?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Feprints.imtlucca.it%2F2194%2F&rft.title=Global+supply+chains+and+international+competitiveness&rft.creator=Altomonte%2C+Carlo&rft.creator=Rungi%2C+Armando&rft.subject=HB+Economic+Theory&rft.subject=HD+Industries.+Land+use.+Labor&rft.description=The+emergence+of+global+supply+chains%2C+that+is+the+organization+of+production+processes+in+factories+that+are+part+of+a+network+of+suppliers+located+in+different+countries+and+specialized+in+specific+production+phases%2C+brings+about+a+number+of+major+changes+in+the+way+the+global+economy+works+and+interacts.+To+explore+more+in+detail+this+phenomenon+from+a+microeconomic+perspective%2C+in+this+paper+we+provide+evidence+on+Business+Groups%2C+that+is+network-like+forms+of+hierarchical+organization+between+legally+autonomous+firms+spanning+both+within+and+across+national+borders.%0D%0A%0D%0AExploiting+a+unique+dataset+of+270%2C474+headquarters+controlling+more+than+1%2C500%2C000+(domestic+and+foreign)+affiliates+in+all+countries+worldwide%2C+we+find+that+business+groups+account+for+a+significant+part+of+value-added+generation+in+both+developed+and+developing+countries%2C+with+a+prevalence+in+the+latter.+In+order+to+characterize+their+boundaries%2C+we+introduce+an+entropy-like+metric+able+to+summarize+the+hierarchical+complexity+of+a+group+and+its+trade-off+between+exploitation+of+knowledge+as+an+input+across+the+hierarchy+and+the+associated+communication+costs.%0D%0A%0D%0AWhen+relating+these+metrics+to+the+performance+of+affiliates+across+business+groups%2C+we+find+a+robust+(albeit+non-linear)+positive+relationship+between+a+group%E2%80%99s+hierarchical+complexity+and+productivity+which+dominates+the+already+known+correlation+between+vertical+integration+and+productivity.+Results+are+in+line+with+the+theoretical+framework+of+knowledge-based+hierarchies+developed+by+the+literature%2C+in+which+intangible+assets+are+a+complementary+input+in+the+production+processes.&rft.publisher=Robert+Schuman+Centre+for+Advanced+Studies.+Research+Paper+RSCAS+&rft.date=2014-05&rft.type=Working+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.identifier=++Altomonte%2C+Carlo+and+Rungi%2C+Armando++Global+supply+chains+and+international+competitiveness.++Working+Paper++%234%2F2014++++Robert+Schuman+Centre+for+Advanced+Studies.+Research+Paper+RSCAS++++++++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fpapers.ssrn.com%2Fsol3%2Fpapers.cfm%3Fabstract_id%3D2435133