|
on Small Business Management |
|
Issue of 2024‒11‒18
thirty-one papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão, Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Duc Anh Nguyen (Université Paris-Saclay, UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne, LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]); Liliana Mitkova (LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne) |
| Abstract: | Open innovation (OI) has captured the attention of both academics and practitioners since its inception. However, research on OI in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Our research aims to scrutinize the evolution of scientific production and emerging research themes of OI in SMEs. The study employs a bibliometric analysis using the Scopus database and the ARTIREV software. The findings indicate a considerable increase in the scientific production of research on OI in SMEs, with the last five years contributing the most. Additionally, the most relevant and involved constituents of research on OI in SMEs are illuminated alongside the most productive and influential publications and authors. The study also sheds light on several divergent research themes concerning firm and innovation performance, business model innovation, OI practices, OI challenges, OI in crisis times, entrepreneurship, economic growth, and sustainable innovation. Our study provides a detailed overview of the research contexts of OI in SMEs for future research investigations. |
| Keywords: | Open innovation, Small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, Performance analysis, Bibliometric analysis, Document bibliographic coupling analysis |
| Date: | 2024–06–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04712828 |
| By: | Sebastiano Cattaruzzo (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Giancarlo Corò (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Roshan Borsato (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the relationship between technological complexity and international performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using data from a 2023 survey of firms in the Veneto region. We develop a Technological Complexity Index (TCI) to capture firms' adoption of advanced Industry 5.0 technologies. Our results reveal that higher TCI is associated with greater export intensity, broader geographical diversification, and reduced market concentration. Firms that adopt more comprehensive organizational strategies, such as product customization and post-sale services, also perform better internationally. Policy recommendations include targeted support for SMEs to enhance technological adoption through financial incentives and skills development programs. |
| Keywords: | Technological complexity, international organization, export diversification |
| JEL: | F14 F23 L25 O33 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2024:16 |
| By: | Andrea Ascani (Gran Sasso Science Institute); Lakshmi Balachandran Nair (LUISS Guido Carli University) |
| Abstract: | Whilst most governments’ supportive measures have kept businesses afloat during the most depressing stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, these massive liquidity injections can also hide the risk of keeping financially fragile firms alive artificially, thus starting a process that turns them into zombie firms (zombies). In this article, we investigate whether and under what circumstances the presence of zombies in an industry constitutes a barrier to the innovativeness of non-zombies in the same sector. By analysing matched patent-firm data from Bureau van Dijk ORBIS Intellectual Property on 426, 130 Italian firms from 2012 to 2018, we find evidence in favour of negative intraindustry spillovers. Nonetheless, this general relationship is subject to various contingencies connected to both industry and firm characteristics. Specifically, we highlight that the retention of zombies can congest the innovative activities of healthy firms, especially when they depend on external sources of finance, operate in highly competitive markets, are more exposed to the erosion of their market shares, and do not possess a pre-existing strong knowledge base. Our findings have relevant policy and managerial implications. |
| Keywords: | zombie firms, innovation, Italy, spillovers, poisson, instrumental variable |
| JEL: | O31 L20 D22 |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahy:wpaper:wp40 |
| By: | Paolo Carioli; Dirk Czarnitzki; Christian Rammer |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of different channels of industry-science collaboration on new product sales at the firm-level and whether government subsidies for collaboration make a difference. We distinguish four collaboration channels: joint R&D, consulting/contract research, IP licensing, human resource transfer. Employing firm-level panel data from the German Community Innovation Survey and a conditional difference-in-differences methodology, we find a positive effect of industry-science collaboration on product innovation success only for joint R&D, but not for the other three channels. The positive effect is limited to subsidized collaboration. Our results suggest that government subsidies are required to bring firms and public science into forms of collaboration that are effective in producing higher innovation output. |
