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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2015‒01‒19
twenty-one papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Gabriele Pellegrino (SPRU, University of Sussex); Mariacristina Piva (DISCE, Università Cattolica); Marco Vivarelli (DISCE, Università Cattolica - SPRU, University of Sussex - IZA, Bonn) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the determinants of product innovation in Italian young innovative companies (YICs) by looking at in-house and external R&D and at the acquisition of external technology in its embodied and disembodied components. A Tobit approach is applied to study jointly the occurrence of product innovation and the intensity of such innovation. Results provide evidence that in-house R&D is linked to product innovation both in mature firms and YICs; however, YICs turn out to be less in-house R&D-based and more dependent on external sources of knowledge. Moreover, other entrepreneurial attitudes such as the ability to cooperate with other firms in producing innovation or the capacity to develop significant organizational changes appear to be less important or even absent in Italian YICs. These results are somehow worrying, since they show that Italian innovative entrepreneurs are mostly driven by routinized rather than creative strategies. |
| Keywords: | YICs; entrepreneurship, R&D, product innovation |
| JEL: | L26 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie5:ispe0070&r=cse |
| By: | Foster-McGregor N.; Pöschl J.; Stehrer R. (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | A major international transmission channel of productivity increases is trade in intermediate products and services. This paper analyses international spillovers at the industry level and for the first time investigates effects from the services sector in this framework. The analysis makes use of newly available data on international input-output linkages between industries. Our results using this novel approach indicate significant positive productivity effects from innovation in knowledge intensive, high technology business services and confirm the productivity effects from international manufacturing spillovers found in the recent literature. |
| Keywords: | Empirical Studies of Trade; Economic Growth of Open Economies; Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives; Institutions and Growth; |
| JEL: | F14 F43 O31 O43 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2014080&r=cse |
| By: | Kaiser, Ulrich; Kongsted, Hans Christian; Rønde, Thomas |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of mobility of R&D workers on the total patenting activity of their employers. Our study documents how mobile workers affect the patenting activity of the firm they join and the firm they leave. The effect of labor mobility is strongest if workers join from patent-active firms. We also find evidence of a positive feedback effect on the former employer's patenting from workers who have left for another patent-active firm. Summing up the effects of joining and leaving workers, we show that labor mobility increases the total innovative activity of the new and the old employer. Our study which is based on the population of R&D active Danish firms observed between 1999 and 2004 thus provides firm-level support for the notion that labor mobility stimulates overall innovation of a country or region due to knowledge transfer. |
| Keywords: | labor mobility,innovation,research and development,patenting |
| JEL: | J62 C26 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14115&r=cse |
| By: | Michele Cincera; Reinhilde Veugelers |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the sources of Europe's lagging business R&D performance relative to the US, particularly the role played by missing young leading innovators in high technology intensive sectors in Europe. It investigates through econometric analysis differences in the rates of return to R&D of European and US large R&D firms. It finds that, while in the US, young firms succeed in realizing significantly higher rates of return to R&D as compared to their older counterparts, including in high-tech sectors, European firms fail to generate significant rates of return, even if they are Yollies and even if they are in high-tech sectors. These findings can at least partly explain why Europe has less R&D intensive young leading innovators in high technology intensive sectors. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. |
| Keywords: | EU-US R&D gap; Rate of return to R&D; Young firms |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/183956&r=cse |
| By: | Cozza , Claudio (BOFIT); Rabellotti , Roberta (BOFIT); Sanfilippo, Marco (BOFIT) |
| Abstract: | Using a new firm-level database, EMENDATA, this paper investigates the effects on Chinese multinational enterprises of Outward FDI (OFDI) into advanced European countries. Propensity score matching is combined with a difference-in-difference estimator to reduce the problems of self-selection of treated firms in foreign markets and to eliminate time-invariant and unobservable differences between those firms and the controls. The results provide robust evidence in support of the view that China’s OFDI had so far a positive impact on domestic activities in enhancing firms’ productivity and scales of operation, as measured by assets, sales and employment. Distinguishing among such investments on the basis of entry mode shows that acquisitions facilitate early access to intangible assets but are detrimental to financial performance, whereas greenfield investments have a positive impact on the scale and productivity of Chinese investors. |
