Suchergebnisse

We conceptualize capital markets in terms of resource access and governance, and argue that more developed capital markets facilitate firm restructuring through more effective provision of capital and governance of transactions. We then develop a contingency model that specifies that the effects of capital market development on restructuring vary by (1) types of restructuring, (2) the nature of the economic environments, and (3) firms' access to resources. We evaluate a broad range of restructuring actions among independent firms and business group affiliates in Singapore and South Korea before and during the economic shock of 1998–1999. Results support our predictions of the impact of capital market development and of contingencies, and highlight the value of incorporating an external capital markets perspective to complement internally focused theoretical explanations for firm restructuring.

Using a comparative institutional perspective, we explore whether business groups' roles in facilitating affiliate firms' innovation varies by country and time period. We compare the innovativeness of firms affiliated with business groups to that of independent firms in two emerging economies: South Korea and Taiwan. On average, business group affiliates outperform independent firms in South Korea, but not in Taiwan, and in the early 1990s, but not in the late 1990s. The existence of alternative institutional infrastructures for innovation might explain these differences. Groups' abilities to share technological knowledge and financial resources among affiliates enables them to create value by promoting innovation in emerging economies, but groups' diversification might inhibit individual affiliates' innovativeness.