| Keywords: | Industry-science collaboration, transfer channels, product innovation, treatment effects analysis |
| Date: | 2024–10–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ete:msiper:751257 |
| By: | Yoga Affandi (Bank Indonesia); Masagus M. Ridhwan (Bank Indonesia); Irwan Trinugroho (Universitas Sebelas Maret); Danny Hermawan (Bank Indonesia) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the factors affecting digital adoption by ultra-micro, micro, and small enterprises (UMSEs) based on a survey of 5, 035 UMSEs in 17 major provinces in Indonesia. Utilizing the survey data, we also construct a digital adoption index that can be used to evaluate the regional adoption level variations. The result shows that several factors notably owner demographic characteristics, firm-specific factors, business environment, connectivity infrastructure quality, and culture are associated with the disparity in digital adoption by UMSEs. Our finding also shows a positive and significant correlation between digital adoption on business performance (sales growth). We further found strong evidence of the impact of digital adoption on the level of financial literacy of UMSEs’ owners. The latter result suggests that improving digital adoption among micro businesses (UMSEs) could be a lever to enhance their financial literacy. All in all, these findings suggest the vital role of digital transformation for micro-businesses in achieving growth and competitiveness in the global market, undoubtedly requiring robust support from policymakers. |
| Keywords: | Digital Adoption, Ultra-Micro, Micro and Small Enterprises, Firm Performance, Financial Literacy. |
| JEL: | L25 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idn:wpaper:wp132023 |
| By: | WOOLFORD Jayne (European Commission - JRC); LALANNE Marie (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programming in the 2021-2027 financial period rec-ognises the role of human capital in place-based approaches to territorial development and innova-tive transformation, allowing for investment in skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship. This research quantifies the amount of investment earmarked across the EU-27 for this, alongside similar investments under the temporary Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), acknowledging the importance, and yet complexity, of ensuring complementarity between the funding streams. Whilst the legal basis for both resides in the Union’s goal of strengthening eco-nomic, social and territorial cohesion and reducing disparities, the design and implementation of the two instruments reflects different governance models, performance frameworks, policy priorities and actors. The analysis aims to capture how these two instruments support skills development rel-evant to the twin transitions and smart specialisation domains across heterogeneous socio-economic and institutional territories within the context of the European Semester recommenda-tions. However, it provides an overview of proposed investment at the point of adoption of the two sets of programmes in 2022 and 2023, recognising that the results and impact of the allocations, and their integration and connection with their local innovation ecosystem, will depend upon the ter-ritorial context, the projects and beneficiaries selected and implementation approaches. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139050 |
| By: | Laëtita Gabay-Mariani; Saulo Dubard-Barbosa (EM - EMLyon Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on entrepreneurial commitment by providing a first empirical investigation of Howard Becker's side-bet theory in the context of nascent entrepreneurship. We investigate how different forms of commitment relate to both entrepreneurial behavior and various side-bet categories: satisfying conditions, non-work concerns, others' expectations, impersonal bureaucratic arrangements, perceived lack of alternatives, individual adjustments to social positions, and self-presentation concerns. We collected data from a representative sample (n = 242) of individuals granted with the French national student-entrepreneur status (NSES). Results froms hierarchical linear regressions reveal different patterns of side bets associated with entrepreneurial commitment, depending on its nature (value-based or exchange-based) and on its focus (the project or the profession). Our study (1) extends side-bet theory to the field of entrepreneurship and (2) improves understanding of factors associated with commitment during the volitional phase of the entrepreneurial process. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurial process, Commitment, Side-bet theory, Volition, Nascent entrepreneur, Student entrepreneur |
| Date: | 2024–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04731670 |
| By: | Stefan Stremersch; Elke Cabooter; Ivan Guitart (EM - EMLyon Business School); Nuno Camacho |