| Keywords: | outward FDI; reverse spillovers; performance; Chinese multinationals |
| JEL: | F49 |
| Date: | 2014–12–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bofitp:2014_024&r=cse |
| By: | Jérôme Stuck (1 Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography, Leibniz University, Hanover, Germany); Tom Broekel (Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography, Leibniz University, Hanover, Germany); Javier Revilla (Institute of Geography, University of Cologne, Cologne Germany) |
| Abstract: | While interactive learning and inter-organisational relations are fundamental building blocks in RIS theory, the framework is rarely related to investigations of regional knowledge network structures, because in RIS literature relational structures and interaction networks are discussed in a rather fuzzy and generic manner with the ‘network term’ often being used rather metaphorically. This paper contributes to the literature by discussing theoretical arguments about interactions and knowledge exchange relations in the RIS literature from the perspective of social network analysis. More precise, it links network theoretical concepts and insights to the well-known classification of RIS types by Cooke (2004). We thereby exemplarily show how the RIS literature and the literature on regional knowledge networks can benefit from considering insights of the respective other. |
| Keywords: | regional innovation system, network analysis, SNA, RIS |
| JEL: | O18 O33 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2014–12–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2014-09&r=cse |
| By: | Khan, Sana Akbar; Qureshi, Salman Ali; Hunjra, Ahmed Imran |
| Abstract: | In service industries, the customer relationship has become a core issue for achieving competitive advantage. The firms prefer to invest in the technology based Customer Relationship Management (CRM). However, mere implementing the CRM applications does not itself ensure success until the consequent factors of the CRM are considered by the enterprises concerned. This study provides the descriptive analysis of the CRM implementation and two important factors: customer knowledge and customization. The aim is to analyze the degree to which service firms utilize CRM technology, customize services and store customer knowledge. The results show that CRM application is extensively used in the firms who store and manage customer knowledge. This helps in increasing organizational performance. However, customization is not always the practice of the service firms. |
| Keywords: | Customization, CRM Implementation, Customer Knowledge, Customer Satisfaction, Economic Performance |
| JEL: | M15 M31 |
| Date: | 2014–02–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:60788&r=cse |
| By: | C. Fuhrmeister; Mirko Titze; U. Blum; Philipp Marek |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the discussion on the importance of physical distance in the emergence of cross-region collaborative Research and Development (R&D) interactions. The proximity theory, and its extensions, is used as a theoretical framework. A spatial interaction model for count data was implemented for the empirical analysis of German data from the period from 2005 to 2010. The results show that all tested proximity measurements (geographical, cognitive, social and institutional proximity) have a significant positive influence on collaboration intensity. The proximity paradox, however, cannot be confirmed for geographical, social and institutional proximity, but for cognitive proximity. |
| Keywords: | proximity theory, proximity paradox, gravity models, cross-regional collaborations, spatial interaction |
| JEL: | O18 R00 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:12-14&r=cse |
| By: | Francesca Lotti (Bank of Italy); Maria Lucia Stefani (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Following the constitutional reform of 2001, which gave increased autonomy Italian regions, and the new European guidelines from the Lisbon Agenda, there has been an upturn in regional legislative activity concerning innovation, leading to a critical review of the instruments adopted, mainly towards greater selectivity. Regional intervention tends to be highly fragmented, focusing on the funding of applied research and using grants as the preferred policy tool. In terms of sources of funds, structural funds have gained importance since the 2007-13 programming cycle, partly due to the economic crisis, and in the southern regions account for nearly all the resources devoted to fostering innovation. This paper presents a summary indicator, consisting of three "sub-indicators" approximating, respectively, the input of the innovation process, innovation output, and a quantitative measure of regional policies for innovation. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, regional policies |
| JEL: | O38 R58 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_246_14&r=cse |
| By: | Riccardo De Bonis (Bank of Italy); Giovanni Ferri (LUMSA); Zeno Rotondi (Unicredit Group) |
