfsson, 1994. "Information Assets, Technology and Organization," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(12), pages 1645-1662, December.
    5. David H. Autor & David Dorn, 2013. "The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of the US Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(5), pages 1553-1597, August.
    6. Demsetz, Harold, 1988. "The Theory of the Firm Revisited," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 141-161, Spring.
    7. Daniel A. Levinthal & Brian Wu, 2010. "Opportunity costs and non‐scale free capabilities: profit maximization, corporate scope, and profit margins," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 780-801, July.
    8. Jack A. Nickerson & Brian S. Silverman, 2003. "Why aren't all Truck Drivers Owner‐Operators? Asset Ownership and the Employment Relation in Interstate for‐hire Trucking," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 91-118, March.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. George P. Baker & Thomas N. Hubbard, 2004. "Contractibility and Asset Ownership: On-Board Computers and Governance in U. S. Trucking," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 119(4), pages 1443-1479.
    12. Timothy F. Bresnahan & Erik Brynjolfsson & Lorin M. Hitt, 2002. "Information Technology, Workplace Organization, and the Demand for Skilled Labor: Firm-Level Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 117(1), pages 339-376.
    13. Nicholas S. Argyres & Todd R. Zenger, 2012. "Capabilities, Transaction Costs, and Firm Boundaries," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(6), pages 1643-1657, December.
    14. Macher Jeffrey T & Richman Barak D, 2008. "Transaction Cost Economics: An Assessment of Empirical Research in the Social Sciences," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-65, May.
    15. Alberto Abadie & David Drukker & Jane Leber Herr & Guido W. Imbens, 2004. "Implementing matching estimators for average treatment effects in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(3), pages 290-311, September.
    16. Michael G. Jacobides & Lorin M. Hitt, 2005. "Losing sight of the forest for the trees? Productive capabilities and gains from trade as drivers of vertical scope," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(13), pages 1209-1227, December.
    17. Guido W. Imbens, 2004. "Nonparametric Estimation of Average Treatment Effects Under Exogeneity: A Review," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 4-29, February.
    18. Macher, Jeffrey T. & Richman, Barak D., 2008. "Transaction Cost Economics: An Assessment of Empirical Research in the Social Sciences," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 1-63, April.
    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. Sutirtha Bagchi, 2018. "A Tale of Two Cities: An Examination of Medallion Prices in New York and Chicago," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 53(2), pages 295-319, September.
    2. Adam R. Fremeth & Guy L. F. Holburn & Brian K. Richter, 2016. "Bridging Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Organizational Research: Applications of Synthetic Control Methodology in the U.S. Automobile Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 462-482, April.
    3. Arturs Kalnins, 2017. "Pricing Variation Within Dual-Distribution Chains: The Different Implications of Externalities and Signaling for High- and Low-Quality Brands," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(1), pages 139-152, January.
    4. Ashton Hawk & Jeffrey J. Reuer & Andrew Garofolo, 2021. "The Impact of Firm Speed Capabilities on the Decision to Partner or Go It Alone," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(3), pages 191-208, September.
    5. Yongwook Paik & Sukhun Kang & Robert Seamans, 2019. "Entrepreneurship, innovation, and political competition: How the public sector helps the sharing economy create value," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 503-532, April.
    6. Lamar Pierce & Daniel C. Snow & Andrew McAfee, 2015. "Cleaning House: The Impact of Information Technology Monitoring on Employee Theft and Productivity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(10), pages 2299-2319, October.
    7. Min-Seok Pang & Ali Tafti & M. S. Krishnan, 2016. "Do CIO IT Budgets Explain Bigger or Smaller Governments? Theory and Evidence from U.S. State Governments," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(4), pages 1020-1041, April.

    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. 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.
    2. Sharon Novak & Scott Stern, 2009. "Complementarity Among Vertical Integration Decisions: Evidence from Automobile Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 311-332, February.
    3. Laura Alfaro & Nicholas Bloom & Paola Conconi & Harald Fadinger & Patrick Legros & Andrew F. Newman & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2017. "Come Together: Firm Boundaries and Delegation," Harvard Business School Working Papers 18-051, Harvard Business School, revised May 2019.
    4. Sharon Novak & Scott Stern, 2008. "How Does Outsourcing Affect Performance Dynamics? Evidence from the Automobile Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(12), pages 1963-1979, December.
    5. Francisco Brahm & Jorge Tarzijan, 2016. "Relational Contracts and Collaboration in the Supply Chain: Impact of Expected Future Business Volume on the Make-or-Buy Decision," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 52(3), pages 48-67, July.
    6. M. J. Histen, 2022. "The extent of the firm," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 545-567, September.
    7. Christian Ruzzier & Ricard Gil, 2015. "’Make or Buy’ as Competitive Strategy: Evidence from the Spanish Local TV Industry," Working Papers 119, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised Feb 2015.
    8. Ricard Gil & Christian A. Ruzzier, 2018. "The Impact of Competition on “Make-or-Buy” Decisions: Evidence from the Spanish Local TV Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(3), pages 1121-1135, March.
    9. Claudine Gartenberg & Lamar Pierce, 2017. "Subprime governance: Agency costs in vertically integrated banks and the 2008 mortgage crisis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 300-321, February.
    10. Kanishka Kacker, 2016. "Regulation and Contract Design: The Impact of Relationship Specific Investment," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(4), pages 656-682, December.
    11. Mark Casson & Nigel Wadeson, 2012. "Internationalisation Theory," Chapters, in: Michael Dietrich & Jackie Krafft (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Theory of the Firm, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Peters, Frank, 2018. "The business of video games is a multi-player game : Essays on governance choices and performance in a two-sided market in the cultural industries," Other publications TiSEM 886b3148-4bbb-4ea4-b666-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. Venkat Kuppuswamy & Carliss Y. Baldwin, 2012. "Risky Business: The Impact of Property Rights on Investment and Revenue in the Film Industry," Harvard Business School Working Papers 13-007, Harvard Business School, revised Aug 2012.
    14. Oliver Hart, 2013. "Noncontractible Investments and Reference Points," Games, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-20, August.
    15. Christopher Hansman & Jonas Hjort & Gianmarco León-Ciliotta & Matthieu Teachout, 2020. "Vertical Integration, Supplier Behavior, and Quality Upgrading among Exporters," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(9), pages 3570-3625.
    16. Nicholas Bloom & Luis Garicano & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2014. "The Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(12), pages 2859-2885, December.
    17. Giorgio Zanarone & Desmond (Ho-Fu) Lo & Tammy L. Madsen, 2016. "The double-edged effect of knowledge acquisition: How contracts safeguard pre-existing resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(10), pages 2104-2120, October.
    18. Williamson, Oliver E., 2010. "Transaction Cost Economics: The Natural Progression," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 215-226.
    19. Geoffrey M. Hodgson, 2010. "Limits of Transaction Cost Analysis," Chapters, in: Peter G. Klein & Michael E. Sykuta (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Transaction Cost Economics, chapter 28, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Paul Walker, 2010. "The (Non)Theory Of The Knowledge Firm," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.

    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:24:y:2013:i:3:p:831-845. 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.