Abstract

The purpose of this work is to analyze the differences in profitability between European aquaculture firms of the Nordic and Mediterranean-EU regions, as well as the factors that are relevant to explain these differences. In addition to traditional factors proposed by theory to explain profitability differences among firms such as size, efficiency, or capital structure, we also include in this analysis the strategies of product differentiation and diversification through vertical integration. A sample of aquaculture firms of the Nordic and Mediterranean-EU regions that were operating over the 2012–2019 period are identified in the Orbis database and selected for this research, employing an unbalanced panel made up of 5,427 observations. To carry out this analysis, we propose a random-effects model of firm profitability that allows to test the effect of the different explanatory variables as well as their regional differences. The findings of this research support that Nordic and Mediterranean-EU aquaculture are two business models with different characteristics, what is reflected in the economic performance of their firms.

摘要

这项工作的目的是分析北欧和地中海-欧盟地区的欧洲水产养殖公司之间盈利能力的差异，以及解释这些差异的相关因素。除了理论提出的解释企业间盈利能力差异的传统因素（如规模、效率或资本结构）外，我们还在分析中纳入了通过垂直整合实现产品差异化和多元化的策略。Orbis 数据库中确定了 2012 年至 2019 年期间运营的北欧和地中海-欧盟地区水产养殖公司的样本，并采用由 5,427 个观测值组成的不平衡面板进行研究。为了进行这一分析，我们提出了一个公司盈利能力的随机效应模型，可以测试不同解释变量的影响及其区域差异。这项研究的结果表明，北欧和地中海-欧盟水产养殖是两种具有不同特征的商业模式，这反映在其公司的经济绩效上。