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on Small Business Management |
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Issue of 2015‒08‒07
twelve papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Gicheva, Dora (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics); Link, Albert (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the R&D performance of nascent and established technology-based small firms that receive a Phase II R&D award from the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Our empirical analysis is based on a two-stage selection probit model, which is used to estimate the probability of commercialization conditional on the Phase II project having not failed. Our model predicts, and our analysis confirms, that nascent firms are more likely to fail in their SBIR-supported R&D endeavors. Further, we find that nascent firms that do not fail have a higher probability of commercializing their developed technology. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; R&D; commercialization; innovation; SBIR program |
| JEL: | L26 O31 O33 O38 |
| Date: | 2015–07–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2015_007&r=sbm |
| 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:iefi15:206250&r=sbm |
| By: | Joachim Wagner (Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Crinò and Epifani (2012) report and discuss two empirical regularities they find in a representative sample of Italian manufacturing firms. First, there is a negative correlation between firms’ productivity and their export share to low-income destinations. Second, there is a negative correlation between firms’ innovation activity and their export share to low-income destinations. This note uses recently available comparable high quality firm level data for six European countries (including Italy) and similarly specified empirical models in an attempt to replicate these results. Replication failed completely. The link found between the share of exports to lowincome countries and either productivity or R&D intensity is never in line with the results from Crinò and Epifani (2012). |
| Keywords: | Exports, low-income destinations, productivity, innovation, EFIGE data |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:344&r=sbm |
| By: | Slavo Radosevic (University College London); Katerina Ciampi Stancova (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | The paper explores the issues of trans-regional and transnational collaboration in the context of smart specialisation in regions with the less developed research and development and innovation (R&D&I) systems, identified as the 13 countries (EU-13) that joined the European Union (EU) after 2004. The paper proposes a systematic methodological approach to trans-regional and transnational cooperation and discusses how this can be utilized to build innovation capacities and enhance innovation potential in selected regions. Specifically, paper addresses following questions: what is conceptual approach to trans-regional cooperation within the context of Smart Specialisation? What is the role of regional governments/national authorities? How regional authorities can deal with analysis of trans-regional opportunities, potential competitors and collaborators? Based on the analysis, what steps can policy-makers take to improve trans-regional cooperation? Our discussion is grounded in the key ’stylized facts’ related to EU-13 R&D&I activities, and the complex link between innovation and internationalization. Innovation systems in the EU-13 are fragmented and based on largely public R&D systems and innovation systems based on predominantly production oriented foreign direct investment (FDI). This structural weakness calls for stronger support for innovation oriented activities and for the integration of global value chains (GVCs) and FDI into local innovation systems. We distinguish and discuss the main obstacles to the internationalization of smart specialisation and discuss ways to overcome them. We highlight the policy action areas related to providing support for technology upgrading in relation to the internationalization of smart specialisation. The Paper concludes by offering a discussion of policies to improve trans-regional cooperation in less developed R&I systems in short and long term. |
| Keywords: | Inter-regional collaboration, smart specialisation, innovation policy, transnational collaboration, (global) value chains, regional development |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96030&r=sbm |
| By: | Aleksanyan, Lilia; Huiban, Jean-Pierre |
| Abstract: | Despite the strong resilience of the French food industry during the recent economic crisis, the bankruptcy rate for this sector has dramatically increased since 2010. This paper focuses on the economic and financial determinants of firm exit due to bankruptcy in the French food industry and compares them with those for other manufacturing industries. Based on a large sample of firm level data for the period 2001-2012, we show that the bankruptcy risk pattern differs between food industry firms and other manufacturing firms. Firm productivity is an important determinant of a firm's probability of going bankrupt; productivity begins deteriorating 3 years before a failure. Controlling for firm productivity, we also show that credit cost has a positive and significant impact on the probability of bankruptcy. However, firm financing conditions have a lower effect on bankruptcy than productivity. |
| Keywords: | firm exit, firm bankruptcy, cost of credit, productivity, food industry, Agribusiness, Financial Economics, Industrial Organization, Productivity Analysis, G33, G21, D24, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205381&r=sbm |
| By: | Xiao, Zhihua |