| Abstract: | Customer insights play a critical role in innovation. In recent years, articles studying customer insights for innovation have risen in marketing and other fields such as innovation, strategy, and entrepreneurship. However, the literature on customer insights for innovation grew fragmented and plagued by inconsistent definitions and ambiguity. The literature also lacks a precise classification of different domains of customer insights for innovation. This article offers four key contributions. First, it clearly and consistently defines customer insights for innovation. Second, it proposes a "customer insights process" that describes the activities firms and customer insights intermediaries (e.g., market research agencies) use to generate, disseminate, and apply customer insights for innovation. Third, it offers a synthesis of the knowledge on customer insights for innovation along ten domains of customer insights for innovation: (1) crowdsourcing, (2) co-creating, (3) imagining, (4) observing, (5) testing, (6) intruding, (7) interpreting, (8) organizing, (9) deciding, and (10) tracking. Fourth, the authors qualify and quantify the managerial importance and potential for scholarly research in these domains of customer insights for innovation. They conducted 12 in-depth interviews with executives at market research agencies such as Ipsos, Kantar, Nielsen, IQVIA, and GfK to do so. They surveyed 305 managers working in innovation, marketing, strategy, and customer experience. The article concludes with a research agenda for marketing aimed at igniting knowledge development in high-priority domains for customer insights for innovation. |
| Keywords: | Customer insights, Innovation, Insight generation, Insight dissemination, Insight application, Market research |
| Date: | 2024–10–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04731671 |
| By: | Santiago Caicedo; Jeremy Pearce |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how the speed-quality tradeoff in innovation interacts with firm dynamics, concentration, and economic growth. Empirically, we document long-run trends in the increasing speed of innovation alongside declining quality at large firms. Leveraging variation from an exogenous policy change, we document the existence of the speed-quality tradeoff both at the firm and aggregate level. We develop an endogenous growth model that incorporates the speed-quality tradeoff and show that allocating less labor towards speed increases growth, particularly in the presence of private benefits to innovation and spillovers from heterogeneous innovations. We quantify the model to link firms’ decisions across speed and quality to aggregate outcomes. Quantitatively, the recent growth slowdown is mainly due to changes in the innovation production function, while the allocation of inventors between speed and quality within firms has a modest impact. When spillovers across firms are taken into account, the effect becomes significantly larger; the shift to speed over the last 30 years explains up to one-quarter of the decrease in growth. |
| Keywords: | innovation; economic growth; slowdown; inventors; firm dynamics |
| JEL: | J63 O30 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–10–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsr:98928 |
| By: | WOOLFORD Jayne (European Commission - JRC); LALANNE Marie (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programming in the 2021-2027 financial period allows for investment in skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship. This research analyses ERDF allocations to skills for S3 across the EU-27, alongside similar investments under the temporary Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) within the context of the European Semester recommendations. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139435 |
| By: | RADOVANOVIC Nikola (European Commission - JRC); STEVANOVIC CARAPINA Hristina |
| Abstract: | The Western Balkan region is in an advanced stage of the Smart Specialisation design process, with several economies deeply involved in its implementation. The commitment of these economies to adopt an EU-style, transformational innovation policy reflects a dedication to evidence-based and bottom-up innovation policymaking. This approach aims to enhance regional competitiveness sustainably. The EU Green Deal and the associated Green Agenda for the Western Balkans represent templates for transformative change that should underpin innovation policies. Strong parallels between this green transition and Smart Specialisation emerge in shared elements such as sustainability, environmental priorities, societal challenges, and digitalisation. This study investigates regional research and innovation capacities for the green transition through the lens of Smart Specialisation in the Western Balkan region. It proposes policy actions to leverage these capacities within both national frameworks and collaborative initiatives. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc136482 |
