Effects of corporate diversification on productivity

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Schoar, A
• 署名单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1082
• DOI: 10.1111/1540-6261.00500
• 发表日期: 2002
• 页码: 2379-2403
• 关键词: internal capital-markets; COMPETITION

摘要

Using plant-level observations from the Longitudinal Research Database I show that conglomerates are more productive than stand-alone firms at a given point in time. Dynamically, however, firms that diversify experience a net reduction in productivity. While the acquired plants increase productivity, incumbent plants suffer. Moreover, stock prices track firm productivity and this tracking is equally strong for diversified and stand-alone firms. Therefore, lower transparency of conglomerates is unlikely to explain the discrepancy between productivity and stock prices on average. Finally, I offer some evidence that this discrepancy may arise because conglomerates dissipate rents in the form of higher wages.