New firm formation facing cultural and racial diversity*

This paper is intended to examine how regional diversity in terms of cultural and racial diversity affects new firm formation in 10 disaggregated industrial sectors across US counties. Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method is used to estimate the spatial autoregressive regression models. It is suggested that regional diversity positively affects new firm formation, both in its own and neighbouring counties, in selected industries examined. Resumen Este artículo tiene por objeto examinar cómo la diversidad regional expresada en forma de diversidad cultural y racial afecta a la formación de nuevas empresas en 10 sectores industriales desagregados en condados de los Estados Unidos. Se utiliza el método de Monte Carlo bayesiano basado en cadenas de Markov para estimar los modelos de regresión espaciales autorregresivos. Se sugiere que, en las industrias seleccionadas examinadas, la diversidad regional afecta positivamente a la formación de nuevas empresas, tanto en el propio condado como en los vecinos.      

Regional determinants of firm entry in a developing country

We analyse the determinants of firm entry in developing countries using Argentina as an illustrative case. Our main finding is that although most of the regional determinants used in previous studies analysing developed countries are also relevant here, there is a need for additional explanatory variables that proxy for the specificities of developing economies (e.g., poverty, informal economy and idle capacity). We also find evidence of a core‐periphery pattern in the spatial structure of entry that seems to be mostly driven by differences in agglomeration economies. Since regional policies aiming to attract new firms are largely based on evidence from developed countries, our results raise doubts about the usefulness of such policies when applied to developing economies.     

The determinants of the vertical boundaries of the construction firm

In the last few years, transaction cost economics has become a popular theory within the construction research community. This approach has been singularly applied as a means to explain and predict phenomena concerning the construction firm, including its vertical boundaries. However, this is at a time when the chief proponents of transaction costs are urging researchers to take a pluralistic stance in relation to the theory of the firm. The aim of this paper is to develop a pluralistic approach to the vertical boundaries of the construction firm. In order to achieve this, an integrative framework is described, based on the development of the efficient boundaries problem and the capabilities approach to vertical integration. Specifically, this framework draws on the complementary strengths of transaction cost economics and the resource‐based view. It is concluded that the potential relative merits of theoretical pluralism, in terms of the vertical boundaries of the construction firm, are sufficient grounds to motivate empirical testing of the predictions associated with the integrative framework of vertical integration presented.     

Regional variations in firm formation: Panel and cross-section data evidence from Finland

This article investigates regional variations in firm formation in Finland between 1989 and 1993, and estimates the effects of regional factors on firm formation utilising panel and cross-sectional data. Panel data evidence shows that the average size of firms and establishments in the subregions tends to explain firm formation in Finland most robustly. Cross-sectional results for Finland and several other countries tend to show that demand growth is also an important factor explaining regional firm formation. Panel data results appear to differ from the cross-sectional ones. Received: 18 December 1997 / Accepted: 14 June 1999     

Networks and firm location

This paper models the decision of vertically linked firms to build either partitioned or connected networks of supply of an intermediate good. In each case, there is a correlation between the locations of upstream and downstream firms. Input specificity is related to both variable costs (transport costs of the input) and fixed costs (learning costs of the use of the input). When both are low, a connected network emerges, whereas, in the opposite case, we find a partitioned pattern. In the boundary region, there are multiple equilibria, either asymmetric (mixed network) or symmetric.     

On the conceptualization of agglomeration economies: The case of new firm formation in the Dutch ICT sector

In this research we look at the factors that determine new firm formation in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector among 580 municipalities in the Netherlands. In particular, we examine the role of agglomeration economies and other locational attributes in determining where new firms locate. Both proximity (contiguous) and heterogeneous (non-contiguous) structures at the local, regional and national level are significant when considering localised firm formation. This result supports previous evidence that high-technology enterprises tend to co-locate in areas where economic activity is spatially dense. The major point of our argument is that controversial research results in the literature concerning explanatory spatial circumstances that most favorably induce dynamic and innovative externalities (to a large extent) can be attributed to the lack of consistent spatial research designs that allow the modelling of multiple spatial scale and composition effects. More specifically, we argue that the incubation hypothesis needs adjusting to the appropriate spatial levels and units of analysis: that of the agglomerated region. Finally, we argue that the lack of consistent inclusion of life-cycle aspects of firms in the present mainstream literature on dynamic externalities also contributes to controversies in research outcomes. These findings are important for spatial economic policy indicating that investment in new technologies and economic structures should enhance the prospects for spillover effects at the local level.This article benefited considerably from comments on earlier versions made by participants at the 42nd European Regional Science Conference 2002 in Dortmund, participants of the workshop Modern Entrepreneurship, Regional Development and Policy at the Tinbergen Institute in Amsterdam (May 2003), attendants at a presentation at the Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftfo-rschung (DIW) in Berlin (August 2003), Leo van Wissen (Rijkuniversiteit Groningen) and two anonymous referees. The usual disclaimers apply.     

New estimates of the determinants of urban crime

The Annals of Regional Science - New tests of the utility maximizing model of criminal behavior, first proposed by Becker, are performed. These tests use newer data than has previously been...     

The firm relocation decision: An empirical investigation

In the current paper, the determinants of firm relocation behaviour in twenty-one countries during the period 1997-1999 are analyzed. We demonstrate that internal growth factors measured by increases, but also decreases, in the workforce induce firm relocation. Firms that serve larger markets relocate more often. It is also demonstrated that relocations are often a result of acquisitions, mergers and take-overs, which are a consequence of external growth.The authors would like to thank Jouke van Dijk, Leo Van Wissen and Piet Pellenbarg of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, for their helpful suggestions and comments as well as the two anonymous referees for their useful comments.     

