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on Economics of Strategic Management |
| By: | Liu, Rebecca; Rammer, Christian |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effects of different public innovation funding programs on the innovation output and export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We evaluate the effectiveness of regional, national and European funding programs implemented in Germany for both product and process innovations. Our panel study shows that public financial support contributes to higher innovation outputs, which in turn translates into higher export success in later years. This relation however only holds for certain sources of public funding and certain types of innovation output. Innovation support from the European Union and national programs for cutting-edge technology that results in higher sales with new-to-market products shows a significant positive effect on SMEs' export performance. For funding programs run by regional authorities, we find similar though relatively smaller impacts on both innovation output and exporting. Bottom-up funding at the national level-which allows firms to freely define the design of the funded innovation projects in terms of content and cooperation-increases sales with innovations that are only new to the firm, but these innovations have limited impacts on export success. Our results suggest that public innovation programs should challenge SMEs to go for more ambitious innovations in order to strengthen their competitiveness. |
| Keywords: | Public Funding,SMEs,Innovation Outputs,Exporting,Panel Study,Matching |
| JEL: | O32 O38 F14 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:16078&r=cse |
| By: | Graziela Ferrero Zucoloto; Mauro Oddo Nogueira |
| Abstract: | Este trabalho analisa o perfil inovativo das empresas industriais brasileiras segundo seu porte. Os dados utilizados foram obtidos a partir da Pesquisa de Inovação Tecnológica (Pintec) de 2011, publicada pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). As empresas foram agregadas, de acordo com seu porte, em três grupos: micro e pequenas (entre 10 e 99 funcionários), médias (de 100 a 499 empregados) e grandes (500 ou mais empregados). Foram analisadas não somente as taxas de inovação desses grupos mas também o grau de inovatividade, as diferenças nas atividades inovativas empregadas, o grau de cooperação e o uso de incentivos públicos, entre outros. Adicionalmente, o trabalho realiza uma análise setorial das empresas, segundo os portes estabelecidos. Entre os principais resultados, concluiu-se que, apesar de apresentarem taxas de inovação superiores às das pequenas, os esforços inovativos das grandes firmas são, proporcionalmente, mais elevados, com ênfase na aquisição de máquinas e equipamentos (M&E), atividade associada à modernização do processo produtivo. Ainda, as empresas de pequeno porte são as principais responsáveis pela introdução de novos produtos no mercado nacional e mundial, representando cerca de três quartos do total. Em relação ao esforço em pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D), nos setores de baixa tecnologia, a distância das micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs) para as grandes é expressiva, enquanto nas indústrias de maior intensidade tecnológica, como a de farmoquímica e farmacêutica e a de informática e eletrônicos, as empresas de menor porte apresentam esforço tecnológico superior ao das grandes empresas. This paper analyzes the innovative performance of Brazilian industrial companies according to their size. We obtained the data from the Innovation Survey 2011, published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). We grouped the companies according to their size: micro and small (between 10 and 99 employees), medium (100-499 employees) and large (500 or more employees). The paper not only analyzed the innovation rates of such groups, but the degree of innovativeness, differences in innovative activities, the degree of cooperation, use of public incentives, among others. In addition, the work carries out a sectoral analysis of the companies, according to the established sizes. Among the main results, it concluded that despite the large firms present innovative rates higher than small ones, innovative efforts of these are proportionally higher, with emphasis on the acquisition of machine, which is associated with the modernization of the production process. Still, small businesses are the main responsible for the introduction of new products in the domestic and world market, accounting for about ¾ full. Regarding the R&D efforts in low-tech sectors, the distance of SMEs to large firms is significant, while in the more technology-intensive industries, such as pharmaceutical, information technology and electronics, the smaller companies have technological effort higher than that of large companies. |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:2255&r=cse |
| By: | Marini, Marco A. |
