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on Small Business Management |
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Issue of 2022‒02‒21
twenty-one papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Marco Vivarelli (Dipartimento di Politica Economica, DISCE, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – UNU-MERIT, Maastricht, The Netherlands – IZA, Bonn, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This note explores the theoretical and empirical literature on the link between innovation and employment, investigated at the macro, sectoral and micro level. While economic theory cannot provide a clear answer to the question whether new technologies are labor-saving or labor-friendly, most of the empirical studies point to a positive relationship between innovation and employment. Yet, this effect turns out to be small in magnitude and limited to product innovation and high-tech sectors, while labor saving impacts can be detected in the downstream more traditional sectors and firms. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, technological change, employment, job-creation,job-destruction, technological unemployment |
| JEL: | O33 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie5:dipe0024&r= |
| By: | Santarelli, Enrico; Staccioli, Jacopo; Vivarelli, Marco |
| Abstract: | Using the entire population of USPTO patent applications published between 2002 and 2019, and leveraging on both patent classification and semantic analysis, this paper aims to map the current knowledge base centred on robotics and AI technologies. These technologies are investigated both as a whole and distinguishing core and related innovations, along a 4-level core-periphery architecture. Merging patent applications with the Orbis IP firm-level database allows us to put forward a twofold analysis based on industry of activity and geographic location. In a nutshell, results show that: (i) rather than representing a technological revolution, the new knowledge base is strictly linked to the previous technological paradigm; (ii) the new knowledge base is characterised by a considerable - but not impressively widespread - degree of pervasiveness; (iii) robotics and AI are strictly related, converging (particularly among the related technologies and in more recent times) and jointly shaping a new knowledge base that should be considered as a whole, rather than consisting of two separate GPTs; (iv) the US technological leadership turns out to be confirmed (although declining in relative terms in favour of Asian countries such as South Korea, China and, more recently, India). |
| Keywords: | Robotics,Artificial Intelligence,General Purpose Technology,Technological Paradigm,Industry 4.0,Patents full-text |
| JEL: | O33 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1022&r= |
| By: | Giacomo Damioli (European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy); Vincent Van Roy (European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Seville, Spain); Daniel Vertesy (International Telecommunication Union, Geneva, Switzerland – UNU-MERIT, Maastricht, The Netherlands); Marco Vivarelli (Dipartimento di Politica Economica, DISCE, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – UNU-MERIT, Maastricht, The Netherlands – IZA, Bonn, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This study is based on a worldwide longitudinal dataset of 3,500 front-runner companies that patented AI technologies over the period 2000-2016. Our results support the labor-friendly nature of product innovation in the AI supply industries. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, artificial intelligence, patents, employment |
| JEL: | O33 O31 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie5:dipe0025&r= |
| By: | Bischoff, Thore Sören; Hipp, Ann; Runst, Petrik |
| Abstract: | Generalized trust within regions represents an important firm resource. We provide empirical evidence on the impact of trust among people in regions on innovation using two distinct data sets. The first one contains firm-level data and is used to analyze how trust affects firm-level innovation in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The second data set is used to analyze the trust-innovation relationship within regions. It allows us to capture innovation in the form of patents and explore spatial patterns. Our observation period ranges from 2004 to 2019. We apply a multilevel approach, panel data models as well as spatial techniques. The results show that generalized trust has a positive impact on a firm's innovativeness, which is particularly strong for small and medium-sized firms and in regions with relatively low levels of trust. |
| Keywords: | Trust,innovation,regional innovation systems,SMEs |
| JEL: | D02 D83 O12 O18 O31 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifhwps:322021&r= |
| By: | Lesley Potters (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | The EU Survey on Industrial R&D Investment Trends has provided insights on R&D strategies of top EU R&D corporate investors as listed in the EU R&D Scoreboard for the past 17 years. These largest R&D investors have a big impact on the whole ecosystem in the twin transition. This survey aims at giving better insights into what current trends in industrial innovation and R&D investment fit into the ambitions of the European Green Deal. This survey goes beyond publicly available data of R&D levels and trends and aims at better understanding location strategies, technological developments among different sectors and innovation collaboration of the largest R&D performers that are responsible for the bulk of private R&D in the EU. |
