|
on Economics of Strategic Management |
|
Issue of 2011‒10‒15
thirty-one papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | Menkhoff, Thomas; Evers, Hans-Dieter |
| Abstract: | Based on two case studies of knowledge clusters (off shore marine/rig business and water hub) in Singapore, the paper illustrates the importance of good knowledge governance in creating robust and value-creating knowledge clusters. We begin by defining key terms used such as knowledge clusters, hubs and governance, followed by a short historical account of good knowledge governance for Singapore’s development. The two cases studies of knowledge clusters presented here include (i) the offshore oil rig business (Keppel) which we posit as an example of innovative value creation based on sophisticated fabrication methods and R&D as well as (ii) the island republic’s dynamic and rapidly emerging, global hydrohub called ‘WaterHub’. We examine the structural characteristics of both clusters, assess their progress based on the cluster lifecycle literature, highlight key governance enablers required to create and sustain such competitive hubs and draw conclusions for K4D latecomers. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge governance; knowledge clusters; science policy; maritime industry; Singapore |
| JEL: | D8 G3 A14 |
| Date: | 2011–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33979&r=cse |
| By: | Carraresi, Laura; Mamaqi, Xhevrie; Albisu, Luis Miguel; Banterle, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | In the context of progressive rise of the competition among firms, due to the increasing globalisation, it is interesting to understand the potential sources of competitive advantage in order to set up a successful strategy. The theory of Resource-based View used in this framework examines the connection among internal resources and strategic choices, and how the latter affect firm performance. The firm strategy is determined by available resources and capabilities which are deployed to obtain a good performance. Therefore, strategic choices act in between resources and performance. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the relationship between strategic choices and performance achieved by food SMEs, based on a set of distinctive resources. This approach is assessed in food SMEs located in Italy, by applying a Structural Equation Model. The results of the empirical analysis showed that, in the food sector, strategic choices based on innovation, product positioning, and chain relationship development have positive effects on performance, but only if distinctive resources and capabilities are considered. Innovation plays a capital role because of its direct as well as indirect effects. |
| Keywords: | resource-based view, strategic choices, SMEs, food sector, structural equation modelL11, L25, L66, Q13, Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114318&r=cse |
| By: | Evers, Hans-Dieter |
| Abstract: | Regional science policy aims at the creation of productive knowledge clusters, which are central places within an epistemic landscape of knowledge production and dissemination, K-clusters are said to have the organisational capability to drive innovations and create new industries. The following paper will look at Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam and their path towards a Knowledge-based economy. All governments have used cluster formation as one of their development strategies. Some evidence on the current state of knowledge cluster formation is provided. If the formation of a knowledge cluster has been the government policy, what has been the result? Is there an epistemic landscape of knowledge clusters? Has the main knowledge cluster really materialised? Data collected from websites, directories, government publications and expert interviews have enabled us to construct the epistemic landscape of Peninsular Malaysia and the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Several knowledge clusters of a high density of knowledge producing institutions and their knowledge workers have been identified and described. An analysis of the knowledge output, measured in terms of scientific publications, patents and trademarks show that knowledge clusters have, indeed, been productive as predicted by cluster theory, though the internal working of clusters require further explanation. |
| Keywords: | Science policy; knowledge and development; knowledge-based economy; knowledge clusters; knowledge corridors; Malaysia; Vietnam |
| JEL: | J38 R58 O1 G38 D83 D8 D78 E61 O3 A14 |
| Date: | 2011–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33978&r=cse |
| By: | García-Quevedo, José; Mas-Verdú, Francisco; Montolio, Daniel |
