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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2013‒01‒07
37 papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | Nishimura, Junichi; Okamuro, Hiroyuki |
| Abstract: | Industrial clusters have attracted considerable attention worldwide for their expected contribution to regional innovation. Recently, policymakers in various countries have developed specific cluster policies. However, there exist few empirical studies on cluster policies. Focusing on the Industrial Cluster Project (ICP) in Japan initiated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2001, we address two research questions on the support programs of the cluster policies: if the project participants who exploit various support programs are more successful in network formation within the cluster than others, and which kind of support program contributes to firm performance. We pay special attention to the differences between direct R&D support and indirect networking/coordination support. The estimation results, which are based on recent original survey data, suggest that cluster participants who exploit support programs (especially indirect support measures) expand the industry-university-government network after participating in the ICP. Moreover, we find that not every support program contributes to firm performance; firms should therefore select the program that is most aligned with their aims. Indirect support programs have an extensive and strong impact on output whereas direct R&D support has only a weak effect. |
| Keywords: | cluster policy, industrial cluster, R&D support, subsidy, networking |
| JEL: | O25 O38 R11 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:cinwps:22&r=cse |
| By: | Alessandra Perri; Raffaele Oriani; Francesco Rullani |
| Abstract: | Despite the strategic importance of the knowledge outflows from FDI for local firms’ competitiveness, no study has focused on the speed at which this phenomenon takes place. However, this issue is crucial since the speed at which firms absorb external knowledge influences the time they need to carry out subsequent innovations, their ability to adapt to external changes and enter new markets, thus ultimately affecting their chances to achieve a competitive advantage. This paper tries to fill this gap, by investigating the temporal patterns of knowledge outflows between foreign subsidiaries and firms located in host-regions. Combining International Business literature with insights on Innovation Strategy, we provide evidence on the timing of this phenomenon, and discuss the role played by multinational firms’ technology sourcing strategies. |
| JEL: | O33 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:12-09&r=cse |
| By: | Schubert, Torben (CIRCLE, Lund University); Neuhaeusler, Peter (ISI-Fraunhofer, Germany) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we describe a richer framework characterizing the trade-off between exploration and exploitation with respect firm performance. We devise a model that complements the notion of organizational learning as a process of inferential learning from the past with an explicit incorporation of a knowledge/information-related theory. Based on this and an international panel data set of large R&D performing firms, we can show empirically that a firm’s innovation activities affect its growth perspectives and its asset base differently, depending on the degree of exploitation/exploration. We also show that competitors’ R&D has important diverging effects on other firms which again depend on the degree of exploitation/exploration. Finally, we demonstrate the mediating role of environmental risk. We therefore argue that the trade-off between exploration and exploitation has (at least) three constituent dimensions: an internal dimension relating to performance in terms of increasing sales growth and preservation of the asset base, an external competitive dimension, and a contingency dimension relating to environmental factors such as risk. We conclude that the trade-off between exploration and exploitation can only be fully understood, if all three components are taken into account simultaneously. |
| Keywords: | Firm performance; exploration; exploitation; innovation; growth |
| JEL: | M00 |
| Date: | 2012–04–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2012_008&r=cse |
| By: | Wojciech Grabowski; Krzysztof Szczygielski |
| Abstract: | Industry - and firm-level research into both innovations and productivity has long been limited to manufacturing. With this paper, we aim to contribute to the stream of literature that aims at extending the scope of such investigations to the services industry. To this end we analyze the innovation strategies in several service sectors in Poland in 2008 and examine their relationship to productivity. Our results show that service firms differ considerably in their innovation strategies, but that most of those strategies lead to productivity gains. |
| Keywords: | Private sector development, innovation and knowledge-based economy, Europe, strategy of innovation, Poland |
| JEL: | L80 O31 L25 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sec:cnstan:0448&r=cse |
| By: | Gunnar Pippel |
| Abstract: | Innovation is the result of an interactive process. Knowledge-intensive interactions among different partners are associated with a variety of advantages and disadvantages for the actors involved. Therefore, a rich body of literature investigating the impact of R&D collaboration networks on the innovation performance of firms and regions has developed over the last two decades. Those studies come to different results. The aims of this paper are manifold. First, the paper summarizes the results of the relevant literature. Second, a brief overview of the established methods and approaches used in the literature to investigate this research question is given. The third objective is to answer the question whether the achieved results in the literature are predetermined by the employed methods. Finally, relevant gaps for further research are identified. To answer these questions a meta-analysis of the relevant literature is conducted. This study shows that knowledge-intensive interactions have a rather positive impact on the performance of firms and regions. There is also evidence that the employed methods and approaches used in the literature to investigate this research question predetermine the outcome of the research. |