| Keywords: | Industrial R&D, top R&D investors, innovation, company performance, economic and innovation performance |
| Date: | 2022–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc128047&r= |
| By: | Martine Gadille (LEST - Laboratoire d'économie et de sociologie du travail - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Juan Gallego-Bono (Department of Applied Economics II, University of Valencia, Avda. dels Tarongers s/n, Valencia 46022 - affiliation inconnue) |
| Abstract: | Most of SMEs are engaged in open innovation practices, but they do not benefit from open innovation or from patenting in the same way as larger firms do. At the same time SMEs, as territorialized suppliers, play a crucial role within evolving regional specialization. In this context the purpose of our study is to examine how low and medium technology supplier SMEs learn and organize themselves at a territorial level to address the challenge of IP protection in an open innovation paradigm. We used a qualitative method with a longitudinal multi-case study involving 27 companies with a historical lance to compare the territorial dynamics of knowledge protection within clustered supplier SMEs in two European regions. The results show they protect their knowledge by learning how to design, in a direct relationship with clients, customized complex technological products to develop a new organizational matrix of multidisciplinary knowledge that reveals itself difficult to imitate within the clusters. They also cope with other supplier firms across sectors even if they show societal path dependencies in the way to build cooperation. This dynamic has given birth to changing structural relationships among regionally clustered SMEs and between them and large firms. |
| Keywords: | intellectual property,low-medium tech suppliers SMEs,regional clusters,cooperation,organizational matrix,regional specialization,societal path dependency |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03512139&r= |
| By: | Bellucci, Andrea (Universita Degli Studi Dell'insubria); Fatica, Serena (European Commission); Georgakaki, Aliki (European Commission); Gucciardi, Gianluca (Unicredit Bank); Letout, Simon (European Commission); Pasimeni, Francesco (International Renewable Energy Agency) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role of green innovation in attracting venture capital (VC) financing. We use a unique dataset that matches information on VC transactions, companies' balance sheet variables and data on patented innovation at the firm level over the period 2008-2017. Taking advance of a novel granular definition of green innovative activities that tracks patents at the firm level, we show that green innovators are more likely to receive VC funding than firms without green patents. Likewise, a larger share of green vs. non-green patents in a firm's portfolio increases the probability of receiving VC finance. Robustness checks and extensions tackling several dimensions of heterogeneity corroborate the view that green patenting is an important driver of VC funding. |
| Keywords: | Venture capital, Green ventures, Patents, Green technology |
| JEL: | G24 M13 M21 O35 Q55 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrs:wpaper:202111&r= |
| By: | Tian Xiong (Europäisches Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsbeziehungen (EIIW)) |
| Abstract: | This study aims to investigate the effects of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by Chinese multinational firm in the EU28 on the subsequent innovation performance of acquiring firms with different technological intensities and types of corporate ownership The study does so by applying the Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial estimation to analyze novel longitudinal firm-level data covering the period from 2010 to 2018. The empirical evidence suggests that Chinese acquiring firms are generally able to enhance their innovation performance after merging or acquiring firms from the EU28 countries. Furthermore, this study reveals that medium low- and low-tech firms significantly improved their innovation performance after undertaking M&As, but the same effect cannot be identified for firms in the high- and medium high-tech groups. Finally, strong evidence confirms the significant increase in innovation output of private-owned enterprises in the post-acquisition era compared with state-owned or -controlled enterprises. |
| Keywords: | mergers and acquisitions, M&A, innovation performance, emerging market multinationals (EMNEs), learning, China, EU |
| JEL: | O1 O3 F23 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwu:eiiwdp:disbei310&r= |
| By: | Giebel, Marek; Kraft, Kornelius |
| Abstract: | We analyze the impact of subsidies on R&D expenditures in the financial crisis and beyond. The financial crisis has led to considerable turmoil in financing and, as a result, to restrictions of firms' access to external financing. Utilizing this fact, we identify and analyze financing constraints in two ways. First, firm financing constraints are determined via their credit rating and second, restrictions from the supply side are identified via the firm's main banks capital reserves. The results of our empirical test imply that R&D investments of non-subsidized firms decrease during the crisis. This effect is particularly pronounced for firms that are affected by financing constraints on the firm or bank side. Finally, our results imply that subsidies can at least partially compensate for these negative effects. |
| Keywords: | R&D investment,financing constraints,financial crisis,R&D subsidies |
