Knowledge and productivity in the world's largest manufacturing corporations

[journal article]

Nesta, Lionel

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Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-263101

Abstract	This paper develops a model linking firm knowledge with productivity. The model captures three characteristics of firm knowledge (capital, diversity and relatedness) that are tested on a sample of 156 of the world’s largest corporations. Panel data regression models suggest that unlike knowledge diversity, knowledge capital and knowledge relatedness explain a substantial share of the variance of firm productivity. Relatedness matters because it lowers coordination costs between heterogeneous activities. Consequently, the traditional econometric specification has repeatedly underestimated by 15 percent the overall short-run contribution of intangible assets to firm productivity. This underestimation becomes fiercer in high-technology sectors.
Classification	Sociology of Work, Industrial Sociology, Industrial Relations; Information Management, Information Processes, Information Economics
Free Keywords	Knowledge; Productivity; Relatedness
Document language	English
Publication Year	2008
Page/Pages	p. 886-902
Journal	Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 67 (2008) 3-4
DOI	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2007.08.006
Status	Postprint; peer reviewed
Licence	PEER Licence Agreement (applicable only to documents from PEER project)