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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2013‒11‒16
eighteen papers chosen by Joao Jose de Matos Ferreira University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | Matthias Duschl (Economic geography and Location Research, Philipps-Universität Marburg); Thomas Brenner (Economic geography and Location Research, Philipps-Universität Marburg) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the causal relationships in regional technological systems within a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) framework. Applying a data-driven identification strategy based on Independent Component Analysis, it shows how the regional growth dynamics of economic, research, innovation and educational activities affect each other instantaneously and over time in five different industries. Referring to the type of industry and its knowledge base, expectations are derived on how industry-specific growth processes unfold. Knowledge on the causal relations among the various activities in such regional technological systems is of utmost relevance to the design and implementation of efficient policy instruments. |
| Keywords: | regional growth, SVAR, non-normality, innovations, universities, R&D, regional technological systems |
| JEL: | C33 O30 R11 |
| Date: | 2013–10–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2013-12&r=cse |
| By: | Federica Rossi (Department of Management, Birkbeck College University of London); Ainurul Rosli (University of Wolverhampton, University of Wolverhampton Business School) |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:img:wpaper:13&r=cse |
| By: | Jonathan Potter; Marco Marchese; Maryann Feldman; Tom Kemeny; Helen Lawton-Smith; Andy Pike |
| Abstract: | This report presents the results of the local component of the OECD Review of SME and Entrepreneurship Issues and Policies at National and Local Levels in Mexico. It draws on case studies conducted in the two states of Morelos and Queretaro and examines regional disparities in entrepreneurship activity in Mexico; the governance of entrepreneurship and SME policies, focusing on coordination between national and local policies and how national programmes are tailored to the different state development needs; and policies at state level to support workforce and entrepreneurship skills, business innovation and industry-university knowledge flows, access to finance, and improvements in business regulations. |
| Date: | 2013–10–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2013/14-en&r=cse |
| By: | Lisa De Propris; Carlo Corradini |
| Abstract: | In the last decades, innovation activity has been defined by an increasing complexity and a faster pace of the underlying technological change. Accordingly, several studies have shown that competitive systems of innovation benefit from being able to build upon a wide but integrated spectrum of technological capabilities characterised by a sustained dynamism in the level of inter-sectoral technology flows. In this context, technological platforms – defined as knowledge and scientific launching pads that spin out of key enabling technologies - may create the opportunity for technological externalities to take place across a set of related sectors through a swarm of increasingly applied and incremental innovations. In this report, we look at the presence and determinants of these technological platforms across EU Countries and explore the mechanisms through which these influence inter sectoral technology spillovers, thus fostering technological shifts and technological synthesis within the broader economy. Using data on patents and patent citations obtained from the PATSTAT-CRIOS database, covering all patent applications made to the European Patent Office (EPO), we try to model the systemic nature of technology platforms. In particular, our aim is to provide empirical evidence that the presence of key enabling technologies at the base of the platform may lead to a more sustained interaction across second tier innovations characterised by a “distant” knowledge base. Then, we endeavour to investigate the relationship that may take place between this process and the role played by the national dimension. |
| Keywords: | Clusters, ecological innovation, industrial innovation, innovation, innovation policy, new technologies, patents, socio-ecological transition, sustainable growth |
| JEL: | O3 O31 O32 O33 O38 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feu:wfewop:y:2013:m:11:d:0:i:34&r=cse |
| By: | Mion, Giordano; Opromolla, Luca David |
| Abstract: | Knowledge is key to the success of a firm. Firms and their managers acquire knowledge via channels which are often difficult to track down and quantify. By matching employer-employee data with trade data at the firm level we show that the export experience acquired by managers in previous firms leads their current firm towards higher export performance, and commands a sizeable wage premium for the manager. Export knowledge is decisive when it is market-specific: managers with experience related to markets served by their current firm receive an even higher wage premium; firms are more likely to enter markets where their managers have experience; exporters are more likely to stay in those markets, and their sales are on average higher. Our findings are robust to controlling for endogeneity. The impact of managers’ export experience on a firm’s export performance is at least as strong as that of firm productivity. JEL Classification: M2, L2, F16, J31, J62 |
| Keywords: | export experience, firm trade performance, job mobility, managers, wage premium |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20131596&r=cse |
| By: | Caliman, Tiziana; Cassone, Alberto |
