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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2012‒01‒03
38 papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | Erik Stam; Neil Thompson; Andrea Herrmann; Marko Hekkert |
| Abstract: | Innovative high-tech small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are thought to be drivers of economic renewal and growth. However, due to their limited size, SMEs face two fundamental innovation barriers: the risk that other organizations appropriate the returns to the newly created knowledge by SMEs (knowledge leakage), and a lack of understanding and recognition of their business on the part of potential stakeholders (legitimacy deficits). Based on a panel study of 196 SMEs this paper shows that biotech, ICT and clean tech firms choose different strategies to deal with knowledge leakage and legitimacy deficits. To prevent knowledge leakage, high-tech SMEs are very selective in choosing their R&D partners and collaborate with basic rather than applied technology developers. Furthermore, to gain organizational legitimacy, high-tech SMEs pursue activities that focus not only on product development but also on generating awareness and understanding of their technologies. |
| Date: | 2011–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h201115&r=cse |
| By: | Verònica Gombau (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament d’Economia, CREIP, XREAP, Grup de Recerca d’Indústria i Territori, Av. Universitat, 1, 43204 Reus, Spain); Agustí Segarra (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Departament d’Economia, CREIP, XREAP, Grup de Recerca d’Indústria i Territori, Av. Universitat, 1, 43204 Reus, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses whether a firm’s absorptive capacity and its distance from the technological frontier affect the choice between innovation and imitation in innovative Spanish firms. From an extensive survey of 5,575 firms during the 2004-2009 period, we found two significant results. With regard to the role of absorptive capacity, the empirical evidence shows that when innovative firms have difficulties in accessing external information and hire skilled workers, their innovative capacity is reduced. Meanwhile, with regard to distance from the technological frontier, the firms that reduce this gap manage to increase their innovative capacity at the expense of imitation. To summarise, when we studied firms’ absorptive capacity and their relative position to the technological frontier in tandem, we found that the two factors directly affected firms' ability to innovate or imitate. |
| Keywords: | R&D sources, innovation and imitation strategies, absorptive capacity, technological frontier, ordered probit |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:xrp:wpaper:xreap2011-22&r=cse |
| By: | Link, Albert N. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics); Scott, John T. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Research, science, and technology parks are increasingly seen as a means to create dynamic clusters that accelerate economic growth and international competitiveness through the transfer of knowledge and technology. As such, it is important to understand the academic literature related to research, science, and technology parks (hereafter R-S-T parks, or simply parks) because that literature, albeit embryonic, has had and will continue to frame public policies related to park formations and growth. The purpose of this chapter is thus to overview the extant academic literature on knowledge and technology transfer to and from parks, and to discuss its importance to public policy issues. |
| Keywords: | Science park; Innovation; Public policy |
| JEL: | O30 O43 |
| Date: | 2011–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2011_022&r=cse |
| By: | Berna Beyhan (TEKPOL, Science and Technology Policy Studies, Middle East Technical University); M. Teoman Pamukçu (TEKPOL, Science and Technology Policy Studies, Middle East Technical University); Erkan Erdil (Department of Economics, Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | Emerging nanotechnologies bring a new challenge for developing countries to improve knowledge and technology transfer between universities and firms. In developing countries, weaker ties between academia and the industry seem to be one of the main barriers to the dissemination of nanotechnology innovations. This study aims to understand individual and organizational factors affecting university-industry interactions in emerging nanotechnologies in a developing country context, namely Turkey. For this study, 181 questionnaires were collected from a sample of nano-science and nanotechnology academics who are currently employed by Turkish universities. The results provide that informal / interpersonal and research-related interactions are the most common forms of relationship between academics and firms. On the other hand, the study provides a useful insight to understand how human and social capitals of university-scientists as well as organizational resources/ capabilities influence the formation of links between universities and the industry. |
| Keywords: | Nanotechnology, nanoscience, emerging technologies, technology transfer, university-industry relations, science and technology policies, probit model, disproportionate stratified sampling, emerging economies, Turkey. |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:stpswp:1106&r=cse |