| Keywords: | innovation, collaboration, network, performance, meta-analysis |
| JEL: | O32 O33 R10 R11 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:14-12&r=cse |
| By: | Matthias Duschl (Department of Geography, University Marburg); Tobias Scholl (House of Logistics and Mobility GmbH, University Marburg); Thomas Brenner (Department of Geography, Philipps University Marburg); Dennis Luxen (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology); Falk Raschke (House of Logistics and Mobility GmbH, University Frankfurt) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the industry-specific relationship between industrial clustering and firm growth. Micro-geographically defined agglomeration measures, free of the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP), are used to study 23 industries. The spatial impacts of agglomeration of related economic and knowledge generating activities are examined by using travel time distances, a flexible log-logistic decay function framework and quantile regression techniques. We find that firms’ growth prospects tend to be hampered by the agglomeration of own-industry employment, but improved by proximate scientific activity. Results depend on the kind and age of industry. Furthermore, the optimal decay functions that measure agglomeration effects considerably vary both between the industries and variables. Three illustrative cases of industries are discussed in more details. |
| Keywords: | Firm growth, industrial clusters, agglomeration, MAUP, distance decay function, quantile regression |
| JEL: | C31 D92 L25 R11 |
| Date: | 2012–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2012-06&r=cse |
| By: | Lööf, Hans (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Savin, Maxim (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines differences in R&D productivity across a group of geographically adjacent economies. By distributing close to 355,000 patents across 18 industries in 11 countries, we find clear and systematic country patterns when taking into account differences in industrial structure, institutional arrangements and R&D intensity. This finding supports the argument that innovation systems are important for an industry’s capacity to generate new patentable knowledge. |
| Keywords: | Patent; R&D; Innovation; international comparison; panel data |
| JEL: | L60 O33 O50 |
| Date: | 2012–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0294&r=cse |
| By: | Behera, Smruti Ranjan Behera; Dua, Pami Dua; Goldar, Bishwanath Goldar |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the horizontal and vertical technology spillover effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) across Indian manufacturing industries. On the basis of Pedroni cointegration tests, we find that technology spillovers can be transmitted via all kinds of intermediate factors. We find that the horizontal foreign presence and inter-industry foreign presence have exclusive penetration effect to spur labor productivity and technology spillover across Indian industries. Furthermore, intermediate factors like technology import intensity, inter-industry technology import intensity, R&D intensity and inter-industry R&D intensity promote technology spillover and labor productivity across Indian manufacturing industries. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Direct Investment; Technology Spillover; Manufacturing; Panel Cointegration; Unit Root Tests |
| JEL: | P33 C33 L60 |
| Date: | 2012–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43293&r=cse |
| By: | Vogel , Alexander (Leuphana University Lueneburg); Wagner, Joachim (Leuphana University Lueneburg and CESIS, Stockholm) |
| Abstract: | This study uses newly available representative data from German business services firms and a continuous treatment approach based on the generalized propensity score to test for a causal effect of R&D activities (measured by the share of engineers and natural scientists in all employees) on the share of exports in total sales. We find evidence for a positive and statistically significant but small causal effect. This result is in line with the (non-causal) results reported in Vogel and Wagner (2012) based on regression models with and without control for unobserved time-invariant firm characteristics. The bottom line, then, is that R&D activity does matter for success of German business services firms on export markets – but not much. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; export; business services; Germany |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2012–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0293&r=cse |
| By: | Carlos Carreira (Faculty of Ecobomics University of Coimbra and GEMF); Luís Peres Lopes (Faculty of Ecobomics University of Coimbra and GEMF) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact on firm-level total factor productivity of both agglomeration economies and regional knowledge, using an unbalanced panel of Portuguese manufacturing firms covering the period 1996–2004. Controlling for the endogeneity problem using the Arellano and Bond (1991) difference GMM estimator, we found that both localization and urbanization economies have a significant and positive effect on firms’ TFP, with the latter playing the most important role. Sectoral specialization economies are important for small and medium firms, but not for large firms. However, larger firms profit more from regional knowledge than smaller ones. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration economies, regional knowledge, total factor productivity, small firms. |