| JEL: | G01 G21 G24 G30 O16 O30 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:21097&r= |
| By: | Elisa Chioatto (University of Ferrara – Department of Economics and Management (Ferrara, Italy); SEEDS); Susanna Mancinelli (University of Ferrara – Department of Economics and Management (Ferrara, Italy); SEEDS); Francesco Nicolli (University of Ferrara – Department of Economics and Management (Ferrara, Italy); SEEDS) |
| Abstract: | The challenges posed by the achievement of the circular economy require the adoption of new innovative practices that are not simply green but specifically related to closing, narrowing, and extending resources cycles (Bocken et al., 2016). Understanding the relationship between eco-innovation and circular innovation and what factors favour their implementation is, therefore, pivotal. This paper offers new pieces of evidence on the role of social norms in increasing firms' propensity to adopt circular innovation. Drawing upon the literature corpus confirming the influence of the social context on firms' decision to innovate and enriching this analysis with recent evidence on the effect of peers in firm decision-making, the present study relies on survey data on 3270 Italian Small and Medium Enterprises with the extent to investigate the effect of peers behaviour in firms decision to adopt circular innovation. The empirical analysis shows a positive relationship between increased investment in circular innovation by peers and the decision of firms to innovate in the same realm. These results, therefore, offer a relevant starting point for the design of policy guidelines and organisational strategies in favour of the circular economy. Social norm information and comparison can be indeed complementary tools to the traditional market and regulatory levers for circular innovation adoption. |
| Keywords: | Circular innovation, Circular Economy, Eco-Innovation, Social Norm, Peer Effect |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:0422&r= |
| By: | Iammarino, Simona; Sodano, Tiziana; Vittorino, Giovanni |
| Abstract: | This paper connects the literature on obstacles to innovation to the concept of regional economic resilience by empirically assessing the relationship between the intensity of firms’ engagement in innovative activities and self-reported obstacles to innovation during the unfolding of the latest economic and financial downturn. The analysis is grounded on a unique dataset on firm-level accounting data (CAD) and information from two waves (2008-10 and 2010-12) of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) for a representative sample of firms in the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The main results support the existence of severe deterring barriers in the region, and suggest that during the economic and financial crisis after 2008 firms’ uncertainty about the market demand became dominant. |
| Keywords: | obstacles to innovation; engagement in innovative activities; regional resilience; economic crisis; financial crisis |
| JEL: | R14 J01 N0 |
| Date: | 2020–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:103281&r= |
| By: | Matthies, Eike; Thomä, Jörg; Bizer, Kilian |
| Abstract: | While an increasing number of studies postulate that vocational education and training (VET) activities have a positive impact on the innovative capacity of training companies, empirical evidence on the subject remains contradictory. This study exploits establishment data from a representative survey of German companies to estimate the correlations between firms' participation in initial VET and their innovation outcomes. The results based on linear probability models show that the impact of VET activity on innovation is indeed ambiguous. Overall, as expected, participation in initial VET has virtually no effect on radical product innovation. However, a positive impact of training apprentices is observed in case of incremental product innovation and process innovation activities. According to our estimates, this finding primarily applies to the case of microenterprises with fewer than ten employees. We conclude from this that active participation in the VET system primarily promotes the innovation activities of very small firms by stimulating knowledge diffusion in regional innovation systems and developing absorptive capacities at the company level. As a result, small-sized training firms should be more likely to succeed in overcoming - at least in part - some of their disadvantages in innovation. |
| Keywords: | Technological innovation,Vocational education and training (VET),Apprenticeships,SMEs |
| JEL: | I20 J24 O31 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifhwps:332021&r= |
| By: | Norbert MALANOWSKI (VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH); Jana Steinback (VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH); Annerose Nisser (VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH); Simon Beesch (VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH); Sidonia Von Proff (VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH); Els Van Der Velde (IDEA Consult); Daniela Kretz (IDEA Consult) |