| By: | Krogmann, Yin; Schwalbe, Ulrich |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses a large database on inter-firm R&D cooperation formed in the pharmaceutical biotechnology industry during the period 1985 - 1998. The results indicate that network size largely grows, whereas the density of the network declines during the periods. In the network analysis that emphasizes individual structural positions, the empirical results show that small biotechnological companies had a crucial bridging role for the large pharmaceutical firms in the second half of the 1980s. In the 1990s, the bridge role of biotechnology companies became less important and established pharmaceutical companies developed into dominant start players with many collaborators while holding central roles in the research network. The current analysis also shows that degree-based and betweenness-based network centralization are both low implying that the overall positional advantages are relatively equally distributed in the inter-firm R&D network of the pharmaceutical biotechnology industry. -- |
| Keywords: | R&D networks,pharmaceutical biotechnology,network analysis,conceptual centrality,network visualization software |
| JEL: | C88 D85 L24 L65 O32 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fziddp:382011&r=cse |
| By: | Elif Bascavusoglu-Moreau (Centre for Business Research, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge); Mustafa Colakoglu (TTGV Turkey Technology Development Foundation) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of innovative capabilities in an emerging country context. We focus more particularly on the impact of recent changes in SME policies in Turkey. Using a unique firm-level survey conducted on 45.000 SMEs, innovative capabilities of firms are assessed at three different levels; their innovation efforts, innovation decision and innovative intensity. We analyze and compare the impact of two different incentive schemes; one a purely financial support, and the second, consultancy and technological assistance coupled with financial facilities. Whereas all firms seem to benefit from financial support, only less innovative firms take full advantage of the advisory services. Overall, the determinants of innovative capabilities depend considerably on the type of firms, suggesting the need for differentiated policy measures. |
| Keywords: | Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), technological capability building, innovation, SME policies |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:stpswp:1105&r=cse |
| By: | Ron Boschma; Pierre-Alexandre Balland; Dieter Kogler |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the geography of knowledge spillovers in biotech by investigating the way in which knowledge ties are organized. Following a relational account on knowledge spillovers, we depict knowledge networks as complex evolving structures that build on pre-existing knowledge and previously formed ties. In economic geography, there is still little understanding of how structural network forces (like preferential attachment and closure) shape the structure and formation of knowledge spillover networks in space. Our study investigates the knowledge spillover networks of biotech firms by means of inter-organizational citation patterns based on USPTO biotech patents in the years 2008-2010. Using a Stochastic Actor-Oriented Model (SAOM), we explain the driving forces behind the decision of actors to cite patents produced by other actors. Doing so, we address directly the endogenous forces of knowledge dynamics. |
| Keywords: | knowledge spillovers, network structure, patent citations, biotech, proximity |
| JEL: | B15 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1120&r=cse |
| By: | Alper Sönmez (Department of Economics, Middle East Technical University); M. Teoman Pamukçu (TEKPOL, Science and Technology Policy Studies, Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | Technology spillovers from foreign to domestic firms in emerging economies are considered to be the most important channel through which Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) influence the host economy. Empirical evidence about the existence, magnitude and direction of FDI-related spillovers in these countries is contradictory pointing to the necessity of conducting more econometric studies using firm-level data. We conduct an econometric analysis to assess the impact of FDI-related horizontal technology spillovers on output growth of domestic firms in the Turkish manufacturing industry over 2003-2006. When a broad definition of foreign ownership is adopted, our findings suggest that horizontal spillovers occur from foreign to local firms in the sector of activity. Export-oriented firms do not benefit from these spillovers in contrast to firms producing mainly for the domestic market. However, when foreign ownership is defined according to whether the minority or majority of capital is detained by the foreign partner, horizontal spillovers seem to originate from foreign firms with majority or full foreign ownership while no such effect is associated with minority-owned foreign firms. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), multinational corporations, foreign ownership, productivity, technology spillovers, knowledge spillovers, horizontal spillovers, Turkey. |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:stpswp:1103&r=cse |
| By: | Dan Breznitz; Mollie Taylor |