Human capital in firms and regions: Impact on firm productivity

This paper analyses the importance of human capital for firm productivity and makes a clear distinction between the role of human capital inside and outside of the firm. A multilevel model is used for the business service sector in Sweden controlling for heterogeneity across the industry and municipal level. Human capital in firms in terms of education, experience, and cognitive skills and the firm's overall access to human capital has a positive impact on firm productivity. In addition, firm attributes explain the largest proportion of firm productivity variance.     

Start-ups and firm in-migration: evidence from the Swedish wholesale industry

We use a data set covering 13,471 Swedish limited liability firms in the Swedish wholesale industries during 2000–2004 to ascertain the determinants of new start-ups and of in-migration of firms. Access to a large harbor, international airport or large railroad classification yard in the municipality nearly triples the number of start-ups and increases the expected number of in-migrating firms with 53 %. The presence of a university, many educated workers and low local taxes are also associated with more start-ups and firm in-migration.     

电子商务与企业竞争力

分析了电子商务的特点和竞争优势,从企业组织机构、企业运作方式、营销管理、结算方式等方面介绍了电子商务对企业造成的影响,提出了发展电子商务的策略,以提高企业竞争力。     

Strategic groups and firm performance: the case of Spanish house-building firms

A central theme in strategic management is the theoretical relationship between strategic groups and firm performance. However, the empirical evidence is conflicting. The aim of this research is to study this linkage by examining business strategies in the Spanish construction industry. This paper defines several groups based on Porter's generic strategies of 88 house-building firms, and studies performance differences between groups. The empirical findings demonstrate that significant differences in performance do not exist among groups. Implications of this research for Porter's generic strategies in construction are then discussed.     

项目动力学：系统动力学方法在项目管理中的应用

本文首先对项目动力学和系统动力学及其近来的发展和应用情况进行了介绍，给出了若干项目动力学模型的例子．并指出运用项目动力学与传统的项目管理技术相结合．能够相互弥补其不足，形成互补．能够更好地适应各种类型的复杂项目管理的需要     

Private investment in India: regional patterns and determinants

This paper analyses private investment by type for 15 major states over the period from 1993–1994 to 2004–2005. This study is new in investigating the determinants of total private investment and domestic private investment at the state level in the Indian context by using generalized method of moments panel estimator. The results show that there is high variation in private investment across Indian states. The results obtained from the regressions show that private investment in the Indian states is explained by infrastructure, the gross fiscal deficit, market size and labour productivity. This paper contributes to the literature on regional development by empirically establishing the existence of simultaneity between private investment and income at the state level in Indian economy.     

Locations and relocations: determinants,modelling, and interrelations

Empirical studies on industrial location do not typically distinguish between new and relocated establishments, which may result in biased estimates and thus misleading policy implications. This paper addresses this shortcoming using data on the frequency of these events in the municipalities of Catalonia. We find that most factors affecting start-up rates are different from those affecting relocation rates, while those that affect both rates do so with different intensities. In addition, start-ups and relocations are positive but asymmetrically related. These results from count regression models are consistent with the idea that the information on which location and relocation decisions hinge differs.     

Sectoral and cross-sectoral effects of retailing firm demographies

Firm births and deaths are interrelated. Johnson and Parker (1994) have summarized the various causality relationships according to three different effects: (1) the Multiplier, (2) the Competition and (3) the Marshall effect. This article proposes an enlarged analytical framework by introducing the sectoral and cross-sectoral dimensions of firm demography. The expected interrelationships between firm births and deaths are different when studied within a single industry, or between different industries. In the first case, Competition effects should prevail while, in the second case, Multiplier effects are more probable. The discussion suggests, however, that even for firms with similar activities, complementarities and Multiplier effects may occur. An econometric model that allows for (cross-)sectoral and spatial interactions is specified and tested using Belgian data. Results lead to the conclusion that sectoral and cross-sectoral dimensions in firm demography are relevant. It is also clear that these issues definitely deserve further attention in firm demographic research.The author is grateful to the National Bank of Belgium for financial support. Thanks are due to Frédéric Gaspart, Martin Carree, seminar and congress participants in Bordeaux, Maastricht, Paris, Caen and Dortmund, invited editors of this journal and two anonymous referees for their comments on earlier versions of this article.     

Trade infrastructure and firm location under Cournot competition

In a two-country four-region setting, this paper analyzes the impact of trade infrastructure on firm locations when they interact weakly in Cournot competition, and capital is perfectly footloose. Trade infrastructure costs are additive in firm production and countries differ in their quality of domestic infrastructure. We show that there is a magnified impact of initial infrastructure difference on firm location choices whenever the market is more integrated internationally or within each country. Trade liberalization promotes regional dispersion in the country with better infrastructure. For the country with poor infrastructure, given the presence of a magnified infrastructure disadvantage, unilateral domestic market integration does not necessarily result in an inflow of firms.     

合作博弈:入世后中国城市发展的新动力

改革开放以来，城市逐渐成为利益主体，城市之间必然形成竞争机制结构。在此基础上，从“城市—区域”到“城市区域”，是城市发展史上一个巨大的质的飞跃，无论中国还是世界都是如此。伴随着这一巨变的是城市之间竞争结构与博弈模式的巨变；从城市之间的城市竞争阶段到合作博异的“城市区域竞合”阶段、“城市区域一体化”阶段，显示着“城市竞合区域”的形成以及城市在合作博异中分享区域利益的趋势。城市经营阶段的推进，是中国城市发展的结构性因素，历经中国城市发展乃至中国现代化关键时期的60年。