| Abstract: | Agricultural R&D investment is becoming an increasingly important policy issue as food prices push upwards and food security problems emerge. An important source of agricultural R&D funding is from producer check-offs, which are increasingly being used to fund applied agricultural research. Existing studies of producer-funded agricultural R&D indicate that there are high private and social rates of return to agricultural R&D investment by farmers, and thus that farmers are under investing in R&D. An important reason for underinvestment of producer-funded R&D is the spillovers across levy programs – the research benefits of one particular crop can flow to other crops via spillovers. The spillovers across levy programs are particularly important in jurisdictions, such as Canada, where agricultural R&D activity has been organized on a commodity-by-commodity basis. This study developed a theoretical model to capture farmers R&D investment decisions by explicitly specifying spillovers across levy programs. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, producer organizations, agricultural R&D, spillovers, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205315&r=sbm |
| By: | Baldos, Uris Lantz C.; Viens, Frederi G.; Hertel, Thomas W.; Fuglie, Keith O. |
| Keywords: | Total Factor Productivity, Agricultural R&D Expenditures, Agricultural R&D Stocks, Bayesian Hierarchical Model, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205745&r=sbm |
| By: | Burney, Shaheer; Davis, Alison F. |
| Abstract: | Abstract: This poster examines determinants of entrepreneurial intention using a novel dataset representing over 1,400 households generated by the Kentucky Entrepreneurship Survey. Whereas the literature discusses the potential role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and community entrepreneurial climate (CEC) in explaining entrepreneurship, this study provides an empirical model which tests these relationships by including in the econometric analysis both individual and environmental factors, which are quantified using a scale based on each respondent’s ranking of questions regarding their perception of ESE and CEC. Marginal effects from a probit regression suggest that innovativeness and previous experience are significant predictors of entrepreneurial intention in rural and urban areas, among other findings. The results have implications for entrepreneurship and small business development programming in Kentucky and beyond. |
| Keywords: | Rural, Entrepreneur, Community, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205639&r=sbm |
| By: | Eduardo Morales (Princeton University); Kamran Bilir (University of Wisconsin - Madison) |
| Abstract: | What is the private return to innovation? When firms operate production sites in multiple countries, improvements developed at one site may be shared across others for efficiency gain. We develop a dynamic model that explicitly accounts for such transfer within the firm, and apply it to measure innovation returns for a comprehensive panel of U.S. multinationals during 1989--2009. We find that the data, which include detailed measures of affiliate production and innovation, are consistent with innovation generating returns at firm locations beyond the innovating site. Accounting for cross-plant effects of innovation, our estimates indicate the average firm realizes between 10 and 30 percent of the return to its U.S. parent R&D abroad, suggesting single-plant estimates may understate firms' gain from innovation. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:238&r=sbm |
| By: | Monica Amici (Bank of Italy); Silvia Giacomelli (Bank of Italy); Francesco Manaresi (Bank of Italy); Marco Tonello (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effects of a simplification in the bureaucratic regulation for doing business on firm demographics in Italy, where a 2011 legislation reform required all municipalities to institute a one-stop shop for doing business. We use data for all Italian firms active in private non-financial industries and exploit the staggered implementation of the policy by municipalities in order to identify its causal effect. The results indicate that the one-stop shop increased entry rates and survival probability at one year. This effect is due essentially to sole proprietorships, which are plausibly those that benefit the most from reductions in red tape. |
| Keywords: | red tape costs, firm entry, one-stop shop |
| JEL: | L11 M13 L51 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_285_15&r=sbm |
| By: | Chen, Hung-Ju |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of monetary policy on innovation and imitation in a North-South product-cycle model with foreign direct investment (FDI) and separate cash-in-advance (CIA) constraints on innovative R&D, adaptive R&D and imitative R&D. We find that if the CIA constraint is applied to innovative R&D, then an increase in the Northern nominal interest will raise the rate of Northern innovation and the extent of FDI while reducing the rate of Southern imitation and the North-South wage gap. Regarding the effects of the Southern monetary policy, the object that is liquidity-constrained plays a significant role. If adaptive (imitative) R&D is subject to the CIA constraint, then an increase in the Southern nominal interest rate will raise (reduce) the rate of Northern innovation and the extent of FDI while reducing (raising) the rate of Southern imitation. We also examine the responses of social welfare for Northern and Southern consumers to monetary policy. |
| Keywords: | CIA constraint; FDI; Imitation; Monetary policy; R&D. |
| JEL: | F12 F23 O31 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65744&r=sbm |
| By: | Sapkota, Pratikshya; Gallardo, Karina; McCluskey, Jill; Rickard, Bradley |
| Keywords: | Patent Licensing, Apple, Commercialization, Agricultural and Food Policy, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea15:205420&r=sbm |