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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2011‒04‒02
twelve papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | D. Engel; T. Mitze; R. Patuelli; J. Reinkowski |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we evaluate the R&D enhancing effects of two large public grant schemes aiming at encouraging the performance of firms organized in clusters. These are Germany's well known BioRegio and BioProfile contests for which we compare the research performance of winning regions in contrast with non-winning and non-participating comparison regions. We apply Difference-in-Difference estimation techniques in a generalized linear model framework, which allows to control for different initial regional conditions in the biotechnology related R&D activity. Our econometric findings support the view that winners generally outperform non-winning participants during the treatment period, thus indicating that exclusive funding as well as the stimulating effect of being a “winner" seems to work in the short-term. In contrast, no indirect impacts stemming from a potential mobilizing effect of the contest approaches have been detected. Also, we find only limited evidence for long-term effects of public R&D grants in the post-treatment period. The results of our analysis remain stable if we additionally augment the model to account for the particular role of spatial dependence in the R&D outcome variables. |
| JEL: | O38 R38 C23 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp744&r=cse |
| By: | Moncada-Paternò-Castello, Pietro (European Commission); Vivarelli, Marco (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Voigt, Peter (European Commission) |
| Abstract: | The globalization of R&D activities has continued its growth path as companies are increasingly trying to capture knowledge and market opportunities internationally. The rapid evolution of national economies and the ways to conduct knowledge-intensive businesses has led researchers and analysts to pursue a deeper understanding of the globalization of corporate R&D and the related driving factors and impacts. This introduction to the Special Section: "Globalization and Corporate R&D" forthcoming in Industrial and Corporate Change (vol. 20 (2), April 2011) provides an update of trends in the globalization of corporate R&D. It reviews the literature on the main drivers and impacts of the process under investigation, introduces the papers for this Special Section, and offers some concluding remarks. |
| Keywords: | globalization, R&D, outsourcing, FDI |
| JEL: | F23 O32 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5582&r=cse |
| By: | Karlsson, Charlie (Jönköping International Business School); Picard, Robert (Jönköping International Business School) |
| Abstract: | Large media clusters have emerged in a limited number of large cities, characterizing the geographical concentration of the global media industry. This paper explores the reasons behind the localization patterns of media industries, the effect of the rapid advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on media clusters and the role of media cluster policies. One might draw the conclusion that with the developments of the ICT sector and the fact that there are no raw materials or physical goods that should be transported in the media industry; media firms could locate anywhere and the urban regions would no longer host any clusters of media firms. Various reasons are provided as to why strong tendencies of media firms to cluster in large cities should still be expected and why media clusters differ from other clusters. The paper concludes that it is the type and form of interaction and transactions that matter and new communication technologies are mainly compliments to the still essential face-to-face interaction in the media industry. Policy makers have promoted agglomeration in both large and small cities since they have recognized that some media industries are encouraging economic growth and employment creation. Approaches to cluster governance and motivations for cluster policies are highlighted in the paper. Furthermore, different topics of future research challenges connected to media clusters are presented. |
| Keywords: | Clustering; media industry; media cluster policies; creative industry; Information and Communication Technology; Weightless Economy; regional development; agglomeration |
| JEL: | R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2011–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0246&r=cse |
| By: | Giulio Cainelli (Università di Padova); Mario Maggioni (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Erika Uberti (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Annunziata De Felice (Università degli Studi di Bari) |
| Abstract: | Increased specialization and extensive collaboration are common behaviours in the scientific community, as well as the evaluation of scientific research based on bibliometric indicators. This paper aims to analyse the effect of collaboration (co-authorship) on the scientific output of Italian economists. We use Social Network Analysis to investigate the structure of co-authorship, and econometric methodologies to explain the productivity of individual Italian economists, in terms of "attributional" variables (such as age, gender, academic position, tenure, scientific sub-discipline, geographical location, etc.), "relational" variables (such as propensity to cooperate and the stability of cooperation patterns) and "positional" variables (such as betweenness and closeness centrality indexes and clustering coefficients). |
| Keywords: | co-authorship, scientific productivity, Italian economists, social network analysis. |
| JEL: | I23 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pad:wpaper:0125&r=cse |
| By: | Raassens, N. (Tilburg University) |
| Abstract: | Outsourcing is a fast-growing phenomenon. Despite the increasing interest in outsourcing, the consequences of this strategy remain unclear. While existing academic studies have provided valuable insights into the drivers of the outsourcing decision, this dissertation focuses on the performance implications of outsourcing and examines conditions under which outsourcing may be a successful strategy. The first essay concerns the impact of outsourcing customer support on the financial performance of the firm. It is argued that the performance implications of outsourcing customer support are dependent upon the type of customer support that is being outsourced, the institutional context surrounding the outsourcing relationship, and the mechanisms used to govern the outsourcing agreement. The second essay examines the financial performance implications of outsourcing new product development (NPD). It theorizes and tests the effectiveness of minority equity participation and prior tie selection under different levels of external and internal uncertainty, i.e. technological uncertainty and cultural distance, respectively. The third essay studies the effect of outsourcing manufacturing on firm innovation. It is argued that the relationship between outsourcing and innovation is contingent upon demand volatility, R&D intensity, and marketing intensity. Collectively, the three essays in this dissertation advance current knowledge on outsourcing by showing that the inconsistent findings regarding the effects of outsourcing on firm performance are a systematic and predictable set of contingent effects. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:tilbur:urn:nbn:nl:ui:12-4578465&r=cse |