| JEL: | R11 R12 R15 O47 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gmf:wpaper:2012-21&r=cse |
| By: | Joachim Wagner (Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This study uses newly available representative data from German business services firms and a continuous treatment approach based on the generalized propensity score to test for a causal effect of R&D activities (measured by the share of engineers and natural scientists in all employees) on the share of exports in total sales. We find evidence for a positive and statistically significant but small causal effect. This result is in line with the (non-causal) results reported in Vogel and Wagner (2012) based on regression models with and without control for unobserved time-invariant firm characteristics. The bottom line, then, is that R&D activity does matter for success of German business services firms on export markets – but not much. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, export, business services, Germany |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:260&r=cse |
| By: | Fors, Gunnar (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Zejan, Mario (Stockholm School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the determinants of overseas R&D by Swedish multinationals. Our empirical results indicate that the location of R&D abroad to a large extent is motivated by the need to adapt products and processes to conditions in the foreign markets where the firms operate. However, we also find that the MNEs tend to locate their R&D in host countries which are relatively specialized technologically in the firms' own areas. This finding may suggest that one additional motive to locating R&D abroad is to gain access to knowledge in foreign "centers of excellence" and benefit from localized spillovers. |
| Keywords: | Overseas R&D; Technology Sourcing; Multinationals |
| JEL: | F23 O32 |
| Date: | 2012–12–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0458&r=cse |
| By: | Alessandra Proto; Lucia Cusmano; Neil MacCallum; Ricardo Pinto; Paolo Rosso |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship and the development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are key drivers of economic growth and job creation. The OECD review series on Boosting Local Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation, of which this study is a part, examines the capacity of local economies to support successful new enterprise creation and the growth of small enterprises and make recommendations on how this capacity can be enhanced through local policies. The reviews entail an assessment of entrepreneurship and SME performance at the local level, the local framework conditions affecting this performance and the policies in place to back entrepreneurship and SME development. The reviews involve a comprehensive examination of conditions and policies including the key domains of skills, financing, business support infrastructure and innovation. In the case of Lombardy, the economically most powerful region of Italy, the review includes a specific assessment of local entrepreneurship policies against the framework of the European Union’s Small Business Act (SBA). The SBA prioritises the role of business-friendly regulations for the creation of new start-ups and the development of existing small enterprises. SMEs and their clusters constitute the backbone of Lombardy economical structure. In such a context and given the impact of the persisting current financial and economic downturn, supporting the development of innovative SME and their networks is a priority for addressing the recovery challenge. |
| Date: | 2012–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2012/20-en&r=cse |
| By: | SUZUKI Shinya; Rene BELDERBOS; KWON Hyeog Ug; FUKAO Kyoji |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of the strength of host countries' university research and university-industry collaboration on the propensity of Japanese multinational firms to conduct research and development (R&D) activities in these countries. We consider heterogeneous effects based on the type of R&D activity: basic research, applied research, and development for local markets and for global markets. Drawing on official survey data on R&D facilities of 498 Japanese multinational firms in 24 host countries, we find support for the notion that the strength of university research increases the probability that firms conduct R&D in a host country. Applied research activities are attracted to countries with relatively intensive university-industry collaboration. Moreover, firms from high-tech industries respond significantly more strongly to the presence of university research than those from low-tech industries. |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:12080&r=cse |
| By: | Anna Golejewska (Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk) |
| Abstract: | The paper relates to factors determining regional competitiveness in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia - the Visegrad Group. The study starts from a comprehensive survey of the literature on regional competitiveness and the potential effects of innovation. The theoretical section is supplemented by empirical one. The aim of the empirical analysis is to investigate the regional diversity of innovativeness and competitiveness in the group of 35 regions (NUTS 2 level) over the period 2001-2008. It is based on one data source: Eurostat Regional Statistics. I applied two classical methods of cluster analysis. The results of non-hierarchical k-means clustering algorithm were compared with the results of hierarchical Ward’s method. The results for the Visegrad Group show faster development of capital regions and diversity of regional competitiveness and innovativeness. According to the results, one can suppose that innovative inputs were transformed in innovative outputs and that innovations had a positive and growing impact on regional competitiveness in the Visegrad Group, however further research is still needed. The major conclusion of the cluster analysis is that the development of regions in the Visegrad Group depends on their nationality – regions cluster within borders. Analysing the results, one should not forget that they are based on selected variables, which are a resultant of –in some measure- random choice and data accessibility. |
