Mergers along the Global Supply Chain:

Information Technologies and Routine Tasks

Abstract: This paper empirically analyzes how the adoption of Information Technologies (IT) has changed the organization of global supply chain. We focus on international merger, which are a growing and important component of foreing direct investment. We use data on North-Soth vertical mergers and acquisitions for all manufacturing industries. We show that the effect of IT adoption on the number of vertical mergers and acquisitions is decreasing with the routine intensity of the industry. Our interpretation is that the IT revolution has enabled new monitoring mechanisms. This has allowed Northern headquarters to better monitor suppliers, specially those in less routine-intensive industries-which were harder to monitor prior to the IT revolution.

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