| Abstract: | The goal of this paper is to investigate the link between the length of a firm-bank relationship and firm's internationalization. The analysis is carried out on matched firm-bank micro-data from a survey of Italian enterprises from 1998 to 2003. We obtain two main results. First, a longer relationship with the main bank fosters firms' foreign direct investment (FDI) while it does not affect the export status of the enterprises not engaging in FDI. Second, the probability of a firm undertaking FDI further increases if its main bank is itself internationalized by holding foreign subsidiaries. |
| Keywords: | internationalization, foreign direct investments, export, external finance, firm-bank relationships, bank internationalization mode |
| JEL: | D21 F10 F21 F23 G21 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_251_14&r=cse |
| By: | Federico Frattini (Department of Economics and Management, University of Ferrara, Italy.); Francesco Nicolli (IRCReS-CNR, Italy; Department of Economics and Management, University of Ferrara, Italy.); Giorgio Prodi (Department of Economics and Management, University of Ferrara, Italy; CCWE - Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.) |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on the role of technological capabilities in pushing regional catch-up in China. A leading force behind its fast economic growth has been the government action in reforming rules and institutions and supporting structural change in the long run. The local clustering process of technological capabilities represents an important piece in this strategy. The regional endowment of technological capabilities is approached by the geographical distribution of innovation activities among prefectures. The analysis aims to verify if there is convergence among the prefectural income levels and technological capabilities positively affect the intra-national catching-up process. Accordingly, this contribution presents a growth convergence estimation model that includes four indexes for innovation systems already adopted in literature. Indicators refer to the information about Chinese patent applications at EPO in the period 1996–2010 (OECD REGPAT and Citations databases, January 2014). In order to fit the research questions, patent data have been restricted, re-organized and originally regionalized by the authors running a semantic search of prefectures’ names in the “address” field associated to each Chinese inventor. Main results show that an absolute convergence process already started, although disparities decline slowly, and the accumulation of technological capabilities can foster this dynamic. |
| Keywords: | Buen Vivir, China, growth, patent, region, catch-up |
| JEL: | O30 O47 O53 R19 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:2914&r=cse |
| By: | Nevena Stanisavljeviæ, |
| Abstract: | Cluster organizations today are one of the accelerators of economic development. Successful clusters attract professionals, technology and investment, serve a global market and connect with other regional clusters that provide similar activities in the global value chain. The aim of this paper is the study of good practice in the development of clusters by observing the processes that lead to the accelerated development of cluster practices. Cluster organizations in Europe and Serbia are developing at different speeds and with different results. These differences are due to discrepancies in the degree of institutionalization of cluster organizations, financial assistance and the existence of supporting social infrastructure. Results of the paper are intended for policy makers and cluster management in Serbia and the region. |
| Keywords: | cluster, cluster development, competitiveness, Europe, Serbia. |
| JEL: | L14 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esb:casdrg:2014-219&r=cse |
| By: | Alessandra Micozzi (Università Politecnica delle Marche; Università Politecnica delle Marche) |
| Abstract: | Academic entrepreneurship, i.e. new firms that involve former students and researchers are especially important as a source of high-tech ventures and technology transfer from university. This is one of the reasons for the steady increase of entrepreneurship courses within university curricula observed in Italy during the last decade. Besides the supply of entrepreneurship courses one of the most promising ways to promote entrepreneurship is the creation of an organized ‘space’ where students can meet, attend workshops and seminars and above all have the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs, business angels, etc. while working at their own entrepreneurial idea. The ‘space’ will host students following different curricula; from humanities to engineering. The contamination of expertise and skills should facilitate the generation of new ideas. Moreover, the formation of heterogeneous teams is expected to raise the success rates of the new ventures. The paper discusses in details how such a space could be organized, the activities that could be carried out to attain its goals and the rules for the admission of students. This discussion is based on the review of the relevant literature and on a specific project carried out at the Università Politecnica delle Marche (Ancona, Italy). |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial university |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cme:wpaper:1404&r=cse |
