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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2009‒03‒07
seventeen papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | N. NGOC THANG; D. BUYENS |
| Abstract: | Although there has been growing studies of the effects of training on firm performance, research attention has been limited to the contextual conditional that moderate the training- firm performance relationship. In this study, we used a contingency approach to examines the relationship between training, organizational strategy and firm performance. Results of regression from The Vietnam Employer survey 2007 show that quality and flexibility strategies moderated the training - firm sales and productivity relationship. However, we found no significant of the moderating effects of cost strategy on the training- firm performance relationship. |
| Keywords: | training; organizational strategy; firm performance |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:08/541&r=cse |
| By: | Aneesh Zutshi (IET, FCT-Universidade Nova de Lisboa) |
| Abstract: | Today all kinds of innovations and research work is done by partnerships of competent entities each having some specialized skills. Like the development of the global economy, global innovation partnerships have grown considerably and form the basis of most of the sophisticated innovations today. To further streamline and simplify such cooperation, several innovation networks have been formed, both at local and global levels. This paper discusses the different types of innovations and how cooperation can benefit innovation in terms of pooling of resources and sharing of risks. One example of an open global co-innovation network promoted by Tata Consultancy Services, the TCS COIN is taken as a case. It enables venture capitalists, consultants, research agencies, companies and universities form nodes of the network so that each entity can play a meaningful role in the innovation network. Further, two innovation projects implemented using the COIN are discussed. Innovation Networks like these could form the basis of a unique global innovation network, which is not owned by any company and is used by innovation partners globally to collaborate and conduct research and development. |
| Keywords: | innovation partnerships; co-innovation network |
| JEL: | D85 L14 L22 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieu:wpaper:10&r=cse |
| By: | André van Stel; Mickey Folkeringa; Sierdjan Koster |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of start-up rates on a measure of competition among incumbent firms called mobility. Interactions between new and incumbent firms play an important role in the process of economic growth. While recent literature suggests that competition among incumbent firms is caused by (lagged) start-up rates, this relation has not yet been tested using a direct measure of competition among incumbent firms. In the present paper we estimate a regression model, at the region-sector level for the Netherlands, where the mobility rate is explained by (lagged) startup rates and control variables. Using data for 40 regions and five sectors over the period 1993-2006 we find that the impact of start-ups on mobility varies by sector. In particular, we find a strong positive relation between start-up rates and mobility rates for industry sectors (manufacturing and construction) but a much smaller effect for services sectors. These results suggest there are differences in the types of entry between sectors and in the roles start-ups play in different sectors. |
| Date: | 2009–03–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h200905&r=cse |
| By: | Nagore Iriberri; Pedro Rey-Biel |
| Abstract: | We compare behavior in modified dictator games with and without role uncertainty. Costly surplus creating actions are most frequent with role uncertainty while selfish behavior is most frequent without role uncertainty. A classification of subjects into four different types of preferences (Selfish, Social Welfare maximizing, Inequity Averse and Competitive) shows that role uncertainty overestimates (underestimates) the prevalence of Social Welfare maximizing (Selfish and Inequity Averse) preferences in the subject population. Our results have important methodological implications for experiments used to measure the prevalence of interdependent preferences. |
| Keywords: | Role uncertainty, role reversal, interdependent preferences, social welfare, maximizing, inequity aversion, mixture-of-types models, strategy method, experiments, LeeX |
| JEL: | C72 C91 D81 |
| Date: | 2008–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1147&r=cse |
| By: | Margarida R. Paulos (IET, FCT-Universidade Nova de Lisboa); António B. Moniz (IET, FCT-Universidade Nova de Lisboa) |
| Abstract: | With the emergence of a global division of labour, the internationalisation of markets and cultures, the growing power of supranational organisations and the spread of new information technologies to every field of life, it starts to appear a different kind of society, different from the industrial society, and called by many as ‘the knowledge-based economy’, emphasizing the importance of information and knowledge in many areas of work and organisation of societies. Despite the common trends of evolution, these transformations do not necessarily produce a convergence of national and regional social and economic structures, but a diversity of realities emerging from the relations between economic and political context on one hand and the companies and their strategies on the other. In this sense, which future can we expect to the knowledge economy? How can we measure it and why is it important? This paper will present some results from the European project WORKS – Work organisation and restructuring in the knowledge society (6th Framework Programme), focusing the future visions and possible future trends in different countries, sectors and industries, given empirical evidences of the case studies applied in several European countries, underling the importance of foresight exercises to design policies, prevent uncontrolled risks and anticipate alternatives, leading to different ‘knowledge economies’ and not to the ‘knowledge economy’. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge-based economy; Future trends; Work |