| Abstract: | Knowledge intensive services (KIS) and, in particular, R&D services contribute significantly to innovation in firms. The objective of this paper is to find out which characteristics of firms explain the acquisition of R&D services and to analyse whether there are differences depending on the typology of the supplier universities, technology centres and consulting firms). Three main conclusions emerge from the econometric estimations. Firstly, the results show that size and age matter in the decision to buy R&D services, but these characteristics of firms do not have any particular influence in the decision to choose a specific supplier. Secondly, our results are consistent with the relevance that the literature gives to human capital in absorbing external knowledge. The variables used to control for human skills have a positive effect on the decision to buy R&D services. On the contrary, the estimates of other variables that capture internal knowledge base suggest that there is a substitution process between internal R&D activities and acquiring R&D services. Thirdly, innovation policy has a significant influence on the decision to acquire R&D services. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge intensive services; R&D services; universities; technology centres; consulting firms; innovation policy |
| Date: | 2011–10–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ing:wpaper:201108&r=cse |
| By: | Argentino Pessoa (CEF.UP, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto) |
| Abstract: | The literature on clustering has highlighted several advantages of industrial agglomerations. Persons and firms benefit from the production and innovation activities of neighbouring companies in the same and related industries. Considering such benefits, Michael Porter states that clustering is an important way for firms fulfilling their competitive advantages and for rising regional and national competitiveness. This justification has increasingly driven regional policy towards the cluster promotion. However, the cluster-support policy is in the middle of a controversy, since the traditional optimal-policy perspective recommends providing a subsidy to firms of clusters generating externalities, while Porter’s prescriptions recommend not choosing among clusters. So, we state that cluster policy is involved in a paradox: policy makers use the competitiveness rhetoric inspired in the competitive advantages of Porter but, in practice, they go on using the industrial targeting that was also criticized b Porter. This paper deals with this paradox presenting a model, which proves that despite the extensive amount of externalities is the traditional comparative advantage approach that must guide policy. This finding is congruent with the Porter’s policy prescriptions and has clear implications in regional policy. |
| Keywords: | clusters, dynamic and static externalities, knowledge spillovers, regional economic development, spatial agglomeration |
| JEL: | L1 O3 R1 R3 R12 R15 C67 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:431&r=cse |
| By: | Triulzi, Giorgio; Scholz, Ramon; Pyka, Andreas |
| Abstract: | In the last two decades, University-Industry Relationships have played an outstanding role in shaping innovation activities in Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals. Despite the growing importance and the considerable scope of these relationships, there still is an intensive and open debate on their short and long term effects on the research system in life sciences. So far, the extensive literature on this topic has not been able to provide a widely accepted answer. This work introduces a new way to analyse University-Industry Relationships (UIRs) which makes use of an agent-based simulation model. With the help of simulation experiments and the comparison of different scenario results, new insights on the effects of these relationships on the innovativeness of the research system can be gained. In particular, focusing on knowledge interactions among heterogeneous actors, we show that: (i) universities tend to shift from a basic to an applied research orientation as a consequence of relationships with industry, (ii) universities' innovative capabilities benefit from industry financial resources but not so much from cognitive resources of the companies, (iii) biotech companies' innovative capabilities largely benefit from the knowledge interaction with universities and (iv) adequate policies in terms of public basic research funding can contrast the negative effects of UIRs on university research orientation. -- |
| Keywords: | University-Industry Relationships,Knowledge Dynamics,University Patenting,Technology Transfer,Agent-Based Modelling |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fziddp:332011&r=cse |
| By: | Ozgen, Ceren (VU University Amsterdam); Nijkamp, Peter (VU University Amsterdam); Poot, Jacques (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | Due to the growth in international migration in recent decades, the workforce of firms in host countries has become considerably more diverse, both demographically and culturally. It is an important question for firms and for governments to ask whether there are some productivity-enhancing externalities gained from this growing diversity within firms. In recent years migration research has demonstrated positive economic impacts of cultural diversity on productivity and innovation at the regional level. However, there is a dearth of research on the links between innovation and migrant diversity at the firm level. In this paper we construct and analyse a unique linked employer-employee micro-dataset of 4582 firms, based on survey and administrative data obtained from Statistics Netherlands. Excluding firms in the hospitality industry and other industries that employ low-skilled migrants, we use the local number of restaurants with foreign cuisines and the historical presence of migrant communities as valid instruments of endogenous migrant settlement. We find that firms in which foreigners account for a relatively large share of employment are somewhat less innovative. However, there is strong evidence that firms that employ a more diverse foreign workforce are more innovative, particularly in terms of product innovations. |
