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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2013‒02‒16
fourteen papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | ITO Banri; TANAKA Ayumu |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically examines the relation between a firm's productivity and its joint decision of research and development (R&D) strategy and exporting, based on Japanese firm-level data and the simple theoretical framework that extends the firm heterogeneity model so that both internal and external (outsourcing or technology purchase) R&D strategies are taken into account. The empirical results from nonparametric and semiparametric methods show that exporting firms engaged in R&D activities are more productive than non-exporters and exporters with no R&D, regardless of whether internal or external R&D strategy is adopted, and that exporters which employ both R&D strategies are the most productive. The results suggest that an open innovation strategy is complementary to an in-house R&D strategy and is crucial for further promoting innovation for internationalized firms. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13006&r=cse |
| By: | Spyros Arvanitis (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Martin Wörter (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Pierre Mohnen (Maastricht University); Boris Lokshin (Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | There is growing evidence that firms increasingly adopt open innovation practices. In this paper we investigate the impact of two such external knowledge acquisition strategies, ‘buy’ and ‘cooperate’, on firm’s product innovation performance. Taking a direct (productivity) approach, we test for complementarity effects in the simultaneous use of the two strategies, and in the intensity of their use. Our results based on large panels of Dutch and Swiss innovating firms, suggest that while both ‘buy’ and ‘cooperate’ have a positive effect on innovation, there is little statistical evidence that using them simultaneously leads to higher innovation performance. Results from the Dutch sample provide some indication, that there are positive economies of scope in doing external and cooperative R&D simultaneously conditional on doing internal R&D. |
| Keywords: | Open innovation, R&D collaboration, make, buy strategies |
| JEL: | O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:13-325&r=cse |
| By: | Luca Berchicci; Jeroen P.J. de Jong; Mark Freel |
| Abstract: | It is generally recognized that firms’ innovative performance can be enhanced by collaborating with remote partners. However, remote collaborations are not without challenges, as geographical distance may frustrate tacit knowledge transfer and inter-organizational learning. We investigate the moderating role of absorptive capacity by proposing that the higher firms’ R&D intensity, the stronger the relationship between remote collaboration and their share of new product revenues. Drawing on survey data of 250 Dutch high-tech small firms, it is confirmed that remote collaboration is associated with innovative performance, but at low values of R&D intensity this relationship disappears. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:13-01&r=cse |
| By: | Becker, Sascha (University of Warwick); Hvide, Hans V (University of Bergen) |
| Abstract: | In the large literature on firm performance, economists have given little attention to entrepreneurs. We use deaths of more than 500 entrepreneurs as a source of exogenous variation, and ask whether this variation can explain shifts in firm performance. Using longitudinal data, we find large and sustained effects of entrepreneurs at all levels of the performance distribution. Entrepreneurs strongly affect firm growth patterns of both very young firms and for firms that have begun to mature. We do not find significant differences between small and larger firms, family and non-family firms, nor between firms located in urban and rural areas, but we do find stronger effects for founders with high human capital. Overall, theresults suggest that an often overlooked factor –individual entrepreneurs –plays a large role in affecting firm performance. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, Örm performance, human capital. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:warwcg:108&r=cse |
| By: | Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver; Jose Albors-Garrigos |
| Abstract: | The economic geography literature assumes that large leading firms (technology gatekeepers) (TGs) with high absorptive capacity and high-intensity R&D expenditures, shape the district learning process. However, there is an absence in the literature of a dynamic analysis of the role of the TG. Instead, most of the evidence provided is set at a single point in time and considers only one stage of the cluster life cycle (CLC). This paper challenges the aforementioned assumption, and introduces into the discussion two important influences on outcomes: the type of knowledge created (whether it be disruptive or not) in the cluster by technology gatekeepers, and the stage of the cluster life cycle (CLC) at which that knowledge is created. This work addresses the roles of the TG and the CLC together, responding to the gap that not much is known about the role and the persistence of the TG dynamically across different stages of the cluster life cycle. Using qualitative longitudinal case-study research, a world-class cluster is analysed over the last eighteen years. The results show that there are temporary technological gatekeepers across cluster life cycles which assume the (temporary) role of leaders when it is a question of bringing in disruptive knowledge. The study’s findings have important implications for scholars and policymakers. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:13-04&r=cse |
