International Engagement and Performance of New Zealand Firms
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis examines the determinants and consequences of international engagement by New Zealand firms, with a particular focus on the relationship between international activities and firm performance. The thesis is based around two central questions: 1. How do characteristics of the firm and the economic environment influence the ability and incentives of New Zealand firms to become internationally engaged? 2. What effect does international engagement have on firm performance? In order to examine the causal relationships between firm performance and international activities, four analyses are conducted using longitudinal firm-level data from the prototype Longitudinal Business Database. This database provides detailed information on the performance and behaviour of New Zealand firms from a wide range of administrative and survey data sources. The four empirical chapters of the thesis investigate the relationships amongst firm performance, merchandise exporting and inward foreign direct investment. In Chapters 3 and 4, firm-level comparisons identify the types of firms that export and the factors driving those firms to expand into additional export markets and relationships. A range of determinants are considered including firm characteristics, destination market characteristics and localised spillovers. Having identified and controlled for the key firm-level factors which predict export market entry, subsequent performance outcomes are considered in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 examines the impact of new port infrastructure on the export behaviour and performance of local firms, while Chapter 6 turns attention to inward foreign direct investment, examining the pre-acquisition characteristics of foreign acquisition targets and their post-acquisition performance outcomes. The analysis in Chapters 3 and 4 suggests that firm characteristics both influence, and are influenced by, initial entry into exporting and subsequent expansion into new export relationships. While self-s…
abstract: This thesis examines the determinants and consequences of international engagement by New Zealand firms, with a particular focus on the relationship between international activities and firm performance. The thesis is based around two central questions: 1. How do characteristics of the firm and the economic environment influence the ability and incentives of New Zealand firms to become internationally engaged? 2. What effect does international engagement have on firm performance? In order to examine the causal relationships between firm performance and international activities, four analyses are conducted using longitudinal firm-level data from the prototype Longitudinal Business Database. This database provides detailed information on the performance and behaviour of New Zealand firms from a wide range of administrative and survey data sources. The four empirical chapters of the thesis investigate the relationships amongst firm performance, merchandise exporting and inward foreign direct investment. In Chapters 3 and 4, firm-level comparisons identify the types of firms that export and the factors driving those firms to expand into additional export markets and relationships. A range of determinants are considered including firm characteristics, destination market characteristics and localised spillovers. Having identified and controlled for the key firm-level factors which predict export market entry, subsequent performance outcomes are considered in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 examines the impact of new port infrastructure on the export behaviour and performance of local firms, while Chapter 6 turns attention to inward foreign direct investment, examining the pre-acquisition characteristics of foreign acquisition targets and their post-acquisition performance outcomes. The analysis in Chapters 3 and 4 suggests that firm characteristics both influence, and are influenced by, initial entry into exporting and subsequent expansion into new export relationships. While self-s…
author: Sanderson, Lynda Margaret
keywords: exports, productivity, firm performance, inward FDI
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/a5901b06-b395-4238-846a-67e514138bc5/download
date published: 2011
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:18Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Waikato