| Keywords: | immigration, innovation, cultural diversity, knowledge spillovers, linked employer-employee data, Netherlands |
| JEL: | F22 O31 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6000&r=cse |
| By: | José Ernesto Amoros; Christian Felzensztein; Eli Gimmon |
| Abstract: | Governmental policies tend to support and boost entrepreneurship in peripheral regions in many countries. This research revives the debate about specific regional policies designed to foster local new business creation, and the entrepreneurial framework conditions needed at the regional level for emerging regions such as Latin America. We applied one of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s methodologies, the National Experts Survey, to a sample of 695 key informants in Chile at eight regions of which six are classified as peripheral. Using nonparametric statistics we compared the differences between peripheral and core regions. The main results indicate that peripherally located entrepreneurship experts perceive their regions as in a worse position than centrally located experts in terms of finance access and physical infrastructure. On the other hand, the results indicate that peripheral entrepreneurship experts detect more market dynamism in their regions and surprisingly perceive general policy and government programs as supporting entrepreneurship although the Chilean government had not promoted many regional policies. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship framework conditions, Regional policy, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Chile, Entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | L26 O18 R58 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gem:wpaper:1106&r=cse |
| By: | Jakub Growiec; Fabio Pammolli; Massimo Riccaboni |
| Abstract: | We provide a detailed analysis of a model of innovation and corporate dynamics that encompasses the Gibrat’s Law of Proportionate Effect and the Simon growth process as particular instances. The predictions of the model are derived in terms of (i) firm size distribution, (ii) the distribution of firm growth rates, and (iii-iv) the relationships between firm size and the mean and variance of firm growth rates. We test the model against data from the worldwide pharmaceutical industry and find its predictions to be in good agreement with empirical evidence on all four dimensions. |
| Keywords: | Business firm size; firm growth distribution; Gibrat's Law; Pareto distribution; lognormal distribution, size-variance relationship. |
| JEL: | C49 L11 L25 L65 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trt:disawp:2011/08&r=cse |
| By: | E. Santarelli; H. T. Tran |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the relationship between the performance of incumbent firms and the net entry of new firms by combining different theoretical views of entrepreneurship. It shows that new knowledge and ideas created but not commercialized by incumbents are an important source of entrepreneurial opportunities for nascent firms. Different regression models to treat dynamics and endogeneity issues are applied to test the research hypothesis that growth of incumbent firms in a region will stimulate start-up activities by creating new profit opportunities for potential entrepreneurs. Vietnam’s regional micro-data from 2000 to 2008 are used for this test. Four controlling indicators – entrepreneurial demand, market structure, regional economic environment, and market innovativeness – are found to exert a statistically significant effect on new entries. |
| JEL: | L25 L26 O53 R12 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp785&r=cse |
| By: | Maria Inês Veloso Ferreira (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto); Aurora A.C. Teixeira (CEF.UP, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto; INESC Porto; OBEGEF) |
| Abstract: | Export Promotion Agencies (EPAs) have been in operation in developed countries since the beginning of the 20th century to improve the competitiveness of firms by increasing knowledge and competences applied to export market development. Some studies exists on the influence of organizational characteristics on EPAs’ performance, but, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have yet been conducted that analyze, detail and explain which of the EPAs’ organizational characteristics are associated to their differing levels of success. In the present paper we compare a laggard (Portuguese) and a highly efficient (Irish) EPA in terms of export promotion. A questionnaire was applied to the employees of the two EPAs who deal directly with firms in terms of exports promotion. Using the non-parametric test of Kruskal Wallis and factor analysis we found that there are clear differences between the agencies regarding organizational dimensions. In particular, Agência para o Investimento e Comércio Externo de Portugal (AICEP) emerges as an organization without any clear component of intentionality, being more concerned with internal matters rather than with actions directed at the market. In contrast, Enterprise Ireland (EI)’s philosophy is more market-oriented and taking the clients’ needs into consideration is a priority. |
