Evaluation criteria versus firm characteristics as determinants of public R&D funding

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Thomas Falk ◽  
Roger Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Knowledge Gain ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Acceptance Probability ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Evaluation Scores ◽  
To Receive

Abstract This study provides new empirical evidence regarding the relevance of evaluation criteria and firm characteristics for public R&D funding decisions. The database used contains both accepted and rejected R&D project proposals, project evaluation scores, and several firm characteristics. The probit estimations show that proposals with high scores on innovative content, spillover, and knowledge gain are significantly more likely to be approved and that most firm-level characteristics are not significant, except for firm size. For example, good or very good assessments of innovative content raise the acceptance probability by between 18 and 37 percentage points, respectively. Small firms are more likely to receive a grant.

scholarly journals Firm Size Does Matter: New Evidence on the Determinants of Cash Holdings

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efstathios Magerakis ◽  
Konstantinos Gkillas ◽  
Athanasios Tsagkanos ◽  
Costas Siriopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Cash Holdings ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Crisis Period ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Panel Data Regression ◽  
Data Regression ◽  
Prior Literature

We study the financial determinants of cash holdings and discuss the importance of firm size in the post-crisis period. We employ panel data regression analysis on a sample of 6629 non-financial and non-utility listed companies in the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2018. We focus on the comparative analysis of large, medium, and small size firms in terms of cash holdings. Our findings indicate that cash levels are higher for firms with riskier cash flows, more growth opportunities, and higher R&D expenditures. In contrast, the firms’ cash holdings decrease when the substitutes of cash, cash flows, and capital expenditures increase. We show that small-sized firms tend to hold more cash than their larger counterparts due to precautionary motives. Further, we confirm a significant and varying association between managerial ownership and cash holdings. The study is robust to different regression specifications, additional analyses, and endogeneity tests. Overall, we add to the prior literature by identifying the effect of firm-level attributes and governance characteristics on cash policy during the post-crisis period. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work that provides insights on the way that firm characteristics impact cash holdings, considering the differences among firm size groupings.

The Effect of Export Promotion on Firm-Level Performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 357-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Munch ◽  
Georg Schaur
Keyword(s):  
Small Firms ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Export Promotion ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Selection Problems ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Tax Distortions ◽  
Level Performance

Most countries promote exports. This paper answers two questions: Does export promotion improve firm performance, and do any benefits outweigh costs? We solve self-selection problems by accounting for an extensive set of firm characteristics. In addition, we distinguish firms that self-selected into promotion services from firms the Danish Trade Council approached based on observed information. We find that export promotion increases sales, value added, employment, and value added per worker. For small firms, summing expenditures on export promotion, subsidies, and tax distortions, the gain in value added is roughly three times higher than the direct costs of export promotion. (JEL D22, F13, F14, L25, L53)

Lights Off, Lights On: The Effects of Electricity Shortages on Small Firms

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Hardy ◽  
Jamie McCasland
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Measurable Effect ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Differential Effects

Abstract Entrepreneurs in developing countries report that unreliable electricity imposes a serious constraint, yet little evidence exists on how blackouts impact the micro-firms that account for the majority of employment. This article estimates the effects of outages on small firms using original firm-level panel data and finds evidence of differential effects by firm size. Firms without employees experience large reductions in revenues and profits. Outages have no measurable effect on the output of firms with employees, where worker hours increase, weekly wages paid decrease, and the analysis fails to reject the null hypothesis that blackouts have no effect on (average firm-level) worker hourly wages.

scholarly journals Does size matter? Hiring discrimination and firm size

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 550-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stijn Baert ◽  
Ann-Sofie De Meyer ◽  
Yentl Moerman ◽  
Eddy Omey
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Ethnic Discrimination ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Unequal Treatment ◽  
Hiring Discrimination ◽  
The Right ◽  
Size Matter

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the association between firm size and hiring discrimination against women, ethnic minorities and older job candidates. Design/methodology/approach The authors merge field experimental measures on unequal treatment with firm-level data. The resulting data enable the authors to assess whether discrimination varies by indicators of firm size, keeping other firm characteristics constant. Findings In contrast with the theoretical expectations, the authors find no evidence for an association between firm size and hiring discrimination. On the other hand, the authors do find suggestive evidence for hiring discrimination being lower in respect of public or non-profit firms (compared to commercial firms). Social implications To effectively combat hiring discrimination, one needs to understand its driving factors. In other words, to design adequate policy actions, targeted to the right employers in the right way, one has to gain insight into when individuals are discriminated in particular, i.e. into the moderators of labour market discrimination. In this study, the authors focus on firm size as a moderator of hiring discrimination. Originality/value Former contributions investigated this association within the context of ethnic discrimination only and included hardly any controls for other firm-level drivers of discrimination. The authors are the first to study the heterogeneity in discrimination by firm size with respect to multiple discrimination grounds and control for additional firm characteristics.