| Abstract: | The importance of social embeddedness in economic activity is now widely accepted. Embeddedness has been shown to be particularly significant in explaining the trajectory of regional development. Nonetheless, most studies of embeddeddness and its impacts have treated each locale as an independent unit. Following recent calls for the study of cross-cluster social interactions, we look at the consistent failure of numerous localities in the United States with high potential to emulate Silicon Valley and achieve sustained success in the ICT industry. The paper contends that the answer lies in high-technology clusters being part of a larger system. Therefore, we must include in our analysis of their social structure the influence of cross-cluster embeddedness of firms and entrepreneurs. These cross-clusters dynamics lead to self-reinforcing social fragmentation in the aspiring clusters and, in time, to the creation of an industrial system in the United States based on stable dominant and subordinate (feeder) clusters. The paper expands theories of industrial clusters, focusing on social capital, networks, and embeddedness arguments, to explain a world with one predominant cluster region. It utilizes a multimethod analysis of the ICT industry centered in Atlanta, Georgia, as an empirical example to elaborate and hone these theoretical arguments. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:11-11&r=cse |
| By: | Patricia Deflorin (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich); Helmut Dietl (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich); Markus Lang (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich); Eric Lucas (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a simulation model to compare the performance of two stylized manufacturing networks: the lead factory network (LFN) and the archetype network (AN). The model identifies the optimal network configuration and its implications for coordination mechanisms. Using an NK simulation model to differentiate between exogenous factors (configuration) and endogenous factors (coordination), we find low complexity of the production process, low transfer costs and high search costs, as well as a larger number of manufacturing plants benefit LFN compared to AN. Optimally coordinating the chosen network configuration of LFN might require to fully transfer knowledge in the short run but to transfer nothing in the long run. Moreover, a late knowledge transfer from the lead factory to the plants increases the pre-transfer performance of LFN but results in a larger performance drop, yielding a lower short-run but a higher long-run performance of LFN. |
| Keywords: | Manufacturing network, manufacturing plant, global operations management, lead factory, knowledge transfer |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:wpaper:0152&r=cse |
| By: | Pier Angelo Toninelli; Michelangelo Vasta |
| Abstract: | The main objective of this paper is to shed light on the Italian entrepreneurship between the beginning of the Second industrial revolution and the end of the XX century. It is based on a new dataset concerning the profiles of 386 entrepreneurs. The results are twofold: first, by proposing an empirical based-taxonomy of Italian entrepreneurs not exclusively based on intuitions and qualitative judgments, we provide valuable interpretative elements; second, we put forward some hypothesis about the relationship between entrepreneurship and Italian economic growth. In particular we perform a Cluster Analysis which singles out five different entrepreneurial typologies characterized by a widespread tendency to searching for new markets, yet a scarce attitude towards innovation. Further we suggest that the evolution of the institutional context slowed down the development of the entrepreneurial abilities and virtues necessary to grow. |
| Keywords: | History of Entrepreneurship; Italian capitalism |
| JEL: | N83 N84 L26 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:628&r=cse |
| By: | Marco Frey (Istituto di Management - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa); Fabio Iraldo (Istituto di Management - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa); Francesco Testa (Istituto di Management - Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa) |
| Abstract: | In the last years attention has increased to the eco-innovation topic. Empirical studies have demonstrated that innovating firms grow faster, have higher productivity and are more profitable than their less innovative counterparts (Geroski et al., 1993; Roper and Hewitt-Dundas, 1998). Drawing upon a database of over 300 enterprises operating within eight defined green production chains working in the Province of Milan, this paper assesses the determinants and drawbacks of innovation. In particular, using an econometrical approach, we tested the following propositions: a) small dimension of enterprises is an obstacle to their innovation power; b) The adoption of an international strategy of production and commercialisation is an opportunity and a stimulus to eco-innovation; c) cooperation with research partners can help SMEs to overcome difficulties and help them to develop and offer eco-sustainable products and services. The econometric analysis shows a positive impact of dimension and level of internationalization on innovation capabilities. In addition, cooperation with research centers and access to capital market are positively related with effective innovations. |
| Keywords: | SME, eco-innovation, supply chain, green economy. |
| JEL: | M20 Q55 |
| Date: | 2011–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sse:wpaper:201103&r=cse |
| By: | Carlos Kirby; Nicolau Brosa |
