Abstract for:

Technology, Information and the Decentralization of the Firm

Daron  Acemoglu,  Philippe  Aghion,  Claire  Lelarge,  John  Van Reenen,  Fabrizio  Zilibotti,  May 2006
Paper No' CEPDP0722: | Full paper

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Keywords: Decentralization; heterogeneity, learning, the theory of the firm

JEL Classification: O31; O32; O33; F23

Is hard copy/paper copy available? YES - Paper Copy Still In Print.

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This Paper is published under the following series: CEP Discussion Papers

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Abstract:

This paper develops a framework to analyze the relationship between the diffusion of new technologies and the decentralization decisions of firms. Centralized control relies on the information of the principal, which we equate with publicly available information. Decentralized control, on the other hand, delegates authority to a manager with superior information. However, the manager can use her informational advantage to make choices that are not in the best interest of the principal. As the available public information about the specific technology increases, the trade-off shifts in favour of centralization. We show that firms closer to the technological frontier, firms in more heterogeneous environments and younger firms are more likely to choose decentralization. Using three datasets of French and British firms in the 1990s, we report robust correlations consistent with these predictions.