Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9500
Authors: Dalia Marin; Linda Rousov; Thierry Verdier
Abstract: What determines whether or not multinational firms transplant their mode of organisation to other countries? We embed the theory of knowledge hierarchies in an industry equilibrium model of monopolistic competition to examine how the economic environment may affect the decision to transplant the business organization. We test the theory with original data of 660 multinational firms and 2200 of their affiliates. Three factors stand out: a competitive host market, the corporate culture of the multinational firm, and the transfer of an innovative technology. These factors increase the respective probabilities of organisational transfer by 9, 18, and 27 percentage points.
Keywords: organisational economics of multinational firms; organisational transfer between countries; the theory of the firm and trade
JEL Codes: D23; F12; F23; F61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Competitive host market (L13) | Organizational transfer (J62) |
| Corporate culture of multinational firm (F23) | Organizational transfer (J62) |
| Transfer of innovative technology (O36) | Organizational transfer (J62) |