Adjustment Costs and Investment Efficiency of Business Groups in Korea

This paper investigates investment efficiency of business groups in Korea. Business groups can centralize knowledge and group resources, which reduces the cost of entering a new industry. In view of Tobin’s q, the adjustment costs of investment of business group firms are lower than those of independent firms. The empirical results show that the adjustment costs of business group firms are lower than those of independent firms, and that the output-capital ratio of business group firms is greater than that of independent firms. The results suggest that business group firms contribute to lowering the adjustment cost and to increasing investment, which, in turn, contribute to the growth of the Korean economy.