Environmental standards, trade and innovation: evidence from a natural experiment

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 414-446
Author(s):  
Pavel Chakraborty
Keyword(s):  
Firm Size ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Technical Regulation ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Level Data

AbstractExploiting a natural experiment involving the imposition of a technical regulation by Germany on Indian leather and textile industries in 1994, a firm-level data set is used to study the trade, adaptation and discontinuity effects and how they vary by firm size. It is found that: (a) regulation significantly increases the export revenues of a firm through use of new technology and high-quality imported raw materials – indicating a possible signalling effect; (b) this gain is concentrated only on the upper half of the firm size distribution, i.e., in the 3rd and 4th quartiles; (c) use of imported raw materials significantly explains low exit probabilities of a firm; and (d) there is evidence of a sorting effect – regulation significantly affecting the operation of small firms.

scholarly journals The Importance Of Performance Management Tools Usage For Surviving The Economic Crisis

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darja Peljhan ◽  
Katja Zajc Kejzar ◽  
Nina Ponikvar
Keyword(s):  
Performance Management ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Survival Probability ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Current Economic Crisis ◽  
Lower Hazard

The main objective of our research is to explore how using performance management (PM) tools impact the exit hazard of firms by considering a sample of Slovenian firms during the recent economic crisis. The paper finds that, when firm and industry characteristics are not accounted for, the firms that used PM tools in 2007 experienced around a 6 percentage points lower hazard of shutting down during the current economic crisis. Further, our study supports the view that firm size and age are more important determinants of a firms survival probability than the influence of using PM tools (and other firm characteristics) due to a strong and significant correlation between the use of PM tools and firm size and age.

scholarly journals How Important Are Management Practices for the Productivity of Small and Medium Enterprises?

2020 ◽  
pp. 88-112
Author(s):  
Axel Demenet ◽  
Quynh Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Financial Capital ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Business Skills ◽  
Entrepreneurial Attitudes ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Is the lack of ‘managerial capital’, alongside human and financial capital, a constraint on the growth of firms in developing countries? The evidence on this is still mixed, especially among small and medium enterprises. This chapter uses a panel of Vietnamese enterprises to investigate this question. We build a multidimensional measure of managerial capital, combining both practices and attitudes, and link it with consistent estimates of firm-level productivity and mark-up. We show that there is a positive and significant association between managerial capital and productivity: changes in management practices allow firms to be more efficient. Furthermore, we compare this association by firm size, and show that managerial capital is arguably as important for micro and small firms as it is for medium ones. Finally, it appears that the indicators related to ‘entrepreneurial attitudes’ play a more important role than elementary business skills.

How does corporate learning orientation enhance industrial brand equity? The roles of firm capabilities and size

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Xie ◽  
Xiaoying Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Brand Equity ◽  
Firm Size ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Learning Orientation ◽  
Innovation Capability ◽  
Marketing Capabilities ◽  
Marketing Capability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Learning ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role of learning orientation in building brand equity for B2B firms. The present research proposes that learning orientation contributes to the development of innovation and marketing capabilities and, in turn, leads to enhanced industrial brand equity. Furthermore, the moderating effect of firm size in these processes is investigated. Design/methodology/approach The hypotheses are tested by administering a survey with a set of managers of manufacturing firms in China. Findings Innovation capability and marketing capability serve as the mediators between learning orientation and industrial brand equity. The mediating path through innovation capability is stronger for small firms than for large firms. Research limitations/implications Learning orientation provides a cultural base for B2B firms to cultivate brand equity. Measurement of industrial brand equity and contingency of its effect requires further investigation. Practical implications To transform learning-oriented culture into brand equity, firms need to develop and manage innovation and marketing capabilities. The learning orientation–innovation capability route is more beneficial for small firms. Originality/value While a majority of prior literature ignores the impact of organizational culture in driving industrial brand equity, the present research explores learning orientation as a key cultural antecedent of industrial brand equity. A more refined industrial-brand-equity-building mechanism from learning orientation to corporate capabilities and then to brand equity is proposed and tested. The mechanism varies with firm size.

scholarly journals Firm characteristics, consumption risk, and firm-level risk exposures

2017 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Dittmar ◽  
Christian T. Lundblad
Keyword(s):  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Consumption Risk
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