 Core product competence and productivity gains: the role of foreign ownershipJen-Chung Mei International Review of Applied Economics, 2023, vol. 37, issue 3, 389-425 Abstract: Recent theoretical contributions provide predictions about the effects of core product competence on firms’ productivity. However, we know little about the influence of foreign ownership on core product competence that might also lead to productivity gains across firms. This paper uses firm-level data for 137 countries to investigate how foreign ownership affects firms’ decision to become specialised at core products and the subsequently firm productivity gains. To tackle the possible endogeneity of foreign ownership, the instrumental variable approach and the propensity score matching technique are employed. The results show that foreign ownership has a positive and significant effect on firms’ core product competence and this positive effect leads to productivity gains, especially for the most productive firms. We further reveal that foreign competition within an industry encourages firms to become specialised at core products, which could further lead to productivity gains across firms. Date: 2023 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:irapec:v:37:y:2023:i:3:p:389-425 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/02692171.2023.2210513 Access Statistics for this article International Review of Applied Economics is currently edited by Professor Malcolm Sawyer More articles in International Review of Applied Economics from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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