Skip to main content
Log in

Corporate diversification, vertical integration, and internal capital markets: A cross-country study

  • Published:
Management International Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Abstract and Key Results

  1. In this paper I test the theory that internal capital markets are a motivation for both corporate diversification and vertical integration. I use a sample of 1560 firms from 39 countries.

  2. Using this data I also test theories about vertical integration and capital market development. I also test agency cost and taxation theories of diversification and vertical integration.

  3. I find a significant and negative relationship between corporate diversification and capital market development

  4. I find a significant and positive relationship between vertical integration and capital market development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abraham, K./ Taylor, S., Firm’s Use of Outside Contractors: Theory and Evidence, Journal of Labor Economics, 14,3, 1996, pp. 394–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amihud, Y./ Lev, B., Risk Reduction as a Managerial Motive for Conglomerate Mergers, Bell Journal of Economics, 12,2, 1982, pp. 605–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aulakh, P./ Mudambi R., Financial Resource Flows in Multinational Enterprises: The Role of External Capital Markets, Management International Review, 45,3, 2005, pp. 307–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, P./ Ofek, E., Diversification’s Effect on Firm Value, Journal of Financial Economics, 37,1, 1995, pp. 39–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhide, A., Reversing Corporate Diversification, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 3,2, 1990, pp. 70–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brouthers, K. D., Institutional, Cultural and Transaction Cost Influences on Entry Mode Choice and Performance, Journal of International Business Studies, 33,2, 2002, pp. 203–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campa, J. M./ Kedia, S., Explaining the Diversification Discount, Journal of Finance, 57,4, 2002, pp. 1731–1762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caves, R./ Bradburd, R., The Empirical Determinants of Vertical Integration, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 9,3, 1988, pp. 265–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chattrjee, S./ Lubatkin, M./ Schoenecker, T., Vertical Strategies and Market Structure: A Risk Analysis, Organization Science, 3,1, 1992, pp. 138–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claessens, S./ Djankov, S./ Fan, J./ Lang, L., Diversification and Efficiency of Investment by East Asian Corporations, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 2033, 1998, pp. 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coffee, Jr., J. C., Racing Towards the Top?: The Impact of Cross-Listings and Stock Market Competition on International Corporate Governance, Columbia Law Review, 102,7, 2002, pp. 1757–1831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denis, D./ Denis, D./ Sarins, A., Agency Problems, Equity Ownership, and Corporate Diversification, Journal of Finance, 52,1, 1997, pp. 135–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, J./ Goyal V., On the Patterns and Wealth Effects of Vertical Mergers, Journal of Business, 79,2, 2006, pp. 877–902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, J./ Lang, L., The Measurement of Relatedness: An Application to Corporate Diversification, Journal of Business, 73,4, 2000, pp. 629–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrigan, K., Formulating Vertical Integration Strategies, Academy of Management Review, 9,4, 1984, pp. 638–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helfat, C./ Teece, D., Vertical Integration and Risk Reduction, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 3,1, 1987, pp. 47–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubbard, R. G./ Palia, D., A Reexamination of the Conglomerate Merger Wave in the 1960s: An Internal Capital Markets View, Journal of Finance, 54,3, 1999, pp. 1131–1152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, M., Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance and Takeovers, American Economic Review, 76,2, 1986, pp. 323–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, M./ Murphy, K., Performance Pay and Top-Management Incentives, Journal of Political Economy, 98,2, 1990, pp. 225–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, W. S./ Sorenson, E., Evidence on the Impact of the Agency Costs of Debt on Corporate Debt Policy, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 21,2, 1986, pp. 131–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, B./ Crawford, R./ Alchian, A., Vertical Integration, Appropriable Rents, and the Competitive Contracting Process, Journal of Law and Economics, 21,2, 1978, pp. 297–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • La Porta, R./ Lopez-de-Silanes, F./ Shleifer, A./ Vishny, R., Law and Finance, Journal of Political Economy, 106,6, 1998, pp. 1113–1154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • La Porta, R./ Lopez-de-Silanes, F./ Shleifer A./ Vishny, R., Legal Determinants of External Finance, Journal of Finance, 52,3, 1997, pp. 1131–1150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane, P./ Cannella, A./ Lubatkin, M., Agency Problems as Antecedents to Unrelated Mergers and Diversification: Amihud and Lev Reconsidered, Strategic Management Journal, 19,6, 1998, pp. 555–578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, L./ Stulz, R., Tobin’s q, Corporate Diversification and Firm Performance, Journal of Political Economy, 102,6, 1994, pp. 1248–1280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, H./ McNulty, M., Korea’s Economic Crisis and Cultural Transition toward Individualism, ESRI Discussion Paper Series, 71, 2003, pp. 1–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, D., The Transactions Cost Approach to Vertical Integration: An Empirical Examination, Review of Economics and Statistics, 67,3, 1985, pp. 438–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewellen, W., A Pure Financial Rationale for the Conglomerate Merger, Journal of Finance, 26,2, 1971, pp. 521–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lichtenberg, F., Industrial De-Diversification and Its Consequences for Productivity, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 18,3, 1992, pp. 427–438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, M., Determinants of Vertical Integration: An Empirical Test, The Journal of Industrial Economics, 39,5, 1991, pp. 451–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lins, K./ Servaes, H., International Evidence on the Value of Corporate Diversification, Journal of Finance, 54,6, 1991, pp. 2215–2239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacNeil, I., Competition and Convergence in Corporate Regulation: The Case of Overseas Listed Companies, August 1, 2001, Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=278508 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.278508.

