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Organizational economics and the food processing industry

TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the two prevalent organizational theories, Transaction Cost Economics and Agency Theory, through a study of the food processing industry and make predictions from each theory regarding the aspects of capital structure and firm expansion.
Abstract: OF THESIS ORGANIZATIONAL ECONOMICS AND THE FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY The food processing industry is dominated by large corporations. These firms play a critical role in forming the derived demand faced by agricultural producers, but little is understood about how these companies make strategic choices. Organizational economics provides a framework for exploring the firm’s decision process. However, several theories exist in this discipline, operating in fundamentally different ways. This paper examines the two prevalent organizational theories, Transaction Cost Economics and Agency Theory, through a study of the food processing industry. This sector is thoroughly analyzed in order to make predictions from each theory regarding the aspects of capital structure and firm expansion. With accounting data for a sample of food processing firms, these predictions are then tested empirically using an ICAPM model in a cross-section of expected stock returns. Our results indicate that Agency Theory is the relevant organizational model for food manufacturers, making it the appropriate tool for evaluating the actions of these firms in agricultural markets.

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Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Jan 1997
TL;DR: If you are one of the people love reading as a manner, you can find golden parachute as your reading material and help you to overcome something to better.
Abstract: In wondering the things that you should do, reading can be a new choice of you in making new things. It's always said that reading will always help you to overcome something to better. Yeah, golden parachute is one that we always offer. Even we share again and again about the books, what's your conception? If you are one of the people love reading as a manner, you can find golden parachute as your reading material.

24 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the economic organization of agriculture in the United States and the European Union and highlight the interaction between the institutional environment and the arrangements established to govern agricultural transactions.
Abstract: This paper outlines a research program comparing the economic organization of agriculture in the United States and European Union. Both have highly developed agricultural sectors but their organizational arrangements vary widely. Comparative analysis not only provides a broad set of firms and industries to compare, but also highlights the interaction between the institutional environment and the arrangements established to govern agricultural transactions. We first assess the common trend toward consolidation and vertical integration, turning next to the economic organization of formal and informal networks. While history and path dependence explain some of the variety among U.S. and European practices, other local conditions are important as well. We conclude by assessing the policy implications of recent changes in economic organization.

16 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide evidence that value strategies yield higher returns because these strategies exploit the suboptimal behavior of the typical investor and not because these riskier strategies are fundamentally riskier.
Abstract: For many years, scholars and investment professionals have argued that value strategies outperform the market. These value strategies call for buying stocks that have low prices relative to earnings, dividends, book assets, or other measures of fundamental value. While there is some agreement that value strategies produce higher returns, the interpretation of why they do so is more controversial. This article provides evidence that value strategies yield higher returns because these strategies exploit the suboptimal behavior of the typical investor and not because these strategies are fundamentally riskier. FOR MANY YEARS, SCHOLARS and investment professionals have argued that

3,491 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors determine empirically whether the investment performance of common stocks is related to their P/E ratios, and they find that returns on stocks with low PE ratios tend to be larger than warranted by the underlying risks, even after adjusting for any additional search and transactions costs, and differential taxes.
Abstract: IN AN EFFICIENT CAPITAL MARKET, security prices fully reflect available information in a rapid and unbiased fashion and thus provide unbiased estimates of the underlying values. While there is substantial empirical evidence supporting the efficient market hypothesis,' many still question its validity. One such group believes that price-earnings (P/E) ratios are indicators of the future investment performance of a security. Proponents of this price-ratio hypothesis claim that low P/E securities will tend to outperform high P/E stocks.2 In short, prices of securities are biased, and the P/E ratio is an indicator of this bias.3 A finding that returns on stocks with low P/E ratios tends to be larger than warranted by the underlying risks, even after adjusting for any additional search and transactions costs, and differential taxes, would be inconsistent with the efficient market hypothesis.4 The purpose of this paper is to determine empirically whether the investment performance of common stocks is related to their P/E ratios. In Section II data, sample, and estimation procedures are outlined. Empirical results are discussed in Section III, and conclusions and implications are given in Section IV.

2,593 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a combined treatment of corporate finance and corporate governance is proposed, where both debt and equity are treated not mainly as alternative financial instruments, but rather as alternative governance structures.
Abstract: A combined treatment of corporate finance and corporate governance is herein proposed. Debt and equity are treated not mainly as alternative financial instruments, but rather as alternative governance structures. Debt governance works mainly out of rules, while equity governance allows much greater discretion. A project-financing approach is adopted. I argue that whether a project should be financed by debt or by equity depends principally on the characteristics of the assets. Transaction-cost reasoning supports the use of debt (rules) to finance redeployable assets, while non-redeployable assets are financed by equity (discretion). Experiences with leasing and leveraged buyouts are used to illustrate the argument. The article also compares and contrasts the transaction-cost approach with the agency approach to the study of economic organization.

2,366 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: This article found that the returns to bidding shareholders are lower when their firm diversifies, when it buys a rapidly growing target, and when the performance of its managers has been poor before the acquisition.
Abstract: This paper documents for a sample of 327 US acquisitions between 1975 and 1987 three forces that systematically reduce the announcement day return of bidding firms. The returns to bidding shareholders are lower when their firm diversifies, when it buys a rapidly growing target , and when the performance of its managers has been poor before the acquisition. These results are consistent with the proposition that managerial rather than shareholders' objectives drive bad acquisitions.

1,947 citations


"Organizational economics and the fo..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Morck et al. conclude that managerial objectives drive value-destroying firm expansion activity (Morck et al. 1990, 47)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a new data set for the Safelite Glass Corporation was used to test the predictions that average productivity will rise, the firm will attract a more able workforce, and variance in output across individuals at the company will rise when it shifts to piece rates.
Abstract: Much of the theory in personnel economics relates to effects of monetary incentives on output, but the theory was untested because appropriate data were unavailable. A new data set for the Safelite Glass Corporation tests the predictions that average productivity will rise, the firm will attract a more able workforce, and variance in output across individuals at the firm will rise when it shifts to piece rates. In Safelite, productivity effects amount to a 44-percent increase in output per worker. This firm apparently had selected a suboptimal compensation system, as profits also increased with the change.

1,840 citations