| Keywords: | regional competitiveness, regional growth, innovation, cluster analysis, Central and Eastern European Countries |
| JEL: | R11 C38 P25 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gda:wpaper:1203&r=cse |
| By: | Slavo Radosevic; Esin Yoruk |
| Abstract: | This research investigates the mutual and diverging factors for successful and less successful innovations in software and manufacturing of machine tools in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We apply univariate and multivariate analyses on 115 indicators by revisiting the seminal SAPPHO project based on the analysis of pairs of innovations and conducted at SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research during the 1970s. We aim to identify principal factors influencing firm success in innovation in the context of CEE and compare our results to those of SAPPHO and see whether any changes took place during the last 40 years in this context after several decades of globalization. Our initial findings from a database of 90 innovations and 45 pairs of innovations – introduced onto the market during the period 2007-2010 - from 51 CEE enterprises demonstrate that, in particular, user and market-driven factors differentiate successful innovations from less successful ones. Our results fully confirm the continuing relevance of SAPPHO results and methodology. Successful innovators have stronger user orientation and better understanding of market demand. Although, CEECs are catching up economies, continuous and strategic R&D and innovation collaboration is essential to generation of greater commercial success from innovation activities. Given the catching-up character of the CEECs this is surprising result which may reflect knowledge-intensive nature of two sectors which form the basis of our sample. Results of this research clearly demonstrate that orientation of the CEEC innovation policies is inconsistent with the characteristics and behaviour of successful innovators. |
| JEL: | O32 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:12-11&r=cse |
| By: | Ana Luísa Coutinho; Maria Paula Fontoura |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to assess the competitiveness of exports of manufactured goods from China and India to the European Union in the 2000s. The empirical analysis is based on two methodologies: (i) a Constant Market Share analysis which allows to decompose the export growth to the European market into several components including an effect usually related to competitiveness, and (ii) an analysis based on the combination of revealed comparative advantage indexes with a geographic orientation of trade which allows to identify the products of China and India that appear to have export potential. |
| Keywords: | China, India, Competitiveness, European Union, Constant Market Shares Technique, Trade Potential. |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:isegwp:wp352012&r=cse |
| By: | Betz, U.A.K.; Camacho, N.M.A.; Gerards, M.; Stremersch, S. |
| Abstract: | In order to promote the generation of market breakthroughs and disruptive innovation, organizations increasingly promote grassroots innovation, i.e. the emergence of innovative ideas from their whole employee base. Despite this surge in interest in grassroots innovation, there is a lack of guidance on how organizations should design and implement grassroots innovation programs. A key challenge faced by organizations promoting grassroots innovation is how to motivate the right employees to submit their best ideas and persist in their quest to transform such ideas in successful new businesses. In this paper, we draw on self-determination theory (SDT) to propose a conceptual framework that organizations can use to design effective grassroots innovation programs. We offer an in-depth understanding of how top-management support and the mechanisms behind grassroots innovation programs (e.g., idea sourcing, team formation, team/idea selection and training/coaching) influence employees’ motivation to submit their best ideas and, consequently, the success of grassroots innovation programs. We argue, in line with SDT, that successful grassroots innovation programs need to promote employees’ intrinsic motivation for innovation by satisfying three innate human needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness. Through an in-depth case study (the Innospire program at Merck), we provide evidence that support our propositions and discuss how organizations can successfully implement the proposed framework. |
| Keywords: | corporate entrepreneurship;self-determination theory;grassroots innovation;in-depth case study |
| Date: | 2012–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:1765038149&r=cse |
| By: | Paul Bélanger; Sylvie-Ann Hart |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at a study carried out among 80 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in two Canadian cities, Montréal and Winnipeg, based on a survey and case studies, which show the importance of innovation among Canadian SMEs. These innovations in turn create new demands for skill development, both through formal training and in informal activities. The outcomes of the study show two significant trends. First, an uneven development of learning activities among SMEs is related not only to the size of firms, but also to their orientation towards innovation and shared productivity measures. Second, because they do not have enough internal resources and flexibility to drive productivity growth through learning and training by themselves, SMEs need some form of group based mechanisms to solve this structural problem. However, it is noted that participation of unskilled employees in both formal and informal learning remains an important challenge for the great majority of SMEs. |