| Abstract: | This survey introduces a number of game-theoretic tools to model collusive agreements among firms in vertically differentiated markets. I firstly review some classical literature on collusion between two firms producing goods of exogenous different qualities. I then extend the analysis to a n-firm vertically differentiated market to study the incentive to form either a whole market alliance or partial alliances made of subsets of consecutive firms in order to collude in prices. Within this framework I explore the price behaviour of groups of colluding firms and their incentive to either pruning or proliferating their products. It is shown that a selective pruning within the cartel always occurs. Moreover, by associating a partition function game to the n-firm vertically differentiated market, it can be shown that a sufficient condition for the cooperative (or coalitional) stability of the whole industry cartel is is the equidistance of firms' products along the quality spectrum. Without this property, and in presence of large quality differences, collusive agreements easily loose their stability. In addition, introducing a standard infinitely repeated-game approach, I show that an increase in the number of firms in the market may have contradictory effects on the incentive of firms to collude: it can make collusion easier for bottom and intermediate firms and harder for the top quality firm. Finally, by means of a three-firm example, I consider the case in which alliances can set endogenously qualities, prices and number of variants on sale. I show that, in every formed coalition, (i) market pruning dominates product proliferation and (ii) partial cartelisation always arises in equilibrium, with the bottom quality firm always belonging to the alliance. |
| Keywords: | Vertically differentiated market, price collusion, product pruning, product proliferation, endogenous qualities, endogenous alliance formation, coalition structures, grand coalition, coalition stability, core, simultaneous and sequential game of coalition formation. |
| JEL: | L1 L12 L13 L2 L22 |
| Date: | 2016–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75369&r=cse |
| By: | David Autor; David Dorn; Gordon H. Hanson; Pian Shu; Gary Pisano |
| Abstract: | Manufacturing is the locus of U.S. innovation, accounting for more than three quarters of U.S. corporate patents. The rise of import competition from China has represented a major competitive shock to the sector, which in theory could benefit or stifle innovation. In this paper we empirically examine how rising import competition from China has affected U.S. innovation. We confront two empirical challenges in assessing the impact. We map all U.S. utility patents granted by March 2013 to firm-level data using a novel internet-based matching algorithm that corrects for a preponderance of false negatives when using firm names alone. And we contend with the fact that patenting is highly concentrated in certain product categories and that this concentration has been shifting over time. Accounting for secular trends in innovative activities, we find that the impact of the change in import exposure on the change in patents produced is strongly negative. It remains so once we add an extensive set of further industry- and firm-level controls. Rising import exposure also reduces global employment, global sales, and global R&D expenditure at the firm level. It would appear that a simple mechanism in which greater foreign competition induces U.S. manufacturing firms to contract their operations along multiple margins of activity goes a long way toward explaining the response of U.S. innovation to the China trade shock. |
| JEL: | F14 F6 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22879&r=cse |
| By: | Willem Spanjers (Department of Economics, Kingston University London, UK; The Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, Italy); Elettra Agliardi (Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Italy; The Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, Italy) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to contribute to rethinking the Social Market Economy with respect to modern economic and technological structures. In doing so, we explore the limits of the traditional Social Market Economy for solving the economic problems of our time. We find that the Social Market Economy's rigid focus on competitive markets as the corner stone for a decentralized economic order has become outdated and that the basic principle of competition should be extended to decentralized institutions and policies. It is proposed that the preferred choice of specific institutions and policies should reflect their legitimacy, i.e. a combination of their effectiveness and their public acceptance. On the basis of our findings, we propose to amend some of the principles of the traditional Social Market Economy and to supplement them with new ones. The principles relate to the economy, to politics, as well as to the uncertainty inherent in the long run future. The proposed principles are illustrated with general examples covering regional economic policy, monetary policy, financial crises, and environmental sustainability. |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimpre:16-01&r=cse |
| By: | Sunil Kanwar (Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics); Shailu Singh (Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | While there is consensus that innovation is a prime motive force in the process of modern economic growth, there continues to be lack of clarity about how best to capture this process of innovation. Although it is relatively clear that research and development expenditure constitutes an important, perhaps even the most important, input into the innovation process, its relationship with the output of this process remains enigmatic. A sizeable literature considers this relationship in the developed country context, though primarily the US, and sheds light on a number of aspects. Evidence for developing countries, in contrast, is sparse. This study intends to fill this gap by exploring the innovation-R&D relationship as exemplified by the influence of knowledge capital on patents, in the context of the emerging economy of India. Using a relatively large sample of 380 manufacturing firms spanning 22 