| By: | Uwe Cantner (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Holger Graf (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena); Susanne Hinzmann (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | The last decades saw a pronounced shift in innovation policy in Germany and many other countries towards increased funding of cooperative R&D. Over the last years, competitions between regional initiatives pushed this trend even further by adding a regional perspective, by increasing the scope of funding, and by fostering interaction between a large number of actors. In 2008 the German ministry for education and research (BMBF) started the "Leading-Edge Cluster competition" ("Spitzencluster-Wettbewerb") in which 15 clusters were selected in three waves (2008, 2010, 2012) and are funded for a five-year period with up to 40 million Euro each. Our paper presents selected results regarding the influence of government funding on cooperation networks within five of the clusters that were successful in the first wave of the "Spitzencluster- Wettbewerb". More specifically, we analyse the extent of policy influence on the network of most important cooperation partners, its geographic reach, and the changes of network structure in general. Our empirical analysis is based on original data that was collected in 2011 with cluster actors (firms and public research) who received government funding. Our results indicate that the program was quite effective in initiating new cooperations between cluster actors and in intensifying existing linkages. The vast majority of the linkages which are influenced by the cluster competition are between actors located in the cluster region. With respect to the influence of the cluster competition on network structure, we find an increase in network centralization. Small and medium sized enterprises used the chance to connect with the local 'stars', but not as much among each other. |
| Keywords: | Cluster, Innovation Policy, Evaluation, Social Network Analysis |
| JEL: | O3 O38 L14 R1 |
| Date: | 2013–02–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2013-008&r=cse |
| By: | Dutz, Mark A.; O'Connell, Stephen D. |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of key business environment indicators on productivity, innovation, and growth in Sri Lanka through a cluster-level productivity analysis, a firm-level total factor productivity analysis, and a firm-level innovation analysis. For the cluster-level productivity analysis (as measured by output and value added per worker), it combines two established data sources in a novel way by importing average'industry-size-location'cluster-level business environment variables from the World Bank Enterprise Survey to the comprehensive Sri Lanka Census of Industry productivity data available for similar clusters of enterprises. For the firm-level total factor productivity analysis, it compares data from the 2011 World Bank Enterprise Survey with those from 2004. For the firm-level innovation analysis, it compares findings from the 2011 World Bank Enterprise Survey with a representative sample of enterprises collected as part of the Sri Lanka Longitudinal Survey of Enterprises. The empirical findings highlight the importance -- for cluster-level productivity, firm-level total factor productivity, and innovation -- of connectivity to global knowledge (reflected by one or more of export participation, directly imported inputs, foreign ownership, and use of the internet), availability of skills, access to finance, and competition. The paper also presents evidence, under the assumption that the samples are statistically representative, that both allocative and average technical efficiency have improved, with allocative efficiency increasing roughly four-fold between 2003 and 2010, and accounting for the overwhelming share of the aggregate increase in total factor productivity over this time period. Most of the improvement in allocative efficiency has occurred among larger firms, and in large rather than small cities. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics&Policies,E-Business,Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Knowledge for Development |
| Date: | 2013–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6354&r=cse |
| By: | Marco Ceccagnoli; Matthew J. Higgins; Vincenzo Palermo |
| Abstract: | Even though management consultants increasingly recommend that in-house research be outsourced, little is known about the conditions favoring substitution or complementarity between internal R&D and external technology acquisition. In this paper, we attempt to provide a deeper understanding of the firm-level drivers of complementarity between these two types of investments through the structural estimation of a flexible innovation production function, such as the translog. Our empirical analysis is based on a unique panel dataset on the R&D and in-licensing expenditures of 94 global pharmaceutical firms active in drug development between 1997 and 2005. Our results suggest that internal R&D and in-licensing in the pharmaceutical industry were neither complements nor substitutes during the study period. However, we find that the degree of complementarity is enhanced for firms with stronger absorptive capacity, economies of scope, and past licensing experience. |
| JEL: | L24 L65 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18795&r=cse |
| By: | Thomas Brenner (Philipps-Universität Marburg); Charlotte Schlump (Philipps-Universität Marburg) |
| Abstract: | It has been repeatedly shown that universities and public research institutes contribute to local innovation generation and facilitation. The mechanisms behind this contribution are well discussed in the literature. However, detailed empirical examinations are missing. We analyse the impact of universities and public research on regional innovation output. Thereby we analyse separately 19 technologies and distinguish whether university education and public research are rather innovation generators or innovation facilitators. All analyses are conducted on German data. |
