This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that the 1960s conglomerates were inefficient. I offer valuation results consistent with recent event-study evidence that markets typically rewarded diversifying acquisitions. Using new data, I compute industry-adjusted valuation, profitability,...

This article challenges the conventional wisdom that the 1960s conglomerates were inefficient. I offer valuation results consistent with recent event-study evidence that markets typically rewarded diversifying acquisitions. Using new data, I compute industry-adjusted valuation, profitability,...

This paper provides evidence on organizational structure, geographic diversification, and performance at bank holding companies (BHCs). First, we show that a BHC's member banks benefit from access to the parent organization's internal capital market. Second, we ask if the benefits of internal...

This paper summarizes and assesses the growing body of empirical research in transaction cost economics (TCE). Originally an explanation for the scale and scope of the firm, TCE is now used to study a variety of economic relationships, ranging from vertical and lateral integration to transfer...

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...

Unlike most other mature industries, family firms, partnerships, and cooperatives dominate the agricultural production sector, with few corporations and limited access to capital derived from a source other than retained earnings and existing owners. However, the use of external equity capital...