| Abstract: | In the recent past, expectations concerning universities have emphasised their active role in enhancing economic and regional development. The universities in geographical areas suffering from structural problems are particularly required to play this role. Moreover, the correlation between the socioeconomic status (and the education) of parents and that of their adult offspring is positive and significant, in both the statistical and practical senses. This paper investigates the experience of a small Italian University (Piemonte Orientale 'Amedeo Avogadro'), in order to evaluate its role in human capital accumulation, necessary to economic development. The aim of this article is to verify whether this small university satisfies a specific demand which would never be satisfied by a larger university. We found important role of small Universities in the human capital accumulation in the recruitment basin, a phenomenon with medium and long term implications. The empirical results show that the representative graduate student of Piemonte Orientale is characterized by modest parental socioeconomic conditions and education. Its demographic recruitment basin is a specific and well defined geographical area. These factors have a positive impact on the choice of enrolment (Piemonte Orientale versus other Universities). The choice is modelled by a probit (logit) binary outcomes model using the Almalaurea cross-section sample on graduates in year 2008. We also update the dataset and re-estimate the models in order to verify the robustness of empirical results and to identify changes in the representative student, using the Almalaurea cross-section sample on graduates for year 2010. The crucial role of the modest socioeconomic background and the low mobility of the students are confirmed. The 2010 analysis does not confirm a result for year 2008, i.e. that a poor performance in secondary school increases the probability to choose Piemonte Orientale vs larger and well established universities: the result underlines a positive evolution of this small university recruitment performance. |
| Keywords: | Performance; Human Capital Accumulation; Small Universities |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I23 R00 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uca:ucapdv:173&r=cse |
| By: | Panagiotis Kampylis (JRC/IPTS); Nancy Law (University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong); Yves Punie (JRC/IPTS); Stefania Bocconi (Italian National Research Council, The Institute for Educational Technology); Barbara Bre?ko (JRC/IPTS); Seungyeon Han (Hanyang Cyber University, South Korea); Chee-Kit Looi (National Institute of Education, Singapore); Naomi Miyake (The University of Tokyo, Japan) |
| Abstract: | This report presents three cases of ICT-enabled innovation for learning from Europe (eTwinning, 1:1 Learning in Europe and Hellerup School in Denmark) and four cases from Asia (e-Learning Pilot Scheme in Hong Kong SAR, Knowledge Construction with Technology (CoREF) in Japan, Third Masterplan for ICT in Education (mp3) in Singapore and Digital Textbook project in South Korea), covering aspects such as the context, scale and nature of innovation, the intended learning outcomes, the role of technology, and implementation strategies. Based on desk research, case reports, consultation with education stakeholders from Europe and Asia, and in-depth expert interviews, the necessary conditions for sustainability, scalability and impact at system level are analysed. Thus, the report brings evidence to the debate about the mainstreaming of ICT-enabled innovation for learning in Europe and beyond, contributing to the Europe 2020 Strategy to modernize Education and Training across Europe. |
| Keywords: | ICT-enabled innovation for learning, Creative Classrooms, conditions for sustainability and scalability of educational innovation, ecological framework for mainstreaming educational innovation, |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I28 I29 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc83503&r=cse |
| By: | David S. Abrams (Penn Law School & Wharton Business Economics & Public Policy Department, University of Pennsylvania,); Ufuk Akcigit (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania & NBER); Jillian Popadak (Wharton Business Economics & Public Policy Department, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | Prior work suggests that more valuable patents are cited more and this view has become standard in the empirical innovation literature. Using an NPE-derived dataset with patent-specific revenues we find that the relationship of citations to value in fact forms an inverted-U, with fewer citations at the high end of value than in the middle. Since the value of patents is concentrated in those at the high end, this is a challenge to both the empirical literature and the intuition behind it. We attempt to explain this relationship with a simple model of innovation, allowing for both productive and strategic patents. We find evidence of greater use of strategic patents where it would be most expected: among corporations, in fields of rapid development, in more recent patents and where divisional and continuation applications are employed. These findings have important implications for our basic understanding of growth, innovation, and intellectual property policy. |
| Keywords: | productive innovation, defensive innovation, patents, creative destruction, citations, patent value, competition, intellectual property, entrepreneurship, strategic patenting, defensive patenting, patent thickets, fencing patents. |
| JEL: | O3 L2 K1 |
| Date: | 2013–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:13-065&r=cse |
| By: | Elena Feltrinelli; Roberto Gabriele; Sandro Trento |
| Abstract: | Middle Managers (MM) are key figures for firm ability to gain and sustaining competitive advantage (CIT). Their training activity can be seen as an important tool for improving and upgrading managerial practices to sustain firm strategy that is strictly related with its competitive advantage. The present research aims at deepening the analysis undertaken within the literature branch concerned with the effects of training of middle managers on direct measures of firm performance as measured by profitability indices and productivity. In particular, the study focuses on middle management continuing vocational training in the Italian manufacturing sector in the time window 2006-2011. The study is based on a novel database containing balance sheet data together with exhaustive information about the training undertaken by managers working in the sample of companies available Ð provided by Fondirigenti. The study extends and deepens the existing literature based on two key aspects: (a) the possibility to disaggregate the training activity along two dimensions: the methodology used and the field in which the training is done; (b) the opportunity to use different more precise measures of training, namely the cost in euros and the time devoted to the activity. We empirically test, using regression models based on GMM estimation, a set of research hypotheses and we find support for the five following hypotheses: (H1) Middle management continuing vocational training has an effect on performance indicators namely ROI, ROE and TFP, Moreover the first two show a TMGT effect; MM training is more effective for: larger firms, older firms (H2 and H3); external resources are important in making MM training effective (H3); different methodologies of training have heterogeneous effects on performance: experiential methods are more effective than relational and front lesson methods (H5). We discuss the results and derive some policy conclusions |