| Keywords: | regional innovation systems, innovation output, university, public research |
| JEL: | C13 I25 O31 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2013-03&r=cse |
| By: | Suma Athreye; Georgios Batsakis; Satwinder Singh |
| Abstract: | We conjecture that the Research and Development (R&D) subsidiary of a Multinational Enterprise (MNE) can be potentially embedded in three different networks viz. the science base of the home country, the science base of the host country, and/or the internal knowledge network of sister subsidiaries and parent MNE. We explore the type of relationship (complementary or substitutive) that exists between the three networks. Further, we develop a set of hypotheses about the factors that are associated with each form of embeddedness. We test these conjectures on data obtained from internationally located MNE R&D subsidiaries. We find that the three types of embeddedness are complementary to each other and the factors associated with each kind of subsidiary embeddedness are different. |
| Keywords: | Multiple embeddedness; Multinational enterprises; R&D subsidiaries; complementarity; Subsidiary Roles; Seemingly unrelated regression |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:13-05&r=cse |
| By: | Yasusada Murata (Advanced Research Institute for the Sciences and Humanities, Nihon University); Ryo Nakajima (Department of Economics, Keio University); Ryosuke Okamoto (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies); Ryuichi Tamura (Center for Economic Growth Strategy, Yokohama National University) |
| Abstract: | We develop a new distance-based test of localized knowledge spillovers that embeds the concept of control patents. Using microgeographic data, we identify localization distance for each technology class while allowing for spillovers across geographic units. We revisit the debate by Thompson and Fox-Kean (2005a,b) and Henderson, Jaffe and Trajtenberg (2005) on the existence of localized knowledge spillovers, and find solid evidence supporting localization even when using fine-grained controls. We further relax the assumption of perfect controls, and show that our distance-based test detects localization for the majority of technology classes unless hidden biases induced by imperfect controls are extremely large. |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:12-18&r=cse |
| By: | Bastian Rake |
| Abstract: | Recent empirical contributions emphasize the importance of (potential) market size for the development of new pharmaceuticals. At the same time many scholars point out the importance of of scientific advances for the industry’s R&D activities. Against this background I analyze the relationship between (potential) market size, technological opportunities, and the number of new pharmaceuticals in the United States. Technological opportunities are operationalized as growth rates of the relevant knowledge stock as proposed by Andersen (1999, 1998). I analyze a unique dataset by using an “entry stock” Poisson quasi-maximum likelihood estimator. The results reveal a rather robust and significantly positive response of the number of new pharmaceuticals, i.e., new molecular entities or new drug approvals, to market size and technological opportunities. |
| Keywords: | Determinants of Innovation; Pharmaceuticals; Demand; Technological Opportunities |
| JEL: | O31 J10 J20 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:13-03&r=cse |
| By: | Garcia-Fuentes, Pablo A.; Ferreira, Gustavo F.C.; Kennedy, P. Lynn; Perez, Felipe |
| Abstract: | This study assesses the sequential relationships between firm strategic factors, foreign direct investment (FDI) activity, and financial performance for a sample of U.S.-based multinational manufacturers. After using hierarchical regressions and path analysis, this study finds an unambiguously positive direct effect of FDI on performance, and a complementary effect between FDI and firm strategy on performance. Specifically, this study provides insights about the direct effect of FDI on performance, as well as about the joint effect of firm size and FDI, marketing intensity and FDI, and capital intensity and FDI on performance. Finally, these findings present evidence that FDI activity is an important factor for U.S. manufacturers’ financial strength. |
| Keywords: | U.S. manufacturers, foreign direct investment, firm strategies, profitability, hierarchical regressions and path analysis., Agribusiness, Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2013–01–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea13:142851&r=cse |
| By: | Pol Antràs; Stephen R.Yeaple |
| Abstract: | This article reviews the state of the international trade literature on multinational firms. This literature addresses three main questions. First, why do some firms operate in more than one country while others do not? Second, what determines in which countries production facilities are located? Finally, why do firms own foreign facilities rather than simply contract with local producers or distributors? We organize our exposition of the trade literature on multinational firms around the workhorse monopolistic competition model with constant-elasticity-of-substitution (CES) preferences. On the theoretical side, we review alternative ways to introduce multinational activity into this unifying framework, illustrating some key mechanisms emphasized in the literature. On the empirical side, we discuss the key studies and provide updated empirical results and further robustness tests using new sources of data. |
| JEL: | D2 D21 D22 D23 F1 F12 F2 F23 L2 |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18775&r=cse |