A firm-level analysis of ICT adoption in an emerging economy: evidence from the colombian manufacturing industries

This study examines ICT adoption among 3,759 Colombian manufacturing firms, and attempts to identify the factors that are conducive to the adoption and usage of ICT at the firm level. Our major findings are (i) that the adoption of a given information and communication technology is better facilitated when a firm is relatively large, has large human capital, engages in more innovative activities, and when a firm’s organizational structure is better aligned with the given technology; (ii) that positive associations between the key determinants and ICT adoptions are more pronounced for small and medium-sized firms than for large ones, and (iii) that information spillovers within industries is also a determinant of ICT adoptions by the firms.

Information externalities and export trade duration at the firm level

Recent empirical work emphasizes the importance of the extensive margin of trade (new exporters, new export activities) for long run export growth. In this context, understanding the determinants of duration of new exporters is key for underpinning the dynamics of exports growth. As new exporters tend to show low survival rates, identifying the determinants of export duration is highly relevant for academic and policy purposes. In this paper, we explore whether information externalities arising from different levels of spatial interaction allow new exporters to increase the duration of their trade activities. For this, we use transaction level data on Colombian exports between 2004 and 2011. Results show that export networks, understood as the agglomeration of exporting firms at different spatial levels, reduce the risk of dropping out from exporting and that this effect is stronger the more similar are export activities carried out by firms

An Empirical Examination of the Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment: A Firm-Level Analysis for the Colombian Economy

We use a large firm level data set to investigate the determinants of foreign direct investment(FDI) in Colombia. We estimate econometric models for the determinants of the probabilitythat a firm receives FDI, as well as for the factors that help to explain the foreign share in afirm’s capital. The results show that firms listed on the stock market, involved in foreign tradeactivities, and operating in sectors with greater capital intensity are more likely to be recipientsof FDI. Also, the probability of a firm receiving FDI is directly related to its size.

Measuring sustained superior performance at the firm level

This paper proposes a two-dimensional Strategic Performance Measure (SPM) to evaluate the achievement of sustained superior performance. This proposal builds primarily on the fact that, under the strategic management perspective, a firm's prevalent objective is the pursuit of sustained superior performance. Three basic conceptual dimensions stem from this objective: relativity, sign dependence, and dynamism. These are the foundations of the SPM, which carries out a separate evaluation of the attained superior performance and of its sustainability over time. In contrast to existing measures of performance, the SPM provides: (i) a dynamic approach by considering the progress or regress in performance over time, and (ii) a cardinal measurement of performance differences and its changes over time. The paper also proposes an axiomatic framework that a measure of strategic performance should comply with to be theoretically and managerially sound. Finally, an empirical illustration of the Spanish banking sector during 1987-1999 is herein provided by discussing some relevant case

Breaking down the barriers to firm growth in Europe: The fourth EFIGE policy report. Bruegel Blueprint 18, 28 August 2012

Large firms contribute disproportionately to the economic performance of countries: they are more productive, pay higher wages, enjoy higher profits and are more successful in international markets. The differences between European countries in terms of the size of their firms are stark. Firms in Italy and Spain, for example, are on average 40 percent smaller than firms in Germany. The low average firm size translates into a chronic lack of large firms. In Italy and Spain, a mere 5 percent of manufacturing firms have more than 250 employees, compared to a much higher 11 percent in Germany. Understanding the roots of these differences is key to improving the economic performance of Europe’s lagging economies. So why is there so much variation in firm size in different European countries? What are the barriers that keep firms in some countries from growing? And which policies are likely to be most effective in breaking down those barriers? This policy report aims to answer these questions by developing a quantitative model of the seven European countries covered by the EFIGE survey (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and the UK). The EFIGE survey asked 14,444 firms in those countries about their performance, their modes of internationalisation, their staffing decisions, their financing structure, and their competitive environment, among other topics.

Autopoietic organization of firm: an illustration for the construction industry

Generally poor productivity, delays, low profitability and exceeded budgets are Common problems in modern construction management, however it seems that a basic obstacle lies far deeper in the understanding of a firm's fundamental mission, its existence. The main objective of this paper therefore is to examine the operational living of a construction firm and by doing that to reveal the key problem or the solution for a construction firm - its organization. A firm as a social system in which interactions between its constitutive components (employees) are surordinated to its maintenance (keeping a system alive) is an autopoietic social system. Two domains of external perturbations are uncovered to which a construction firm has to adapt (market driven and project driven perturbations). Constructed conceptual model of an autopoietic organization is based upon two necessary and sufficient operational domains that a firm has to create in order to become an autopoietic, adaptive social system. The first one is a domain of interactions between employees and other operationally external systems, which is representing an idea-generating domain of interactions. The second is employee's autonomous operational domain, which embodies employee's autonomy and individuality and represents a necessary condition for the establishment of an idea-generating domain. Finally, it is recognized that interactions within these four domains keep a construction firm alive.