| Abstract: | The study provides theoretical as well as case-study based evidence for the potential of European industries to become carbon neutral and provide job security and growth in the EU. The study identifies, maps, and analyses Global Innovation Networks, i.e. net-works between industry and other actors that facilitate innovation, and their role in making the European Green Deal a success. The study also presents the main current policy context in place in the EU, China and the U.S., e.g. regulatory and financial frameworks, and identifies the main drivers and barriers for investing in technologies relevant for Europe's Green Deal. In addition, a concise policy toolbox for Research & Development & Innovation (R&D&I) policies supporting technologies relevant for Eu-rope's Green Deal is discussed. It moves beyond the current European, national, regional and sectoral policy instruments and mixes of policies based on the insights obtained throughout the whole study. The findings offer an important knowledge base for devising new and additional policy instruments. |
| Keywords: | Green Deal, ecosystems, innovation, competitiveness |
| Date: | 2022–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc126482&r= |
| By: | ZHANG Hongyong |
| Abstract: | Using detailed information on more than 250,000 subsidy projects to Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2007 to 2019, this paper empirically analyzes the relationship between industrial subsidies and firm innovation. Main results are as follows. First, both the number of projects and the amounts of industrial subsidies increased rapidly in recent years. In 2019, 97% of firms received at least one subsidy project and the average subsidy intensity reached to 1.8%. Importantly, the scale of subsidies for R&D and patent are larger than the subsidies for production, trade, and foreign investment. Furthermore, state-owned enterprises' share in total subsidies is declining but on average they still receive 2~3 times more subsidies than private firms. Second, at the industry- and firm- levels, subsidies are positively associated with R&D investment and patent applications. There are large variations across industries, but the positive correlations became very strong after 2015. Third, using project-level data on subsidies and difference-in-difference (DID) estimations, we examine the effects of Made in China 2025 (MIC2025) program. We find that compared with firms not receiving MIC2025-related subsidies, firms received MIC2025-related subsidies see significant increases in R&D investment (14.9%), the number of patent applications (18.3%), and the number of patent registrations (24.9%). Our results suggest that the industrial subsidies contribute to the innovation activities of Chinese firms. However, though industrial subsidies significantly increased firms' investment and sales, their effects on firm productivity were very limited. |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:21052&r= |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This report provides an in-depth analysis of the policy ecosystem in place for social entrepreneurship and social enterprises in Slovenia. It identifies the country’s strengths and challenges and provides policy recommendations to support the development of a stronger policy ecosystem. After an overview of the socio-economic and political context (Chapter 1), the report describes the conceptual framework for social enterprises and the social economy (Chapter 2); and analyses institutional and legal frameworks for social enterprises (Chapter 3), access to finance for social enterprises (Chapter 4), and access to public and private markets (Chapter 5), along with social impact measurement and reporting for social enterprise development (Chapter 6). |
| Keywords: | local development, policy ecosystem, social economy, social enterprise, social entrepreneurship, social impact, social innovation |
| JEL: | L31 L33 |
| Date: | 2022–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2022/02-en&r= |
| By: | Drydakis, Nick |
| Abstract: | The study utilises the International Labor Organization's SMEs COVID-19 pandemic business risks scale to determine whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications are associated with reduced business risks for SMEs. A new 10-item scale was developed to capture the use of AI applications in core services such as marketing and sales, pricing and cash flow. Data were collected from 317 SMEs between April and June 2020, with follow-up data gathered between October and December 2020 in London, England. AI applications to target consumers online, offer cash flow forecasting and facilitate HR activities are associated with reduced business risks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for both small and medium enterprises. The study indicates that AI enables SMEs to boost their dynamic capabilities by leveraging technology to meet new types of demand, move at speed to pivot business operations, boost efficiency and thus, reduce their business risks. |
| Keywords: | SMEs,Business Risks,COVID-19 pandemic,Artificial Intelligence,Dynamic Capabilities |
| JEL: | O33 Q55 L26 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1045&r= |
| By: | Csaba Burger (Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary)) |
| Abstract: | The transition from the state ownership to market mechanisms in Hungary fundamentally altered the geography of domestic micro, small, and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study investigates the spatial and temporal evolution of owner numbers, using data on all Hungarian SMEs between 1991 and 2019 and across 175 regional districts. Then it explores the relationship between the number of owners and the probability of credit default by joining data from the Credit Registry (KHR) for the period between 2007 and 2019. The number of owners at an average SME sank from four in 1991 to two in 2019, with consistently higher averages in less populated regions. Meanwhile, SMEs with one owner only have up to twice as high credit default probability as SMEs with more owners over all geographies in all years. Therefore, regionally varying ownership structures mean regionally differing ownership and management practices and hence risk levels. These could be mitigated with targeted regional policy measures. |
