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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2019‒05‒20
nine papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Satti Osman Mohamed Nour, Samia (Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, Khartoum University) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to discuss the relationship between knowledge, knowledge economy and economic development in the Arab region. It aims to contribute to improve understanding and provide valuable contribution to the increasing debate in the international literature concerning the relationship between knowledge economy and economic development in the Arab region. We use the descriptive and comparative approaches and methods of analysis and use the conceptual framework and indicators often used in the international literature to discuss the relationship between knowledge, knowledge economy and economic development in the Arab region. Different from previous studies in the Arab literature, we fill the gap in the Arab literature, we present an in-depth and a more comprehensive analysis of the relationship between knowledge economy and economic development in the Arab region defined by income level using recent secondary data related to knowledge economy obtained from the Global Innovation Index Report (2018) and the World Bank (2012). Our results support the first hypothesis concerning the considerable variation in the promotion of knowledge economy depending on the level of economic development across the Arab countries. Our findings verify the second hypothesis that the relationship between knowledge economy and economic development in the Arab region is determined by several factors including economic development, economic incentives and institutional regime, education and human resources, innovation system and Information and Communication Technology. Our results support the third hypothesis that sound and coherent policies for the promotion of knowledge economy through the promotion of economic incentives and institutional regime, education and human resources, the innovation system and Information and Communication Technology would contribute to accelerate achievement of inclusive growth and sustainable development in the Arab countries. Our results in the Arab region show positive relationship between income level and knowledge index, knowledge economy index and knowledge economy index and most of knowledge economy indicators including knowledge workers, knowledge-intensive employment, knowledge absorption, knowledge and technology outputs, knowledge impact and knowledge diffusion. Our findings in the Arab region show positive relationship between income level and all knowledge economy index pillars (economic incentive and institutional regime pillar, education and human resources pillar, the innovation system pillar, and information and communication technology (ICT) pillar) and all factors facilitating the promotion of knowledge economy including institutions, human capital and research, education, tertiary education, research & development (R&D), infrastructure, information and communication technologies, and innovation. The major policy implication and recommendation that the promotion of knowledge economy depends on promotion of institutions, economic incentive and institutional regime, education, human resources and research (human capital, education, tertiary education, research & development (R&D)), innovation system (innovation input, output and efficiency) infrastructure, and information and communication technologies. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge, Knowledge economy, economic development, Arab countries |
| JEL: | O10 O11 O30 |
| Date: | 2019–04–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2019009&r=all |
| By: | Chipten Valibhay (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris - PSL - PSL Research University - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Pascal Le Masson (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris - PSL - PSL Research University - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Benoit Weil (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris - PSL - PSL Research University - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | While patents are recognized as a key resource to sustain innovation activities, patenting activities are mainly conceptualized as protective means quite unrelated to innovation issues. By conducting an exploratory case study of French IP advisor, this paper identifies four unusual patent practices oriented towards a strategic management of the inventive capacity of a firm. These practices offer the opportunity to introduce a new capability of a firm, the 'distinctive capacity', which describes the ability of a firm to manage and organize the relationship between its inventions and the prior art articulated and structured based on strategical considerations (competitive environment, legal risks, technological choices). Building upon 'dynamic capabilities', we claim that the 'distinctive capacity' of a firm allows to better characterize the features of a specific knowledge management adapted to increasing a firm's inventive capacity. |
| Date: | 2019–06–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02095821&r=all |
| By: | Anabela Santos; Michele Cincera; Paulo Neto; Maria Manuel Serrano |
