This article traces the changing impact of national differences on the geographical and industry diversification strategy of leading firms in Europe in 1987-2000, a period of intensified European integration. The results indicate that, whereas country of origin had a significant effect at the...

Poorly performing firms need to improve their profitability through restructuring their operations. In many cases this means downsizing by means of collective layoff of employees. Based on a unique sample of Belgian firms reporting collective layoffs this paper analyzes whether a firm dismisses...

In analyzing firm entry and exit across Belgian manufacturing industries, this paper presents evidence that import competition and foreign direct investment discourage entry and stimulate exit of domestic entrepreneurs. These results are in line with theoretical occupational choice models, where...

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the effect of globalisation on employment in most West European countries. More and more firms had to drastically restructure their operations in order to survive the rise in global competition. Restructuring often leads to a collective...

This paper examines the impact of international trade on firm entry and exit in Europe. The results point to strong displacement exit and less creative replacement entry in industries characterized by increasing import competition Moreover, the evidence suggests strong selection and higher entry...

In analyzing the distinctive contribution of foreign subsidiaries and domestic firms to productivity growth in aggregate Belgian manufacturing, this paper shows that foreign ownership is an important source of firm heterogeneity affecting productivity dynamics. Foreign firms have contributed...

We analyze the determinants of the decision to invest abroad and the choice of spatial configurations of overseas plants for 120 Japanese firms active in 36 well-defined electronic product markets. We find support for a structured internationalization decision model in which the decision to...