|
on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
|
Issue of 2016‒04‒30
seven papers chosen by Laura Ştefănescu Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor |
| By: | Curdin Pfister (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich); Miriam Rinawi (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich); Dietmar Harhoff (Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich); Uschi Backes-Gellner (Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | Previous research analyzing the importance of knowledge for firms’ innovation activities has focused on knowledge taught at universities, i.e., tertiary level academic education. So far, research has largely neglected a new type of knowledge taught at Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS), i.e., tertiary level vocational education, which is based on more applied research. In this paper, we exploit a unique institutional setting, the foundation of UAS in Switzerland, to estimate the causal effect of this new type of knowledge on firms’ innovation activity. We apply difference-in-differences estimation, comparing the innovation activity of firms in regions where UAS were founded with the innovation activity of firms in regions where no UAS were founded. In line with previous literature, we measure the innovation activity by the number of filed patents. Our results show that firms in regions with newly founded UAS increase their innovation activities by about 10 percent. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Universities of Applied Science, Tertiary Vocational Education, Difference-in-Differences |
| JEL: | I26 O31 J24 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0117&r=knm |
| By: | Antonelli, Cristiano; David, Paul (University of Turin) |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:labeco:201509&r=knm |
| By: | Shimokawa, Satoru |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how dietary knowledge and exercise knowledge are interacted each other in leading to healthier diet after hypertension diagnosis. It uses a sharp regression discontinuity design that exploits the exogenous cut-point of systolic blood pressure in the hypertension diagnosis. Using data from China, the results demonstrate that the influence of hypertension diagnosis on improving diet is significant only among people with good dietary knowledge; and within the people with good dietary knowledge, the influence is much larger among the people who do not believe the importance of exercise for health. The findings may imply that an equal emphasis on both diet and exercise might result in reducing the effect of dietary education on improving diet. |
| Keywords: | diet, exercise, hypertension, China, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, I12, I18, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212237&r=knm |
| By: | Kusterer, David J.; Schmitz, Patrick W. |
| Abstract: | We report data from a laboratory experiment with 566 participants that was designed to test Aghion and Tirole's (1994a) management of innovation theory. A research unit and a customer can invest to increase the probability of making an innovation. When the innovation is made, the parties bargain over the division of the revenue. In line with Aghion and Tirole's (1994a) predictions based on the Grossman-Hart-Moore property rights approach, we find that ownership matters for the division of the revenue and the investments. However, communication can somewhat mitigate the theoretical problem that the customer will not relinquish ownership to the cash-constrained research unit. |
| Keywords: | Incomplete Contracts; Investment incentives; Laboratory experiments; Property rights |
| JEL: | C92 D23 D86 O32 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11215&r=knm |
| By: | Danilova Anastasia; Tursunov Sherzod |
| Abstract: | This article describes the global development of ICT in the world and provides an analysis of investment activity in this area. Examples and evaluation of the development level of ICT in the world are provided. The review of investments for 2014 has been considered and the leaders of ICT investment have been identified. Key words: Information and communication technology (ICT), investments, investment activity, an index of information and communication technology, finance, economic development |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vor:issues:2016-03-16&r=knm |
| By: | Lina M. Cortés; Javier Perote; Andrés Mora-Valencia |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Research productivity distributions exhibit heavy tails because it is common for a few researchers to accumulate the majority of the top publications and their corresponding citations. Measurements of this productivity are very sensitive to the field being analyzed and the distribution used. In particular, distributions such as the lognormal distribution seem to systematically underestimate the productivity of the top researchers. In this article, we propose the use of a (log)semi-nonparametric distribution (log-SNP) that nests the lognormal and captures the heavy tail of the productivity distribution through the introduction of new parameters linked to high-order moments. To compare the results, we use research performance data on 140,971 researchers who have produced 253,634 publications in 18 fields of knowledge (O’Boyle and Aguinis, 2012) and show how the log-SNP distribution provides more accurate measures of the performance of the top researchers in their respective fields of knowledge. |
| Keywords: | Research evaluation, Research productivity, Heavy tail distributions, Semi- nonparametric modeling. |
| JEL: | C14 C44 C53 |
| Date: | 2016–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000122:014437&r=knm |
| By: | Zhang, Wei; Kato, Edward; Bhandary, Prapti; Nkonya, Ephraim; Ibrahim, Hassan Ishaq; Agbonlahor, Mure; Ibrahim, Hussaini Yusuf |
| Abstract: | This research has been undertaken to improve our understanding of stakeholders’ knowledge and perception about ecosystem services (ES), which provides a valuable means of gaining insight into the opportunities and constraints that face ES management in a multiuser landscape. Land use preferences are influenced by a variety of motives, attitudes, and values intrinsic to every individual’s decisionmaking. Knowledge can affect attitudes and behavioral intentions, and a positive attitude toward the environment has been found to predict conservation practices. Using primary data collected from a village survey of 102 villages in Nigeria between November 2012 and February 2013, this study assesses local communities’ awareness, perceptions, and knowledge of a broad range of ES and examines the key factors that explain the variations in the level of awareness across communities, with a special focus on land uses within landscapes. We found that exposure to forest and lowland floodplains was positively correlated with people’s level of awareness of ES, highlighting the importance of direct experience and local context in shaping people’s perceptions toward ES. Such considerations should be taken into account when designing policies aimed at addressing natural resources and environmental management issues. While provisioning services were generally well recognized, consistent with findings of previous studies, a majority of the sampled villages also appreciated spiritual values as a cultural service. Communities’ awareness and knowledge about regulating and supporting ES were generally very low, including those services that are important for maintaining the stability and productivity of agroecosystems (for example, pollination and biological pest control), warranting a greater role for agricultural extension to play in influencing community levels of awareness of ES in Nigeria. Furthermore, incorporating new concepts and topics about ES into the primary school curriculum will better educate people about the importance of ES. Finally, our assessment of communities’ attitudes toward payments for environmental services suggests a need to respect local communities’ preferences, norms, and traditions when designing policies that encourage natural resources management. |
| Keywords: | ecosystem services, awareness, knowledge, perception, rural community, forest, Nigeria, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:212605&r=knm |