| Keywords: | Export Promotion Agencies; Organizational Performance; Portugal; Ireland |
| JEL: | F13 D02 D23 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:424&r=cse |
| By: | Jan Fagerberg (Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo); Morten Fosaas (Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo); Koson Sapprasert (Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo) |
| Abstract: | New types of knowledge, and new ways of organising the production of it, may emerge as knowledge producers respond to the challenges posed by a changing society. This paper focuses on the core knowledge of one such emerging field, namely, innovation studies. To explore the knowledge base of the field, a database of references in scholarly surveys of various aspects of innovation, published in “handbooks”, is assembled and a new methodology for analysing the knowledge base of a field with the help of such data is developed. The paper identifies the core contributions to the literature in this area, the most central scholars and important research environments, and analyses - with the help of citations in scholarly journals - how the core literature is used by researchers in different scientific disciplines and cross-disciplinary fields. Based on this information a cluster analysis is used to draw inferences about the structure of the knowledge base on innovation. Finally, the changing character of the field over time is analysed, and possible challenges for its continuing development are discussed. The paper updates and extends the analysis on an earlier working paper in this series (Fagerberg and Sapprasert 2010). |
| Keywords: | Innovation studies, science studies, specialisms, bibliometrics |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20111003&r=cse |
| By: | Jean Bonnet, University of Caen Basse-Normandie - CREM-CNRS; Nicolas Le Pape, University of Caen Basse-Normandie - CREM-CNRS; Teresa Nelson, Simmons College School of Management - Boston |
| Abstract: | Essential performance outcomes of the new firm, including survival and growth, are related to financial and operational factors of the firm. We present a model that shows that firm financing via debt has some influence on types of market outreach, survival, and also growth of new firms in France. Using a robust, longitudinal dataset of the population of firms throughout the country established, continuing, and closing over the period of 2002 to 2007 (available through the French government via the SINE Survey: Système d’informations sur les nouvelles entreprises), we show that for a given indebtedness of the new firm, the entrepreneurial behavior generally improves the survival and the growth of new ventures. |
| Keywords: | High growth new firms, Aggressiveness, Indebtedness, Model, Performance. |
| JEL: | L2 C3 C41 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201117&r=cse |
| By: | Michael Greenstone |
| Abstract: | Not Available |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mee:wpaper:1110&r=cse |
| By: | José Ernesto Amoros; Niels Bosma; Jonathan Levie |
| Abstract: | In its first ten years, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) has had three main aims: to measure differences in the level of entrepreneurial activity between countries, to uncover factors determining national levels of entrepreneurial activity and to identify policies that would stimulate entrepreneurship. This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical contributions by the GEM consortium ten years after the presentation of its first Global Report in 1999. The evolution of GEM measures of entrepreneurship is tracked, and the quantity and quality of peer-reviewed scholarship based on GEM data and models are assessed. Prospects and recommendations for the future are noted, as GEM continues to expand and scholars outside the consortium increasingly employ GEM data in their work. |
| Keywords: | Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Entrepreneurial Activity, Economic Development |
| JEL: | J24 L26 O11 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gem:wpaper:1105&r=cse |
| By: | Hans Landström (CIRCLE, Lund University, Sweden); Gouya Harirchi (Department of Innovation and Organizational Economics, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark); Fredrik Åström (Lund University Libraries, Lund University, Sweden) |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship research has a long tradition and since the 1980s the field has grown significantly. In this study we identify the ‘knowledge producers’ who have shaped the field over time and their core entrepreneurship research works. A unique database consisting of all references in twelve entrepreneurship ‘handbooks’ (or stateof- the-art books) has been developed. The chapters in these handbooks were written by experts within the field, and it can be assumed that the most frequently cited references represent ‘core knowledge’ with relevance to entrepreneurship research. From our analysis, it appears that entrepreneurship is a