| Abstract: | A wide range of empirical studies have analyzed which firm characteristics influence government evaluators on the decision to select specific firms for participating in Research and Development and Innovation subsidy programs. However, few authors have provided a precise analysis about the selection process of submitted applications for a public support. The aim of the present paper is to assess the effectiveness in the selection process and to understand which kind of projects are selected for being subsidized. The analysis is focused on the case study of applications submitted to the Portuguese Innovation Incentive System (SI Innovation) between 2007 and 2013. Once the selection criterion for accessing to this program is essentially based on competitiveness, namely in terms of internationalization and productivity, special attention was given on assessing the determinants of selection process regarding to these topics. Using a counterfactual analysis and Propensity Score Matching estimators, results show that the selection process to SI Innovation is more focused on expecting an increase of the internationalization and productivity of firms than in the efficiency of public expenditures and firm innovativeness. The conclusions of this paper could be useful for policy makers, once it identifies some failures in selection process, which according to other authors, could explain some disappointing results of public intervention in this field. |
| Keywords: | Subsidy, Innovation, Internationalization, Competitiveness, Propensity Score Matching |
| JEL: | O38 O31 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mde:wpaper:0121&r=all |
| By: | David B. Audretsch (Indiana University Bloomington); Marian Hafenstein (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)); Alexander S. Kritikos (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), University of Potsdam, IZA (Bonn), IAB (Nuremberg)); Alexander Schiersch (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)) |
| Abstract: | A rich literature links knowledge inputs with innovative outputs. However, most of what is known is restricted to manufacturing. This paper analyzes whether the three aspects involving innovative activity - R&D; innovative output; and productivity - hold for knowledge intensive services. Combining the models of Crepon et al. (1998) and of Ackerberg et al. (2015), allows for causal interpretation of the relationship between innovation output and labor productivity. We find that knowledge intensive services benefit from innovation activities in the sense that these activities causally increase their labor productivity. Moreover, the firm size advantage found for manufacturing in previous studies nearly disappears for knowledge intensive services. |
| Keywords: | MSMEs, R&D, Service Sector, Innovation, Productivity, Entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | L25 L60 L80 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pot:cepadp:04&r=all |
| By: | Adrián Rodríguez Miranda (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Pablo Galasso (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Pedro Argumedo (Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo (El Salvador)); Sebastián Goinheix (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Camilo Martínez (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Fernando Masi (Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya (Paraguay)); Santiago Picasso (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Ignacio Rodríguez (Universidad de la Frontera (Chile)); Paulina Sanhuezad (Universidad de la Frontera (Chile)); Belén Servin (Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya (Paraguay)) |
| Abstract: | This research has two aims. First, it characterizes regional development in the four selected countries. Second, it analyzes cooperation networks between firms and organizations, in 24 clusters in different regions of the four countries. Regarding the first aim, the work analyzes in each region the generation of wealth, the development of small business sector and socioeconomic conditions of the environment, complemented by the identification of the productive specializations in each region. Results show that economic development is not evenly distributed in the territory. Certain sub-national patterns in terms of economic development were found. In addition, there is a strong concentration of economic activity in the regions where the national capitals are located (except for the regions rich in mining or energy resources). The analysis of local business development and the socioeconomic environment shows that, in addition to external factors, a region must develop its own local capacities to take advantage of these external impulses and transform them into local development. Regarding the second objective, the study of 24 cooperation networks in clusters proves that organizations are the key actors to keep the networks connected. On the other hand, the level of cooperation among firms is, on average, low. In this sense, the countries under study do not present, in general, regions with high levels of local business capacity that can be the main support of cooperation networks. Therefore, organizations play an intermediary role between firms and provide access to external sources of innovation that can be disseminated through the network. Finally, the combination of social network analysis with econometric regression techniques revealed a positive relationship between the cooperation in networks and the economic performance of firms. |
| Keywords: | regional development, productive specializations, clusters, social network analysis, business cooperation, Latin America |
| JEL: | O18 O31 O32 O54 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2019–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-02-19&r=all |
| By: | Dosi, Giovanni (Institute of Economics, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa); Mathew, Nanditha (UNU-MERIT, and Institute of Economics, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, and IBIMET-CNR, Florence); Pugliese, Emanuele (European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Seville, Institute of Complex Systems, CNR, Rome) |