| Date: | 2012–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2012/19-en&r=cse |
| By: | Okamuro, Hiroyuki; Ikeuchi, Kenta |
| Abstract: | Business start-ups are expected to make major contributions to economic growth. However, most of them lack internal business resources that are necessary for survival and growth. Therefore, business and financial networks that provide business opportunity and external resources are essential for the post-entry performance of start-ups. However, previous studies have regarded such networks as exogenous and not explicitly investigated the determinants of network formation. We argue that the formation of business and financial networks by start-up firms depends on founder’s human capital measured by university education and work experience, and empirically test it with our original survey data of recent Japanese start-ups. Moreover, we focus not only on the size of such networks, but also their quality measured as the status of major partners. Empirical results show that founder’s industry experience for 10 or more years has positive and significant effect on the size of both business and financial networks, while founder’s university education positively affects not only the size, but also the quality of both business and financial networks. Moreover, we also find that founder’s specific strength and personality also significantly affect network formation. We find no distinct differences between the determinants of business and financial network. |
| Keywords: | business network, financial network, start-up, founder, human capital |
| JEL: | L25 L26 M13 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:cinwps:21&r=cse |
| By: | Wilko Bolt |
| Abstract: | Efficient payment services underpin the smooth operation of the economy. Competition and innovation are key drivers for payment market efficiency in both the short and long run. This paper gives an overview and tries to assess the key determinants that affect pricing, competition and the incentives to innovate in the payment market. While the payment landscape is changing rapidly, it is not yet clear what business model will survive. |
| Keywords: | Payments; pricing; competition; innovation |
| JEL: | L11 G21 C21 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dnb:dnbwpp:362&r=cse |
| By: | Alessandra Tognazzo (University of Padova); Federica Destro (University of Padova); Paolo Gubitta (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze patenting activities of family businesses, as compared to non-family ones. The main question is whether family business patent more or less. Then, we also analyze the composition of the inventor group and patent characteristics. To investigate these issues we analyzed a sample of 234 Italian businesses. We find some evidence that family firms differ in their patenting strategy from non-family ones. |
| Keywords: | family business, patenting, innovation. |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pad:wpaper:0155&r=cse |
| By: | Chia-Lin Chang (Department of Applied Economics Department of Finance National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan); Hui-Kuang Hsu (Department of Finance and Banking National Pingtung Institute of Commerce, Taiwan); Michael McAleer (Econometric Institute Erasmus School of Economics Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands and Institute of Economic Research Kyoto University, Japan and Department of Quantitative Economics Complutense University of Madrid, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the size effects of volatility spillovers for firm performance and exchange rates with asymmetry in the Taiwan tourism industry. The analysis is based on two conditional multivariate models, BEKK-AGARCH and VARMA-AGARCH, in the volatility specification. Daily data from 1 July 2008 to 29 June 2012 for 999 firms are used, which covers the Global Financial Crisis. The empirical findings indicate that there are size effects on volatility spillovers from the exchange rate to firm performance. Specifically, the risk for firm size has different effects from the three leading tourism sources to Taiwan, namely USA, Japan, and China. Furthermore, all the return series reveal quite high volatility spillovers (at over sixty percent) with a one-period lag. The empirical results show a negative correlation between exchange rate returns and stock returns. However, the asymmetric effect of the shock is ambiguous, owing to conflicts in the significance and signs of the asymmetry effect in the two estimated multivariate GARCH models. The empirical findings provide financial managers with a better understanding of how firm size is related to financial performance, risk and portfolio management strategies that can be used in practice. |
| Keywords: | Tourism, Size effects, Small-firm effects, Financial performance, Spillover effects, MGARCH, VARMA, BEKK. |
| JEL: | C22 G32 L83 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kyo:wpaper:839&r=cse |
| By: | Hottenrott, Hanna; Peters, Bettina |
| Abstract: | This study presents a novel empirical approach to identify financing constraints for innovation based on the concept of an ideal test (Hall 2008). Firms were offered a hypothetical payment and were asked to choose between alternatives of use. If they selected additional innovation projects, they must have had some unexploited investment opportunities that were not profitable using more costly external finance. We attribute constraints for innovation not only to lacking financing, but also to firms' innovative capability. Econometric results show that financial constraints do not depend on the availability of internal funds per se, but that they are driven by innovative capability. -- |
| Keywords: | innovation,financing constraints,innovative capability,multivariate probit models |
| JEL: | O31 O32 C35 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:09081r2&r=cse |
