IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/eti/dpaper/22053.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Impacts of Inter-firm Relations on the Adoption of Remote Work: Evidence from a survey in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • TOMIURA Eiichi
  • KUMANOMIDO Hiroshi

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work suddenly attracted attention. This paper focuses on inter-firm relations, as the costs and benefits of introducing remote work are likely to differ depending on the firms’ relationships with other firms. We combine our unique survey on the responses of Japanese manufacturers or wholesalers to the COVID-19 pandemic with transaction relation data. We find that firms sourcing from more suppliers before the pandemic are significantly more likely to adopt remote work during the pandemic even after controlling for firm size. Wholesalers selling to more customers appear to be less likely to shift to remote work. * We revised this discussion paper with the new tile in August 2023. This paper was previously circulated under the title "Impacts of Inter-firm Transaction and Ownership Relationships on the Adoption of Remote Work: Evidence from a survey in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Suggested Citation

  • TOMIURA Eiichi & KUMANOMIDO Hiroshi, 2022. "Impacts of Inter-firm Relations on the Adoption of Remote Work: Evidence from a survey in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic," Discussion papers 22053, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    • Handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:22053
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/dp/22e053.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Squicciarini, Mara & Juhász, Réka & Voigtländer, Nico, 2020. "Away from Home and Back: Coordinating (Remote) Workers in 1800 and 2020," CEPR Discussion Papers 15578, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Yann Bramoullé & Habiba Djebbari & Bernard Fortin, 2020. "Peer Effects in Networks: A Survey," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 12(1), pages 603-629, August.
    3. David Atkin & Azam Chaudhry & Shamyla Chaudry & Amit K. Khandelwal & Eric Verhoogen, 2017. "Organizational Barriers to Technology Adoption: Evidence from Soccer-Ball Producers in Pakistan," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(3), pages 1101-1164.
    4. Andrew B. Bernard & Emmanuel Dhyne & Glenn Magerman & Kalina Manova & Andreas Moxnes, 2022. "The Origins of Firm Heterogeneity: A Production Network Approach," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(7), pages 1765-1804.
    5. Okubo, Toshihiro, 2022. "Telework in the spread of COVID-19," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    6. Tanaka, Kiyoyasu, 2023. "What hinders digital communication? Evidence from foreign firms in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. Eiichi Tomiura & Banri Ito, 2024. "Impacts of globalisation on the adoption of remote work: Evidence from a survey in Japan during the COVID‐19 pandemic," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3), pages 957-982, March.
    8. Emmanuel Dhyne & Ayumu Ken Kikkawa & Magne Mogstad & Felix Tintelnot, 2021. "Trade and Domestic Production Networks," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(2), pages 643-668.
    9. Ding, Wenzhi & Levine, Ross & Lin, Chen & Xie, Wensi, 2021. "Corporate immunity to the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 802-830.
    10. Nicholas Bloom & Philip Bunn & Paul Mizen & Pawel Smietanka & Gregory Thwaites, 2020. "The Impact of Covid-19 on Productivity," NBER Working Papers 28233, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Alexander W. Bartik & Zoe B. Cullen & Edward L. Glaeser & Michael Luca & Christopher T. Stanton, 2020. "What Jobs are Being Done at Home During the Covid-19 Crisis? Evidence from Firm-Level Surveys," NBER Working Papers 27422, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Andrew B. Bernard & Andreas Moxnes & Yukiko U. Saito, 2019. "Production Networks, Geography, and Firm Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(2), pages 639-688.
    13. Abel Brodeur & David Gray & Anik Islam & Suraiya Bhuiyan, 2021. "A literature review of the economics of COVID‐19," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1007-1044, September.
    14. Nicholas Bloom & James Liang & John Roberts & Zhichun Jenny Ying, 2015. "Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 165-218.
    15. John (Jianqiu) Bai & Erik Brynjolfsson & Wang Jin & Sebastian Steffen & Chi Wan, 2021. "Digital Resilience: How Work-From-Home Feasibility Affects Firm Performance," NBER Working Papers 28588, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Nicholas Bloom & Erik Brynjolfsson & Lucia Foster & Ron Jarmin & Megha Patnaik & Itay Saporta-Eksten & John Van Reenen, 2019. "What Drives Differences in Management Practices?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(5), pages 1648-1683, May.
    17. Giacomo De Giorgi & Anders Frederiksen & Luigi Pistaferri, 2020. "Consumption Network Effects," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(1), pages 130-163.
    18. Andrew D. Foster & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2010. "Microeconomics of Technology Adoption," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 395-424, September.
    19. Emek Basker & Timothy Simcoe, 2021. "Upstream, Downstream: Diffusion and Impacts of the Universal Product Code," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(4), pages 1252-1286.
