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on Technology and Industrial Dynamics |
| By: | Mario Pianta; Andrea Vaona |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the differences between small, medium-sized and large firms regarding their performance in the introduction of new products and processes. After a review of the relevant literature, two models are proposed and tested in search for different business strategies and innovation inputs connected to product and process innovations. The empirical analysis uses innovation survey (CIS 2) data at the industry level for 22 manufacturing sectors, broken down in three firm size classes, for eight European countries. Special attention is devoted to tackling the issues of possible endogeneity of the regressors and of unobserved sectoral heterogeneity. The results - strengthening the findings of previous studies - show that product and process innovations, though having some complementarities, are associated to different innovative inputs and strategies pursued by firms. Systematic differences also emerge between the behaviour of large firms and SMEs. |
| Keywords: | Product innovation; Process innovation; Firm size; Determinants of innovation; European industries |
| JEL: | L11 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2006–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1284&r=tid |
| By: | Spyros Arvanitis (Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)); Ursina Kubli (Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)); Martin Woerter (Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)) |
| Abstract: | This study explores the factors determining the propensity of Swiss science institutions at the level of a single institute or department to interact with private enterprises in Switzerland (universities and other research institution), i.e. to get involved in knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) activities in order to provide firms with scientific knowledge in research fields which are relevant for their own innovation activities, collect practical experience for students and university staff as well as test the applicability of new research results. We are especially interested in the different forms of this interaction, not only through joint research projects but also through training, mobility of academic personnel, jointly supervised master theses and PhDs, consulting and so on. Moreover, we also study the determinants of commercialization of university research output that takes the form of patenting, licensing or spin-offs. The data used in this study were collected in the course of a survey among institutes of all three types of science institutions in Switzerland (federal institutions, cantonalal universities and regional universities of applied sciences) using a questionnaire. |
| Keywords: | knowledge and technology transfer |
| JEL: | O30 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:06-132&r=tid |
| By: | Bläsi, Albrecht; Requate, Till |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of learning-by-doing with spillovers in competitive markets with free market entry. Within a two period model, we consider first the case where fixed costs are incurred only once, and entry is once and for all. In the second case fixed costs are incurred in each period, and both market exit after the first period and late entry in the second period is possible. For the first case first best allocations can only be decentralized by subsidizing output in the first period and additionally paying an entry premium. If exit and late entry are possible and if market exit by some firms is socially optimal, the optimal policy scheme requires a nonlinear output subsidy which serves to discriminate between exiting and staying firms. We further investigate the comparative statics effects of the different policy instruments. |
| Keywords: | learning-by-doing, spillovers, regulatory policy |
| JEL: | H23 L11 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cauewp:3195&r=tid |
| By: | Paulo Santos (MIETE, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto); Aurora A.C. Teixeira (CEMPRE, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto); Ana Brochado (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto) |
| Abstract: | Although there is a considerable amount of empirical evidence on inter-firm collaborations within technology-based industries, there are only a few works concerned with R&D cooperation by low-tech firms, especially SMEs. Providing further and new evidence based on a recently built database of CRAFT projects, this study analyzes the relationship between technology and proximity in international R&D networks using Homogeneity Analysis by Means of Alternating Least Squares (HOMALS) and statistical cluster techniques. The resulting typology of international cooperative R&D projects highlights that successful international cooperative R&D projects are both culturally/geographically closer and distant. Moreover, and quite interestingly, geographically distant projects are technologically more advanced whereas those located near each other are essentially low tech. Such evidence is likely to reflect the tacit-codified knowledge debate boosted recently by the ICT “revolution” emphasized by the prophets of the “Death of Distance” and the “End of Geography”. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development (R&D); proximity; SMEs |
| JEL: | O32 R12 R58 |
| Date: | 2006–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:222&r=tid |
| By: | Mario Pianta; Andrea Vaona |
| Abstract: | The labour productivity impact of innovation is investigated in this paper combining neo-Schumpeterian insights on the variety of innovation, with the importance of industrial structures and firm size; two models are proposed for explaining productivity and export success in European manufacturing industries and firm size classes. The empirical estimates are based on data from the European innovation survey (CIS 2), covering Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK, broken down by 22 sectors and for large, medium and small firms. The econometric results, obtained adopting cross-sectional estimation methodologies able to account for unobserved industrial characteristics, show that productivity in Europe relies on product and process innovation, with the support of the efficiency gains provided by a grouped business structures. Conversely, in Italy the introduction of new machinery linked to innovation appears as the key mechanism supporting domestic productivity. When export success is considered, all countries have to rely on an innovation-based model of competitiveness. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, productivity, export performance, industries |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O41 |
| Date: | 2006–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1283&r=tid |