| By: | Draca, Mirko (London School of Economics); Nathan, Max (University College London); Nguyen-Tien, Viet (London School of Economics); Oliveira-Cunha, Juliana (London School of Economics); Rosso, Anna (University of Milan); Valero, Anna (London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Which types of human capital influence the adoption of advanced technologies? We study the skill-biased adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) across two waves in the UK. Specifically, we compare the 'new wave' of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies during the 2010s - pre-LLM - with the previous wave of personal computer adoption in the 1990s and early 2000s. At the area-level we see the emergence of a distinct STEM-biased adoption effect for the second wave of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies (ML/AI), alongside a general skill-biased effect. A one-standard deviation increase in the baseline share of STEM workers in areas is associated with around 0.3 of a standard deviation higher adoption of cloud and ML/AI. We find similar effects at the firm level where we are able to test for the influence of a wide range of skills. In turn, this STEM-biased adoption pattern has encouraged the concentration of these technologies, leading to more acute differences between high-tech and low-tech areas and firms. In contrast with classical technology diffusion, recent cloud and ML/AI adoption in the UK seems more likely to widen inequalities than reduce them. |
| Keywords: | human capital, ICT, technology diffusion, STEM |
| JEL: | D22 J24 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17329 |
| By: | Jasmine Bacani; Chiara Pelosi; Monique Arkesteijn; Alexandra den Heijer |
| Abstract: | The escalating significance of knowledge exchange in diverse industries is owed to its potential to enhance business performance. Although numerous theoretical frameworks have been applied to understand and measure knowledge exchange within and between firms, a notable gap remains in measuring inter-organisational knowledge exchange among horizontally-linked firms in the same sector. This research endeavours to fill this gap by proposing a comprehensive survey grounded in theory and practice for assessing knowledge exchange among 14 universities in the Netherlands. Drawing from inputs from campus managers and established theory-based evaluation methods, four key elements were identified: organizational context, enablers and disablers, processes, and outcome expectations. This synthesis aims to offer insights into how knowledge exchange dynamics can be gauged between firms. By gaining insights into the intricacies of inter-organisational knowledge exchange through the survey developed in this study, organisations would be able to adopt more informed strategies, fostering collaborative environments and ultimately optimising the efficiency of knowledge exchange processes between organisations in the same sector. |
| Keywords: | Inter-organisation; Knowledge Exchange; Measurement; universities |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2024–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2024-163 |
| By: | Lise Clain-Chamosset-Yvrard (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Xavier Raurich (Facultat d'Economia i Empresa [Barcelona] - UB - Universitat de Barcelona); Thomas Seegmuller (AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship, growth and total factor productivity are larger when asset prices are high and decline during financial crises. We explain these facts using a growth model with financial bubbles in which individuals have heterogeneous wages and returns on productive investment. Heterogeneity separates individuals between savers and entrepreneurs. Savers buy financial assets, which are deposits or a financial bubble. Entrepreneurs incur in a start-up cost and borrow to invest in productive capital. The bubble provides liquidities to credit-constrained entrepreneurs. These liquidities increase investment, growth and entrepreneurship. Finally, the bubble may increase productivity when the return of each entrepreneur's investment is positively correlated with her previous income. |
| Keywords: | Bubble, Entrepreneurship, Growth, Productivity |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04718292 |
| By: | Draca, Mirko (University of Warwick, CAGE Research Centre and CEP); Nathan, Max (University College London, CEP); Nguyen-Tien, Viet (CEP, IGC, London School of Economics); Oliveira-Cunha, Juliana (CEP, University College London); Rosso, Anna (CEP, University of Insubria); Valero, Anna (CEP, POID, London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Which types of human capital influence the adoption of advanced technologies? We study the skill-biased adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) across two waves in the UK. Specifically, we compare the ‘new wave’ of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies during the 2010s - pre-LLM - with the previous wave of personal computer adoption in the 1990s and early 2000s. At the area-level we see the emergence of a distinct STEM-biased adoption effect for the second wave of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies (ML/AI), alongside a general skill-biased effect. A one-standard deviation increase in the baseline share of STEM workers in areas is associated with around 0.3 of a standard deviation higher adoption of cloud and ML/AI. We find similar effects at the firm level where we are able to test for the influence of a wide range of skills. In turn, this STEM-biased adoption pattern has encouraged the concentration of these technologies, leading to more acute differences between high-tech and low-tech areas and firms. In contrast with classical technology diffusion, recent cloud and ML/AI adoption in the UK seems more likely to widen inequalities than reduce them. |