  • Majd, S./ Myers, S., Tax Asymmetries and Corporate Income Tax Reform, in Feldstein, M. (ed.), Effects of Taxation on Capital Accumulation, Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markides, C./ Ittner, C., Shareholder Benefits from Corporate International Diversification: Evidence from U.S. International Acquisitions, Journal of International Business Studies, 25,2, 1994, pp. 343–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, K., Institutions, Transaction Costs, and Entry Mode Choice in Eastern Europe, Journal of International Business Studies, 32,2, 2001, pp. 357–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moh’d, M./ Perry, L./ Rimbey, J., The Impact of Ownership Structure on Corporate Debt Policy: A Time-Series Cross-Sectional Analysis, Financial Review, 33,3, 1998, pp. 85–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murtha, T. P./ Lenway, S. A., Country Capabilities and the Strategic State: How National Political Institutions Affect Multinational Corporations’ Strategies, Strategic Management Journal, 15,5, 1994, pp. 113–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nayyar, P., On the Measurement of Corporate Diversification Strategy: Evidence from Large U.S. Service Firms, Strategic Management Journal, 13,3, 1992, pp. 219–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pauly, L./ Reich, S., National Structures and Multinational Corporate Behavior: Enduring Differences in the Age of Globalization, International Organization, 51,1, 1997, pp. 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price Waterhouse (ed.), Corporate Taxes: A Worldwide Summary, New York: Price Waterhouse Center for Transnational Taxation 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robins, J./ Wiersema, M., A Resource-Based Approach to the Multibusiness Firm: Empirical Analysis of Portfolio Interrelationships and Corporate Financial Performance, Strategic Management Journal, 16,4, 1995, pp. 277–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robins, J./ Wiersema, M., The Measurement of Corporate Portfolio Strategy: Analysis of the Content Validity of Related Diversification Indexes. Strategic Management Journal, 24,1, 2003, pp. 39–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, P./ Uhlenbruck, K./ Eden, L., Government Corruption and the Entry Strategies of Multinationals, Academy of Management Review, 30,2, 2005, pp. 383–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Servaes, H., The Value of Diversification During the Conglomerate Merger Wave, Journal of Finance, 51,4, 1996, pp. 1201–1225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shin, H./ Stulz, R., Are Internal Capital Markets Efficient?, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 113,2, 1998, pp. 531–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shleifer, A./ Vishny, R., Management Entrenchment, Journal of Financial Economics, 25,1, 1989, pp. 123–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, J., Internal Capital Markets and the Competition for Corporate Resources, Journal of Finance, 52,1, 1997, pp. 111–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stohs, M./ Mauer, D., The Determinants of Corporate Debt Maturity Structure, Journal of Business, 69,3, 1996, pp. 279–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stulz, R., Managerial Discretion and Optimal Financing Policy, Journal of Financial Economics, 26,1, 1990, pp. 3–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teece, D., Economies of Scope and the Scope of the Enterprise, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 1,3, 1980, pp. 223–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villalonga, B., Diversification Discount or Premium? New Evidence from the Business Information Tracking Series, Journal of Finance, 59,2, 2004, pp. 475–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villalonga, B., Does Diversification Cause the ‘Diversification Discount’?, Financial Management, 33,2, 2004, pp. 5–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, O., Markets and Hierarchies: Analysis and Antitrust Implications, New York: Collier Macmillan Publishers 1975.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shackman, J.D. Corporate diversification, vertical integration, and internal capital markets: A cross-country study. MANAGE. INT. REV. 47, 479–504 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-007-0027-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-007-0027-z

Key Words

Navigation