Performance of large firms in Greece during the unstable period of 2011–2016: lessons from the weak parts of Europe

Abstract

Purpose – The unprecedented economic crisis in Greece deeply affected entrepreneurship, which was traditionally characterised by low levels of innovation and competitiveness, the dominant presence of micro-sized enterprises and the weak signs of prosperity in large firms. This paper, in acknowledgement of the necessary transformations that production incurred due to the crisis, attempts to detect the characteristics of large manufacturing firms that contributed to their greater resilience during the unstable period of 2011–2016 by analysing the determinants of the higher profitability of firms. The analysis shows that firms that improved their productivity and sales levels and in parallel are flexible, in the sense that they have limited amounts of both assets and liabilities and thus a small risk, are those that presented higher profits during the period under study. Initial conditions, sectoral characteristics and the broader national environment do not seem to have a strong contributive role in firms' profitability. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis follows a dynamic system generalised method of moments (GMM) estimation based on a panel data set of 125 Greek large firms over the time span 2011–2016. Findings – The analysis shows that firms that improve their productivity and sales levels and in parallel are flexible, in the sense that they have a limited amount of both assets and liabilities and thus a small risk, are those that present higher profits during the period under study. Initial conditions, sectoral characteristics and the broader national environment do not seem to have a strong contributive role in firms' profitability. Research limitations/implications – The present paper attempts to explain the performance of the most dynamic large manufacturing firms in Greece by investigating the role of some of the most important determinants of firm profitability (according to data availability), acknowledging, however, some analysis' limitations as the absence of some other parameters like the export activity or the incorporation of any innovative features in the firms Originality/value – The novelty of this paper lies in two points. First, the subject of the analysis is the large firms in Greece, which have not received much attention as Greek entrepreneurship was traditionally based on the light, labour- or resource-intensive production and the main bulk of the literature was not on that topic. Second, during the deep and protracted crisis that Greece has experienced, several production transformations have taken place that remain partly undiscovered. The present paper attempts to analyse the characteristics of large firms that drove their profitability and improved their resilience during the crucial time period 2011–16. 研究目的 – 在希臘出現的史無前例的經濟危機深深地影響了該國的創業能力，而希臘的創業能力有其傳統特徵：低水平的創新與競爭力、微型企業佔主導地位和大企業呈現微弱的繁榮跡象。本文在承認這經濟危機導致生產必須轉型的前提下，研究那些於2011年至2016年這不穩定期間營運的大型製造公司，透過分析它們能取得更高利潤的決定因素，以探求是哪些公司特徵使其有更強的抵禦和復原能力。分析顯示，那些改善了生產率和銷售水平的公司，亦同時是靈活變通的公司 （所謂靈活變通，是指公司無論在資產抑或負債方面的數量上都是有限的，因此，它們只需冒小風險），就是那些在本研究涵蓋期間展示獲取更高利潤的公司。初始條件、行業的特徵和更廣泛的國家環境，就公司的盈利能力而言，似乎沒有扮演重要的促進角色。 研究設計/方法/理念 – 分析用了廣義動差估計(GMM)這動態系統，基於涵蓋125間希臘大公司、橫跨2011年至2016年期間的面板數據。 研究結果 – 分析顯示，那些改善生產率和銷售水平的公司，亦同時是靈活變通的公司 （所謂靈活變通，是指公司無論在資產抑或負債方面的數量上都是有限的，因此，它們只需冒小風險），就是那些在本研究涵蓋期間展示獲取更高利潤的公司。初始條件、行業的特徵和更廣泛的國家環境，就公司的盈利能力而言，似乎沒有扮演重要的促進角色。 研究的局限/含意 – 本文擬透過探討一些決定公司盈利能力最重要的因素 （根據數據的可獲性），來闡釋在希臘那些最有動力的大型製造公司的績效，但亦同時承認分析有局限之處，那就是，分析沒有涵蓋一些其它決定因素：出口活動和那些公司有否納入任何創新功能。 研究的原創性/價值 – 本文有兩個創新之處：首先，本研究分析的對象是在希臘的大企業，而這個研究對象和課題未曾得到頗多的關注，這是因為希臘的創業能力一向基於勞動密集型或資源密集型的輕工業生產，而過去大部分文獻都不涉及這個課題。另外，當希臘經歷這個巨大且持久的危機時，國內有些仍未普遍察覺的生產轉型出現了。本文擬分析推動大企業於2011年至2016年間這關鍵時刻取得利潤，及改善其抵禦和復原能力的公司特徵。

Keywords

• Large firms
• Profitability
• Greece
• Economic crisis