Information Technology, Productivity, and Asset Ownership: Evidence from Taxicab Fleets

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Rawley, Evan; Simcoe, Timothy S.
• 署名单位: Columbia University; Boston University
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1120.0758
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 831-845
• 关键词: Information technology; vertical integration; asset ownership; PRODUCTIVITY; capabilities

摘要

We develop a simple model that links the adoption of a productivity-enhancing technology to increased vertical integration and a less skilled workforce. We test the model's key prediction using novel microdata on vehicle ownership patterns from the Economic Census during a period when computerized dispatching systems were first adopted by taxicab firms. Controlling for time-invariant firm-specific effects, firms increase the proportion of taxicabs under fleet ownership by 12% when they adopt new computerized dispatching systems. An instrumental variables analysis suggests that the link between dispatching technology and vertical integration is causal. These findings suggest that increasing a firm's productivity can lead to increased vertical integration, even in the absence of asset specificity.