rather changeable field of research, closely linked to disciplines such as ‘management studies’ and ‘economics’. Over time, the field has become more formalized with its own core knowledge, research specialities and an increasing number of ‘insider works’. However, it is still based on some fairly old theoretical frameworks imported from mainstream disciplines, although during the last decade we have seen the emergence of a number of new field-specific concepts and theories. We argue that to successfully develop entrepreneurship research in the future, we need to relate new research opportunities to earlier knowledge within the field, which calls for a stronger ‘knowledge-based’ focus. We would also like to see greater integration between the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation studies in the future. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, research field, handbooks, bibliometric analysis |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20111005&r=cse |
| By: | Josean Garrués Irurzun (Universidad de Granada. Department of Economic Theory and Economic History); Juan Antonio Rubio Mondéjar (Universidad de Granada. Department of Economic Theory and Economic History) |
| Abstract: | Trade flows, mobility of productive factors, development of the transport system and a common export base have been the criteria used when analyzing the processes of economic organization of the territory from a historical perspective. The purpose of this paper is to add a new explanatory variable, based on business relationships. To this end, social network tools have been applied to the promotors of corporations that were domiciled in Andalusia (a region in the south of Spain) between 1886 and 1959. The indicators obtained show that the Andalusian entrepreneurial space had advanced to regional economic integration |
| Keywords: | regional studies, entrepreneurship, social network, Business History |
| JEL: | R12 L14 D85 N94 |
| Date: | 2011–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gra:fegper:04/11&r=cse |
| By: | Natalia Ortiz-de-Mandojana (Universidad de Granada. Department of Business); Javier Aguilera-Caracuel (Universidad de Granada. Department of Business); José Manuel de la Torre-Ruíz (Universidad de Granada. Department of Business); Vera Ferrón-Vílchez (Universidad de Granada. Department of Business) |
| Abstract: | Environmental regulatory uncertainty has attracted extraordinary attention among scholars, managers, policy-makers and other members of society. Despite this increasing attention, the impact of environmental regulatory uncertainty on the environmental approaches of firms is difficult to estimate in the business context. Considering that environmental regulations are not the only mechanism enabling firms to develop proactive environmental management practices, we show that the national institutional profile delineates a firm’s environmental progress. Specifically, we argue that the national level of innovation is an essential institutional condition that can encourage firms to develop advanced environmental approaches and even overcoming the effect of environmental regulatory uncertainty on corporate environmental performance. Using a sample of 1,912 firms from 19 countries, we developed different scenarios that combine the effects of environmental regulatory uncertainty and the national level of innovation. Knowledge of these different situations illustrates how managers cope with environmental regulatory uncertainty. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Regulatory Uncertainty; National Level of Innovation; Corporate Environmental Performance |
| JEL: | M1 |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gra:fegper:05/11&r=cse |
| By: | Francesco Bogliacino (European Commission, Joint Research Center - Institute for Perspective Technological Studies, Sevilla & Centro de Estudios Para America Latina y el Caribe-Universidad EAFIT, Rise Group); Mariacristina Piva (Università Cattolica, Milano and Piacenza); Marco Vivarelli (Università Cattolica, Milano and Piacenza & SPRU-University of Sussex & IZA, Bonn) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to test the employment effect of business R&D expenditures, using a unique longitudinal database covering 677 European manufacturing and service firms over the period 1990-2008. Main result from the whole sample dynamic LSDVC (Least Squared Dummy Variable Corrected) estimate is the labour-friendly nature of companies’ R&D, the coefficient of which turns out to be statistically significant, although not very large in magnitude. However, the positive and significant job creation effect of R&D expenditures is detectable in services and high-tech manufacturing but absent in the more traditional manufacturing sectors. This means that we should not expect positive employment effects from increasing R&D in the majority of industrial sectors. This evidence should be kept in mind by European innovation policy makers having employment as one of their specific aims. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, employment, manufacturing, services, LSDVC |
| JEL: | O33 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2011/9/doc2011-20&r=cse |