| JEL: | J24 O14 O33 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieu:wpaper:11&r=cse |
| By: | Miguel Lebre de Freitas (Universidade de Aveiro, NIPE, GEE); Susana Salvado (FEUNL, GEE) |
| Abstract: | Following Hidalgo et. al., (2007), we use the structure of international trade in 2005 to estimate a measure of “revealed relatedness” for each pair of products, which intends to capture similarities in terms of the capabilities they use in production. Our method departs from the original since we run a PROBIT model, instead of computing conditional probabilities. In particular, we estimate “Revealed Relatedness Indexes” (RRI), defined as the increment in the probability of a country having revealed comparative advantage (RCA) in one product given that the same country has RCA in another product. Contrary to Hidalgo et. al., (2007), our measure of product relatedness is subject to a statistical scrutiny and can be either positive or negative. We find that a large number of RRIs (83.9%) are not statistically significant and that most significant relations (97.6%) have a positive sign. For some products in which Portugal currently has RCA, we build measures assessing how related they are to products with higher “income content”. We then investigate the extent to which “upscale” products in which Portugal didn’t develop RCA are related to the set of products in which the country already has developed RCA. These measures are used to characterize the Portuguese specialization pattern, on a comparative basis. |
| Keywords: | International trade, Structural Transformation, Industry Heterogeneity, The Portuguese Economy |
| JEL: | C14 F14 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mde:wpaper:0010&r=cse |
| By: | Nils-Henrik M. Von Der Fehr; Petter Vegard Hansen |
| Abstract: | We analyse retailer and household behaviour on the Norwegian electricity market, based on detailed information on prices and other market characteristics. We find that there exists a competitive market segment where a number of retailers compete fiercely for customers, with small margins on all products. However, we also find evidence of monopolistic behaviour, whereby retailers exploit the passivity of some of their customers. We discuss explanations for these results, as well as means to improve market performance. |
| Keywords: | electricity markets, retailing, supply, competition |
| Date: | 2009–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2009/04&r=cse |
| By: | Martin, Ludivine |
| Abstract: | Our empirical study aims at identifying the drivers of the implementation of an e-business strategy by firms located in Luxembourg. The setting up of such a strategy is apprehended through the website and the type of strategy through the functionalities available on the Internet. Thus we distinguish an information-oriented strategy from a commercially oriented one. Probit analyses and models derived from count data models are conducted on a dataset of website investments by about 1100 firms located in Luxembourg. Our results show that the sale of online fashionable products like tourism, the ownership of a well-known brand and the follow-up of rivals' behaviours are highly significant determinants of the adoption and development of an e-business strategy. Financial, human and technological resources seem to favour the adoption of such a strategy but have no significant influence on the choice of the strategy pursued. Moreover the use of technologies that make the business process more flexible, public actions that diffuse best practices concerning technologies adoption and being the leader on the market are specific drivers of the deployment of an e-business strategy. Finally, an intense perceived competition negatively influences the decision to invest heavily in e-commerce. |
| Keywords: | e-business strategies; website adoption and investment; right truncated Poisson regression |
| JEL: | L21 O33 L86 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13645&r=cse |
| By: | N. NGOC THANG; N. VAN THU; D. BUYENS |
| Abstract: | This study uses data from the Vietnam Employer survey to measure the impact of training programs on firm performance. From the survey of 196 companies, the major findings indicate that companies that implemented training in 2006 have increased sales and productivity of both manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies in 2006. However, manufacturing companies that implemented training programs after 2005 lead to an increase of 9 percent in total sales and 9.1 percent in productivity per year between 2005 and 2006 but has no statistically significant effect on 2005-2006 percent change in sales and productivity of non-manufacturing companies if these companies provided training after 2005 |
| Keywords: | Training; sales; productivity; firm performance. |
| Date: | 2008–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:08/538&r=cse |
| By: | Kitov, Ivan |
| Abstract: | Significant differences in the evolution of firm size distribution for various industries in the United States have been revealed and documented. For theoretical considerations, this finding puts major constraints on the modelling of firm growth. For practical purposes, the observed differences create a solid basis for selective investment strategies. |
| Keywords: | firm size distribution; Pareto distribution; the USA; evolution; investment |
| JEL: | L11 L17 G10 |
| Date: | 2009–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13721&r=cse |
| By: | Simone Valente (CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research at ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | We study a two-phase endogenous growth model in which the adoption of a backstop technology (e.g. solar) yields a sustained supply of essential energy inputs previously obtained from exhaustible resources (e.g. oil). Growth is knowledge-driven and the optimal timing of technology switching is determined by welfare maximization. The optimal path exhibits discrete jumps in endogenous variables: technology switching implies sudden reductions in consumption and output, an increase in the growth rate, and instantaneous adjustments in saving rates. Due to the positive growth e¤ect, it is optimal to implement the new technology when its current consumption bene.ts are substantially lower than those generated by old technologies. |