industries over the recent period 2001-2010, we find weak evidence at best for this relationship. A one unit (dollar or rupee) increase in the knowledge capital stock is likely to raise the expected patent count by only about 0.7%, which given the current average patent count per firm per year, is only a marginal change. In addition, we also find that patent experience and the firm’s access to resources are both strongly significant factors explaining changes in expected patent counts, although their magnitudes are equally small. Our semi-elasticity estimate w.r.t knowledge capital translates to an elasticity of about 0.02 at the means, which is in line with that for enterprises in Spanish manufacturing. However, it is an order of magnitude smaller than the 0.1 to 0.2 reported for the Dutch pharmaceuticals sector, and the 0.3 to 0.6 for firms in the US manufacturing sector. Given the many reasons why most firms appear not to patent even when they conduct some research, policy makers would have to address multiple issues to bring about a more effective conversion of research into formal intellectual property in the developing country context. |
| Keywords: | Patents, r&d, manufacturing, India |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cde:cdewps:265&r=cse |
| By: | Giuliano Contento de Oliveira; Paulo José Whitaker Wolf |
| Abstract: | Ao longo das últimas décadas, Brasil, Rússia, Índia e China (BRIC) assumiram um papel relevante no âmbito nas relações internacionais, particularmente no que se refere à realização de investimentos estrangeiros diretos (IEDs). Esse grupo de economias, ainda que sob diferentes intensidades, deixou de ser mero receptor de IED para se tornar importante originador dessa modalidade de investimento. Nesse sentido, este trabalho tem o objetivo de explorar a dinâmica do IED realizado pelos BRICs, de sorte a capturar seus principais fatores condicionantes, o seu comportamento, a sua estrutura e os principais destinos ao longo do período 1995-2013. Pôde-se verificar o protagonismo do IED chinês nesse processo, embora os demais países que compõem o grupo tenham aumentado de maneira importante os seus respectivos estoques de IED entre o início e o fim do intervalo considerado. Diferenças também importantes foram verificadas no que diz respeito aos principais fatores condicionantes desses investimentos realizados pelos BRICs, assim como à estrutura e aos destinos mais importantes. Além disso, depois da deflagração da crise global em 2008, essas diferenças se tornaram ainda mais evidentes. O estudo realizado permite concluir, pois, que o êxito desse processo requer iniciativas destinadas a assegurar que as empresas desses países sejam capazes de competir nas mesmas condições que as dos países desenvolvidos em setores estratégicos. Over the past decades, Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs) have assumed an important role in international relations, in particular with regard to the foreign direct investment (FDI). This group of economies, albeit under different intensities, ceased to be mere recipients of FDI to become important source of this kind investment. Thus, this study aims to explore the dynamics of the FDI of the BRICs, in order to capture its main conditioning factors, their trajectory, their structure and their major destinations throughout the period 1995-2013. It was verified the Chinese FDI leadership in this process, although the other countries that compose the group have increased in a significant way their respective FDI stocks between the beginning and the end of the considered period. In addition, significant differences were verified with regard to the main determining factors of these investments of BRICs, as well as to its structure and to its most important destinations. Moreover, after the outbreak of the global crisis in 2008 these differences have become even more evident. This study allows concluding, therefore, that the success of this process requires initiatives to ensure that companies in those countries are able to compete on the same conditions as those of the developed countries in strategic sectors. |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:2242&r=cse |
| By: | Beam, Emily A. (University of Vermont); Shrestha, Slesh (National University of Singapore) |
| Abstract: | Demographic pressures can create competition for limited private and public resources and exacerbate pre-existing inter-ethnic tensions. At the same time, inter-ethnic competition may influence individual fertility decisions. Using the variation in birth rates in Malaysia induced by the Chinese lunar calendar, we document a 12.7-percent rise in births among ethnic Chinese in dragon years, which are considered auspicious. We find a negative fertility response from Malays – for every additional Chinese new-born child, Malays reduced their fertility by 0.30 children. We estimate the elasticity of this inter-ethnic fertility spillover (-0.15), and we find strongly suggestive evidence that pressure on resources was an important driver of these spillovers. The Malay response was greatest in areas where resources were more limited, and in areas with lower public investments. These results suggest that households are forward-looking in their fertility decisions, and they point to the potential role of governments in reducing ethnic tension through policies that increase private and public resources. |
| Keywords: | fertility timing, ethnic competition, spillover, Chinese zodiac, public resources, Malaysia |
| JEL: | D74 J13 J15 O15 O17 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10385&r=cse |