| By: | Albert Banal-Estañol (Universitat Pompeu Fabra & City University); Inés Macho-Stadler (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona); David Pérez-Castrillo (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | We study collaborative and non-collaborative projects that are supported by government grants. First, we propose a theoretical framework to analyze optimal decisions in these projects. Second, we test our hypotheses with a unique dataset containing academic publications and research funds for all the academics at the major engineering departments in the UK. We find that the type of the project (measured by its level of appliedness) is increasing in the type of both the university and firm partners. Also, the quality of the project (number and impact of the publications) increases with the quality of the researcher and firm, and with the affinity in the partners’ preferences. The collaboration with firms increases the quality of the project only when the firms’ characteristics make them valuable partners. |
| Keywords: | industry-science links, research collaborations, basic versus applied research |
| JEL: | O32 I23 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2011/9/doc2011-23&r=cse |
| By: | Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) |
| Abstract: | Border control agencies, including customs authorities, face major challenges balancing a country's need for controls with the benefits of facilitating cross-border traffic in people and goods. To better manage the growing volume of travelers and trade, a significant number of leading customs administrations has adopted risk management as the guiding principle for border management. Systematically implementing risk management at strategic, operational, and tactical levels ensures that customs administrations best deploy resources to protect their citizens from threats to health, safety, and security, while simultaneously supporting economic growth by maintaining efficient and predictable cross-border transit times. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure & Transport, Integration & Trade :: Trade Agreements, Integration & Trade :: Trade Facilitation, air cargo, rail cargo, Supply Chain Analysis, risk management, infrastructure and transportation, customs administrations |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:42338&r=cse |
| By: | Schmidt-Ehmcke, Jens; Zloczysti, Petra |
| Abstract: | This paper identifies the leading country-industry combinations that define the world technology frontier in manufacturing. Using a unique industry dataset compiled from EU KLEMS and PATSTAT, it explores which countries and industries reveal the most efficient innovation processes. We combine a traditional nonparametric frontier approach with super-efficiency and tests for return to scale properties using bootstrap procedures to derive consistent and robust efficiency estimates. Our analysis of 17 OECD countries and 13 industries between 2000 and 2004 shows that Germany, the United States, and Denmark have the highest R&D efficiency on average in total manufacturing. However, sector-specific efficiency scores reveal substantial variation across countries. The principal industries determining the technology frontier are electrical and optical equipment, machinery, and chemical and mineral products. Our results suggest that in case of limited resources, priority should be given to the industries that promise the largest output for the available amount of investment. Instead of generally increasing the R&D-to-GDP ratio--as suggested in the Lisbon Agenda--policymakers might target future R&D efforts to those industries that are economically important and reveal excellent performance. |
| Keywords: | data envelopment analysis; manufacturing; patents; R&D efficiency; technology frontier |
| JEL: | C14 L60 O31 O57 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8579&r=cse |
| By: | Pree Thiengburanathum (College of Art Media and Technology - University of Chiang Mai); Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu (LET - Laboratoire d'économie des transports - CNRS : UMR5593 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'Etat); Yacine Ouzrout (LIESP - Laboratoire d'Informatique pour l'Entreprise et les Systèmes de Production - INSA - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Université Lumière - Lyon II : EA4125 - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon); Nopasit Chakpitak (College of Art Media and Technology - University of Chiang Mai); Abdelaziz Bouras (LIESP - Laboratoire d'Informatique pour l'Entreprise et les Systèmes de Production - INSA - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Université Lumière - Lyon II : EA4125 - Université Claude Bernard - Lyon I - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon) |
| Abstract: | In logistics, freight transportation is a major source of income in a country's economy. One of the most popular strategies is logistics sharing, which is a complex problem due to the involved stakeholders. Moreover, the current several transport operations are extremely expensive due to the empty return. For these reasons, a decision support system is needed to enhance or predict the system optimum and the best strategies of each stakeholder in the context of logistics sharing schemas. In this paper, we will discuss how a Knowledge Management System methodology can be developed for a real case study from the project between Northern Thailand and Southern China which will be used in our study. In parallel, we will show how we model the agent from the analysed data in order to use in our Multi-Agent Simulation in the next phase. The agents will be defined such as transport agents, intermediate agents and customers, among others. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge Management, Customer Relationship Management, Multi Agent Simulation and Modelling, Greater Mekong Subregion's North-South Economics Corridor |
