|
on Economics of Strategic Management |
|
Issue of 2015‒12‒28
twenty-six papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Uwe Cantner (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Holger Graf (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Susanne Hinzmann (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | The role of geographical proximity in fostering connections and knowledge flows between innovative actors ranks among the most controversial themes in the research of innovation systems, regional networks and new economic geography. While there is ample empirical evidence on the constituent force of co-location for the formation of research alliances, little attention has been paid to the actual consequences of geographical concentration of alliance partners for the subsequent performance of these linkages. In this paper we address this underexplored issue and aim to complement the rare examples of studies on the relevance of geographical proximity for research outputs. We utilize original and unique survey data from collaborative R&D projects that were funded within the "Leading-Edge Cluster Competition" - the main national cluster funding program in Germany in recent years. We find that the perception of the necessity of spatial proximity for project success is rather heterogeneous among the respondents of the funded projects. Moreover, the relationship between geographical distance and project success is by no means univocal and is mediated by various technological, organizational and institutional aspects. Our findings strongly support the assumption that the nature of knowledge involved determines the degree to which collaborators are reliant on being closely located to each other. The relevance of spatial proximity increases in exploration contexts when knowledge is novel and the innovation endeavor is more radical while this effect is less pronounced for projects with a stronger focus on basic research. Moreover, geographical proximity and project satisfaction foster cross- fertilization effects of LECC projects. |
| Keywords: | geographical proximity, collaboration, performance, innovation policy |
| JEL: | O3 O38 L14 R1 |
| Date: | 2015–12–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2015-025&r=cse |
| By: | Uwe Cantner (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, and University of Southern Denmark, Odense); Holger Graf (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Michael Rothgang (Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Essen); Tina Wolf (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | Cluster studies have shown that innovation can be understood as the result of an inter-organizational process, where a division of labor with regard to exploration and exploitation exists among the actors inside the cluster. A cluster is ambidextrous if it manages to balance innovative activities that exploit existing competencies and is open to novel technological approaches by means of exploration. In this context we are interested in the supportive role of cluster management, assuming that a cluster organization can only persist sustainably if exploitation and exploration are pursued in an appropriate balance. Our analysis is based on surveys that have been conducted between 2011 and 2012 with 10 cluster managements and their respective cluster firms of the first two rounds of the German Leading Edge Cluster Competition. Our results indicate that the demand for services offered by the cluster management depends on companies' strategies with respect to exploration, exploitation and ambidexterity. In turn, the priorities set by the cluster management can be explained by the firm' needs. Accordingly, we argue that the cluster management acts as a service provider helping the cluster companies to become ambidextrous which in turn makes the cluster as a whole ambidextrous. |
| Keywords: | Cluster, Ambidexterity, Cluster Management, Exploration, Exploitation |
| JEL: | O30 O32 O38 R11 |
| Date: | 2015–12–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2015-024&r=cse |
| By: | Uwe Cantner (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, and University of Southern Denmark, Odense); Holger Graf (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Stefan Töpfer (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of a German national cluster policy on the structure of collaboration networks. The empirical analysis is based on original data that was collected in fall 2011 and late summer 2013 with cluster actors (firms and public research organizations) who received government funding. Our results show that over time the program was effective in initiating new cooperation between cluster actors and in intensifying existing linkages. Newly formed linkages are to a substantial amount among actors who did not receive direct funding for a joint R&D project, which indicates an additional, mobilisation effect of the policy. Furthermore, we observe differential developments regarding clusters' spatial embeddedness. Some clusters tend to increase their localisation, whereas others increase their connectivity to international partners. The centrality of large firms increased over time, indicating their prominent role as preferred partners for R&D cooperation within the clusters while it is the opposite case for public actors. |
| Keywords: | Cluster, Innovation Policy, Evaluation, Social Network Analysis |
| JEL: | O38 L14 R10 |
| Date: | 2015–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2015-026&r=cse |
| By: | Jan Hagemejer (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw; National Bank of Poland) |