| By: | Michele Cincera (The International Centre for Innovation, Technology and Education Studies (iCite), Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, University of Brussels, Belgium); Anabela Santos (The International Centre for Innovation, Technology and Education Studies (iCite), Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, University of Brussels, Belgium) |
| Abstract: | Promoting Research and Development (R&D) activities is the main goal of the EU 2020 Strategy in order to achieve an R&D spending at least 3% of GDP. The Innovation Union is one of the seven flagship initiatives of the EU 2020 Strategy, which has the aims: to improve access to finance for R&D; to get innovative ideas to market; to ensure growth and jobs (European Commission, 2014b). The aim of the present paper is to identify and explain the main mechanisms related to four commitments of Innovation Union: i) Commitment 10 (Put in place EU level financial instruments to attract private finance); ii) Commitment 11 (Ensure cross-border operation of venture capital funds); iii) Commitment 12 (Strengthen cross-border matching of innovative firms with Investors); iv) Commitment 13 (Review State Aid Framework for Research, Development and Innovation). To this purpose, a review of both theoretical and empirical literatures about ’Innovation, Access to Finance and SMEs’ based on more than 80 scientific and other articles and analyses is presented. The paper provides an analysis of the main alternative financial instruments to bank loans, namely Risk-Sharing Facility Financing, Venture Capital, Business Angels and public subsidies. We found some evidence in the literature that Venture Capital could have a limited impact in enhancing innovation in the long-term and that some public support schemes could be more effective than other, depending on the firm’s maturity state. |
| Keywords: | EU 2020 strategy, innovation, finance, Innovation Union |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crv:opaper:6&r=cse |
| By: | Faiña Medín, J. Andres; Losada-Lopez, Chema; Montes-Solla, Paulino |
| Abstract: | This essay aims to clarify the puzzle of new principles and techniques in the field of business management of innovation. These new principles and techniques were born in a widely-connected world with an increasing presence of startups and innovative companies in order to meet pervasive market uncertainty and facilitate implementation of “new-to-market” innovations. The focus is placed on the implications for competitive strategy and business management of innovation. Instead of drawing on Schumpeterian concepts, we use the modern notion of “disruptive” innovations (those upsetting the rules of the game and old structures in a business or industry), as well as the principles and techniques recently developed to approach the uncertainties and costs of innovations: customer development and lean startup. We compare two paradigmatic styles of innovation: the startups’ stereotype (the American style) and that of “innovation transfer” (German-European style). Then, we discuss the main orientations of innovation policy with regard to the new industrial initiatives (Industry 4.0 in Germany and Europe and advanced manufacturing in USA) and their counterpoint of startups' innovating creativity across a connected world at the edge of an information revolution. |
| Keywords: | Innovación, Emprendedurismo, Nueva Gestión Empresarial |
| JEL: | M13 M15 O31 O32 O38 O39 |
| Date: | 2016–10–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75479&r=cse |
| By: | Petros Gkotsis (European Commission – JRC); Antonio Vezzani (European Commission – JRC) |
| Abstract: | Advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) and other key enabling technologies (KETs) are expected to have a major impact on productivity, efficiency, profitability and employment in major industrial sectors worldwide. Thus, development of AMTs and KETs is considered essential if the European Union is to achieve the strategic goals set out in the European Commission’s Employment, Growth and Investment priorities. Indeed, AMTs and KETs are among the top priorities identified as necessary to support the competitiveness of European industries in the context of the European flagship on industrial modernisation. This study builds upon and extends results that were obtained in the context of the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for Competitiveness AMTEC project, in which the technological profiles of the patent portfolios of the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard companies were constructed using patent-based analysis. In particular, their technological competences were investigated and it was found that European companies invest in KETs, and in particular in AMTs, as these technologies are considered to be vital for maintaining current competitiveness. However, other countries also invest heavily in AMTs and KETs. It is therefore very important for the EU to define a strategy that aims to find a suitable position in the global value and innovation chains and that selectively augments existing capabilities. To this end, a methodology based on patent analysis was applied to assess the capacity of the world’s top R&D investors in developing AMTs. Particular emphasis was placed on complex AMT patents that also pertain to at least one of the five KETs. These patents are considered important because they represent AMT applications used for the development of KETs in general or, conversely, they represent other KET applications that can be incorporated into AMT systems. The main questions addressed by this study were (1) In which countries are the most important inventors of AMTs and