Do Firms Proactively Build Internal Markets for Redeployment? Evidence from a Natural Experiment
Management Science · 2025 · Timo Sohl、Timothy B. Folta
中文摘要
相关多元化是企业战略研究的基础性议题。然而,对资源重新部署的潜力如何激励相关多元化,目前的理解仍然有限。本文考察2006年德国房地产转让税(RETT)改革的影响,该改革提高了RETT税率,但保留了对企业重组的RETT豁免。我们提出,企业可能针对更高转让税的威胁作出战略性反应,将相关业务整合进一个业务组合,从而在发生特定业务冲击时为重新配置房地产资产提供一个高效的内部市场。与关联性的动态视角相一致,针对欧洲零售市场的双重差分分析表明,相对于控制组企业,受改革影响的企业进行相关多元化的概率显著上升。这一发现为将企业边界选择与跨期范围经济相联系的文献做出了贡献,并为转让税政策的实际效应提供了新的见解。
Abstract
The topic of related diversification is of fundamental interest to corporate strategy research. However, the understanding of how the potential for resource redeployment might encourage related diversification is limited. This paper explores the impact of the 2006 German real estate transfer tax (RETT) reform, which led to higher RETT rates but retained the exemption from RETT for corporate restructurings. We propose that firms might have reacted strategically to the threat of higher transfer taxes by combining related businesses into a portfolio, providing an efficient internal market for reallocating property assets in the event of business-specific shocks. Consistent with a dynamic perspective on relatedness, difference-in-differences analyses of the European retail market show that the probability of related diversification increased significantly for firms that were affected by the reform, relative to control firms. This finding contributes to the literature that links firm boundary choices to intertemporal economies of scope and offers new insights into the real effects of transfer tax policies.