| Abstract: | The logistics industry is one of utmost relevance and principally serves as a motor of private sec-tor development and growth of the economic sectors of a country or region. A logistics industry that is efficient and accessible to everyone is a key element for companies in a country or region in general, and its small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, to successfully compete in this new global context. Despite improvements in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years, structural logistics problems persist, creating obstacles to exports for firms in the region, particularly SMEs. This paper emphasizes the main challenges faced by the logistics industry and proposes interventions to address these challenges. Moreover, on the basis of case studies the region, the paper analyzes what measures can be taken by SMEs to improve their logistics capacity, thereby improving their export potential. This paper was presented at the Fifth Americas Competiveness Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank and Compete Caribbean Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 5-7, 2011. |
| Keywords: | Private Sector :: SME, Infrastructure & Transport, Economics :: Productivity, Economics :: Industrial Policy, Private Sector :: Business Development, Fifth Americas Competiveness Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank and Compete Caribbean, SMEs, productivity, logistics, Latin America and the Caribbean, supply chain, exports |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:60778&r=cse |
| By: | Bondarev, Anton A. |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a reduced form model of dynamic duopoly in the context of heterogeneous innovations framework. Two agents invest into product and process innovations simultaneously. Every newly introduced product has its own dimension of process-improving innovations and there is a continuum of possible new products. In the area of process innovations the costless imitation effect is modelled while in the area of product innovations agents are cooperating with each other. As a result the specialization of innovative activity is observed. This specialization arises from strategic interactions of agents in both fields of innovative activity and is endogenously defined from the dynamics of the model. |
| Keywords: | Innovations; Dynamics; Multiproduct; Spillovers; Distributed Control; Differential Games |
| JEL: | L0 C02 O31 |
| Date: | 2011–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35424&r=cse |
| By: | Chris CM Forman; Nicolas van Zeebroeck |
| Abstract: | How did the diffusion of the Internet influence research collaborations within firms? We examine the relationship between business use of basic Internet technology and the size and geographic composition of industrial research teams between 1992 and 1998. We find robust empirical evidence that basic Internet adoption is associated with an increased likelihood of collaborative patents from geographically dispersed teams. On the contrary, we find no evidence of such a link between Internet adoption and within-location collaborative patents, nor do we find any evidence of a relationship between basic Internet and single-inventor patents. We interpret these results as evidence that adoption of basic Internet significantly reduced the coordination costs of research teams, but find little evidence that a drop in the costs of shared resource access significantly improved research productivity. |
| Keywords: | R&D organization, geography of innovation, internet adoption, IT |
| JEL: | O30 O32 L60 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/105990&r=cse |
| By: | Lundberg, Johan (Department of Economics, Umeå University) |
| Abstract: | The main issue in this paper is to analyze to what extend academic research at universities and university colleges have any effects on the regional growth pattern. In particular, we analyze the dynamic effects of research activities at universities and university colleges by including the number of dissertations at each university or university college in a Barro and Sala-i-Martin type (Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1992)) of empirical growth model. Moreover, we control for other potentially important determinants of local growth such as local income taxes, local labor market conditions and demographic factors. Based on a data set covering the Swedish municipalities during the period 1990-2007, our results suggests that academic research only have minor effects on the regional growth pattern. One potential explanation for this result is that even though academic research might have a positive effect on economic growth at the national level, the in many respects small municipalities in Sweden where the main part of the universities and university colleges are located do not have the resources in terms of infrastructure needed to fully benefit from academic research. |
| Keywords: | Net migration; income; convergence; academic research; human capital; spatial effects |
| JEL: | I23 I25 I28 O15 O38 R11 |
| Date: | 2011–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0835&r=cse |
| By: | Ezequiel Tacsir |
| Abstract: | Recent research conducted by the IDB shows that innovation positively affects productivity growth in the Latin American and Caribbean region, although the evidence comes almost exclusively from the manufacturing sector. The dearth of evidence regarding innovation in services is related, at least in part, to uncertainty with respect to how innovation in services actually works, how it can best be measured and whether or not old measurement tools (biased toward manufacturing and R&D) are really applicable to innovation in service sector environments. This paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play in the service sector in the region and the relationship between productivity and innovation in services (as well as specific sub-sectors of services) represents a policy making opportunity that, if ignored, could contribute to prolonged productivity lags in the region, while, if well designed and implemented, could have large economic payoffs. This paper was presented at the Fifth Americas Competiveness Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank and Compete Caribbean Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 5-7, 2011. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology :: New Technologies, Science & Technology :: Research & Development, Economics :: Economic Development & Growth, Economics :: Productivity, productivity, innovation, services, innovation in services, Fifth Americas Competiveness Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:60678&r=cse |
| By: | Jolanda Hessels; Peter van der Zwan |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurial ability has been suggested to be an important predictor of entrepreneurial engagement. In this paper we investigate the extent to which different types of recent entrepreneurial exit experiences foster entrepreneurial ability and subsequent entrepreneurial engagement. We discriminate between several exit modes and distinguish the following engagement levels: potential, intentional, nascent, young and established entrepreneurship. We use individual-level data for 67 countries that participated in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor during 2007, 2008 and 2009. Our findings indeed show that entrepreneurial exit directly fosters entrepreneurial engagement as well as indirectly through enhanced entrepreneurial ability. We also find dat positive as well as negative exit experiences foster subsequent entrepreneurial engagement. In addition, the impacts of exit on ability and exit on engagement increase with the stage of development of a country. |
| Date: | 2011–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h201116&r=cse |
| By: | Liping Jiang (Department of Environmental and Business Economics, University of Southern Denmark); Siri Pettersen Strandenes (Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | Cost has a significant impact on competitiveness within the shipbuilding industry. In China, low costs have created favourable conditions for domestic shipyards competing in the international market. However, China’s shipbuilders have been facing rising cost pressures in recent years, which may affect their industrial competitiveness. In this article, we assess China’s shipbuilding cost and its impact on the competitiveness of China’s shipbuilding industry. We make comparisons with China’s major competitors, South Korea and Japan, over the period from 2000 to 2009. First, we analyse principal factors that affect shipbuilding cost. Second, we examine the changes in China’s shipbuilding cost over the time period. Finally, we use shipbuilding cost and market share as the basis for analysing the competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry. The results reveal the sources and limiting factors of China’s cost advantage, as well as changes in its shipbuilding cost and competitiveness. |
| Keywords: | Shipbuilding cost; industry competitiveness; China’s shipbuilding industry |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sdk:wpaper:111&r=cse |
| By: | Mariolis, Theodore; Katsinos, Apostolis |
| Abstract: | This paper presents empirical estimates of the effects of a return to devalued drachma on the cost-inflation rate in the Greek economy. The results show moderate effects and the potential for substantial improvements in the balance of goods and services. |
| Keywords: | Cost-Push Inflation; Drachma Devaluation; Dynamic Input-Output Price Models; Greek Economy; International Competitiveness |
| JEL: | D57 E31 E11 C67 |
| Date: | 2011–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35413&r=cse |
| By: | Kato, Masatoshi; Okamuro, Hiroyuki; Honjo, Yuji |
| Abstract: | Using a sample from an original questionnaire survey in Japan, this paper explores whether and how founders’ human capital affects innovation outcomes by start-ups. The results provide evidence that founders with greater human capital are more likely to yield innovation outcome. However, because certain types of founders’ human capital may boost R&D investment, which possibly results in innovation outcomes, we estimate the determinants of innovation outcomes by an instrumental variable probit model taking into account the endogeneity of R&D investment. Our findings suggest that specific human capital for innovation, such as founders’ prior innovation experience, is directly associated with innovation outcomes after start-up, while generic human capital, such as founders’ educational background, indirectly affects innovation outcomes through R&D investment. |
| Keywords: | Start-up, Founder, Human capital, Innovations, R&D investment |
| JEL: | L24 M13 O31 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2011-11&r=cse |
| By: | Ufuk Gunes Bebek |
| Abstract: | The concept of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) stands as a major pillar in empirical trade literature. Yet there is no absolute preference among the suggested RCA measures. Given that these are volume-based indices, results of any relevant empirical analysis would be heavily influenced by the choice of the RCA measure. Considering such an ambiguity, this paper critically evaluates the proposed measures of RCA to identify the ideal measure based on theoretical, statistical and empirical precedence. Its suggested that the Balassa Index and the two corresponding multiplicative normalised variants are more consistent and robust for RCA analysis. |
| Keywords: | Revealed Comparative Advantage |
| JEL: | F11 C19 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ukc:ukcedp:1121&r=cse |
| By: | Lorenzo Vicens; Sergio Grullón |
| Abstract: | This article proposes a person-centered model for entrepreneurship, rather than one based on an idea or business plan. It analyzes the characteristics of entrepreneurship development programs worldwide and presents a representative sample of best practices. On the basis of the main findings and lessons learned, this paper defines the characteristics and components of a new model for entrepreneur development and presents recommendations as to how to deploy the model in Latin America and the Caribbean. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Economics :: Economic Development & Growth, Private Sector :: Business Development, entrepreneurship, innovation, Latin America and the Caribbean, innovation model, person-centered model for entrepreneurship, best practices |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:60638&r=cse |
| By: | Roy Thurik; Brigitte Hoogendoorn; Enrico Pennings |
| Abstract: | This contribution aims to answer the question what we know about social entrepreneurship by summarizing the current state of knowledge. It first provides a broad description of what social entrepreneurship is. Next, a conceptual overview is given of different perspectives on social entrepreneurship. More specifically, four schools of thought on social entrepreneurship are presented and a description is given of the defining characteristics that distinguish these schools from one another. Subsequently some of the main findings of empirical studies from each of the four schools are summarized and discussed. |
| Date: | 2011–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h201114&r=cse |
| By: | Van den Berg A.; Van Witteloostuijn A.; Boone Ch.; Van der Brempt O. |
| Abstract: | Research on the impact of representative employee participation on firm performance has hitherto been confined to single country studies, notably Germany. Comparative country studies are rare. In the present paper the basis is laid for international comparative research, by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the (theoretical and empirical) literature and examining the distinctive features of four neighbouring countries with respect to their industrial relations systems. We show that Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, despite the implementation of the EU Directive on Information and Consultation rights, display a large variation in their institutional setting, resulting in very different characteristics regarding worker involvement at establishment level. Depending on the country at issue, works councils or joint consultative committees exert influence in very different degrees, and also the power of trade unions differs substantially. The existing theoretical framework that dominates empirical work does not take these differences sufficiently into account. Moreover, existing empirical work primarily focuses on the effects of the mere presence of a worker representation body on organizational outcomes, not taking into account differences in the actual functioning of these worker bodies. The underlying study demonstrates that variances in (formal and informal) rights and in group dynamics will greatly impact the effectiveness of any form of employee representation. This ultimately leads to the construction of our adjusted comparative model, which does aim to take all these differences into account, when explaining the relationship between worker involvement and organisational performance. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ant:wpaper:2011019&r=cse |
| By: | Rose.Janna L.; Quave, Cassandra L.; Islam, Gazi |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ibm:ibmecp:wpe_267&r=cse |
| By: | M. Teoman Pamukçu (TEKPOL, Science and Technology Policy Studies, Middle East Technical UniversityAuthor-Name:Alper Sönmez; Department of Economics, Middle East Technical University) |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:stpswp:1109&r=cse |
| By: | Roy Thurik; David Audretsch; Erik Stam |
| Abstract: | A major shift in the organization of developed economies has been taking place: away from what has been characterized as the managed economy towards the entrepreneurial economy, or what Kirchhoff (1994) has called dynamic capitalism. In particular, the empirical evidence provides consistent support that (1) the role of entrepreneurship has significantly increased, and (2) a positive relationship exists between entrepreneurial activity and economic performance. However, the factors underlying this observed shift have not been identified in a systematic manner. The purpose of this paper is to suggest some of the factors leading to this shift and implications for public policy. In particular, we find that technological change is a fundamental catalyst underlying the shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy. However, it was not just technological change but rather involved a multitude of factors, ranging from the demise of the communist system, increased globalization, new competition for multinational firms and higher levels of prosperity. Recognition of the causes of the shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy implies a shift in public policy directions. Rather than to focus of directly and exclusively on promoting new firms and small firms, it may be that the current approach to entrepreneurship policy is misguided. The priority should not be on entrepreneurship policy but rather a more pervasive and encompassing approach, policy consistent with an entrepreneurial economy. |
| Date: | 2011–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h201113&r=cse |
| By: | Margarita H. Libby |
| Abstract: | International organizations most often recommend a virtual one stop shop such as the Single Window for Foreign Trade (Spanish acronym: VUCE). This model is undoubtedly the most successful scheme available. This paper presents the general framework for trade facilitation and shows how VUCEs have triggered a new perspective of cohesiveness as countries seek to facilitate trade and influence competitiveness indexes. In addition, it assesses the current situation in countries of the Americas that are starting to or have already taken the first steps in developing a VUCE, such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile, and discusses the conditions required to implement a VUCE with the understanding that there is more than one possible model of implementation and every government must choose one that is suitable to its own institutional structure and technological progress. This paper was presented at the Fifth Americas Competiveness Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank and Compete Caribbean Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, October 5-7, 2011. |
| Keywords: | Integration & Trade :: Trade Facilitation, Economics :: Economic Development & Growth, Private Sector :: Public Private Partnerships, Public Sector :: Public Administration & Policy Making, Public Sector :: Transparency & Anticorruption, trade facilitation, Single Window for Foreign Trade, VUCE, international trade, business climate, Fifth Americas Competiveness Forum for the Inter-American Development Bank |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:60718&r=cse |
| By: | Berna Beyhan (TEKPOL, Science and Technology Policy Studies, Middle East Technical University); M. Teoman Pamukçu (TEKPOL, Science and Technology Policy Studies, Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | We deal with nanotechnology research activities in Turkey. Based on publication data retrieved from ISI Web of SSCI database, the main actors and the main characteristics of nanotechnology research in Turkey are identified. Following a brief introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology research, it goes on with a discussion on nanotechnology related science and technology policy efforts in developing countries and particularly in Turkey. Then using bibliometric methods and social network analysis techniques, this paper aims to understand the main actors of the nanoscale research in Turkey and how they collaborate across institutes and disciplines. The research indicates that there has been an exponential growth in the number of research articles published by Turkish nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST) scholars for the last ten years. However, the analysis of the main characteristics of nanotechnology research carried out at Turkish universities indicates some drawbacks and barriers to the future development of nanotechnology research in Turkey. These barriers are (i) a high concentration of nanoscale research at certain universities; (ii) low level of interdisciplinarity; (iii) a large number of universities which are not well connected to other universities in the field, and finally (iv) low level of international collaborations. Finally, science and technology policy implications of this research are discussed in the conclusion. |
| Keywords: | Emerging technologies nanotechnology, nanoscience, scientific publications, SSCI, bibliometric data, social network analysis, collaborations, interdisciplinarity, science and technology policies, emerging economies, Turkey. |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:stpswp:1107&r=cse |
| By: | Laurent Gobillon (INED - Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques Paris - INED, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris - ENS Paris - INRA, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR, CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - INSEE - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique); Carine Milcent (EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS : UMR8545 - Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) - Ecole des Ponts ParisTech - Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris - ENS Paris - INRA) |
| Abstract: | The role of innovative procedures in the mortality differences between university, non-teaching public and for-profit hospitals is investigated using a French exhaustive administrative dataset on patients admitted for heart attack. Mortality is roughly similar in the three types of hospitals after controlling for case-mix. For-profit hospitals treat the at-risk oldest patients more often with innovative procedures. Therefore, additionnally controlling for innovative procedures makes them having the highest mortality rate. Non-teaching public hospitals end up having the lowest mortality rate. |
| Keywords: | Hospital performance ; Innovative procedures ; Stratified duration model |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-00653441&r=cse |
| By: | Arimoto, Yutaka; Nakajima, Kentaro; Okazaki, Tetsuji |
| Abstract: | We examine two sources of productivity improvement in the specialized industrial clusters. Agglomeration improves the roductivity of each plant through positive externalities, shifting plant-level productivity distribution to the right. Selection expels less productive plants through competition, truncating distribution on the left. By analyzing the data of the early twentieth century Japanese silk-reeling industry, we find no evidence confirming a right shift in the distribution in clusters or that gglomeration promotes faster productivity growth. These findings imply that the plant-selection effect was the source of higher productivity in the Japanese silk-reeling clusters. |
| Keywords: | Economic geography, Heterogeneous firms, Selection, Productivity |
| JEL: | R12 O18 L10 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2011-10&r=cse |
| By: | Hans Kuiper |
| Abstract: | The present paper reconstructs and analyses the assumptions – i.e. the policy theory – underlying the development of the SME and Entrepreneurship Policy Program in general and the Establishment Act and the Loan Guarantee (BBMKB) in particular between 1982-2003. The analysis links these assumptions to policy output results and policy effects. We find that the foundation of the policy theories of the Establishment Act and the Loan Guarantee requires improvement with respect to implicit assumptions and lacking warrants. We also find that the implied policy effects cohere with formal policy objectives. |
| Date: | 2011–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h201117&r=cse |
| By: | Angela Stefania Bergantino (University of Bari, Italy); Claudia Capozza (University of Bari, Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates which factors influence airlines’ decisions when planning pricing strategies. We explore the impact of market structure and airlines pricing behaviour in a specific geographical context characterised by a low level of intermodal competition. The data used is, in fact, collected on a sample of southern Italian routes, for which alternative accessibility through different modes of transport is limited. We focus primarily on a specific type of pricing strategy: the intertemporal price discrimination (IPD). The IPD consists in charging different fares to different travellers according to the days missing to departure when the ticket is bought. The work aims to verify whether market’s concentration levels play a significant role in defining fare levels and, more in particular, whether airlines are more or less keen to engage in IPD when competition increases or when it reduces. The paper is structured as follows. In Section 2 we survey the relevant literature; the data collection is described Section 3 and in Section 4 we present the empirical strategy. Afterward, in Section 5 we discuss the main outcomes and in Section 6 we draw some conclusions. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sit:wpaper:11_07&r=cse |
| By: | Petrosyan, Leon A.; Zenkevich, Nikolay A. (Eds.) |
| Abstract: | The collection contains abstracts of papers accepted for the Fifth International Conference Game Theory and Management (June 27–29, 2011, St. Petersburg University, St. Petersburg, Russia). The presented abstracts belong to the field of game theory and its applications to management. The abstract volume may be recommended for researches and post-graduate students of management, economic and applied mathematics departments. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sps:cpaper:295&r=cse |
| By: | Kristian Nielsen; Saras D. Sarasvathy |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to contribute to the movement in entrepreneurship research from explanations of performance based exclusively on traits or luck to those based on skills and learning. Both conventional wisdom and extant research in this regard argue for the importance of persistence after failure and learning from failure. Our study of 1,789 entrepreneurs who re-entered entrepreneurship after a failed venture supports both persistence and learning, but with a twist. Persistence paid off for entrepreneurs who already had certain kinds of human and social capital, even when controlling for unemployment record and opportunity costs. Yet the individuals with those human capital and social capital characteristics were not as likely to become re-starters. A Type I error, therefore, appears to hinder the development of habitual entrepreneurship. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:11-12&r=cse |
| By: | Chihmao Hsieh (University of Amsterdam); Simon C. Parker (University of Western Ontario); C. Mirjam van Praag (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes that risk aversion encourages individuals to invest in balanced skill profiles, making them more likely to become entrepreneurs. By not having taken this possible linkage into account, previous research has underestimated the impacts both of risk aversion and balanced skills on the likelihood individuals choose entrepreneurship. Data on Dutch university graduates provides evidence which supports this contention. It thereby raises the possibility that even risk-averse people might be suited to entrepreneurship; and it may also help explain why prior research has generated mixed evidence about the effects of risk aversion on selection into entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; jack-of-all-trades; risk; human capital; occupational choice |
| JEL: | D81 J24 L26 M13 |
| Date: | 2011–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20110178&r=cse |
| By: | Graça Fonseca Jorge; Marta Marques da Costa |
| Abstract: | In 2007 the Portuguese government launched a major school modernisation programme, and has taken steps to ensure the long-term sustainability of facilities. Projects now anticipate use by the broader community, allow for possible income-generating opportunities during the design phase and include custom-designed energy management systems. |
| Keywords: | sustainability, performance levels, maintenance costs |
| Date: | 2011–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaac:2011/9-en&r=cse |