| Keywords: | Technology Diffusion, ICT, Human Capital, STEM JEL Classification: D22, J24, O33, R11 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:726 |
| By: | Abdelghani Koura (USMS - Université Sultan Moulay Slimane); Abdeslam Boudhar (ENCG Beni Mellal - LAREMO - USMS - Université Sultan Moulay Slimane, USMS - Université Sultan Moulay Slimane); Mohamed Oudgou (LAREMO, USMS - Université Sultan Moulay Slimane) |
| Abstract: | SMEs are characterized by a number of flaws that threaten their survival and counteract them from reaching high levels of growth and development. Access to finance is the primary problem facing these companies in the Moroccan context. Aware of the effective and potential impacts of SMEs on the country as a whole, the Moroccan Government through a variety of actors has mobilized its efforts in a number of ways to support this population of companies. This study assesses the extent to which actors within the Moroccan SMEs' financing ecosystem align to support these companies and develop their ability to access external financing. Using the MACTOR model, based on an in-depth contextual analysis and expert interviews, our findings suggest that Morocco's SMEs' financing ecosystem is skewed, with high levels of convergence between its components. |
| Keywords: | SME financing public policy policy convergence MACTOR analysis guarantee schemes subsidies and direct aids incubation, SME financing, public policy, policy convergence, MACTOR analysis, guarantee schemes, subsidies and direct aids, Incubation, Moroccan SMEs, Policy Analysis |
| Date: | 2024–09–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04719058 |
| By: | Samuel Muehlemann |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in production processes on workplace training practices, using firm-level data from the BIBB establishment panel on training and competence development (2019-2021). The findings reveal that AI adoption reduces the provision of continuing training for incumbent workers while increasing the share of high-skilled new hires and decreasing medium-skilled hires, thereby contributing to skill polarization. However, AI adoption also increases the number of apprenticeship contracts, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), underscoring the ongoing importance of apprenticeships in preparing future workers with the skills needed to apply AI in production. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence, Technological Change, Automation, Apprenticeship Training, Human Capital |
| JEL: | J23 J24 M53 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0232 |
| By: | Jonathan J Adams (Department of Economics, University of Florida); Min Fang (Department of Economics, University of Florida); Zheng Liu (FRB San Francisco); Yajie Wang (Department of Economics, University of Missouri) |
| Abstract: | We document key stylized facts about the time-series trends and cross-sectional distributions of AI pricing and study its implications for firm performance, both on average and conditional on monetary policy shocks. We use the universe of online job posting data from Lightcast to measure the adoption of AI pricing. We infer that a firm is adopting AI pricing if it posts a job opening that requires AI-related skills and contains the keyword ``pricing''. At the aggregate level, the share of AI-pricing jobs in all pricing jobs has increased by more than tenfold since 2010. The increase in AI-pricing jobs has been broad-based, spreading to more industries than other types of AI jobs. At the firm level, larger and more productive firms are more likely to adopt AI pricing. Moreover, firms that adopted AI pricing experienced faster growth in sales, employment, assets, and markups, and their stock returns are also more sensitive to high-frequency monetary policy surprises than non-adopters. We show that these empirical observations can be rationalized by a simple model where a monopolist firm with incomplete information about the demand function invests in AI pricing to acquire information. |
| JEL: | D40 E31 E52 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ufl:wpaper:001015 |
| By: | Andres, Pia |
