No abstract

Using firm‐level data, we analyse the patterns, innovation characteristics and determinants of turnover high‐growth firms (HGFs) in Australia. We find most HGFs do not stay in the high‐growth phase for long, and following the Global Financial Crisis the proportion of HGFs has declined. For HGFs, the results suggest that innovation in goods and services has a much greater impact on turnover growth than for the average firm. For all firms, innovations in goods and services and marketing, and business focus on innovation contribute to turnover growth. Finally, HGFs generate greater returns on investment in research and development than slower growing firms.

No abstract

Cross‐border dispersion of production processes within vertically integrated global industries (“global production sharing”) has been an increasingly important structural feature of economic globalisation in the recent decades. This paper examines patterns and determinants of global production sharing with an emphasis on how Australian manufacturing fits into global production networks (GPNs). Though Australia is a minor player in GPNs, there is evidence that Australian manufacturing has a distinct competitive edge in specialised, skill‐intensive tasks in several industries such as aircraft, medical devices, machine tools, measuring and scientific equipment and photographic equipment. Specialisation in high‐value‐to‐weight components and final goods within GPNs, which are suitable for air transport, helps Australian manufacturing to overcome the “tyranny of distance” in world trade. Being predominantly “relationship specific,” Australian GPN exports are not significantly susceptible to real exchange rate appreciation.