| Abstract: | Economic growth and development of a country involves accumulation of knowledge and dynamic capabilities (Cimoli et al., 2009). Past research has begun to investigate the capability accumulation and macro-economic development of countries and sectors (Dosi et al., 1990), also by means of introduction of new products (Hausmann and Rodrik, 2003). In this work, recognizing that firms are the actual domain in which production takes place, we focus on the firm-level process of capability accumulation and diversification in a developing country. We investigate the relationship between diversification (and coherent diversification) and firm performance by employing an extensive database of Indian manufacturing firms with detailed information on product mix of firms. We claim that such an understanding of firms' incentives to diversify is relevant not only for the corporate management, but also for the diversification of countries and thereby its development. First, we explore the reasons behind firms' strategy to diversify, i.e, which firms choose a broad product scope and whether the change in the scope of the firm results in improved performance in terms of firm profitability and sales growth. Second, we look at the idiosyncratic characteristics of different products, by emphasizing the synergies of a product line with respect to the overall product basket of the firm. In this line, we develop a measure that captures the synergies and economies of scope between different products, and observe that the firms' future performance crucially depend on the interactions between the products that comprise its basket. Overall, our results are consistent with an intangible- capabilities model of firm diversification: diversification results in improved firm performance if the firm has underused capabilities and the new production line is able to exploit them. |
| Keywords: | Diversification, Coherence, Endogenous Switching |
| JEL: | L25 L60 O30 |
| Date: | 2019–04–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2019013&r=all |
| By: | Pavlova, Elitsa; Signore, Simone |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of venture capital (VC) investments supported by the EIF on the financial growth and performance of young and innovative firms. Using a novel dataset covering European start-ups supported by VC in the years 2007 to 2014, we generate a counterfactual group of non-VCbacked firms through a combination of exact and propensity score matching. To offset the relatively limited set of observables allowed by our data, we estimate treatment propensity using a series of innovative measures based on machine learning, network theory, and satellite imagery analysis. Our results document the positive effects of EIF-supported VC investments on start-up performance, as measured through various financial indicators (e.g. assets, revenue, employment). We find that VC financing enables start-ups to prioritise long-term growth, trading off short- to medium-term profitability if necessary. Overall, our work provides meaningful evidence towards the positive effects of EIF-supported VC investment on the financial growth of young and innovative businesses in Europe. |
| Keywords: | EIF,venture capital,public intervention,real effects,start-ups,machine learning,geospatial analysis,network theory |
| JEL: | G24 L25 M13 O38 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:eifwps:201955&r=all |
| By: | Dalton, Patricio (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); Rüschenpöhler, Julius (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); Uras, Burak (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research); Zia, Bilal |
| Abstract: | Can best practices of successful business peers influence the efficiency and growth of small-scale enterprises? Does it matter how this information is disseminated? This paper conducts a field experiment among urban retail shop owners in Indonesia to address these research questions. Through extensive baseline quantitative and qualitative assessments, we develop a handbook of local best practices that associates specific business practices with performance and provides detailed implementation guidance informed by exemplary local shop owners. The handbook is distributed to a randomly selected sample of shop owners and is complemented with three experiential learning modules: one group is invited to watch a documentary video on experiences of highly successful peers, another is offered light in-shop assistance on the implementation of the handbook, and a third group is offered both. Eighteen months after the intervention, we find no effect of offering the handbook alone, but significant impact on practice adoption when the handbook is coupled with experiential learning. On business performance we find sizable and significant improvements as well, up to a 35% increase in profits and 16.7% in revenues. The types of practices adopted map these performance improvements to efficiency gains rather than other channels. The analysis suggests these interventions are simple, scalable, and highly cost-effective. |
| Keywords: | business practices; small-scale enterprises; peer knowledge; efficiency gains; sicoal learning |
| JEL: | O12 L26 M20 O31 O33 O17 M50 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiucen:fc650e2f-88cf-4d75-8257-f221751d3db0&r=all |
| By: | Mohnen, Pierre (UNU-MERIT, and SBE, Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews various technological indicators from innovation inputs to innovation outputs, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses and the consequent caution that is in order when using these data for economic analysis. It briefly explains the theoretical link between innovation and productivity growth and then compares the estimated magnitudes of that relationship using the different innovation indicators. |
| Keywords: | innovation, productivity, indicators |
| JEL: | D24 O31 O33 O47 |
| Date: | 2019–05–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2019016&r=all |