| By: | Minondo, Asier |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the relationship between export status and productivity in a major service exporter, Spain, during 2001-2007. I find that exporters in the services sector are 37% more productive than non-exporters. This productivity premium is larger for firms that supply non-Internet-related services than for firms that supply Internet-related services. The results show that exporters were more productive than non-exporters before beginning to export. The results also show that exporting increases productivity growth; however, this positive shock vanishes quickly. |
| Keywords: | exports; services; firm-level evidence; Spain; productivity |
| JEL: | F23 F14 F19 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43225&r=cse |
| By: | Andres Cardenas O'Farrill |
| Abstract: | This article sets out to examine the growth strategy promoted by the Cuban government in the aftermath of the economic crisis of the 90s. This crisis, catalyzed by the collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern European communism, imposed on Cuba the need for both new interna-tional insertion patterns and therefore a redesign of its development strat-egy. Without reaching the pre-crisis levels, this strategy led, however, to a significant recovery of GDP during the period 1994-2008. Nevertheless, the stagnation of the tourism industry and the fluctuation of international nickel prices have made it necessary to rethink the current development strategy. Here it is argued that the strategy of mostly relying on low-tech-, natural-resource- or service-based activities will not raise the life standards of the Cuban population. A sustainable development strategy in the long term means to upgrade and introduce industries, such as bio-technology, which contain manufacturing capabilities that can prove competitive on the international level. This is consistent with the histori-cal evidence on economic development and innovation; but also with the performance shown by the Cuban economy during the last 20 years. |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tth:wpaper:45&r=cse |
| By: | Morita, Hodaka; Nakajima, Kentaro; Tsuru, Tsuyoshi |
| Abstract: | Coordination within organizations has been recognized as an issue of central importance in the organizational economics literature, where the degree of interdependence between individuals’ actions is taken as given. In reality, however, the degree of interdependence is affected by the choice of an organization’s strategy, and hence there are inter-relationships among the interdependence of individuals’ actions within organizations, their ability to coordinate their actions, and the choice of the organization’s strategy. We explore these inter-relationships by focusing on coordination between engineers. In our theoretical model, we consider a firm that designs and sells a product which consists of two components, 1 and 2. Engineer i (= 1, 2), who is in charge of the design of component i, attempts to maximize component i’s quality (local quality). The degree to which designs of different components interact with each other is a key determinant of success in product development. In this context, previous research on product design has found that product architecture is a useful concept. In our model, a firm can increase the product’s global quality by increasing the integrality of the product’s architecture. Higher integrality, however, also increases the degree of interaction between the two components’ designs, making coordination between engineers more important. We hypothesize that the longer the engineers work together the better they can coordinate their actions. Our model yields the following testable prediction: “As consumers’ valuation of product quality increases, the firm invests more to reduce engineers’ turnover rate. A lower turnover rate, in turn, increases the integrality of the product architecture.” We investigate this prediction empirically by analysing data we collected through administration of questionnaire surveys to manufacturing and software companies in Japan, Korea, and China. A novelty of our questionnaire survey is that it measures the integrality of product architecture with a continuous variable ranging from 0 to 100, whereas previous studies on product architecture are based on a dichotomy of modular or integral architecture. We test our theoretical prediction by the two-stage least squares procedure, and find empirical support for our theoretical prediction in Japan and China but not in Korea. We discuss possible reasons for the lack of empirical support in Korea. |
| Keywords: | Component interactions, global quality, integrality, intra-firm coordination, local quality, modularity, product architecture, product design |
| JEL: | M10 M50 |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hituec:581&r=cse |
| By: | Nacka, Marina; Georgiev, Nenad; Dabovic Anastasovska, Jadranka |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is: (a) to emphasize the importance of the industrial property rights for countries in transition economy, (b) to analyze the international trade and competitiveness of Republic of Macedonia and EU countries and (c) to present geographical indications as a powerful marketing strategy for competitiveness of the wine sub-sector in Republic of Macedonia. The paper includes qualitative and quantitative approach. Regarding the qualitative approach, we have performed a descriptive analysis to make a relation between industrial property, marketing and competitiveness of wine sub-sector. Quantitative methods include comparative analyzes with three countries of the European Union (Bulgaria, Slovenia and France). In order to present the current competitiveness, several calculations were preformed such as: the international trade indicators for trade balance and coverage ratio, trade openness, trade performance and specialization of countries’ wine sector, issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The results show that in the Macedonian agricultural sector, there is a low degree of awareness for the economic benefits of industrial property rights. Macedonia has a competitive wine sector, as result of the factor conditions, and in particularly tradition, geographic and climate conditions. Significant result is the positive degree of specialization of Macedonian wine in exporting the product, but unfortunately the bulk wine has the largest share in export of 87%. The process of reaching higher competitiveness of agro-food products, supported by strong marketing strategy, should be considered as a risky process, if the legal protection of industrial property rights, is neglected. The consequences could lead to misappropriation and information asymmetry, which can influence on losing the market position of the producers or unsuccessful promotion and export orientation of the products. |