| Abstract: | The new EU member states have been experiencing firm internationalization not only through inward foreign direct investment but also through exporting, importation of foreign technology in investment goods and increased use of imported intermediates. We argue that there are important productivity spillovers within the global value chains, i.e. FDI alone does not tell the whole story of the reallocation processes going on in the economies of the NMS. We augment the standard TFP spillover empirical model with modern measures of GVC participation. We show that increased foreign content of exports brings additional productivity gains on top of the ones attributed to exporting. Moreover, we show that in selected cases, participation in the GVC leads to a smaller productivity gap between foreign and domestic firms. |
| Keywords: | global value chains, productivity, New Member States, productivity spillovers |
| JEL: | L25 C67 F10 F23 O12 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2015-42&r=cse |
| By: | Anissa Chaibi (IPAG Business School, Paris - GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Adel Ben Youssef (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Leila Peltier-Ben Aoun (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides original empirical evidence on the causal links between e-skills, usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and firm's performance using a sample of Luxembourgian manufacturing and services firms. Firm performance is measured in terms of innovation (success of new projects settled). Our main findings are: (i) there's no relationship between the absorptive technology capacity of the firm (measured by ICT staff and Training) and the probability of the implementation of successful ICT projects, (ii) there is a positive effect of e-applications usage (ICT usage) on the probability of the implementation of successful new projects, and (iii) there is an asymmetric effect of usage of e-commerce and e-administration confirming findings of the recent literature |
| Keywords: | Innovative projects,Ordered models,Innovation,Usage of ICT,Depth of ICT adoption |
| Date: | 2015–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01068225&r=cse |
| By: | OKUBO Toshihiro; OKAZAKI Tetsuji |
| Abstract: | In 2001, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) launched the Industrial Cluster Policy, which aimed at promoting innovations and vitalizing regional economies by creating firm networks. The model envisioned by METI in drawing up this policy was the Silicon Valley in the United States. For that purpose, METI designated 19 industrial clusters and their members, including local small and medium-sized firms and universities, and supported the network creation of the members. In this paper, we identified the member firms from the original information provided by METI and matched it with the Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) database. We used the dataset to evaluate how participation in the industrial cluster affected the transaction network, sales, and employment of each member firm.It was revealed that participation in the industrial cluster has a positive impact on the extent of transaction networks, especially that with firms in Tokyo. Also, participation in the industrial cluster increases the sales and employment of each member firm. It is remarkable that the cluster policy contributes to expanding the extensive margin of the local firms with transactions with firms in Tokyo. This extensive margin effect is larger for firms whose main banks are the first-tier regional banks. |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:15063&r=cse |
| By: | Jérémie Faham (ESTIA Recherche - Ecole Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées (ESTIA), IMS - Laboratoire de l'intégration, du matériau au système - Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 - Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Iban Lizarralde (ESTIA Recherche - Ecole Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées (ESTIA)); Jérémy Legardeur (ESTIA Recherche - Ecole Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées (ESTIA)); Iñaki Garagorri (Universidad de Deusto); Christophe Marnat (UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, Universidad del Pais Vasco- Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea) |
| Abstract: | In the actual context, characterized by economic, environmental and societal challenges, the stimulation of creativity and the support to sustainable innovation are central issues for the competitiveness of enterprises. This topic is of great relevance for European Union which aims to stimulate a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in each of its region to come out of the actual crisis with the launch of a new set of territorial policies: the “Research and regional Innovation Strategies for the Smart Specialization”. This work deals with the inclusion of SMEs when implementing those RIS3. We present several contributions to enhance a true involvement of SMEs within the RIS3 dynamic. We highlight first the potentialities of the Collaborative Business Model dynamics as a suitable approach to support the collective participation of networks of SMEs in the definition of the RIS3 orientations. Secondly we present the design of a collaborative platform called WeKeyInnovation (WKI), accessible online to share information about innovation tools or devices and which is progressively enriched by all the regional “entrepreneurs”. By collecting qualified empirical data WKI is designed to be a dynamic observatory of innovation processes within regional enterprises. This collaborative platform is settled to be the regional online community which will support the knowledge sharing of actors dedicated to the innovation at regional level. By being also a catalyst of regional “entrepreneurs” interactions, WKI facilitates the identification of potential partners and boost their adequate matching before to collectively engage in CBM processes. The final goal is to implement WKI as a transversal toolkit supporting a new framework of innovation at regional level which will be useful both for the collaboration of SMEs within networks and for institutional actors to help them in the launch of the RIS3 insuring the full inclusion of regional SMES. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Smart Specialisation Strategy, SME, Collaborative Business Model, Business Matching |
| Date: | 2015–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01245851&r=cse |
| By: | Grazia Cecere (Telecom Ecole de Management, Institut Mines-Telecom, Paris, France.); Massimiliano Mazzanti |
| Abstract: | Green jobs are a key aim of societal efforts to provide concrete contents to the long run effort to reconcile sustainability and development. The present article analyses the extent to which future growth of green jobs is influenced by microeconomic and sector/macro level factors. We carry out econometric analyses on European SME firms to assess the factors affecting the creation of green jobs in small and medium firms. We find that green product and service innovation is primarily relevant to support the creation of green jobs. This suggests that producing green products and services is an important factor affecting green jobs. The environmental management system is also positively related to job creation: the reorganization of a firm’s activities imposed by Environmental Management System implementation requires the organizational structure as a whole to be reshaped, eventually including skills and competences. Innovations aimed at enhancing resource efficiency also augment the expected creation of green jobs. Sector factors and turnover/demand effects appear less relevant than specific eco innovation elements of the firm with the exception of the waste sector which supports the creation of green jobs. The study lays the foundations for future research on the development of green skills, competences and jobs in firms as a reaction to market and policy levers. |
| Keywords: | green jobs, innovation, labour demand, sectors, product innovation, techno-organisational innovations |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:2115&r=cse |
| By: | Chatterjee, Sidharta |
| Abstract: | Workforce education forms one of the core aspects of organizational learning which aims for performance as well as efficiency. Learning is goal oriented in business organizations. Organizations activities are highly oriented towards customer satisfaction. Organizations learn from practice and delivery of services to meet consumer needs and necessities. Perfection, efficiency and smart practices define today’s multinational organizational culture. But how multinational organizations achieve such perfections in their business operations? This paper addresses this issue by linking teleological aspects of learning and practice to performance, adoption of routines, and learning-induced adaptation in order to explain how they achieve “perfection” in practice and operations. The paper furthermore attempts to study a particular aspect of organizational (teleological perfectionism) process by modeling scenarios which define goal oriented organizational learning and adaptation, and underpins how such teleological processes effectively benefits organizations in the long run. Conclusions drawn up from an example being modeled in this paper suggests that the role of teleology, or teleological dynamics play significant role in shaping today’s organizations and help explain some (or high) degree of perfectionism in their operations. |
| Keywords: | Teleological perfectionism, learning, motivation, routines |
| JEL: | L20 M16 |
| Date: | 2015–12–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68530&r=cse |
| By: | Luigi Guiso; Luigi Pistaferri; Fabiano Schivardi |
| Abstract: | We document that individuals who grew up in areas with high density of firms are more likely, as adults, to become entrepreneurs, controlling for the density of firms in their current location. Conditional on becoming entrepreneurs, the same individuals are also more likely to be successful entrepreneurs, as measured by business income or firm productivity. Strikingly, firm density at entrepreneur’s young age is more important than current firm density for business performance. These results are not driven by better access to external finance or intergenerational occupation choices. They are instead consistent with entrepreneurial capabilities being at least partly learnable through social contacts. In keeping with this interpretation, we find that entrepreneurs who at the age of 18 lived in areas with a higher firm density tend to adopt better managerial practices (enhancing productivity) later in life. |
| JEL: | J24 M13 R11 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21775&r=cse |