| By: | G. Marletto |
| Abstract: | The study of sustainability transitions (SUSTRANs) is an emerging research field that provides useful keys to understand how more sustainable ways to meet societal needs may emerge and develop. As stressed by some scholars, much more work is needed to make political institutions endogenous to SUSTRANs. This paper contributes to such a research endeavour by providing a simple conceptual framework based on multiple levels of Darwinian evolution. The evolutionary environment is defined by a societal function (e.g., urban mobility), which is fulfilled by socio-technical systems (STSs) (e.g., the car, public transport, the bicycle, etc.). Three levels of evolution are considered - a lower level, with firms; two higher levels, with innovation networks and socio-political communities, respectively. While competing within the same STS, firms cooperate within a socio-political community in order to back their STS, and compete with other – both existing and emerging – STSs that fulfil the same societal function. With this simple framework SUSTRANs can be represented as a multilevel evolutionary process that endogenously generate the needed favourable policies (FPs). A socio-political community supporting a new and more sustainable STS achieves the ability to induce FPs only if it is able to scale up – and reach a tipping point – in the cumulative causation process between the enlistment of new members and an increasing level of legitimation. The proposed framework can be applied not only to SUSTRANs, but to all socio-technical transitions, where power and competition can be considered as multilevel phenomena, and multi-industry dynamics are at centre stage. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability transition, Political institutions, Evolutionary, Group selection |
| JEL: | B52 Q56 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201412&r=cse |
| By: | Sebastiano Nerozzi; Vito Pipitone; Giorgio Ricchiuti (Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa) |
| Abstract: | Matching and merging different databases, we study how firm’s productivity is affected by individual characteristics and provincial context conditions in Italy. Mainly, we focus on the relation between social capital, in its different forms and dimensions and calculated at provincial level and firms’ productivity, calculated using the non-parametric DEA approach. We find that exporting, self-financing firms, and firms belonging to groups, are more productive. In particular, Cooperative firms are more productive than limited company. Moreover, the variables capturing the social capital show strong positive correlation with firms’ productivity, indicating that a widespread civism intended as pro-social behavior independent of specific interpersonal bounds, seems to create an economic environment which is more favorable to entrepreneurship and collaboration among firms, since it increases interpersonal trust, lowers transaction costs, enhances the compliance of formal or informal rules of fairness and fosters a more transparent, impartial and efficient working of the public administration. |
| Keywords: | DEA, productivity, social capital, inequality, multilevel approach |
| JEL: | C19 D24 R10 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2014_28.rdf&r=cse |
| By: | Baltzopoulos, Apostolos (Department of Industrial Economics and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and The Swedish Competition Authority, Stockholm, Sweden.); Braunerhjelm, Pontus (Department of Industrial Economics and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden.); Tikoudis, Ioannis (Department of Spatial Economics, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081HV, and Tinbergen Institute, Gustav Mahlerplein 117, 1082MS Amsterdam.) |
| Abstract: | Based on unique data covering individuals, firms, industries, and regions for the 1999-2005 period, we contribute with new knowledge concerning the impact of regional variables on spin-offs. Implementing a large number of controls, as well as different estimation techniques and robustness tests, we show that Jacobian externalities have a positive effect on spin-offs. Moreover, using an entropy measure to disentangle unrelated and related variety, we conclude that the effect is confined to related variety. These findings are likely to be associated with strong welfare effects: a standard-deviation increase (decrease) in related (unrelated) variety increases spin-off propensity by approximately 25%. Other variables are shown to have economic effects of a similar magnitude but may have a different effect across sectors. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the impact of other determinants proposed in the literature (e.g., Marshallian externalities and scale effects) is too small to be detected. |
| Keywords: | Regions; spin-offs; industries |
| JEL: | D01 L26 R10 |
| Date: | 2014–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0389&r=cse |
| By: | Natasa Stojkoviæ Krstiæ, (Postal Savings Bank, Belgrade) |
