We provide a model and empirical tests showing how an active acquisition market affects firm incentives to innovate and conduct R&D. Our model shows that small firms optimally may decide to innovate more when they can sell out to larger firms. Large firms may find it disadvantageous to engage in...

We analyze the interaction of firm product quality and pricing decisions with financial distress and bankruptcy in the airline industry. We consider an airline's choices of quality and price as dynamic decisions that trade off current cash flows for future revenue. We examine how airline...

We use text-based computational analysis of business descriptions from 10-Ks to examine in which industries conglomerates are most likely to operate and to understand conglomerate valuations. We find that conglomerates are more likely to operate in industry pairs that are closer together in the...

We study the effect of real asset liquidity on a firm's cost of capital. We find an aggregate asset-liquidity discount in firms' cost of capital that is strongly counter-cyclical. At the firm-level we find that asset liquidity affects firms' cost of capital both in the cross section and in the...

We examine how product market competition affects firm cash flows and stock returns in industry booms and busts. In competitive industries, we find that high industry-level stock-market valuation, investment and new financing are followed by sharply lower operating cash flows and abnormal stock...

We analyze whether product market competition is an important factor in analyst coverage decisions and whether analysts benefit from covering product market competitors. We find that analysts are more likely to cover a firm When this firm competes with and offers more similar products to the...

We examine the effect of financial dependence on acquisition and investment within existing industries by single-segment and conglomerate firms for industries undergoing different long-run changes in industry conditions. Conglomerates and single-segment firms differ more for within-industry...

We develop a profit-maximizing neoclassical model of optimal firm size and growth across different industries. The model predicts how conglomerate firms will allocate resources across divisions over the business cycle and how their responses to industry shocks will differ from those of...

This paper investigates an unexplored dimension of block-equity ownership: benefits in product-market relationships between corporations. We find significant increases in investment and operating performance for firms that have product-market relationships with their corporate owners. We also...

We examine how intra-industry variation in financial structure relates to industry factors and whether real and financial decisions are jointly determined within competitive industries. We find that industry and group factors beyond standard industry fixed effects are also important to firm...