우리나라 기업집단의 선단식 경영관행과 거시경제

Abstract

This paper delves into analysis on the macroeconomic effects of conglomerates, focusing on the relationship among industries. The Korean conglomerates (business groups) are said to pursue ‘fleet-style management', which shows that they have been expanding industry by industry. To conduct analysis focusing on these charac- teristics, this paper applies various industrial organizational forms to Cooper and John (1988)'s coordination failure model, which is based on strategic complemen- tarity among industries. The main findings are as follows. First, when all firms belong to conglomerates, the total output of the economy is greater than when every firm is independent. Second, if the number of firms in an industry is endo- genously determined by the entry costs, a greater number of conglomerates results in higher output, a smaller number of independent firms, and lower profits to the conglomerates. Third, if the conglomerates can induce their employees to choose subsidiaries' products, i.e. if there are captive markets in every conglomerate, conglomerates produce less output than independent firms. This findings can help us explain several aspects of the past and current Korean economy. The finding that conglomerates produce more output than independent firms may explain the relationship between the rapid growth of the Korean economy and the Korean conglomerates' fleet-style management behavior. In addition, the findings in this paper can shed new light on the excess investment by the Korean conglomerates and their support for non-performing subsidiaries. The negative effects of the captive markets in conglomerates support the criticism of conglomerates. Lastly, the model in this paper seems to help us to better understand the sluggish investment by Korean firms in recent years and the economic polarization in Korea.