| Abstract: | Business performance measurement plays a special role in improving the quality of decision-making and increasing overall business efficiency. Performance measurement provides the information about the state of an organization as a system, and on that basis, in the future, set realistic goals which will be challenging and stimulating. Without an objective, comprehensive, regular measurement of business performances, an organization would lose vital information for a continuous stream of business management decision making, without which there is no effective management (planning, organizing, leading and controlling). From the above mentioned, the importance of developing new, modern performance measurement system is gone, which should to overcome the disadvantages of the traditional financial measurement system, which is based solely on financial measures of performances. The aim of this paper is to highlight the characteristics of modern business performance measurement framework and presents only some of them. Introducing these new concepts and their effective implementation in organizations is in a function of the increasing the business efficiency. |
| Keywords: | measurement, performance, organization. |
| JEL: | M11 M21 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esb:casdrg:2014-217&r=cse |
| By: | Bruno César Araújo |
| Abstract: | Este trabalho visa sistematizar o conhecimento a respeito da relação entre exportações e desempenho ao nível da firma em países desenvolvidos, países em desenvolvimento, e no Brasil. Especialmente, este texto presta especial atenção à hipótese do aprendizado de exportação (learning-by-exporting), referente à possibilidade de melhoria de desempenho por parte das firmas – em especial, de produtividade – posterior à entrada no mercado internacional. De maneira geral, a confirmação da hipótese do aprendizado, quando presente, tende a ocorrer nos artigos referentes a países em desenvolvimento e ao Brasil. Uma possível explicação é que as firmas nestes países tendem a se situar mais distantes da fronteira tecnológica, então, marginalmente elas têm mais a ganhar com o comércio internacional. Em suma, esta revisão aponta que firmas mais competitivas tornam-se exportadoras, mas as exportadoras não necessariamente se tornam mais competitivas. This literature review aims to systematize the knowledge about the relationship between exports and firm performance, in developed countries, developing countries and in Brazil. Especially, this review pays particular attention to the learning-by-exporting hypothesis, that is, firms’ performance improvements - in particular, in productivity – experienced after the entry into the international market. In general, the confirmation of the learning-by-exporting hypothesis, when present, tends to occur in the articles relating to developing countries and Brazil. One possible explanation is that firms in these countries tend to operate below the technological frontier; hence, they have more to gain from international trade, at least marginally. In short, this review shows that competitive firms become exporters, but not necessarily exporters become more competitive. |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:2008&r=cse |
| By: | Coccia M. (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | An interesting problem in the economics of innovation and strategic management of labs is to explain the drivers of breakthroughs and paradigm shifts in science. This study confronts the issue by analysing a main case study the technological determinant of the discovery of quasi-periodic materials that has generated a scientific paradigm shift in crystallography. Unlike user-friendly radical innovations, the study here detects some specific radical innovations, defined lab-oriented and adopted by high-skilled users i.e. researchers such as Transmission Electron Microscopy, which tend to support breakthroughs and scientific discoveries. This finding is the foundation for a framework, which endeavours to pinpoint the main characteristics and properties of these strategic lab-oriented radical innovations, which in turn spur scientific advances. Technological analysis of this study explains the critical role of specific technologies supporting knowledge creation and scientific discoveries to understand vital drivers of scientific fields and fruitful linkages that run from technological to scientific progress. |
| Keywords: | General Welfare; Technological Change; Research and Development; Intellectual Property Rights: General; |
| JEL: | O30 I31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2014090&r=cse |
| By: | Antonella Noya; Emma Clarence |
| Abstract: | Social enterprises have gained importance in the policy debate in many European and non-European countries, as also demonstrated by the European Commission’s recent “Social Business Initiative”. This marks an important milestone for European policy makers and other stakeholders involved in promoting national and sub-national eco-systems for socially oriented business. Putting in place an enabling environment for social enterprises is critical if they are to fulfil their potential in contributing not only to the creation of jobs, but also to addressing wider social and economic needs, and to promoting more cohesive and inclusive societies. |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaac:3-en&r=cse |
| By: | Kristin Andrews; Jonathan D. Brown Tara Ferragamo; Rebecca Kleinman; Rebecca Newsham; Allison Wishon Siegwarth |
| Keywords: | Coordinating Care, Behavioral Health Populations, Health |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2014–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:c80040fb695c413083841e51d8b3bec4&r=cse |