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The drivers of firm longevity: age, size, profitability and survivorship of Australian corporations, 1901-1930

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posted on 2024-11-16, 02:34 authored by Laura Panza, Simon VilleSimon Ville, David Merrett
Why do some firms last longer than others? This question has attracted considerable interest among scholars from business history, management and economics. Our article combines the business historian's macro view of the relationship between size, longevity, and economic development with quantitative modelling. We apply survival analysis to data relating to size, age and profitability, three first-order explanations of longevity, for Australian stock exchange (ASX) listed corporations from 1901 to 1930. The novelty of the article is twofold: we find that firm size is a poor predictor of longevity for the full sample but its age and profitability are highly significant; our data covers a longer time frame and relates to a rich mid-sized and non-industrialised country.

Funding

Business Profitability and Long Term Industrial Change in Twentieth-Century Australia

Australian Research Council

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History

Citation

Panza, L., Ville, S. & Merrett, D. (2018). The drivers of firm longevity: age, size, profitability and survivorship of Australian corporations, 1901-1930. Business History, 60 (2), 157-177.

Journal title

Business History

Volume

60

Issue

2

Pagination

157-177

Language

English

RIS ID

113094

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