IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/indinn/v17y2010i5p469-486.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Persistence of Superior Performance at Industry and Firm Levels: Evidence from the IT Industry in Taiwan

Author

Listed:
  • Yi-Min Chen
  • Feng-Jyh Lin

Abstract

The industrial organization economics and the resource-based view of the firm have led to disagreements over the question as to which of firm performance at the industry and firm levels has persisted longer since the 1970s. Acknowledging that the IT industry in Taiwan has become very competitive and has demonstrated outstanding performance in the world since the 1990s, this study calculates the persistence in the incremental components of the effects on profitability, and tests hypotheses that conform to the above mainstream views of relative rates of persistence. A persistence partitioning model is fitted to a new data set, and the results show that the incremental effects of firms on profitability persist longer than the incremental effects of industry. In other words, the long-term competitive advantages of IT firms in Taiwan are more predictable and sustainable in regards to firm factors than for industry influences. These findings support the predictions of the resource-based view of the firm, and provide some implications for corporate strategy.

Suggested Citation

  • Yi-Min Chen & Feng-Jyh Lin, 2010. "The Persistence of Superior Performance at Industry and Firm Levels: Evidence from the IT Industry in Taiwan," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(5), pages 469-486.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:indinn:v:17:y:2010:i:5:p:469-486
    DOI: 10.1080/13662716.2010.510000
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13662716.2010.510000
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/13662716.2010.510000?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Romer, Paul M, 1986. "Increasing Returns and Long-run Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1002-1037, October.
    2. Anita M. McGahan & Michael E. Porter, 1999. "The Persistence of Shocks to Profitability," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(1), pages 143-153, February.
    3. Cubbin, John & Geroski, Paul A, 1987. "The Convergence of Profits in the Long Run: Inter-firm and Inter-industry Comparisons," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 427-442, June.
    4. Mueller,Dennis C., 2009. "Profits in the Long Run," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521101592, November.
    5. Shin-Horng Chen, 2002. "Global Production Networks and Information Technology: The Case of Taiwan," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 249-265.
    6. Anita M. McGahan & Michael E. Porter, 2002. "What Do We Know About Variance in Accounting Profitability?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(7), pages 834-851, July.
    7. Juan Carlos Bou & Albert Satorra, 2007. "The persistence of abnormal returns at industry and firm levels: Evidence from Spain," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(7), pages 707-722, July.
    8. Shin-Horng Chen, 2002. "Global Production Networks and Information Technology: The Case of Taiwan," Economics Study Area Working Papers 46, East-West Center, Economics Study Area.
    9. Erik Thorbecke & An‐Chi Tung & Henry Wan, Jr, 2002. "Industrial Targeting: Lessons from Past Errors and Successes of Hong Kong and Taiwan," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8), pages 1047-1061, August.
    10. Richard P. Rumelt, 1991. "How much does industry matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 167-185, March.
    11. Thomas H. Brush & Philip Bromiley & Margaretha Hendrickx, 1999. "The relative influence of industry and corporation on business segment performance: an alternative estimate," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(6), pages 519-547, June.
    12. Robert Jacobsen, 1988. "The persistence of abnormal returns," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(5), pages 415-430, September.
    13. Chen, Yi-Min, 2010. "The continuing debate on firm performance: A multilevel approach to the IT sectors of Taiwan and South Korea," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(5), pages 471-478, May.
    14. Richard R. Nelson, 1991. "Why do firms differ, and how does it matter?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(S2), pages 61-74, December.
    15. Timothy W. Ruefli & Robert R. Wiggins, 2003. "Industry, corporate, and segment effects and business performance: a non‐parametric approach," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(9), pages 861-879, September.
    16. Jinn‐Yuh Hsu, 2006. "The Dynamic Firm–Territory Nexus of Taiwanese Informatics Industry Investments in China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 230-254, June.
    17. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    18. Cusumano, Michael A. & Elenkov, Detelin, 1994. "Linking international technology transfer with strategy and management: a literature commentary," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 195-215, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Yi-Min & Liu, Hsin-Hsien & Yang, Yung-Kai & Chen, Wei-Hua, 2016. "CEO succession in family firms: Stewardship perspective in the pre-succession context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 5111-5116.
    2. Guan, Jian & Cai, Huaijun & Cao, Youqing, 2015. "Industry versus firm effects on the profit persistence in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 83-93.
    3. Guan, JianCheng & Pang, Lanxin, 2017. "Industry specific effects on innovation performance in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 125-137.
    4. Chen, Yi-Min & Yang, De-Hsin & Lin, Feng-Jyh, 2013. "Does technological diversification matter to firm performance? The moderating role of organizational slack," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1970-1975.