    20. Paul Hart & Carol Saunders, 1997. "Power and Trust: Critical Factors in the Adoption and Use of Electronic Data Interchange," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(1), pages 23-42, February.
    21. Dingel, Jonathan I. & Neiman, Brent, 2020. "How many jobs can be done at home?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    22. Teresa C. Fort, 2017. "Technology and Production Fragmentation: Domestic versus Foreign Sourcing," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 84(2), pages 650-687.
    23. Barry, John W. & Campello, Murillo & Graham, John R. & Ma, Yueran, 2022. "Corporate flexibility in a time of crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(3), pages 780-806.
    24. John W. Barry & Murillo Campello & John Graham & Yueran Ma, 2022. "Corporate Flexibility in a Time of Crisis," NBER Working Papers 29746, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Tomiura, Eiichi, 2009. "Foreign versus domestic outsourcing: Firm-level evidence on the role of technology," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 219-226, March.
    26. Christopher L. Erickson & Peter Norlander, 2022. "How the past of outsourcing and offshoring is the future of post‐pandemic remote work: A typology, a model and a review," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 71-89, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tanaka, Kiyoyasu, 2023. "What hinders digital communication? Evidence from foreign firms in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Julia Darby & Stuart McIntyre & Graeme Roy, 2022. "What can analysis of 47 million job advertisements tell us about how opportunities for homeworking are evolving in the United Kingdom?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 281-302, July.
    3. Hansen, Stephen & Lambert, Peter John & Bloom, Nicholas & Davis, Steven J. & Sadun, Raffaella & Taska, Bledi, 2023. "Remote Work across Jobs, Companies, and Space," IZA Discussion Papers 15980, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Barth, Erling & Bryson, Alex & Dale-Olsen, Harald, 2022. "Creative Disruption: Technology Innovation, Labour Demand and the Pandemic," IZA Discussion Papers 15762, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Daiji Kawaguchi & Sagiri Kitao & Manabu Nose, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on Japanese firms: mobility and resilience via remote work," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1419-1449, December.
    6. Erdsiek, Daniel & Rost, Vincent, 2023. "How do managers form their expectations about working from home? Survey experiments on the perception of productivity," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-018, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. KITAGAWA Ritsu & KURODA Sachiko & OKUDAIRA Hiroko & OWAN Hideo, 2021. "Working from Home: Its Effects on Productivity and Mental Health," Discussion papers 21024, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Nadia Balemi & Roland Füss & Alois Weigand, 2021. "COVID-19’s impact on real estate markets: review and outlook," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 35(4), pages 495-513, December.
    9. Silva, Thiago Christiano & Wilhelm, Paulo Victor Berri & Tabak, Benjamin Miranda, 2022. "The role of non-critical business and telework propensity in international stock markets during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    10. Graham, James & Ozbilgin, Murat, 2021. "Age, industry, and unemployment risk during a pandemic lockdown," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. Muscillo, Alessio & Pin, Paolo & Razzolini, Tiziano & Serti, Francesco, 2018. "Does "Network Closure" Beef up Import Premium?," IZA Discussion Papers 12036, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Nicholas Bloom & Philip Bunn & Paul Mizen & Pawel Smietanka & Gregory Thwaites, 2020. "The Impact of Covid-19 on Productivity," NBER Working Papers 28233, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Janice C. dup Eberly & John dup Fernald, 2022. "Jackson Hole 2022 - Reassessing Economic Constraints: Potential Output (The Impact of COVID on Productivity and Potential Output)," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, August.
    14. Christian Kagerl & Julia Starzetz, 2023. "Working from home for good? Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and what this means for the future of work," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 229-265, January.
    15. Behrens, Kristian & Kichko, Sergei & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 2024. "Working from home: Too much of a good thing?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    16. Kai Fischer & J. James Reade & W. Benedikt Schmal, 2021. "The Long Shadow of an Infection: COVID-19 and Performance at Work," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2021-17, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    17. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2022. "Working from Home Around the World," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 53(2 (Fall)), pages 281-360.
    18. Emmanuel Dhyne & Ayumu Ken Kikkawa & Glenn Magerman, 2022. "Imperfect Competition in Firm-to-Firm Trade," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(5), pages 1933-1970.
    19. Giovanni Gallipoli & Christos A. Makridis, 2022. "Sectoral digital intensity and GDP growth after a large employment shock: A simple extrapolation exercise," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 446-479, February.
    20. Ali Zarifhonarvar, 2023. "A Survey on the Impact of Covid-19 on the Labor Market," The Journal of Social Sciences Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, 03-2023.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • F61 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Microeconomic Impacts
    • M16 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - International Business Administration
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eti:dpaper:22053. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: TANIMOTO, Toko (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rietijp.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.