| Date: | 2010–12–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00628948&r=cse |
| By: | Nuno Boavida (IET, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia) |
| Abstract: | This working paper is based on the development of the Thesis Plan presented for the Units Project II and Project III at the 1st Winter School of PhD programme on Technology Assessment at FCT/UNL. It focuses the methodology analysis and includes empirical information elements, in order to understand how composite indicators of innovation can influence technology policy decisions. In order to test the hypotheses raised in the Thesis Plan, two separate phases were designed. On the first part, the work tests hypotheses 1 and partially 2, identifying the quality, depth and limitations of three famous complex indicator-based systems, namely the Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard, the European Innovation Scoreboard 2008 and Innovation Union Scoreboard 2010. On the second phase, the remaining hypotheses are tested adding media databases analysis, which will provide complementary information to a set of interviews to policy makers, in order to understand the role of the composite indicators on technology decisions. |
| Keywords: | composite indicators, innovation, technology policy decisions, European Innovation Scoreboard, Innovation Union Scoreboard |
| JEL: | C82 E61 O31 |
| Date: | 2011–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieu:wpaper:34&r=cse |
| By: | Kümpel, Arndt |
| Abstract: | The paper sketches the current ecological and economic context of sustainable regional development with focus on the imperative for change to a post carbon economy, the need for innovation within the learning system of public administration and policy challenges for securing system viability. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable regional development; innovation; state capacity |
| JEL: | O38 O43 B52 |
| Date: | 2011–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33966&r=cse |
| By: | Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) |
| Abstract: | Interoperability among government agencies at national borders, also known as coordinated border management (CBM), is a fundamental component of a nation's modernized customs and border control strategy. It comprises the streamlining of parallel processes and technologies enabling different government agencies to effectively work together on border issues. By 4 implementing CBM strategies at both the domestic and international levels, countries can reduce internal costs and inefficiencies, improve security, and increase their ability to facilitate trade and generate revenue at the border. |
| Keywords: | Integration & Trade :: Trade Agreements, Integration & Trade :: Trade Facilitation, trade faciliation, border management, best practices |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:42238&r=cse |
| By: | Ben Martin (SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research, The Freeman Centre, University of Sussex); Paul Nightingale (SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research, The Freeman Centre, University of Sussex); Alfredo Yegros-Yegros (INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), Universitat Politècnica de València) |
| Abstract: | Science and Technology Studies (STS) is one of a number of new research fields to emerge over the last four or five decades. This paper attempts to identify its core academic contributions using the references that are most cited by the authors of chapters in a number of authoritative ‘handbooks’. The study then analyses the impact of these contributions by exploring the research fields, journals, and geographical location of the researchers that have cited these core contributions in their own work. Together, these two analyses reveal the various phases in the development of STS and the various aspects of convergence and divergence of the field as the quantitative studies of science and technology gradually separated from the main body of STS. The paper ends with some conclusions about the evolution of STS such as the role of ‘institution builders’ in developing new research fields and the structures required to hold them together. |
| Keywords: | science studies, STS, knowledge base, handbooks, core contributions |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20111004&r=cse |
| By: | Julia-Igual, Juan; Garcia-Martinez, Gabriel; Melia-Marti, Elena |