applicants for AMT-related patents located? (2) Is it possible to analyse internationalisation patterns and knowledge flows between world regions and countries? and (3) Are there any special patterns and clusters between AMT-related technological fields and the five core KETs and, if so, which companies are responsible for the development of these technological applications? Developing and patenting AMT-related technologies is particularly important for firms in the Aerospace & defence, Industrials, Automobiles & parts and Electronics & electrical equipment sectors. Moreover, the more specialised a sector is in developing AMT-related technologies, the less internationalised the AMT-related activities of the firms in the sector appear to be. In general AMT-related R&D activities of European- and US-based firms are more internationalised than the activities of Japanese- and Asian-based companies. It was found that many Scoreboard firms based in the USA, Japan, Germany, France and the UK own and develop a large number of AMT-related patents. However, there are also many inventors of AMT-related technologies based in other countries, such as China, India, Canada, Italy, Belgium and Spain. Finally, the ratio of complex AMT patents to the total number of AMT-related patents is close to 8%, the vast majority being patents that relate to micro- and nano-electronics, advanced materials or photonics. Companies that own these complex patents are often relatively small firms that are highly specialised in the development of AMT-related applications. |
| Keywords: | Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, Key Enabling Technologies, Patents, Industry |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc101970&r=cse |
| By: | Ritwik Banerjee (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Bannerghatta Main Road, Bilekahalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560076 India); Nabanita Datta Gupta (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University and IZA, Bonn. Fuglesangs Allé 4, 8210 Aarhus V, Denmark); Marie Claire Villeval (Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 2, GATE L-SE UMR 5824, F-69342 Lyon, France) |
| Abstract: | We conduct an artefactual field experiment to examine various spillover effects of Affirmative Action policies in the context of castes in India. We test a) if individuals who compete in the presence of Affirmative Action policies remain competitive in the same proportion after the policy has been removed, and b) whether having been exposed to the policy generates unethical behavior and spite against subjects from the category who has benefited from the policy. We find that these policies increase substantially the confidence of the lower caste members and motivate them to choose significantly more frequently a tournament payment scheme. However, we find no spillover effect on confidence and competitiveness once Affirmative Action is withdrawn: any lower caste’s gain in competitiveness due to the policy is then entirely wiped out. Furthermore, the strong existing bias of the dominant caste against the lower caste is not significantly aggravated by Affirmative Action. |
| Keywords: | Affirmative Action, castes, competitiveness, unethical behavior, field experiment |
| JEL: | C70 C91 J16 J24 J31 M52 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:1634&r=cse |
| By: | Banerjee, Ritwik (Indian Institute of Management); Datta Gupta, Nabanita (Aarhus University); Villeval, Marie Claire (CNRS, GATE) |
| Abstract: | We conduct an artefactual field experiment to examine various spillover effects of Affirmative Action policies in the context of castes in India. We test a) if individuals who compete in the presence of Affirmative Action policies remain competitive in the same proportion after the policy has been removed, and b) whether having been exposed to the policy generates unethical behavior and spite against subjects from the category who has benefited from the policy. We find that these policies increase substantially the confidence of the lower caste members and motivate them to choose significantly more frequently a tournament payment scheme. However, we find no spillover effect on confidence and competitiveness once Affirmative Action is withdrawn: any lower caste's gain in competitiveness due to the policy is then entirely wiped out. Furthermore, the strong existing bias of the dominant caste against the lower caste is not significantly aggravated by Affirmative Action. |
| Keywords: | affirmative action, castes, competitiveness, unethical behavior, field experiment |
| JEL: | C70 C91 J16 J24 J31 M52 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10394&r=cse |
| By: | Lambrecht, Evelien; Kühne, Bianka; Gellynck, Xavier |
| Abstract: | Innovation has been identified as a critical asset for SMEs to survive (Hitt et al., 2001; Lee et al., 2001). However, SMEs that need to improve their innovation process often lack the essential resources to innovate when relying solely on their in-house activities (Batterink et al., 2010). A large body of literature therefore highlights the role of external partnerships, or networks (Lazzarini et al., 2001; Pittaway et al., 2004; Sawhney et al., 2006). Despite the increasing number of studies focusing on the relationship between networking and innovation, there is still considerable ambiguity and debate within literature regarding appropriate network characteristics for successful innovations (Nieto and Santamaria, 2007; Pittaway et al., 2004). Furthermore, the existing studies focus mostly on high tech companies (Edquist 2006, van Galen 2008). The objective of our study is to gain insight