Stefanie A. Haller

Determinants of ICT adoption: evidence from firm-level data

We analyse factors driving inter- and intra-firm diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) using data from Irish manufacturing firms over the period 2001 to 2004. We find that the path of ICT diffusion has been uneven across firms, industries and space, which is consistent with the theory of new technology adoption. Our results suggest that firms that are larger, younger, fast growing, skill-intensive, export-intensive and firms located in the capital city region have been relatively more successful in adopting and using ICT. We find positive technology spillovers from firms that have adopted ICT located in the same industry and region.

Picking "Lemons" or Picking "Cherries"? Domestic and Foreign Acquisitions in Norwegian Manufacturing

We compare the performance in employment, wages and productivity for domestic plants acquired by new domestic and foreign owners. Prospective foreign owners pick large, high-wage, high-productivity plants, while new domestic owners choose average performers of above-average size. Employment, labour productivity, and total factor productivity decline in domestic acquisition targets before acquisitions; only wages recover afterwards. Employment, wages and labour productivity increase after foreign acquisitions. The sample selection introduced by long-term comparisons and a focus on unique events introduces a downward bias into the results for domestic acquisitions and an upward bias for the foreign acquisitions.

The Performance of Trading Firms in the Services Sectors – Comparable Evidence from Four EU Countries

We analyse common stylized facts of services firms engaged in trade in a comparative study across four EU member countries. We find that, though relatively less engaged in trade than manufacturing firms, services firms have similar traits. Services firms are more likely to import than to export. Their prevalent type of trade is trade in goods. The complexity of trade activities is increasing in firm size and productivity. Two-way traders outperform one-way traders. Services are more likely to be traded by firms already engaged in trade of goods. Changes in trading status by either adding another dimension of trade (imports, exports) or another type of product (goods, services) are infrequent and are associated with significant pre-switching premia. In contrast, learning effects from switching trading status are uncommon. This evidence points to significant fixed cost of being engaged in trade. Thus, the literature on heterogeneous firms is able to explain the sorting of firms into trading and non-trading firms in the services sectors as well.

Ownership change and its implications for the match between the plant and its workers

Is ownership change an opportunity for new owners to make systematic changes in the workforce of the acquired plant? This paper explores the adjustments to plant size and the composition of the workforce that occur around ownership change using matched employer-employee data. Furthermore, we explore changes in the workforce along unobservable dimensions of worker quality and the quality of the match between the plant and its workers. We observe excess labour turnover around ownership change, but only in the case of foreign acquisitions do we find an improvement in unobserved worker and match quality at the plant level.

Intra-firm trade, exporting, importing and firm performance

This paper examines firm heterogeneity in terms of size, wages, capital intensity, and productivity between domestic and foreign-owned firms that engage in intra-firm trade, firms that export and import, firms that import only, and firms that export only. As previously documented, heterogeneity between different groups of trading firms is substantial. Taking into account intra-firm trade in addition to exporting and importing yields new insights into the productivity advantage previously established for exporting firms. The results presented here show that this premium accrues only to exporters that also import and to exporters that also engage in intra-firm trade, but not to firms that export only. Using simultaneous quantile regressions, the paper illustrates that heterogeneity within different groups of trading firm is equally large. Some of this within-group heterogeneity can be attributed to differences in trading partners.

Intra‐Firm Trade, Exporting, Importing, and Firm Performance (Commerce Intra‐Firme. Exportation, Importation, Et Performance De La Firme)

This paper examines firm heterogeneity in terms of size, wages, capital intensity, and productivity between domestic and foreign-owned firms that engage in intra-firm trade, firms that export and import, firms that import only, and firms that export only. As previously documented, heterogeneity between different groups of trading firms is substantial. Taking into account intra-firm trade in addition to exporting and importing yields new insights into the productivity advantage previously established for exporting firms. The results presented here show that this premium accrues only to exporters that also import and to exporters that also engage in intra-firm trade, but not to firms that export only. Using simultaneous quantile regressions, the paper illustrates that heterogeneity within different groups of trading firm is equally large. Some of this within-group heterogeneity can be attributed to differences in trading partners.