| Keywords: | Geographical indications, marketing, competitiveness, wine sub-sector, trade indicators, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Q17, |
| Date: | 2012–10–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaa132:139506&r=cse |
| By: | Albin, Thaarcis |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to verify whether liberal economic measures introduced in India since 1991/92 has brought any statistically significant growth difference in the growth performance of the manufacturing sector in India. It used the time series data from 1973/74 to 2007/08. Periodised it based on both the exogenously and endogenously determined breaks for cross verification of the growth results and arrived at the conclusion that the liberal economic regime failed to contribute to the growth performance of the manufacturing sector in India |
| Keywords: | Growth Rate; Manufacturing Sector; Liberal Economic Regime and Protected Regime |
| JEL: | L6 E6 C22 |
| Date: | 2012–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:43181&r=cse |
| By: | Oksana Loginova (Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia); X. Hnery Wang (Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia); Chenhang Zeng |
| Abstract: | The advance selling strategy is implemented when a firm offers consumers the opportunity to order its product in advance of the regular selling season. Advance selling reduces uncertainty for both the firm and the buyer and enables the firm to update its forecast of future demand. The distinctive feature of the present study of advance selling is that we divide consumers into two groups, experienced and inexperienced. Experienced consumers know their valuations of the product in advance. The presence of experienced consumers yields new insights. Specifically, pre-orders from experienced consumers lead to a more precise forecast of future demand by the firm. We show that the firm will always adopt advance selling and that the optimal pre-order price may be at a discount or a premium relative to the regular selling price. |
| Keywords: | advance selling, the Newsvendor Problem, demand uncertainty, experienced consumers, inexperienced consumers |
| JEL: | C72 D42 L12 M31 |
| Date: | 2012–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1213&r=cse |
| By: | Schmidt, Klaus M.; Spann, Martin; Zeithammer, Robert |
| Abstract: | Pay What You Want (PWYW) can be an attractive marketing strategy to price discriminate between fair-minded and selfish customers, to fully penetrate a market without giving away the product for free, and to undercut competitors that use posted prices. We report on laboratory experiments that identify causal factors determining the willingness of buyers to pay voluntarily under PWYW. Furthermore, to see how competition affects the viability of PWYW, we implement markets in which a PWYW seller competes with a traditional seller. Finally, we endogenize the market structure and let sellers choose their pricing strategy. The experimental results show that outcome-based social preferences and strategic considerations to keep the seller in the market can explain why and how much buyers pay voluntarily to a PWYW seller. We find that PWYW can be viable in isolation, but it is less successful as a competitive strategy because it does not drive traditional posted-price sellers out of the market. Instead, the existence of a posted-price competitor reduces buyers’ payments and prevents the PWYW seller from fully penetrating the market. If given the choice, the majority of sellers opt for setting a posted price rather than a PWYW pricing. We discuss the implications of these results for the use of PWYW as a marketing strategy. |
| Keywords: | customer-driven pricing mechanisms; pay what you want; revenue management; price discrimination; social preferences |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:muenec:14308&r=cse |
| By: | Holmberg, P.; Willems, B. |
| Abstract: | We demonstrate how suppliers can take strategic speculative positions in derivatives markets to soften competition in the spot market. In our game, suppliers first choose a portfolio of call options and then compete with supply functions. In equilibrium firms sell forward contracts and buy call options to commit to downward sloping supply functions. Although this strategy is risky, it reduces the elasticity of the residual demand of competitors, who increase their mark-ups in response. We show that this type of strategic speculation increases the level and volatility of commodity prices and decreases welfare. |
| Keywords: | Supply function equilibrium, Option contracts, Strategic commitment |
| JEL: | D43 D44 G13 L13 L94 |
| Date: | 2012–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1252&r=cse |
| By: | Tran, Sébastien |
| Abstract: | Les systèmes de pilotage doivent assurer le déploiement de la stratégie dans l’ensemble de l’organisation dont le périmètre peut varier au gré des actions stratégiques. Ces systèmes reposent de plus en plus sur des outils de gestion mais peu répondent vraiment aux spécificités des nouvelles configurations comme les entreprises étendues ou se revendiquent comme permettant de les piloter. En parallèle, les Systèmes d’Information (SI) se sont diffusés massivement dans les organisations pour soutenir des processus relevant de plus en plus du pilotage des organisations et des outils de gestion. L’objet de cet article est de déterminer quelles sont les caractéristiques et le statut du SI dans le dispositif de gestion au sein d’une organisation de type étendu. |