| Abstract: | Low cost solar energy is key to enabling the transition away from fossil fuels. Despite this, the European Union followed the United States’ example in imposing anti-dumping tariffs on solar panel imports from China in 2013, arguing that Chinese panels were unfairly subsidised and harmed its domestic industry. This paper examines the effects of Chinese import competition on firm-level innovation in solar photovoltaic technology by European firms using a sample of 10, 137 firms in 15 EU countries over the period 1999–2020. I show that firms which were exposed to higher import competition innovated more if they had a relatively small existing stock of innovation, but less if their historical knowledge stock fell within the top 10th percentile of firms in the sample. This suggests that newer firms were more able to respond to increased competition by innovating, while firms with a large historical stock of innovation may have been locked into old technological paradigms. As firms with a smaller knowledge stock tended to innovate more overall, trade with China appears to have been beneficial in encouraging innovation among the most innovative firms. However, I also find evidence that import competition increased the probability of exit among firms in the sample. |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2024–10–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125801 |
| By: | WOOLFORD Jayne (European Commission - JRC); ESPARZA MASANA Ricard |
| Abstract: | Higher education (HE) is increasingly recognised as a driver of innovation and an actor of change in territorial transformation. Three EU initiatives specifically support the contribution of HE to territorial development and transformative innovation and were analysed to determine the extent of their impact. The impact of the initiatives and projects funded is highly heterogeneous, reflecting distinct territorial, institutional, policy and sectoral contexts across the EU, as well as varying institutional capabilities. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc139228 |
| By: | Dorgyles C.M. Kouakou (Univ Rennes, CNRS, CREM – UMR6211, F-35000 Rennes France) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature on the effects of informal firms on the operations of registered firms at three levels. First, we provide the first global evidence on the causal effect of competition from informal firms – referred to as informal competition – on the credit constraints faced by registered firms. Using a large firm-level dataset from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, covering 145 countries and over 141, 000 observations, and employing the instrumental variable method to address the endogeneity of informal competition, we find that registered firms competing against informal firms are significantly more likely to be credit-constrained than those that do not. This result holds after controlling for economic development, financial development, economic conditions, and the institutional environment across different countries, regardless of firm size and sector, and it remains robust across a variety of robustness tests. Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean indicates that the effect of informal competition is stronger in these regions than in the rest of the world. Second, we show that the impact of informal competition diminishes with higher financial development and firm productivity. Third, we demonstrate that self-financing capacity, capacity utilization, and informal payments are key channels through which informal competition exacerbates credit constraints for registered firms. |
| Keywords: | nformal competition; Formal-informal linkages; Credit constraints; Productivity; Financial development; Transmission channels |
| JEL: | D24 G20 O12 O16 O17 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:2024-10 |
| By: | COMPANO Ramon (European Commission - JRC); TESTA Giuseppina; FAKO Peter (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This report compares and contrasts the characteristics of unicorns to those of start-up companies in general in Europe, with a particular focus on the influence on the trajectory of these companies of location, industry, and the reputation of venture capitalists investing in them. The analysis is based on a sample of 16, 004 start-up companies headquartered in Europe. Our results shows that unicorns mostly emerge in a limited number of countries and metropolitan areas. They primarily operate in high-technology sectors and tend to attract venture capitalists with established and reputable backgrounds. In contrast, the geographical incidence of lower valued startup companies is less concentrated though still predominantly located in major entrepreneurial hubs. These start-ups are often funded by local VC funds and many of them receive government support. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc132791 |
| By: | Yeboah, Abraham; Asuamah Yeboah, Samuel; Mogre, Diana |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of Corporate Citizenship (CC) on sustainable purchase intentions, with a focus on the fast fashion industry. The research explores how CC initiatives, brand confidence, loyalty, and green innovation performance (GIP) influence consumer behaviour toward sustainability. The findings reveal that CC positively affects consumer trust, leading to higher brand confidence and loyalty, which, in turn, drive sustainable purchase intentions. Additionally, green innovation is a key mediator in enhancing brand performance and consumer loyalty. However, the study identifies a gap in empirical research regarding the serial mediation effects of brand confidence and brand loyalty, highlighting the need for further investigation. Policy implications suggest that governments and regulatory bodies should incentivise businesses to adopt robust CC initiatives, promoting transparency and sustainable practices. The study concludes by offering directions for future research, including cross-industry analyses, the role of social media in CC communication, and the long-term effects of CC on brand loyalty. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable business, green innovation, sustainable purchase intentions, serial mediation, systematic review |