into the network characteristics critical for successful innovations within the agricultural sector in Flanders. The study is based on interviews and focus group discussions with farmers and network coordinators active in Flanders. In total, 109 respondents were consulted. This research is based on four innovation characteristics which seem crucial for each innovation (Kanter, 1988). For each of these innovation characteristics, we investigated how networks could contribute, via their network characteristics. The results showed that networks serves as a net for knowledge about e.g. new technologies, or changing legislation in order that farmers are faster aware of developments. When farmers have multiple contacts, they have a higher chance to discover new things. Thereby, it is important that knowledge providers are part of the network and connected with the different actors, and not only provide their information to the farmers as an external actor. Also the face-to-face communication within a network is an essential issue. Furthermore, coalition can play a crucial role for some innovations, as a lot of farmers are not able to implement their idea because for example the retailer or research institute is not supportive or interested. If the farmers set up a self-initiated coalition, it can be easier to initiate the innovative idea. Fourth, it is important that individual actors from the agricultural system revisit their actual role. Successful innovation processes often originate in situations where creativity is not limited within one unit. Based on the findings, recommendations for farmers as well as network coordinators are formulated to increase the innovation capacity. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Networks, Success factors, Agriculture, Flanders, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa144:206250&r=cse |
| By: | Ciliberti, Stefano; Bröring, Stefanie; Martino, Gaetano |
| Abstract: | Innovation is a clear target of the Europe 2020 growth strategy. It has been widely postulated that cooperation is especially important for innovation in the food industry because it has traditionally been regarded as a “low tech” sector. This paper analyses how different forms of cooperation affect innovation activities in the EU’s food industry. In particular, the study addresses the question of how cooperation between companies and key chain agents influences innovative activity. To do so, we analysed data at the country level drawn from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The aggregated data allowed us to investigate national system-level processes that must be considered the outcomes of micro-level decisions and policies. A random effect linear model is formulated and estimated to analyse the panel data obtained from five CIS waves. The model indicates that cooperation with universities positively affects innovative activity and, surprisingly, that government financial support has not been an effective instrument to foster innovation by food companies. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, food industry, cooperation, supplier integration, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa144:206249&r=cse |
| By: | Mikkola, Minna |
| Abstract: | The paper deals with a new competition situation between a large consumer co-operative and a very small local food shop as its rival. While both businesses are selling food, their business concepts look very different. These concepts are analysed as ideology, identity and shopkeeper/retailer speech. The results show the deep cutting change in trade introduced by the small food shop as concern for sustainable food system and social relations as resources for new community building, suggesting conditional possibilities for further business growth. The large retailer has problems in answering the challenge as its concept seems to exclude concern for food system, the trade includes economic interests and rather negligible social relations. In principle, the small contester could succeed in expanding its business model through staying small and proliferating, supporting small farms’ economic viability. The large retailer could succeed by investing in launching more local and organic produce and thereby developing both primary production and processing capacity in a lagging rural region. The study shows the importance of the business concept as a condition and limitation for further growth. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa144:206208&r=cse |
| By: | Paustian, Margit; Wellner, Marie; Theuvsen, Ludwig |
| Abstract: | Management requirements for crop farming are high and will rise in the future. Arable farms are challenged by volatile markets, growing administrative burdens, increasing operating costs and growing competition for land. Management skills have become much more important for farmers in recent years and this trend will continue in the future. There are numerous instruments like accounting software or crop field cards integrated in daily management practice, but there is a deficiency of a fully integrated management system to give an overview of all areas of the farming business. This gap can be closed by the management tool Balanced Scorecard (BSC) that provides an overview of all production and management activities on a farm. Therefore, with the aim to trans-fer the BSC concept to crop farming, German farmers and agricultural advisors were surveyed to get insights into the success factors and key performance indicators in the four BSC perspectives they consider most rele-vant for the operational success of arable farms. By the use of a cluster analysis, three different farm types were identified according to their visions and strategies. For the three farm types the key performance indica-tors that the respondents considered most relevant for farm performance were figured out. Implementation of the BSC to crop farming can result in a big benefit for management practice. The BSC focuses vision and long-term strategy with the main goal to ensure consistency of the farm and increase farm performance. |