| Keywords: | Backstop technology, Discrete jumps, Endogenous growth, Exhaustible resources, Optimal Control |
| JEL: | O33 Q32 Q43 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:09-104&r=cse |
| By: | Thede, Susanna (Department of Economics, Lund University); Lindvert, Markus (Swedish Institute for Growth Policy Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically examines the foreign internalisation decision of multinational corporations. The purpose of the paper is to identify determinants of the firm boundary, where within-boundary production takes the form of foreign direct investments (FDI) and outside-boundary production takes place through international outsourcing, with reference to recently developed general-equilibrium trade theories incorporating firm behaviour. The empirical investigation is performed for 2246 multinationals production engagements in 148 foreign countries under the 1997 to 2006 period. The primary contribution of the paper is the investigation of firm behaviour per se instead of industry level implications of firm behaviour. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Direct Investment; International Outsourcing; Firm-level Evidence |
| JEL: | F10 F23 L23 |
| Date: | 2009–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2009_002&r=cse |
| By: | Mara Nogueira (Cedeplar-UFMG); Marco Crocco (Cedeplar-UFMG); Ana Tereza Lanna Figueiredo (Cedeplar-UFMG e PUC-MG) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to investigate in what extent there is a differentiated regional bank strategy in the economy of Minas Gerais. Based on the post-Keynesian theory of regional liquidity preference (DOW, 1993), the article analyses the consolidate balance sheet of bank’s branches in 351 cities of Minas Gerais divided in five different groups. Through the analyses of some of the indicators that has been built using the balance sheet, the paper concludes that there are evidences that supports the statement that the state’s Bank System works in a different way over the space. This behavior reinforces the uneven regional patterns of development in its economy. |
| Keywords: | Bank’s Strategy, Regional Economy, Banks |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td345&r=cse |
| By: | Anna Stepanova |
| Abstract: | In a two-stage R&D game of process innovation, we investigate the effect of exogenously changing R&D spillovers and market concentration on the equilibrium level of effective cost reduction, total output, profits and social welfare. Interpreting spillover as a measure of patent protection, we find that weaker patent protection results in less R&D. We also show that firms prefer weaker patent protection, but social welfare is maximized for higher levels of patent protection. In terms of market concentration we show that firm profits decrease with increasing numbers of firms. Social welfare is typically maximized under oligopoly with the optimal number of firms depending on the level of spillover and efficiency of R&D investment. |
| Keywords: | oligopoly; R&D; competition; spillover process; cost reduction; market concentration |
| JEL: | C72 L13 O31 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ukc:ukcedp:0901&r=cse |
| By: | Mara Nogueira (Cedeplar-UFMG); Ana Tereza Lanna Figueiredo (Cedeplar-UFMG e PUC-MG); Marco Crocco (Cedeplar-UFMG) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to investigate in what extent there is a differentiated regional bank strategy. Based on the post-Keynesian theory of regional liquidity preference (DOW, 1993), the article analyses the consolidate balance sheet of bank’s branches in 27 Brazilian states. Through the analyses of some of the indicators that has been built using the balance sheet, the paper concludes that there are evidences that supports the statement that the state’s Bank System works in a different way over the space. This behavior reinforces the uneven regional patterns of development in its economy. |
| Keywords: | Bank’s Strategy, Regional Economy, Banks |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td344&r=cse |
| By: | Jan Bena |
| Abstract: | Using a dynamic model of a step-by-step innovation race between financially constrained firms, I study how financial constraints affect innovation activity. The novel theoretical results derive from an analysis of the interaction between the incentive effect of competition on innovation and the effect competition has on the degree of credit rationing. I find that the negative effect of financial constraints on firm- and aggregate-level R&D investment is most pronounced at both high and low levels of competition. These predictions are supported by empirical evidence: The competition-innovation relationship has an inverted-U shape in less financially developed systems relative to the benchmark pattern observed in countries with highly developed financial systems. Innovation-enhancing policies implemented through competition reforms ought to be complemented by promoting financial development. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, R&D, Competition, Financial constraints, Credit rationing. |
| JEL: | G15 G31 L13 O31 |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp377&r=cse |
| By: | Heng, Stefan |
| Abstract: | More and more companies are using RFID radio chip technology to boost their competitiveness. Yet RFID not only enhances the efficiency of the company deploying it. It also promotes innovativeness in the economy as a whole. Nevertheless, not every RFID project driven by a technological vision will necessarily become a commercial success for the user. In any event, though, RFID will enable producers to tap sizeable potential. Considering the host of potential application areas – particularly in production, the distributive trade and the transport industry – RFID turnover is likely to increase. With the shift in market shares for individual RFID components and the exodus of production of less sophisticated products from the high-wage countries, Asia is poised to become the continent with the highest turnover. |
| Keywords: | RFID; technology; transportation; logistics |
| JEL: | P33 L81 O33 O14 |
| Date: | 2009–02–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13646&r=cse |