Natália Barbosa

On the determinants of multinationals' ownership preferences: evidence from Greece and Portugal

Abstract The aim of the paper is to examine the determinants of the ownership preferences of manufacturing multinational firms established in Greece and Portugal in the 1990s. Differences between the two countries in terms of relative FDI size, industry and ownership choices are observed. Transaction cost arguments together with bargaining power considerations through their effects on the affiliate’s expected profits provide the theoretical basis for the econometric model which uses multinomial logit analysis on Greek and Portuguese data. The estimations contribute to a better understanding of observed differences, showing that firm and industry characteristics interacting with location affect ownership decisions.

Foreign firm entry in an open economy: the case of Portugal

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the entry process of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Portuguese industrial sectors. Portugal presents an interesting case where firms enter to take advantage of export opportunities. The results suggest that foreign firms possess the ability to overcome existing entry barriers that affect domestic firms. Apparently, foreign firms have different expectations about profitability than domestic firms, possibly due to foreign firms’ export-orientation to the rest of the European Union (EU). They appear to desire industries where other foreign firms have clustered. Above all, it appears that these foreign firms enter industries to exploit Portugals chief location advantage in Western Europe: low wages. Portugals FDI experience is relevant to other countries that have opened their economies to greater trade and investment and attracted export-oriented firms.

High-Growth Firms: What is the Impact of Region-Specific Characteristics?

This paper analyses high-growth firms in Portugal and aims at assessing the impact of region-specific characteristics on the probability of the firm being high-growth. Using a sample of active firms registered in the database Quadros de Pessoal between 2002 and 2006, the result suggest that high-growth firms is not a random phenomenon and that the region-specific characteristics determine significantly the probability of the firm being high-growth. In particular, industrial diversity, services agglomeration and diversity of employees qualifications in a region explain in a significantly way the probability of a firm being high-growth.

Firm growth and innovation: Towards a typology of innovation strategy

Abstract This article discusses innovation across the fir m’s life cycle. By discussing how firms’ innovation decisions change over time and across the different stages of firm growth, we add to the literature on innovation and strategy by proposing a typology of innovation strategy. In this original contribution, innovation strategies are categorized in terms of the type of innovation (product and process) and its degree of novelty (incremental and radical). Crossing these decisions we identify four innovation strategies: product development; learning by experience; discovery; and restructuring. In our integrative view of technological innovation and firm growth, we propose that each of the four innovation strategies develop over the firm’s growth stages (start-up, expansion, maturity, diversification, and exit), therefore making a conceptual contribution to our knowledge on innovation strategy. We concluded by suggesting further research on this topic.

SINGLE MARKET NON-COMPLIANCE: HOW RELEVANT IS THE INSTITUTIONAL SETTING?

This paper investigates the role of the national institutional setting in explaining Single Market non-compliance regarding non-tariff barriers in intra-European Union (EU) trade. Using data on infringements to Single Market law we show that the quality of domestic institutional characteristics is relevant to explain non-compliance among EU countries. While government independence from political pressures and higher levels of representativeness and accountability reduce the propensity of member states to infringe upon Single Market laws, better regulatory quality increases the probability of non-compliance at industry level, suggesting that increases in competition may generate protectionist measures that violate Single Market law.

Public financial support and firm-specific characteristics: evidence from Portugal

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the underlying factors explaining a firm’s use of public financial support and possible misalignments between policy goals and the characteristics of firms holding a public grant. Using firm-level data for a sample of Portuguese manufacturing firms over the 2006–2013 period, we investigate how public financial support at the firm level is related to observable firm’s characteristics. Our findings suggest that firms lacking resources, capabilities and international involvement seem to be those with great barriers to use public financial support. Therefore, it cast doubts on the efficiency of public financial support programmes aiming to mitigate market failures, by assisting constrained firms. In turn, public financial support seems to boost market selection mechanisms by favouring ‘good’ firms and pushing less-endowed firms outside the market.