| By: | Stöver, Jana; Weche, John P. |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of environmental regulation on firm performance and Investment behavior. Exploiting the case of a German water withdrawal regulation that is managed on the state level, we analyze firms' reactions to an increase in the water tax using a regression-adjusted difference-in-differences approach. We analyze the individual firm's response to a change in environmental regulation, distinguishing between add-on and integrated environmental investments. This allows us to include intra-firm innovations into our analysis, which are likely to be of importance for increasing resource-efficiency. Our results show that the regulation in question shows no sign of affecting firms' overall competitiveness. The results imply that the predicted negative impact of the regulation on firms' economic Performance that was brought up before the introduction of the tax, does not seem to weigh heavily in this case. Nevertheless, when placed into a sustainable competitiveness context, the Regulation considered does not qualify as an appropriate policy tool for fostering green growth. |
| Keywords: | environmental regulation,DID,green growth,green investment,Porter hypoth- esis,sustainable competitiveness,water withdrawal regulation |
| JEL: | L60 O31 O32 Q58 Q55 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hwwirp:170&r=cse |
| By: | Tobias Ebert (Philipps-University of Marburg, Economic Geography and Location Analysis, Deutschhausstrasse 10, 35032 Marburg, Germany); Thomas Brenner (Philipps-University of Marburg, Economic Geography and Location Analysis, Deutschhausstrasse 10, 35032 Marburg, Germany); Udo Brixy (Institute of Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany and Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence that the effect of agglomeration externalities on survival is moderated by the start-up’s innovative behavior. It is shown that localization externalities are prevalent particularly in non-high-tech environments and unfold a positive influence on survival for less innovative companies, while their highly innovative counterparts do not benefit or even suffer from spatial concentration. On the contrary, highly innovative high-tech start-ups benefit from a diverse economic structure which enhances their likelihood for survival by fostering the emergence of beneficial inter-industry spill-overs. |
| Keywords: | Firm survival, Innovation, Externalities |
| JEL: | D22 L26 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2015–12–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2015-05&r=cse |
| By: | Gordon H. Hanson; Nelson Lind; Marc-Andreas Muendler |
| Abstract: | This paper characterizes the dynamic empirical properties of country export capabilities in order to inform modelling of the long-run behavior of comparative advantage. The starting point for our analysis is two strong empirical regularities in international trade that have previously been studied incompletely and in isolation to one another. The literature has noted a tendency for countries to concentrate exports in a few sectors. We show that this concentration arises from a heavy-tailed distribution of industry export capabilities that is approximately log normal and whose shape is stable across countries, sectors, and time. Likewise, previous research has detected a tendency for mean reversion in national industry productivities. We establish that mean reversion in export capability, rather than indicative of convergence in productivities or degeneracy in comparative advantage, is instead consistent with a well behaved stochastic growth process that delivers a stationary distribution of country export advantage. In literature on the growth of cities and firms, economists have used stochastic processes to study the determinants of the long-run size distributions. Our contribution is to develop an analogous empirical framework for identifying the parameters that govern the stationary distribution of export capability. The main result of this analysis is that a generalized gamma distribution, which nests many commonly studied distributions, provides a tight fit of the data but log normality offers a reasonable approximation. Importantly, the stochastic process that generates log normality can be estimated in its discretized form by simple linear regression. Log linearity allows for an extension of our approach to multivariate diffusions, in which one can permit innovations to productivity to be transmitted intersectorally and internationally, as in recent models of trade and growth. |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21753&r=cse |
| By: | Quan Hoang Vuong; Nancy K. Napier; Thu Hang Do; Thu Trang Vuong |
| Abstract: | While much research has focused on entrepreneurship and creativity in developed economies, the notions of both topics are still embryonic in many emerging economies. This paper focuses on entrepreneurs in one such economy, Vietnam, to understand the perceptions of entrepreneurs about the role that innovation and creativity may play in their own entrepreneurial ventures and success. This is important because before reaping benefits from entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs need to decide when and on what conditions they start based on their calculations of required resources and predictions of likely outcomes. The research also sought to understand how "creativity," broadly applied ("innovation" and "creative performance") affects the ways that entrepreneurs think about and anticipate their own success and decisions. In essence, the study suggests that the higher the entrepreur’s creativity is, the more likely she or he is to start a new business and believe success will result. Future research could examine whether history, industry and geographic location matter in entrepreneurs’ perceptions as well as whether transition/emerging economies like Vietnam may have different views altogether about the two key concepts. |