| JEL: | M14 M31 O33 |
| Date: | 2024–06–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:122394 |
| By: | Ju Hyun PYUN (Korea University Business School) |
| Abstract: | This study empirically examines the effect of services offshoring and regional amenities on the composition of skilled employment for services firms. Analysing Korean firm-level data spanning from 2006 to 2019, we find that services offshoring, characterised by the import of services intermediate inputs, correlates with an increase in the proportion of skilled workers within firms. Additionally, the effects of this shift are nuanced based on different skill levels: services offshoring leads to an increase in the share of permanent headquarters workers to total workers. However, it does not affect the share of high-end skilled workers, such as headquarters’ share of management and research and development (R&D) workers. Moreover, regional amenities promote the positive effect of services offshoring on permanent headquarters workers’ shares. Lastly, the positive effect of offshoring on demand for highend skilled workers in headquarters is significantly greater for firms with higher R&D intensity. |
| Keywords: | Services firms; Entry; Productivity; Korean firm-level data; Regional amenities;Industry heterogeneity |
| JEL: | F10 F14 L80 |
| Date: | 2024–05–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:era:wpaper:dp-2024-01 |
| By: | Giulia Iannone (Gran Sasso Science Institute); Andrea Ascani (Gran Sasso Science Institute); Alessandra Faggian (Gran Sasso Science Institute); Alexandra Tsvetkova (OECD Trento Centre for Local Development) |
| Abstract: | There is an increasing need for today’s economies to be both productive and resilient, but the interplay between these two fundamental factors for economic growth has been neglected in the literature. This paper aims at filling this gap by adopting an evolutionary framework for the joint study of productivity and resilience and proposes a regional taxonomy based on characteristics of the industrial structure. Data on European regions at the NUTS2 level are used first to classify regions as productive and/or resilient and then to analyze how certain regional features, in particular related and unrelated variety, relate to a combined measure of productivity and resilience. Results show that the spatial distribution of productive and resilient regions follows a core– periphery pattern and that related and unrelated variety have significant but heterogeneous effects on regions’ economic performance. |
| Keywords: | productivity, regional resilience, industrial structure, relatedness |
| JEL: | B52 O4 R1 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahy:wpaper:wp44 |
| By: | Haris Zuan; Muhammad Faliq Abd Razak; Intan Murnira Ramli (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA)) |
| Date: | 2024–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:era:wpaper:pb-2024-03 |
| By: | Lena Abou El-Komboz; Thomas A. Fackler; Moritz Goldbeck; Thomas Fackler |
| Abstract: | Software engineering is prototypical of knowledge work in the digital economy and exhibits strong geographic concentration, with Silicon Valley as the epitome of a tech cluster. We investigate productivity effects of knowledge worker agglomeration. To overcome existing measurement challenges, we track individual contributions in software engineering projects between 2015 and 2021 on GitHub, the by far largest online code repository platform. Our findings demonstrate individual productivity increases by 2.8 percent with a ten percent increase in cluster size, the share of the software engineering community in a technology field located in the same city. Instrumental variable and dynamic estimation results suggest these productivity effects are causal. Productivity gains from cluster size growth are strongest for clusters hosting between 0.67 and 13.5% of a community. We observe a disproportionate activity increase in high-quality, large, and leisure projects and for co-located teams. Overall, software engineers benefit from productivity spillovers due to physical proximity to a large number of peers in their field. |
| Keywords: | high-skilled labor, geography, innovation, peer effects, collaboration |
| JEL: | D62 J24 O33 O36 R32 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11277 |
| By: | Jérémie Bertrand (IÉSEG School Of Management [Puteaux]); Paul-Olivier Klein (Laboratoire de Recherche Magellan - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Lyon); Fotios Pasiouras (Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School) |