| By: | Braunerhjelm, Pontus (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Halldin, Torbjörn (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Pedersen, Torben (Copenhagen Business School); Pajarinen, Mika (The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy); Ylä-Anttila, Pekka (The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy); Heum, Per (Institute for Research in Economics and Business Administration (SNF)); Kalvet, Tarmo (Tallinn University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role of the 30 largest firms in the respective Nordic country and in Estonia over the last decade and for some variables between 1975 to 2006. The analysis confirms that the largest firms play a critically important role for industrial dynamics in the Nordic countries. Statistics are presented with regard to e.g. ownership, the distribution of employment between home country and foreign units, internationalization, R&D, the share of overall employment and value-added, and the dynamics over time. Both firms in the manufacturing and the service sectors are included. Even though large firms differ in terms of size and industry distribution, they do still play a dominant in all Nordic countries, albeit somewhat diminished over the investigated time period. From a policy point of view it seems of vital concern for the Nordic countries to retain their increasingly foot-loose and globally oriented large firms. |
| Keywords: | Large firms; internationalization and industrial dynamics |
| JEL: | F23 L20 O30 |
| Date: | 2011–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0244&r=cse |
| By: | Stefan Krabel (Internationales Zentrum für Hochschulforschung (INCHER)); Choni Flöther (Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre: Fachgebiet Allg. Wirtschaftspolitik) |
| Abstract: | In this study we trace university graduates’ labor mobility when entering the labor market after graduation. We examine to what extent such mobility is determined by regional factors of the university region, personal characteristics of graduates as well as their field of study. Our analysis is based on a large-scale dataset of labor market mobility of individuals who graduated from 36 German universities in 2007. Our results suggest that graduates are less likely to leave metropolises and that regional labor markets influence mobility. Further, field of study and individual willingness to be mobile, as indicated by prior mobility from school to university and mobility during the studies, impact mobility when entering the labor market. These results indicate that both regional and individual factors influence graduate mobility. Moreover, by applying a two-stage model approach we find that mobility is mediated by the probability to find regular employment. |
| Keywords: | Regional Mobility, Regional Characteristics, University, Graduates, Employment, Labor Markets |
| JEL: | J62 J64 R11 I21 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201110&r=cse |
| By: | Cozzi, Guido; Galli, Silvia |
| Abstract: | To foster innovation and growth should basic research be publicly or privately funded? This paper studies the impact of the gradual shift in the U.S. patent system towards the patentability and commercialization of the basic R&D undertaken by universities. We see this movement as making universities becoming responsive to "market" forces. Prior to 1980, universities undertook research using an exogenous stock of researchers that were motivated by "curiosity." After 1980, universities patent their research and behave as private firms. This move, in a context of two-stage inventions (basic and applied research) has an a priori ambiguous effect on innovation and welfare. We build a Schumpeterian model and match it to the data to assess this important turning point. |
| Keywords: | R&D and Growth; Sequential Innovation; Basic Research; Patent Laws. |
| JEL: | O41 O34 O31 |
| Date: | 2011–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:29710&r=cse |
| By: | Elias Soukiazis (Faculdade de Economia Universidade de Coimbra / GEMF); Micaela Antunes (Faculdade de Economia Universidade de Coimbra) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to explain growth performance in Portugal in the last decades through a multi-equation system with cumulative growth characteristics. The model uses a demand-orientated approach to determine the main relationships which explain growth through a virtuous cycle. The idea is to identify the driving forces of growth with causal linkages and feedback tendencies that turn the process self-sustained. The multi-equation growth model is estimated by 3SLS to capture more efficiently the interrelations between the main growth forces and to control for the endogeneity of the regressors. Our evidence shows that the proposed model can successfully be used to explain the Portuguese growth performance, highlighting the importance of exports competitiveness as the key factor in this process. The cumulative growth process can be interrupted at some points mainly due to the incapacity of transferring productivity gains into domestic prices and to turn the economy more competitive. Capital accumulation is also shown not to affect productivity growth and domestic prices not to improve exports competitiveness. These are the main drawbacks of the Portuguese economy that could explain the failure to achieve higher growth rates in the last decades. |
| Keywords: | Cumulative growth, multi-equation system, exports competitiveness, productivity gap, 3SLS regressions |
| JEL: | O1 O3 O4 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gmf:wpaper:2011-06&r=cse |
| By: | Jordi Suriñach; Fabio Manca; Rosina Moreno |
| Abstract: | The main aim of the present study is to analyse the drivers of innovation adoption, specifically the identification of the channels through which innovation adoption takes place and the estimation of the main determinants of this adoption process in the Internal Market (IM). In doing so, we follow the idea that public policies play an important role. |
| Date: | 2011–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:euf:ecopap:0438&r=cse |
| By: | Lisa McManus |
| Keywords: | Customer accounting, Management decision making, Field study, Industry characteristics, Organisational characteristics |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gri:apaper:accounting:201101&r=cse |
| By: | Arimoto, Yutaka; Nakajima, Kentaro; Okazaki, Tetsuji |
| Abstract: | We examine two sources of productivity improvement in the specialized industrial clusters of the early twentieth century Japanese silk-reeling industry. Agglomeration improves the productivity of each plant through positive externalities, shifting plant-level productivity distribution to the right. Selection expels less productive plants through competition, truncating distribution on the left. We find no evidence confirming a right shift in the distribution in clusters or that agglomeration promotes faster productivity growth. Rather, the distribution in clusters was severely left truncated, even for younger plants. These findings imply that the plant-selection effect was the source of higher productivity in the Japanese silk-reeling clusters. |
| Keywords: | Economic geography, Heterogenous firms, Industrial clusters, Productivity, R12, O18 |
| JEL: | L10 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2010-11&r=cse |