| Keywords: | Creativity/innovation; entrepreneurship; economic conditions; emerging economy; Vietnam |
| JEL: | M13 O33 P21 P27 |
| Date: | 2015–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/222413&r=cse |
| By: | Latyshova, Ludmila (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration); Syaglova, Yulia (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration) |
| Abstract: | The theoretical background of the customer – oriented approach is considered. The author’s understanding of this concept for nowadays is to pay much attention to indicators of customer focus, dividing them into external, for example, customer satisfaction and loyalty index; and internal, which are based on the performance of employees’ engagement. The concept of customer focus today - is the basis of competitiveness, sustainable development of the company through effective alignment of business processes of the organization of client relations. |
| Keywords: | customer-oriented approach; customer-centric company; customer focus; internal business processes; metrics of the customer - driven company; the employee engagement |
| JEL: | M31 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:sy1&r=cse |
| By: | Giovanni Marin (IRCrES-CNR, Milano, Italy; SEEDS, Ferrara, Italy.); Claudia Pellegrin (CEMI-CDM-EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.); Marianna Marino (Department of Strategy and Innovation, ICN Business School, Nancy/Metz; France and Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée (BETA), Université de Lorraine, France) |
| Abstract: | The European emission trading scheme (EU ETS) has introduced a price for carbon and has thus led to an additional cost for companies that are regulated by the scheme. There is a growing body of empirical literature that investigates the effects of the EU ETS on firm economic performance. However, the results found to date are mixed. The objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the effect of the EU ETS on economic performance at the firm level. Differently from the previous literature, we test the effect of the EU ETS on a larger set of indicators of economic performance: value added, turnover, employment, investment, labour productivity, total factor productivity and markup. Moreover, we evaluate the extent to which the impact of the EU ETS differs depending on some observable features of firms. Our results, based on a large panel of European firms, provide a comprehensive picture of the economic impact of the EU ETS in its first and second phases of implementation. The evidence suggests that the EU ETS had a positive impact on the scale of treated firms, whereas it had a negative impact on scale-free aspects of economic performance. |
| Keywords: | European Emission Trading Scheme, economic performance, difference-in-differences, emission intensity, allowance trading, environmental patents |
| JEL: | Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:2015&r=cse |
| By: | TESTA, Giuseppina (CELPE - Centre of Labour Economics and Economic Policy, University of Salerno - Italy) |
| Abstract: | The growing competition from the euro, the Eastern enlargement, and the BRIC nations has attracted increasing attention by governments in Europe like in Italy. In this paper we have investigated the effects that such scenario has on innovation decision of Italian manufacturing firms. Using data from UniCredit Surveys conducted in Italy over the period 1995-2006 we explore the influence of the euro competition on innovation decisions controlling for a set of variables, ranging from export behaviour, family management and size. We find the euro competition to significantly affect innovation decisions. Such effects are different for high-tech firms and low-tech firms and for family-managed and non-family-managed firms. |
| Keywords: | Euro; Innovation; Italian manufacturing |
| JEL: | L25 L60 O32 |
| Date: | 2015–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sal:celpdp:0135&r=cse |
| By: | Josh Lerner; Antoinette Schoar; Stanislav Sokolinski; Karen Wilson |
| Abstract: | This paper examines investments made by 13 angel groups across 21 countries. We compare applicants just above and below the funding cut-off and find that these angel investors have a positive impact on the growth, performance, and survival of firms as well as their follow-on fundraising. The positive impact of angel financing is independent of the level of venture activity and entrepreneur friendliness in the country. But we find that the development stage and maturity of start ups that apply for angel funding (and those that are ultimately funded) is inversely correlated with the entrepreneurship friendliness of the country, which may reflect self-censoring by very early stage firms who do not expect to receive funding in these environments. |
| JEL: | G24 O31 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21808&r=cse |
| By: | Simplice Asongu (Yaoundé/Cameroun); Vanessa Tchamyou (Yaoundé/Cameroun) |