| Abstract: | The rationale for this paper is the problem relating to the growth of agricultural cooperatives in Spain in recent years in comparison to increasingly concentrated food distribution, which captures most of the value added. This paper analyses the evolution and status of other countries within Europe where the need for business consolidation has been successfully addressed. For this purpose, there have been identified 7 cases to be studied: Kerry group, Irish Dairy Board, Arla Foods, The Greenery BV, Danish Crown, Agrifirm and DLG. The specific results of interviews with the senior management of this cooperatives were analyzed and organized into four blocks in which the issues raised are grouped (legal and institutional framework, strategic vision, business growth models and market standing). A number of specific aims are also pursued: ï· Identify the main barriers and problems faced by this type of cooperatives. ï· Show the strategies developed by leading cooperatives in their sector within the current comparative context. ï· Become familiar with the different growth models these cooperatives use to achieve and maintain their market standing. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114453&r=cse |
| By: | Henning, Christian H.C.A.; Henningsen, Geraldine; Henningsen, Arne |
| Abstract: | Based on the well-known fact that social networks can provide effective mechanisms that help to increase the trust level between two trade partners, we apply a simple game-theoretical framework to derive transaction costs as a high risk of opportunistic behavior in a repeated trade relation determined by the density and size of trading networks. In the empirical part of the paper we apply a two stage procedure to estimate the impact of social network structures on farmâs transaction costs observed for different input and output markets. At a first stage we estimate a multiple input-multiple output stochastic Ray production function to generate relative shadow prices of three inputs and two outputs traded by farms. At a second stage a structural equation system is derived from the first order conditions of farmâs profit maximization to estimate simultaneously the of commodity specific transaction cost functions for all traded farm inputs and outputs. Estimation results based on a sample of 315 Polish farms imply a significant influence of social network structures on farmâs transaction costs. Moreover, estimated transaction costs correspond to a reasonable amount of farm specific shadow prices. |
| Keywords: | Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae11:114549&r=cse |
| By: | Linda Nierling (Institute of Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis-ITAS, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology); Bettina Krings (Institute of Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis-ITAS, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Starting from theoretical perspectives on globalisation, the following article analyses how current working conditions are affected by globalisation processes. For this purpose, recent developments in the German clothing sector are traced back to the power of economic globalisation processes. Characterising the German clothing sector as pioneer in economic globalisation, we use empirical findings to illustrate how current processes of globalisation influence the work place: At organisational level, corporate strategies aim at rationalisation, standardisation and flexibilisation of work in order to response to the economic pressure of global markets. At individual level these strategies, in turn, speed up working processes and intensify working processes for the employees. Although these developments form strong trends, we conclude that the local embeddedness of companies is still of high importance with regard to organisational and individual consequences of globalisation. |
| Keywords: | globalisation, working conditions, clothing sector, Germany, corporate strategies |
| JEL: | J81 L67 |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieu:wpaper:29&r=cse |
| By: | Ahmad Zaini, Afzan; Endut, Intan Rohani; Takim, Roshana |
| Abstract: | Abstract — The construction industry is still plagued by poor quality, poor workmanship, poor safety and health environment, and poor practices. The current main problem in the Malaysian Construction Industry is delayed projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. The idea of introducing formal risk assessment among Malaysian contractors during the project planning stage is a proactive approach to achieve project objectives. Therefore, this research intends to achieve the following objectives: (1) to investigate the contractors’ approaches of risk assessment techniques at the project planning stage, (2) to investigate the consequences of risk assessment techniques at the project planning stage, and (3) to determine the appropriate risk assessment techniques in dealing with the potential risk factors at the project planning stage. The research methodology applied for this research includes literature reviews and questionnaires. Findings from this research show that the application of risk assessment techniques in the Malaysian Construction Industry is still moderate. Hence, it is suggested that these contractors should try to implement formal risk assessment techniques during the project planning stage in order to achieve the project objectives. |
| Keywords: | Keywords - Risk; Risk Assessment; Contractors; Project Planning Stage; Construction Industry |
| JEL: | G3 L7 |
| Date: | 2011–09–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33880&r=cse |