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Determinants of organizational form: transaction costs and institutions in the European trucking industry

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  • Benito Arruñada
  • Manuel González-Díaz
  • Alberto Fernández

Abstract

We explain why European trucking carriers are much smaller and rely more heavily on owner-operators (as opposed to employee drivers) than their US counterparts. Our analysis begins by ruling out differences in technology as the source of those disparities and confirms that standard hypotheses in organizational economics, which have been shown to explain the choice of organizational form in US industry, also apply in Europe. We then argue that the preference for subcontracting over vertical integration in Europe is the result of European institutions--particularly, labor regulation and tax laws--that increase the costs of vertical integration. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Benito Arruñada & Manuel González-Díaz & Alberto Fernández, 2004. "Determinants of organizational form: transaction costs and institutions in the European trucking industry," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 13(6), pages 867-882, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:13:y:2004:i:6:p:867-882
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    Cited by:

    1. Josef Windsperger & Maria Jell, 2005. "Structuring residual income and decision rights under internal governance: results from the Hungarian trucking industry," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(5), pages 295-305.
    2. Marta Fernández-Olmos & Jorge Rosell-Martínez & Manuel A. Espitia-Escuer, 2009. "Vertical integration in the wine industry: a transaction costs analysis on the Rioja DOCa," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(2), pages 231-250.
    3. Benito Arruñada & Luis Vázquez & Giorgio Zanarone, 2009. "Institutional constraints on organizations: the case of Spanish car dealerships," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 15-26.
    4. Marianne Fischman & Emeric Lendjel, 2010. "Comment expliquer la permanence de l'artisanat dans le transport fluvial de marchandises ?," Post-Print halshs-00582556, HAL.
    5. Marianne Fischman & Emeric Lendjel, 2010. "Comment expliquer la permanence de l'artisanat dans le transport fluvial de marchandises ?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00582556, HAL.
    6. Hu, Y. & Huang, Z. & Hendrikse, G.W.J. & Xu, X., 2005. "Organization and Strategy of Farmer Specialized Cooperatives in China," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2005-059-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    7. Agrell, Per J. & Lundin, Johan & Norrman, Andreas, 2017. "Supply Chain Management: Horizontal carrier coordination through cooperative governance structures," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 59-72.
    8. Francine Lafontaine & Laura Malaguzzi Valeri, 2009. "The deregulation of international trucking in the European Union: form and effect," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 19-44, February.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L92 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Railroads and Other Surface Transportation

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