| Abstract: | Purpose - The paper assesses how entrepreneurship affects knowledge economy (KE) in Africa. Design/methodology/approach – Entrepreneurship is measured by indicators of starting, doing and ending business. The four dimensions of the World Bank’s index of KE are employed. Instrumental variable panel fixed effects are applied on a sampled of 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010. Findings –The following are some findings. First, creating an enabling environment for starting business can substantially boost most dimensions of KE. Second, doing business through mechanisms of trade globalisation has positive effects from sectors that are not ICT and High-tech oriented. Third, the time required to end business has negative effects on KE. Practical implications – Our findings confirm the narrative that the technology in African countries at the moment may be more imitative and adaptive for reverse-engineering in ICTs and high-tech products. Given the massive consumption of ICT and high-tech commodities in Africa, the continent has to start thinking of how to participate in the global value chain of producing what it consumes. Originality/value – This paper has a twofold motivation. First, given the ambitions of African countries of moving towards knowledge based economies, the line of inquiry is timely. Second, investigating the nexus may have substantial poverty mitigation and sustainable development implications. These entail inter alia: the development of technology with value-added services; enhancement of existing agricultural practices; promotion of conditions that are essential for competitiveness and adjustment of globalization challenges. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Knowledge Economy; Development; Africa |
| JEL: | L59 O10 O30 O20 O55 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:15/044&r=cse |
| By: | Vanessa Tchamyou (Yaoundé/Cameroun) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the role knowledge economy (KE) in African business in 53 countries for the period 1996-2010. The four KE components of the World Bank are employed, notably: education, innovation, economic incentives & institutional regime and information & communication technology. The business indicators are classified into: starting, doing and ending business. Principal components analysis and panel instrumental variable fixed effects approaches are employed as empirical strategies. The findings which are broadly consistent with intuition and the predictions of economic theory suggest that KE policies will substantially boost the starting and doing of business in Africa. This is relevant in fighting unemployment and improving African competitiveness in global value chains. Policy implications for the relevance of each specific KE dimension in African business are discussed with particular emphasis on the theoretical underpinnings of the study. The investigation is original in its contribution at the same time to the scarce literature on African KE and the growing challenges of improving the business climate of the continent by means of KE. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge Economy; Doing business; Development; Africa |
| JEL: | L59 O10 O30 O20 O55 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agd:wpaper:15/049&r=cse |
| By: | Lorenzo Caliendo; Giordano Mion; Luca David Opromolla; Esteban Rossi-Hansberg |
| Abstract: | The productivity of firms is, at least partly, determined by a firm's actions and decisions. One of these decisions involves the organization of production in terms of the number of layers of management the firm decides to employ. Using detailed employer-employee matched data and firm production quantity and input data for Portuguese firms, we study the endogenous response of revenue-based and quantity-based productivity to a change in layers: a firm reorganization. We show that as a result of an exogenous demand or productivity shock that makes the firm reorganize and add a management layer, quantity based productivity increases by about 4%, while revenue-based productivity drops by more than 4%. Such a reorganization makes the firm more productive, but also increases the quantity produced to an extent that lowers the price charged by the firm and, as a result, its revenue-based productivity. |
| Keywords: | productivity, organization, wages, managers, layers, TFP, firm size |
| JEL: | D22 D24 L23 F16 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1397&r=cse |
| By: | Federico Biagi (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Martin Falk (Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)) |
| Abstract: | This report has three sections and a key feature of our empirical analysis is the use of several types of advanced ICT activities such as enterprise resource planning systems, mobile internet access and e-commerce practices. The first section presents new empirical evidence regarding the impact of ICT/E-commerce activities on industry performance in Europe measured as employment and labour productivity growth. The data consists of multi-country industry level data for 14 European countries for the period 2002-2010. The main result of this section is that the increase in ICT/e-commerce activities over time has not lead to a decline in jobs. This holds true for both manufacturing and service industries. In contrast, the different types of ICT activities are significantly related to labour productivity. However, the sign and significance of the relationships vary across different types of ICT activities and also vary over time with lower magnitude for the more recent period. The second section looks at the relationship between several indicators of ICT usage and digitalisation, and the relative demand for highly skilled workers. The data is based on two-digit industry data for seven European countries for the period 2002-2010. For manufacturing industries, our estimates show that broadband connected employees, diffusion of mobile internet, use of enterprise resource planning systems and electronic invoicing are all significantly positively related to the industries’ skill intensity. For service industries only mobile internet