| Keywords: | Balanced Scorecard, performance measurement, cluster analysis, crop farming, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa144:206237&r=cse |
| By: | Claudia M. Buch; Linda Goldberg |
| Abstract: | The development of macroprudential policy tools has been one of the most significant changes in banking regulation in recent years. In this multi-study initiative of the International Banking Research Network, researchers from fifteen central banks and two international organizations use micro-banking data in conjunction with a novel dataset of prudential instruments to study international spillovers of prudential policy changes and their effects on bank lending growth. The collective analysis has three main findings. First, the effects of prudential instruments sometimes spill over borders through bank lending. Second, international spillovers vary across prudential instruments and are heterogeneous across banks. Bank-specific factors like balance sheet conditions and business models drive the amplitude and direction of spillovers to lending growth rates. Third, the effects of international spillovers of prudential policy on loan growth rates have not been large on average. However, our results tend to underestimate the full effect by focusing on adjustment along the intensive margin and by analyzing a period in which relatively few countries implemented country-specific macroprudential policies. |
| JEL: | F34 G01 G21 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22874&r=cse |
| By: | Buch, Claudia M. (Deutsche Bundesbank); Goldberg, Linda S. (Federal Reserve Bank of New York) |
| Abstract: | The development of macroprudential policy tools has been one of the most significant changes in banking regulation in recent years. In this multi-study initiative of the International Banking Research Network, researchers from fifteen central banks and two international organizations use micro-banking data in conjunction with a novel data set of prudential instruments to study international spillovers of prudential policy changes and their effects on bank lending growth. The collective analysis has three main findings. First, the effects of prudential instruments sometimes spill over borders through bank lending. Second, international spillovers vary across prudential instruments and are heterogeneous across banks. Bank-specific factors like balance sheet conditions and business models drive the amplitude and direction of spillovers to lending growth rates. Third, the effects of international spillovers of prudential policy on loan growth rates have not been large on average. However, our results tend to underestimate the full effect by focusing on adjustment along the intensive margin and by analyzing a period in which relatively few countries implemented country-specific macroprudential policies. |
| Keywords: | international banking; macroprudential; regulation; spillovers; lending |
| JEL: | F34 G01 G21 |
| Date: | 2016–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsr:801&r=cse |
| By: | Avdeitchikova, Sofia (Oxford Research); Nyström, Kristina (The Ratio Institute) |
| Abstract: | Many empirical studies have emphasized the importance of institutional venture capital for enabling high growth entrepreneurship and innovation. Yet, there are reasons to believe that provision of informal venture capital will have as significant, if not more significant effect on entrepreneurship. Based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data for 33 countries for the years 2001-2010, we study the relationship between the presence of informal investors in a country and the levels of general and ambitious entrepreneurship, defined as entrepreneurs that have intentions to grow their business, internationalize and/or innovate. Some of the main findings are that the overall level of access to informal venture capital is positively related to general entrepreneurship and ambitious entrepreneurship in terms of innovativeness, while access to arms-length money (i.e. informal investments made by work colleagues or strangers) appears to be positively related to ambitious entrepreneurship in terms of job growth expectations. The relationship between availability of arms-length money and the innovativeness of the entrepreneurial activities appears however to be negative. |
| Keywords: | Venturecapital |
| JEL: | G24 |
| Date: | 2016–11–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0278&r=cse |
| By: | Dang, Thang; Dung, Thai Tri; Phuong, Vu Thi; Vinh, Tran Dinh |
| Abstract: | Using a panel sample of manufacturing firms from small- and medium-sized enterprise surveys between 2009 and 2013, we estimate the causal effects on firm outcomes of human resource management practices at the firm level in Vietnam. Employing a fixed-effects framework for the estimation, we find that on average a firm that provides the training for new workers gains roughly 13.7%, 10% and 14.9% higher in output value per worker, value added per worker and gross profit per worker respectively than the counterpart. Moreover, an additional ten-day training duration for new employees on average leads to 4.1% increase in output value per worker, 3.0% rise in value added per worker and 3.0% growth in gross profit per worker. We also uncover that a marginal 10% of HRM spending results in about 2% and 1.6% rises in output value per worker and value added per worker, respectively. Nevertheless, we find no statistically significant impacts of incentive measure on firm outcomes. The estimated results are strongly robust to various specifications. |
