Does firm size improve firm growth? Empirical evidence from an emerging economy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18559/ebr.2023.3.793

Keywords:

Gibrat’s law, panel data analysis, emerging economy, Vietnamese companies

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between firm size and firm growth in Vietnam. The literature does not in general give support to Gibrat’s Law stating that the expected increase in firm size is proportionate to its initial size, or that firm growth rates are independent of firm size. The present study relies on a sample of 578 listed Vietnamese companies representing eight different industries and covering the period 2010 to 2020. The analysis reveals that growth in firm revenues does not give support to a hypothesis of independence of initial firm sizes. When the firm size is measured by total assets the opposite result appears, i.e. the Gibrat’s Law is not rejected. When including also the age of the firms in the test methodology the conclusion will be that firm growth – measured by revenue or assets – in all cases will decrease with firm size.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Arellano, M., & Bond, S. (1991). Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations. Review of Economic Studies, 58, 277–297. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2297968
View in Google Scholar

Audretsch, D. B., Klomp, L., & Thurik, A. R. (2004). Gibrat’s law: Are the services different? Review of Industrial Organization, 24, 301–324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:REIO.0000038273.50622.ec
View in Google Scholar

Aydogan, Y., & Donduran, M. (2019). Concluding Gibrat’s law with Turkish firm data. Physica A., 533, 1–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2019.122066
View in Google Scholar

Bartolini, E., Baussola, M., & Bagnato, L. (2020). Waiting for Godot? Success or failure of firms’ growth in a panel of Italian manufacturing firms. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 55, 259–275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2020.08.007
View in Google Scholar

Bigsten, A., & Gebreeyesus, M. (2007). The small, the young, and the productive: Determinants of manufacturing firm growth in Ethiopia. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 55, 813–840. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/516767
View in Google Scholar

Buckley P. J., Dunning, J. H., & Pearce, R. D. (1984). An analysis of the growth and profitability of the world’s largest firms 1972–1977. Kyklos, 37(1), 3–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.1984.tb00738.x
View in Google Scholar

Chesher, A. (1979). Testing the law of proportionate effect. The Journal of Industrial Economics, 27(4), 403–411. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2097961
View in Google Scholar

Das, S. (1995). Size, age and firm growth in an infant industry: The computer hardware industry in India. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 13, 111–126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-7187(94)00453-9
View in Google Scholar

Daunfeldt, S. O., & Elert, N. (2013). When is Gibrat’s law a law? Small Business Economics, 41, 133–147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-011-9404-x
View in Google Scholar

Evans., D. (1987). The relationship between firm growth, size, and age: Estimates for 100 manufacturing industries. Journal of Industrial Economics, 35(4), 567–581. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2098588
View in Google Scholar

Gibrat, R. (1931). Les inegalities économiques. Sirey.
View in Google Scholar

Gregorio, J. D. (2018). Productivity in emerging-market economies: Slowdown or stagnation? Working Paper, 18–12. Peterson Institute for International Economics. https://www.piie.com/publications/working-papers/productivity-emerging-market-economies-slowdown-or-stagnation DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3268918
View in Google Scholar

Hart, P. E., & Prais, S. J. (1956). The analysis of business concentration: A statistical approach. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A, 119(2), 150–191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2342882
View in Google Scholar

Le, C. V., & Nguyen, H. Q. (2018). The impact of foreign direct investment on income convergence: Evidence from provinces of Vietnam. Southeast Asian Journal of Economics, 6, 71–89.
View in Google Scholar

Liu, J. T., Tsou, M. W., & Hammitt, J. K. (1999). Do small firms grow faster? Evidence from the Taiwan electronics industry. Economics Letters, 65, 121–129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-1765(99)00126-3
View in Google Scholar

Ninh, B. P. V., Thanh, T. D., & Hong, D. V. (2018). Financial distress and bankruptcy prediction: An appropriate model for listed firms in Vietnam. Economic Systems, 42(4), 616–624. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecosys.2018.05.002
View in Google Scholar

Park, Y., Shin, J., & Kim, T. (2010). Firm size, age, industrial networking, and growth: A case of the Korean manufacturing industry. Small Business Economics, 35, 153–168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-009-9177-7
View in Google Scholar

Pincus, J. (2016). Vietnam in search of a new growth model. Southeast Asian Affairs, 379-397. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814695671-026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814695671-026
View in Google Scholar

Rasiah, D., Tong, D. Y. K., & Kim, P. K. (2014). Profitability and firm size–growth relationship in construction companies in Malaysia from 2003 to 2010. Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies, 17(3), 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219091514500143
View in Google Scholar

Shanmugam, K. R., & Bhaduri, S. N. (2002). Size, age and firm growth in the Indian manufacturing sector. Applied Economics Letters, 9(9), 607–613. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13504850110112035
View in Google Scholar

Shapiro, D., Bollman, R. D., & Ehrensaft, P. (1987). Farm size and growth in Canada. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 69(2), 477–483. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1242311
View in Google Scholar

Simbana-Taipe, L. E., Chasi, P. A. F., Pillajo, P. A. P., Rodriguez-Gulias, M. J., & Rodeiro- Pazos, D. (2019). The validity of Gibrat’s law: Evidence from Ecuadorian service SMEs. Latin American Business Review, 20, 135–156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10978526.2019.1610662
View in Google Scholar

Simon H. A., & Bonini, C. P. (1958). The size distribution of business firms. American Economic Review, 48(4), 607–617.
View in Google Scholar

Thuy, V. V. T., Ngoc, H. D., Ngoc, T. N., & Le, H. A. (2022). Earnings quality and the cost of debt: A case study of Vietnam. Cogent Business & Management, 9, 214048. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2140489
View in Google Scholar

Yu, C. P. (2016). Size and growth of mobile phone firms in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The Chinese Economy, 49(4), 277–286. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2016.1179028
View in Google Scholar

Villari, B. C., Subramanian, B., Kumar, P., & Hota, P. K. (2021). Do firm growth models work in service industries in developing economies? An investigation of the relationship between firms’ growth, size and age. Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, 33(2), 215–225. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0260107921989912
View in Google Scholar

Downloads

Published

2023-08-28

Issue

Section

Research article- regular issue

How to Cite

Bentzen, J., & Tung, L. T. (2023). Does firm size improve firm growth? Empirical evidence from an emerging economy . Economics and Business Review, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.18559/ebr.2023.3.793

Similar Articles

1-10 of 281

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.