| Abstract: | Steering systems must ensure the deployment of the strategy throughout the organization whose perimeters can vary according to strategic actions. These systems rely increasingly on management tools, but few truly meet the specific needs of new configurations as the extended organzation nor do they claim to allow them to be controlled. At the same time, Information Systems (IS) have spread massively through organizations to support processes which increasingly relate to the steering of organizations or management tools. The object of this article is to determine what role Information Systems can play in the management system within extended organizations. |
| Keywords: | Strategy; extended organizations; management tools; IS; SI; stratégie; organisations étendues; outils de gestion; |
| JEL: | O33 M15 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:dauphi:urn:hdl:123456789/10777&r=cse |
| By: | Chris Cunningham; Robert R. Reed |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship between housing equity and wage earnings. We first provide a simple model of wage bargaining where failure leads to both job loss and mortgage default. Moreover, foreclosure generates disutility beyond selling a home. We test this prediction using nine waves of the national American Housing Survey. Employing a rich set of time and place controls, individual fixed effects, and an instrumental variable strategy, we find that people with an underwater mortgage command a significantly lower wage than other homeowners. This finding survives a number of robustness checks. We also include other determinants of "house lock" such as a favorable mortgage interest rate relative to the current rate and a capped property tax assessment, but we do not find these factors lower earnings. We conclude that negative equity matters because default is unpleasant or costly, not because it precludes an out-of-state job search.. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedawp:2012-20&r=cse |
| By: | V. Sasidevan; Deepak Dhar |
| Abstract: | We study a variation of the minority game, in which each agent uses a probabilistic strategy, and tries to optimize her total expected weighted future payoff, the weight of the payoff after $\tau$ days being $(1 - \lambda) \lambda^\tau$, with $\lambda < 1$. We show that standard Nash equilibrium concept is unsatisfactory in this case, and propose an alternative, called co-action equilibrium. We study the co-action equilibrium steady state of the system as $\lambda$ is varied from 0 to 1, and show that it gives a higher expected payoff than the Nash equilibrium for all agents. Parameters of the optimal strategy depend on $\lambda$, and can change discontinuously as $\lambda$ is varied, even for a finite number of agents. We analyse in detail the optimal strategies when the number of agents $N \leq 7$, and they decide selfishly, using only previous day's outcome. |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1212.6601&r=cse |
| By: | Chenhang Zeng (Research Center for Games and Economic Behavior, Shandong University) |
| Abstract: | This paper considers a two-period model with experienced consumers and inexperienced consumers. The retailer determines both advance selling price and regular selling price at the beginning of the first period. I show that advance selling weekly dominates no advance selling, and the optimal advance selling price may be at a discount, at a premium or at the regular selling price. To help the retailer choose the optimal pricing strategy, conditions for each possible advance selling strategy to outperform others are characterized. Furthermore, how the consumer composition affects the retailer¡¯s optimal pricing strategy and profit are examined. In the extension, a special case with no experienced consumers provides a new explanation of advance selling price premium. That is, without experienced consumers, there are no incentives for the retailer to implement advance selling at a premium price. Besides, another special case indicates that advance selling strictly dominates no advance selling when consumer valuation distribution is uncertain. With pre-order information obtained in the first period under advance selling, the retailer is able to know the consumer valuation distribution and thus better forecast the future demand. |
| Keywords: | advance selling, price commitment, endogenous price, demand uncertainty, experienced consumers. |
| JEL: | C72 D42 L12 M31 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:shn:wpaper:2012-03&r=cse |
| By: | Tounsi, Said; Ezzahid, El Hadj; Alaoui, Aicha El; Nihou, Abdelaziz |
| Abstract: | The exploration of the structural features and sectoral interdependences of and in an economy is fundamental for the understanding of its modes of functioning and of its transformations over time. Input-output analysis is largely used to fulfill this objective. Furthermore, information provided by the Leontief inverse matrix is useful for the identification of key sectors. This identification may guide policy makers in setting an adequate industrial strategy. In this paper, the classification of productive sectors is performed by using the unweighted Rassmussen approach. The ordering of sectors depends on the intensity of their links with other sectors. Two results ought to be highlighted. First, key sectors of the Moroccan economy reduced to two sectors in 2007 instead of four sectors in 1998. Second, the ordering of sectors is highly sensitive to the precision of the data and to the year in which the classification is realized. -- |
| Keywords: | input-output analysis,backward linkage,forward linkage,unweighted Rassmussen approach,Morocco |
| JEL: | C67 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:201259&r=cse |