usage is significant. These estimates indicate that the increase in ERP systems during the period studied accounts for 25% of the increase in the share of workers with a tertiary degree across manufacturing industries and countries. The results are robust with respect to the estimation method and when accounting for endogeneity of ICT. The third section investigates the relationship between technological and organisational innovations, and ICT usage/e-commerce and internet technologies. The data is based on disaggregated data by firm size/industry for 12 European countries for the period 2002-2010. The empirical results show that the sales share of new market products is significantly positively related with both the percentage of workers with mobile internet access and e-procurement activities. Sharing electronic data also contributes to product innovations. We also find that organisational change and enterprise resource planning |
| Keywords: | Labour Demand, Technological Change, ICT, employment |
| JEL: | J23 J24 O33 L86 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:decwpa:2015-14&r=cse |
| By: | Bulat Sanditov (TELECOM Ecole de Management, Institut Mines-T´el´ecom, France); Saurabh Arora (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, UK) |
| Abstract: | Using a simple model with interdependent utilities, we study how social networks influence individual voluntary contributions to the provision of a public good. Departing from the stan- dard model of public good provision, we assume that an agent’s utility has two terms: (a) ‘ego’-utility derived from the agent’s consumption of public and private goods, and (b) a so- cial utility which is the sum of utility spillovers from other agents with whom the agent has social relationships. We establish conditions for the existence of a unique interior Nash equi- librium and describe the equilibrium in terms of network characteristics. We show that social network always has a positive effect on the provision of the public good. We also find that, in networks with “small world”-like modular structures, ‘bridging’ ties connecting distant parts of social network play an important role inducing the agent’s contribution to public good. Assumptions and results of the model are discussed in relation to the role of social capital in community-level development projects and to the effect of innovation networks on firms’ R&D investments. |
| Keywords: | public goods, interrelated utilities, social capital, R&D networks |
| JEL: | H41 D85 O31 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:2015-35&r=cse |
| By: | Diana Alexandra Gonçalves Costa (Faculdade de Economia - U.Porto); Ana Teresa Cunha de Pinho Tavares Lehmann (CEF.UP, Faculdade de Economia - U.Porto) |
| Abstract: | In the recent economic context in most developed economies, marked by a strong crisis and contraction of domestic demand, internationalization has been an imperative of survival for most companies. This paper aims to find out if there are significant performance differences between exporters and non-exporters in Portugal and if those performance differences vary according to the various measures of performance used in the study. This is relevant since extant literature leads to contrasting findings in the aspects under analysis (productivity and profitability) and because there are no studies on this theme focused solely on the Portuguese case. Still, most of the literature agrees that exporters display superior productivity, larger size and greater age than non-exporters, as well as that they pay higher wages to their workers. Regarding profitability, no clear pattern has emerged yet between these two types of firm. In order to test different hypotheses, with a sample of Portuguese manufacturing firms and considering the period 2008 to 2012, we perform OLS and Pooled OLS regressions for two measures: productivity and profitability. For productivity, the results are clear: being an exporter per se has a positive impact. This means that, in our sample, exporters are more productive than their purely domestic counterparts. For profitability, whilst the results mostly confirm our hypotheses, they are not as consistent as those for the other measure. Our findings are overall in line with the majority of the literature reviewed and the hypotheses postulated. |
| Keywords: | Exporters; Non-exporters; Performance; Productivity; Profitability; Portugal. |
| JEL: | F14 F23 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:569&r=cse |
| By: | Garas, Antonios; Lapatinas, Athanasios; Poulios, Konstantinos |
| Abstract: | We explore the relationship between human migration and OECD’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) using a complex systems’ approach, and we demonstrate how complex systems’ techniques can contribute new insights and advance macroeconomic empirical analysis in alternative ways. More precisely, we find a strong correlation between the migration network and the outward-FDI network, and we highlight the existence of a weaker FDI relationship in pairs of countries that are more central in the migration network. Illuminating this result, we show that inward migrants coming from third-party countries which are linked (a) either to FDI-parent country or to FDI-host country or (b) both to FDI-parent and FDI-host country are FDI marring. |
| Keywords: | FDI; migration; graph theory; complex systems |
| JEL: | B00 B41 C13 F2 |
| Date: | 2015–12–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68341&r=cse |
| By: | Cristina JUDE |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:leo:wpaper:2301&r=cse |