    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. Chen, Yi-Min, 2010. "The continuing debate on firm performance: A multilevel approach to the IT sectors of Taiwan and South Korea," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(5), pages 471-478, May.
    2. Vicente López-López & Susana Iglesias-Antelo & Esteban Fernández, 2020. "Is Sustainable Performance Explained by Firm Effect in Small Business?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Villalonga, Belen, 2004. "Intangible resources, Tobin's q, and sustainability of performance differences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 205-230, June.
    4. Hsu, Bo-Xiang & Chen, Yi-Min & Yan, Ting-Yu, 2021. "Industrial targeting and firm performance: An integrated approach to industry selection," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    5. Tammy L. Madsen & Gordon Walker, 2017. "Competitive heterogeneity, cohorts, and persistent advantage," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 184-202, February.
    6. Jan Schiefer & Stefan Hirsch & Monika Hartmann & Adelina Gschwandtner, 2013. "Industry, firm, year and country effects on profitability in EU food processing," Studies in Economics 1309, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    7. Juan Carlos Bou & Albert Satorra, 2003. "The persistence of abnormal returns at industry and firm levels," Economics Working Papers 729, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    8. Yi-Min Chen, 2008. "How Much Does Country Matter?," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 31(4), pages 404-435, October.
    9. Hernan Etiennot & Roberto Vassolo & Francisco Diaz Hermelo & Anita McGahan, 2019. "How do industry and country impact firm performance? A national and supranational analysis," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 791-821, August.
    10. Kohls, Tobias & Mager, Ferdinand & Regele, Tobias, 2023. "Competitive advantage and firm, industry, and country effects: An asset pricing perspective," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    11. Ketelhöhn, Niels W. & Quintanilla, Carlos, 2012. "Country effects on profitability: A multilevel approach using a sample of Central American firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(12), pages 1767-1772.
    12. Rodolphe Durand & Robert M. Grant & Tammy L. Madsen & Joshua Gans & Michael D. Ryall, 2017. "Value capture theory: A strategic management review," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 17-41, January.
    13. Tammy L. Madsen & Michael J. Leiblein, 2015. "What Factors Affect the Persistence of an Innovation Advantage?," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(8), pages 1097-1127, December.
    14. Guan, Jian & Cai, Huaijun & Cao, Youqing, 2015. "Industry versus firm effects on the profit persistence in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 83-93.
    15. Dmitry Sharapov & Paul Kattuman & Diego Rodriguez & F. Javier Velazquez, 2021. "Using the SHAPLEY value approach to variance decomposition in strategy research: Diversification, internationalization, and corporate group effects on affiliate profitability," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 608-623, March.
    16. Tarziján, Jorge & Brahm, Francisco & Daiber, Luis Felipe, 2008. "Entrepreneurial profitability and persistence: Chile versus the U.S.A," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 599-608, June.
    17. Fabio R. Chaddad & Mario P. Mondelli, 2013. "Sources of Firm Performance Differences in the US Food Economy," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 382-404, June.
    18. Ruyun (Ivy) Feng & Michael D. Kimbrough & Sijing Wei, 2022. "The role of information transparency in the product market: an examination of the sustainability of profitability differences," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 668-705, June.
    19. Paul M. Vaaler & Gerry McNamara, 2010. "Are Technology-Intensive Industries More Dynamically Competitive? No and Yes," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 271-289, February.
    20. Boland, Michael A. & Pendell, Dustin L., 2005. "Persistence of Profitability in Family-Owned Food Businesses," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19216, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).

    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:taf:indinn:v:17:y:2010:i:5:p:469-486. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CIAI20 .

    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.