Combining Firm-level Secondary Data: Different Matching Methods Do Not Match

Our general orientation and in-depth analyses of recent studies in a top management journal reveals that more than half (i.e., 63 percent) use multiple secondary databases, but only a small percentage (i.e., < 10 percent) reports how the connections between these databases were made. Based on this review, we report on four consecutive methods of matching firm-level data across different secondary databases. We used these four matching methods to obtain data from multiple firm-level data sources. Comparing the results reveals large differences in the number of observations obtained per matching method. Additionally, we empirically investigate the effects of different inter-organizational relationships (e.g., alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions) on firms’ innovative performance, based on these four matching methods. Since these results also differ based on which matching method was used, we argue that reporting the matching method used in a study is of vital importance. This will improve the...