Firm-to-firm Referrals

Last registered on October 19, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Firm-to-firm Referrals
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014601
Initial registration date
October 17, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 19, 2024, 9:45 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Jing Cai
Affiliation
University of Maryland
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Wei Lin
PI Affiliation
CUHK Shenzhen
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PI Name
Adam Szeidl
PI Affiliation
Central European University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2021-05-01
End date
2024-05-01
Keywords
Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We make randomized firm-to-firm referrals between 700 supplier and client firms in the industry producing the Chinese writing brush. Subsidized referrals lead to subsequent transactions and a partial crowding out of prior partners; information-only referrals have no effect. The referrals increase revenue, profit, and hours worked in supplier firms and growth-oriented client firms. Treated suppliers increase product quality, while treated clients expand product variety into higher-quality products, suggesting that the referrals enable complementary upgrading. Treated firms increase beliefs about the value of partners, search for partners, and the number of non-referred partners, suggesting that pessimistic beliefs is a key partnering friction. The referrals generate very large private and social returns.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Cai, Jing, Wei Lin and Adam Szeidl. 2024. "Firm-to-firm Referrals." AEA RCT Registry. October 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14601-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We make randomized firm-to-firm referrals between 700 supplier and client firms in the industry producing the Chinese writing brush.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2021-05-01
Intervention End Date
2021-11-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
revenue, profit, quality of product, partnership
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We make randomized firm-to-firm referrals between 700 supplier and client firms in the industry producing the Chinese writing brush.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
firm
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1
Sample size: planned number of observations
800
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
400 treated firms
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials