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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2012‒12‒15
sixteen papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | ISOGAWA Daiya; NISHIKAWA Kohei; OHASHI Hiroshi |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the economic impact of new-to-market product innovation using firm-level data obtained from the Japanese National Innovation Survey. It accounts for possible technological spillovers in innovation activities and examines the extent to which new-to-market product innovation contributes to firm performance. The paper offers several new insights on product innovation. |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:12077&r=cse |
| By: | Pfeifer, Christian (Leuphana University Lueneburg and IZA); Wagner, Joachim (Leuphana University Lueneburg, CESIS) |
| Abstract: | This empirical research note documents the relationship between composition of a firm's workforce (with a special focus on age and gender) and its performance with respect to innovative activities (outlays and employment in research and development (R&D)) for a large representative sample of enterprises from manufacturing industries in Germany using unique newly available data. We find that firms with a higher share of older workers have significantly lower proportions of R&D outlays in total revenues and of R&D employment in total employment, whereas firms with a higher share of female employment seem to be more active in R&D. |
| Keywords: | Ageing; firm performance; gender; Germany; innovation; R&D |
| JEL: | D22 D24 J21 J24 L25 |
| Date: | 2012–12–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0291&r=cse |
| By: | Carla Costa; Rui Baptista |
| Abstract: | The mechanisms driving regional clustering are examined by exploring two theories: agglomeration economies and organizational reproduction. While organizational reproduction through spinoffs dominates clusters' early stages of growth, in clusters populated by small, vertically disintegrated firms accessing networks of external capabilities, agglomeration economies should emerge as a positive force. We examine just such a cluster: the molds industry in Portugal. Our empirical approach is twofold: first, we examine the early evolution (1946–1986) of the industry; second, we use detailed data on firms and founders for the period 1987–2009 to test the predictions of the two theories. We find that while organizational reproduction has played a major role in clustering, agglomeration economies recently have gained influence. |
| Keywords: | Clusters, Spinoffs, Agglomeration Economies, Networks, External Capabilities |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1222&r=cse |
| By: | d'Agostino, Giorgio; Scarlato, Margherita |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the theoretical and empirical foundations of the links between inclusive institutions, innovation and economic growth. Its first contribution to the literature is to provide a non-scale R&D-based growth model incorporating negative externalities linked to low institutional quality that not only affect the productivity of private and human capital, but also constrain the diffusion of existing technological knowledge. In turn, these negative externalities reduce economic growth. The second contribution of this paper is to run estimates for a sample of European Union countries. Empirical analysis based on pooled long- and short-run estimates confirms the importance of private capital and technology as instruments to increase economic growth in European countries and suggests the existence of a positive relationship between inclusive institutions, innovation and economic growth. The estimates also show that market failures linked to the degree of market competition and to the level of network interaction in the economic system significantly condition the influence of formal institutions on private capital, technology and GDP growth. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; economic growth models; institutions and growth |
| JEL: | O41 O43 O30 C23 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43098&r=cse |
| By: | Anja Schoen; Bruno Van Pottelsberghe; Joachim Henkel |
| Abstract: | Despite the growing interest in university-to-industry technology transfer, there are very few studies on the governance of universities’ technology transfer offices (TTOs). The few existing ones tend to focus on U.S. universities and generally tackle one dimension of the governance. The present paper aims at contributing to this literature in two ways. First, it takes into account the diversity of organizational models with a theoretical perspective: the paper presents a discussion on which combinations of four structural dimensions should yield viable configurations. Four main types of TTOs are identified: (1) classical TTO; (2) autonomous TTO; (3) discipline-integrated Technology Transfer Alliance; and (4) discipline-specialized Technology Transfer Alliance. Second, the paper relies on 16 case studies of universities located in six European countries in order to address the pros and cons of the four types of TTOs. The results provide both a conceptual understanding and an empirical overview of how universities organize their technology transfer and intellectual property management. |
| Keywords: | Technology transfer offices; organizational structure; governance; academic patents |
| JEL: | L30 O31 O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/134246&r=cse |
| By: | Wouter Jacobs; Hans R.A. Koster; Frank van Oort |
| Abstract: | It has been argued that the relationship between knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) and multi-national enterprises (MNEs) within the regional economy is advantageous for urban and regional dynamics. It is likely that KIBS aim to locate proximate to (internationally operating) MNEs because of agglomeration externalities. The impact of MNEs on the birth of KIBS has rarely been examined, and the research on the new formation of KIBS has mainly adopted a case study approach, thus limiting the opportunity for generalisation. We have taken a more quantitative approach using a continuous space framework to test whether proximity is important for the co-location of KIBS and MNEs in the metropolitan area of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Our results, controlled for other location factors, indicate that KIBS are co-agglomerated with MNEs and that the presence of a MNE significantly influences the birth of KIBS nearby, but the effect on such start-ups is considerably smaller than the positive effect of the presence of already established KIBS. We discuss the implications for urban and regional development strategies and policy initiatives. |
| Keywords: | knowledge intensive business services, multi-national enterprises, start-ups, point pattern methodology, Amsterdam. |
| JEL: | F23 L84 L25 R12 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1225&r=cse |
| By: | Giorgio Barba Navaretti (University of Milan and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano); Davide Castellani (University of Perugia and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano); Fabio Pieri (Universitat de València) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new insights on the firm age and growth nexus along the entire distribution of (positive and negative) growth rates. Using data from the EFIGE survey, and adopting a quantile regression approach we uncover evidence for a sample of French, Italian and Spanish manufacturing firms in the period from 2001 to 2008. After controlling for several firms’ characteristics, country and sector specificities we find that: (i) young firms grow faster than old firms, especially in the highest growth quintiles (ii) young firms face the same probability of declining than their older counterparts; (iii) high growth is associated with younger CEOs and other attributes which capture the attitude of firm toward growth and change, i.e. the number of employees involved in R&D activities and the number of graduate employees; (iv) results are robust to the inclusion of other firms’ characteristics like labor productivity, capital intensity, and the financial structure. Overall, our results are consistent with several theoretical arguments, like love for risk and learning. |
| Keywords: | firm growth, age, quantile regression |
| JEL: | L21 L25 L26 L60 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:1217&r=cse |
| By: | Nakano, Makoto; Nguyen, Pascal |
| Abstract: | We analyze the role of board age on firm performance using a large sample of Japanese firms. The results reveal the existence of a significant negative relationship. After controlling for endogeneity using firm size as instrument, the effect of board age is found to be more significant, consistent with the notion that older directors are more likely to retain (relinquish) their positions in strongly (poorly) performing firms. In addition, we show that the performance of younger and high-growth firms is more sensitive to board age, which points to a risk-based explanation. Indeed, it appears that older boards are more reluctant to take risks and particularly to undertake acquisitions. Overall, the results underline the disadvantage of (re)appointing older managers since the latter tend to be more conservative, perhaps because of their shorter decision horizons or greater vested interests. |
| Keywords: | board of directors, top management, decision making, risk aversion, performance |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hcfrwp:2&r=cse |
| By: | Ciarreta Antuñano, Aitor; García Enríquez, Javier; Gutiérrez Hita, Carlos |
| Abstract: | In a two-stage delegation game model with Nash bargaining between a manager and an owner, an equivalence result is found between this game and Fershtman and Judd's strategic delegation game (Fershtman and Judd, 1987). Interestingly, although both games are equivalent in terms of profits under certain conditions, managers obtain greater rewards in the bargaining game. This results in a redistribution of profits between owners and managers. |
| Keywords: | strategic delegation, bargaining, product substitutability, price |
| JEL: | C72 L13 M54 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehu:dfaeii:9151&r=cse |
| By: | Maria Bigoni (University of Bologna); Gabriele Camera (Economic Science Institute, Chapman University and University of Basel); Marco Casari (University of Bologna) |
| Abstract: | We study the individual behavior of students and workers in an experiment where they repeatedly face the same cooperative task. The data show that clerical workers differ from college students in overall cooperation rates, strategy adoption and use of punishment opportunities. Students cooperate more than workers. Cooperation increases in both subject pools when a personal punishment option is available. Students are less likely than workers to adopt strategies of unconditional defection, and more likely to select strategies of conditional cooperation. Finally, students are more likely than workers to sanction uncooperative behavior by adopting decentralized punishment, and also personal punishment when available. |
| Keywords: | Non-standard subject pools, prisoner’s dilemma, peer punishment, artefactual field experiment, stranger matching |
| JEL: | C90 C70 D80 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chu:wpaper:12-29&r=cse |
| By: | Dhammika Dharmapala; Nadine Riedel |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a new approach to estimating the existence and magnitude of tax-motivated income shifting within multinational corporations. Existing studies of income shifting use changes in corporate tax rates as a source of identification. In contrast, this paper exploits exogenous earnings shocks at the parent firm and investigates how these shocks propagate across low-tax and high-tax multinational subsidiaries. This approach is implemented using a large panel of European multinational affiliates over the period 1995-2005. The central result is that parents’ positive earnings shocks are associated with a significantly positive increase in pretax profits at low-tax affiliates, relative to the effect on the pretax profits of high-tax affiliates. The result is robust to controlling for various other differences between low-tax and high-tax affiliates and for country-pair-year fixed effects. Additional tests suggest that the estimated effect is attributable primarily to the strategic use of debt across affiliates. The magnitude of income shifting estimated using this approach is substantial, but somewhat smaller than that found in the previous literature. |
| Keywords: | international taxation, income-shifting, multinational firms, earnings shocks |
| JEL: | H25 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_3791&r=cse |
| By: | Giulio Buciuni (Dip. di Economia Aziendale, Università di Verona and visiting scholar CGGC Duke University); Giancarlo Corò (Dipartimento di Economia, Università Ca' Foscari, Venezia); Stefano Micelli (Dipartimento di Management, Università Ca’Foscari, Venezia) |
| Abstract: | Manufacturing industries in developed countries have been experiencing profound changes over the last decade. Production of inputs and commodity goods has been increasingly outsourced to emerging countries’ low-wage suppliers, thus nurturing an unprecedented process of ‘global shifts’. Departing from the acknowledgment of this fast-changing scenario, we raised the question of whether operation can still play a role in the economic development of Western industries. While industrial statistics confirmed that the production of standardized products has been largely relocated overseas, the development of a number of case studies in the North Carolina’s and Northeast Italy’s furniture industry outlined that the manufacture of sophisticated, customized goods keeps its roots locally. By using the global value chains (GVCs) approach, we found that in-house or in-cluster control over sourcing and operations represent a strategic activity in the process of product upgrading. Accordingly, we claim that manufacturing can still play a central role in mature industries and pave the path for a next pattern of sustainable development in Western economies. |
| Keywords: | global value chains (GVCs), upgrading, Western industries, manufacturing |
| JEL: | F14 L23 L68 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cme:wpaper:1214&r=cse |
| By: | Bengtsson, Ola (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Sanandaji, Tino (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Johannesson, Magnus (Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | A striking fact about entrepreneurship is that the number of male entrepreneurs greatly exceed the number of female entrepreneurs. We use detailed survey data from Sweden to study to what extent this gender gap can be explained by gender differences in personality. We show that women have markedly different psyche than men (11 out of 14 traits differ), and that entrepreneurs have markedly different psyche than others (8 out of 14 traits differ). However gender differences in traits do not reduce women's likelihood of being an entrepreneur in a one-sided way. We find that, in aggregate, gender differences in personality traits can explain a modest part of the gender gap in entrepreneurship: our estimates suggest 21%–32%. We also document that personality traits that distinguish entrepreneurs from others are generally not more prevalent among the non-entrepreneurial self-employed. This finding highlights that entrepreneurship is distinct from other types of self-employment. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Self-employment; Gender differences; Personality traits |
| JEL: | J16 L26 |
| Date: | 2012–11–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0944&r=cse |
| By: | Thomas Buser; Muriel Niederle; Hessel Oosterbeek |
| Abstract: | Gender differences in competitiveness are often discussed as a potential explanation for gender differences in education and labor market outcomes. We correlate an incentivized measure of competitiveness with an important career choice of secondary school students in the Netherlands. At the age of 15, these students have to pick one out of four study profiles, which vary in how prestigious they are. While boys and girls have very similar levels of academic ability, boys are substantially more likely than girls to choose more prestigious profiles. We find that competitiveness is as important a predictor of profile choice as gender. More importantly, up to 23 percent of the gender difference in profile choice can be attributed to gender differences in competitiveness. This lends support to the extrapolation of laboratory findings on competitiveness to labor market settings. |
| JEL: | C9 I20 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18576&r=cse |
| By: | Wilko Bolt; David Humphrey |
| Abstract: | The three main measures of competition (HHI, Lerner Index, and H-Statistic) are uncorrelated for U.S. banks. We investigate why this occurs, propose a frontier measure of competition, and apply it to five major bank service lines using data only available since 2008. Fee-based banking services comprise 35% of bank revenues so assessing competition by service line is preferred to using a single measure for traditional activities extended to the entire bank. Academic-based competition measures explain only 1% of HHI variation. HHI merger/acquisition guidelines could be raised since current banking concentration seems unrelated to competition. |
| Keywords: | Competition; banks; frontier analysis |
| JEL: | L11 G21 C21 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dnb:dnbwpp:359&r=cse |
| By: | Jason A. Grissom; Demetra Kalogrides; Susanna Loeb |
| Abstract: | Expansion of the use of student test score data to measure teacher performance has fueled recent policy interest in using those data to measure the effects of school administrators as well. However, little research has considered the capacity of student performance data to uncover principal effects. Filling this gap, this article identifies multiple conceptual approaches for capturing the contributions of principals to student test score growth, develops empirical models to reflect these approaches, examines the properties of these models, and compares the results of the models empirically using data from a large urban school district. The paper then assesses the degree to which the estimates from each model are consistent with measures of principal performance that come from sources other than student test scores, such as school district evaluations. The results show that choice of model is substantively important for assessment. While some models identify principal effects as large as 0.15 standard deviations in math and 0.11 in reading, others find effects as low as 0.02 in both subjects for the same principals. We also find that the most conceptually unappealing models, which over-attribute school effects to principals, align more closely with non-test measures than do approaches that more convincingly separate the effect of the principal from the effects of other school inputs. |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18568&r=cse |