| Keywords: | financial geography, ownership structures, credit risk, SMEs |
| JEL: | G21 G3 R3 R11 R1 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnb:opaper:2022/144&r= |
| By: | Christopher F Baum (Boston College; DIW Berlin); Arash Kordestani (Södertörn University); Dorothea Schäfer (DIW Berlin; Jönköping International Business School); Andreas Stephan (Linnaeus University; DIW Berlin) |
| Abstract: | We examine whether the financial strength of companies, in particular, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is causally linked to the award of a public procurement contract (PP), especially in the environmentally friendly “green” area (GPP). For this purpose, we build a combined procurement company data set from the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) and the SME database AMADEUS, which includes ten European countries. First, we apply probit models to investigate whether the probability of winning the public tender depends on the company's financial strength. We then use the flexpanel DiD approach to investigate the question of whether the award has an impact on the future financial strength of the successful company. On the one hand, we find that a lower equity ratio and a higher short-term debt ratio increase the probability of being successful in a public tender. On the other hand, the success means that the companies can continue to work after the award with a lower equity ratio than comparable companies without an award, regardless of whether the company was successful in a traditional or a “green” public tender. We conclude from this that the success in a PP is a substitute for one's own financial strength and thus facilitates access to external financing. The estimation results differ depending on whether public procurement in general or the sub-group of sustainable public procurement is examined. |
| Keywords: | public procurement, green investment, public authorities, European Union |
| JEL: | H42 H44 C54 |
| Date: | 2022–01–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:bocoec:1049&r= |
| By: | Chistov, Valery; Tanwar, Sunita; Yadav, C.S. |
| Abstract: | This chapter is dedicated to the concept of Open Eco-innovation - an emerging form of cooperation for sustainable development, particularly for environmental sustainability. Our society currently faces a number of environmental challenges that cannot be solved individually and require a collaborative approach. One of the ways to harness the power of collaboration and access the external resources to foster internal eco-innovation capabilities is Open Eco-innovation. This chapter gives an overview of the quickly arising concept, the historical perspective, and the current state of the research. In addition, it draws to the literature on stakeholder theory, industrial symbiosis, and knowledge management to give a theoretical context for this emerging phenomenon. Our research shows that OEI is a critical tool to foster eco-innovation in organizations and sustainable development in our society. Nevertheless, more profound research is needed to prove empirically the viability of the concept and explore its real-life application in the industry. |
| Date: | 2021–11–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:ecoevo:d938m&r= |
| By: | Christos Ioannou (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Miltiadis Makris (University of Kent [Canterbury]); Carmine Ornaghi (University of Southampton) |
| Abstract: | The present study proposes a theoretical model that investigates how R&D productivity influences the relationship between product substitutability and R&D investment in a duopolistic market. We argue that the effects on R&D investment are more complex than the previous literature suggests. We show theoretically that, in unlevelled industries, the laggard's R&D investment decreases with product substitutability regardless of the R&D productivity level. In sharp contrast, in levelled industries, whether R&D investment increases or decreases with product substitutability depends crucially on the level of the R&D productivity. We choose parameters and formulate testable predictions that we take to the laboratory. We find that subjects' behavior is largely consistent with the model's predictions. |
| Keywords: | Experiments,Product Substitutability,R&D Productivity,Duopoly |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-03525445&r= |
| By: | Claire Brennecke; Stefan Jacewitz; Jonathan Pogach |
| Abstract: | We identify a new source of bank consolidation in the United States. For decades, both the financial and real sides of the economy have experienced considerable consolidation. We show that banking-sector consolidation is, in part, a consequence of real-sector consolidation; because small banks are a disproportionate source of small-business credit, they are disproportionately exposed to shocks to small-business growth. Using a Bartik instrument based on national small-business trends and county-level industry exposure, we show that changes to the real-side demand for small-business credit is partially responsible for the relative decline in small banks’ deposits, income, and loan growth. |
| Keywords: | Consolidation; Banks and banking; Community banking; Relationship lending; Bartik instrument |
| JEL: | G21 G34 L25 R12 |
| Date: | 2022–01–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkrw:93626&r= |