%0 Journal Article %J RIETI Discussion Paper 16-E-001 %D 2016 %T Intra-Firm Linkages in Multi-Segment Firms: Evidence from the Japanese manufacturing sector %A Borusyak, Kirill %A Toshihiro Okubo %X

Are diversified firms mere collections of independent assets, or is there anything that glues together different businesses? We explore this question by looking at segment level growth of multi-segment (i.e., producing in several 6-digit industries at the same time) manufacturing firms in Japan. We find substantial co-movement between such segments and show that it can be driven by plant-wide but not firm-wide shocks. Our findings suggest that inputs that are shared firm-wide, such as brand and organizational routines, are not too important for production.

%B RIETI Discussion Paper 16-E-001 %G eng %U http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/publications/summary/16010003.html