Abstract
Recent years have seen remarkable changes in the nature of trade and FDI flows. Globalization has stretched national boundaries and broadened firms’ perspective, making business an international issue. As a result, the international involvement of firms has increased over time, and multinational enterprises have become key players of this globalized modern scenario.
We revisit the evidence about firms’ performance and their international status in a large sample of Italian enterprises. Three results stand out. First, firms engaging in foreign production of final goods, in addition to export activities, are more productive than firms that only export abroad. Second, firms engaging in final goods off-shoring are more productive than firms engaging in inputs off-shoring. Third, the productivity dynamics of exporters is not any better than non-exporters’ one. Our results support that the better performance of globally engaged firms is chiefly due to the selection caused by the fixed costs associated to international operations. [JEL Classification: F10; F20; L10; L20; L60]
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Casaburi, L., Gattai, V., Minerva, G.A. (2009). Firms’ International Status and Heterogeneity in Performance: Evidence from Italy. In: Lambertini, L. (eds) Firms’ Objectives and Internal Organisation in a Global Economy. Central Issues in Contemporary Economic Theory and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230274334_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230274334_8
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