| Abstract: | High secrecy cultures are characterized by a preference for confidentiality and non-disclosure of information. This study documents the impact of cultural differences in secrecy on firms' access to credit. We use data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys for a large sample of firms operating in 35 countries from 2010 to 2019. We show that firms operating in countries with higher levels of secrecy are less likely to apply for credit when they need it—they are more discouraged—and also less likely to receive credit when they do apply—they are more rationed. The underlying economic channels are greater opacity and corruption in cultures with high secrecy. The effect of cultural secrecy on credit discouragement and credit rationing is moderated by trust in banks, interpersonal trust, and firms' financial dependence on external sources. We control for several potential alternative drivers and conduct several robustness tests. The results confirm that firms have better access to credit in cultures that promote transparency and information disclosure. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04691594 |
| By: | Finocchiaro, Daria (Research Department, Central Bank of Sweden); Weil, Philippe (Université libre de Bruxelles and CEPR) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the growth-finance nexus in an endogenous growth model with search frictions and congestion effects in credit and innovation markets. The interplay between these two frictions generates a nonlinear relationship between finance and growth. Financial development eases the financing of innovation but can exacerbate bottlenecks in R&D. In a calibration close to the U.S. economy, finance has a negative impact on growth. This effect is quantitatively small– consistent with the observation that, in the last century, most developed economies have experienced an expansion of the financial sector and almost constant growth rates of GDP. |
| Keywords: | Growth; Finance; Search frictions; Technology; Innovation |
| JEL: | E51 G24 O40 |
| Date: | 2024–10–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0442 |
| By: | Marcin Borsuk (Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences, University of Oxford); Nicolas Eugster (UQ [All campuses : Brisbane, Dutton Park Gatton, Herston, St Lucia and other locations] - The University of Queensland); Paul-Olivier Klein (Laboratoire de Recherche Magellan - UJML - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3 - Université de Lyon - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises (IAE) - Lyon); Oskar Kowalewski (Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences, LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IÉSEG School Of Management [Puteaux]) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the relationship between family firms and carbon emissions using a large cross-country dataset of 6600 non-financial firms over the period 2010–2019. We find that family firms emit less carbon than non-family firms, especially after the Paris Agreement. Several factors contribute to this outcome, including governance structure, the degree of family control, R&D spending, and the issuance of green patents. Our study also shows that despite lower carbon emissions, family firms have lower environmental scores, primarily due to their reduced public commitment to emission reduction. Both environmental scores and carbon emissions increase when non-family CEOs are appointed and when family ownership decreases, indicating that agency conflicts may influence these outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Carbon emission, ESG Governance, Family firms, Greenwashing, Climate change |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04710120 |
| By: | MORIKAWA Masayuki |
| Abstract: | With the rapid diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI), its effects on economic growth and the labor market have attracted the attention of researchers. However, the lack of statistical data on the use of AI has restricted empirical research. Based on original surveys, this study provides an overview of the use of AI and other automation technologies in Japan, the characteristics of firms and workers who use AI, and their views on the impact of AI. According to the results, first, the number of firms using AI is increasing rapidly and firms with a larger share of highly educated workers have a greater tendency to use AI. Robot-using firms are also increasing, but the relationship between their use and workers’ education is weakly negative, suggesting that the impact on the labor market is different for each technology. Second, AI-using firms have higher productivity, wages, and medium-term growth expectations. Third, AI-using firms expect that while it will increase productivity and wages, it may decrease their employment. Fourth, at the worker level, more-educated workers are more likely to use AI, suggesting that AI and education are complementary. Currently, AI may favor high-skill workers in the labor market. Fifth, workers who use AI evaluate their work productivity to have increased by approximately 20% on average, suggesting that AI could potentially have a fairly large productivity enhancing effect. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:24074 |