| Keywords: | Human resource management; firm outcomes; Vietnam |
| JEL: | M5 |
| Date: | 2016–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75359&r=cse |
| By: | Luca Flabbi; Mario Macis; Andrea Moro; Fabiano Schivardi |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of female executives on gender-specific wage distributions and firm performance. We find that female leadership has a positive impact at the top of the female wage distribution and a negative impact at the bottom. Moreover, the impact of female leadership on firm performance increases with the share of female workers. Our empirical strategy accounts for the endogeneity induced by the non-random assignment of executives to firms by including in the regressions firm fixed effects, by generating controls from a two-way fixed effects regression, and by building instruments based on regional trends. The empirical findings are consistent with a model of statistical discrimination where female executives are better equipped at interpreting signals of productivity from female workers. The evidence suggests substantial costs of under-representation of women at the top of the corporate hierarchy |
| JEL: | J7 M12 M5 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22877&r=cse |
| By: | Castellani, Davide (Henley Business School, University of Reading); Fassio, Claudio (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of imported inputs in explaining firms’ export behaviour. Unlike most of the existing literature we are also able to control for the participation of domestic firms to multinational networks. This allows us to test to what extent the recurrent evidence that importing foster exporting activity is instead a figment of the fact that importers are also part of multinational groups. Our evidence, based on Swedish manufacturing firms, suggests that imported inputs, rather than multinationality, are a key determinant of firms’ export propensity and product scope. This result is particularly strong for SMEs, and it is driven by imported intermediates and (to a lesser extent) capital goods. |
| Keywords: | importing; exporting; multinational enterprises; Sweden |
| JEL: | F14 F23 O52 |
| Date: | 2016–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2016_030&r=cse |
| By: | Barbara Brecko; Anusca Ferrari |
| Abstract: | The European Digital Competence Framework for Consumers, also known as DigComp for Consumers, offers a tool to improve consumers’ digital competence. Consumer digital competence is here defined as the competence consumers need to function actively, safely and assertively in the digital marketplace. This definition builds on the previous work done on consumers’ competence and adapts it to digital environment thanks to the use of DigComp 2.0 framework as a starting point. This report introduces the conceptual reference framework of DigComp for Consumers that outlines 14 competences and further gives examples of each competence in the array of knowledge, skills and attitudes. |
| Keywords: | Digitally-competent educational organisations, innovation in education, European Framework for Digitally-Competent Educational Organisations, educational policy, digital learning technologies, self-assessment questionnaire, ICT for learning and skills |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I23 I28 I29 |
| Date: | 2016–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc103155&r=cse |
| By: | Brijesh C. Purohit (Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Rajasthan being India's largest state comprising 10.4 percent of India's total area is located on the western side of the country. The state is divided into 33 districts. Over the 1990s and early 2000s, enrolment rates at the primary level were rising and gender gap converging, though female enrolment rate is still to catch up with that of male. There also exist considerable differential across districts in the State. As per survey in 2012, overall literacy varies from 55.58 percent (Jalore) to 77.48 percent (in Kota). In this paper, considering the district level variations in literacy and other pertinent socio-economic variables we explore whether efficiency in education in district level enrolments is merely a reflection of the other conditions or is it owing to lack of efficient utilization of available educational input variables. Thus we estimate district level efficiency in enrolments at primary and upper-primary levels, in government and private schools, in Rajasthan and look into reasons for their differentials. Using data for the period 2008-2012 and applying stochastic frontier analysis our results indicate that a strong role is being played by economic development parameters like income and urbanization. And simultaneously direct educational interventions seem to play a positive role in enhancing enrolments at different levels. Therefore an education policy should capture district specific gaps to strengthen the outcomes. This may thus necessitate more information at district level both in terms of educational and economic parameters and this information gap needs to be overcome through planning process. |
| Keywords: | Efficiency; education sector; Rajasthan; stochastic frontier modelClassification-JEL: C14 ; H52 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2015-121&r=cse |