| Keywords: | Managerial Training, firm performance, IV-GMM, TMGT |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trn:utwpem:2013/11&r=cse |
| By: | Mitra, Raja Mikael (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | The Philippines is often referred to as a country from which export of services rather than manufactured goods is the principal engine for economic growth, as the share of the service sector in gross domestic product has exceeded that of the industry sector since the mid-1980s. Three major opportunities for leveraging service sector growth stands out. One is expanding the scale and scope of the export and domestic markets for information technology-business process outsourcing and other modern services in urban areas. Second is expanding tourism to foster economic development across social groups and regions including poor and remote rural areas. Third is enhancing the domestic prospects for Filipino technical, managerial, and entrepreneurial talent so they will work in the Philippines rather than overseas. To take advantage of those opportunities, there is a need for concerted efforts to improve infrastructure; logistics; broadband connections; the power supply; and education, healthcare, financial, legal, and public administration services and more generally the overall business environment for foreign investors and local entrepreneurs. |
| Keywords: | services; growth; Philippines; Asia; business process outsourcing; information technology; migration; diaspora; tourism; innovation; knowledge economy |
| JEL: | F22 L80 O14 |
| Date: | 2013–08–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0366&r=cse |
| By: | Cull, Robert; Xu, Lixin Colin; Yang, Xi; Zhou, Li-An; Zhu, Tian |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data from a large survey of Chinese firms to investigate whether local government efforts to facilitate market development improve firm efficiency. Both government provision of information about products, markets, and innovation and government assistance in arranging loans are positively associated with firm efficiency. Those private firms with weak access to and knowledge of financial, input, and product markets benefit most from such assistance. These patterns are robust across multiple estimation approaches. Case studies of specific types of market facilitation by local governments are provided. The evidence is consistent with the notion that government facilitation can help some firms overcome market failures in the early stages of development. The paper argues that changing fiscal dynamics that forced local governments to become increasingly self-reliant in generating revenue and a government promotion system based on local economic performance compelled these efforts at market facilitation. |
| Keywords: | Access to Finance,Debt Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies |
| Date: | 2013–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6688&r=cse |
| By: | Mitra, Raja Mikael (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | Some countries and regions have been more successful than others in developing information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) services industries. India and the Philippines in particular have offered educated human resources at low cost, attractive fiscal incentives, and industrial parks although these factors alone do not explain the rapid growth of the industry there as other countries also had these strengths but failed to develop industries as rapidly. A wide range of factors driving and constraining industry development must be taken into account, namely human resources; financial, infrastructure, technology, legal, and regulatory developments; the roles of foreign companies, diasporas, and of indigenous entrepreneurs; the government; industry associations; civil society; production, trade, and knowledge networks; and the interplay of all these factors locally, nationally, and internationally. This analysis of IT-BPO industry developments in Asia points to continued expansion in domestic, regional, and global demand and supply. There is a need for timely, concerted efforts by key stakeholders to define strategies, programs, and projects to respond to opportunities and challenges at all levels. Experiences from Asian economies can offer lessons, but each situation has its own peculiarities. There is no single approach to developing an IT-BPO industry. |
| Keywords: | information technology; business process outsourcing; software industry; offshoring; services; knowledge economy; India; ASEAN; Asia |
| JEL: | O14 |
| Date: | 2013–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0365&r=cse |
| By: | Debuque-Gonzales, Margarita (University of the Philippines) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the financial determinants of research and development (R&D) investment in Asia, where innovation is naturally seen as the key driver of future (high) economic growth. We sample listed nonfinancial firms from eight economies in region (the People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; the Philippines; and Singapore) for the period 2002–2011 using the Oriana database. Panel data regressions show sensitivity of R&D investment to changes in cash flow, indicating reliance on internal financing of R&D and financially constrained firms, and a greater role of debt, rather than equity, as a source of external financing. In terms of alternative uses of funds, dividend payments by firms seem to divert from their spending on R&D, but investments in financial assets do not. In terms of ownership structure, empirical results show that both higher domestic ownership concentration and higher foreign ownership tend to lower cash flow sensitivity of R&D investment, suggesting more stable funding of innovation. Overall, there does not seem to be an extreme preference of firm shareholders for short-term returns at the expense of long-term productivity. However, there is clearly a gain for firms as well as economies they are in with better access to external financing of R&D. |
| Keywords: | R&D investment; financing innovation; cash flow; R&D financing constraints; Asia |
| JEL: | D92 G30 O30 O40 |
| Date: | 2013–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0364&r=cse |
| By: | Max Nathan; Emma Vandore |
| Abstract: | The digital industries cluster known as 'Silicon Roundabout' has been quietly growing in East London since the 1990s. Now rebranded 'Tech City', it is now the focus of huge public and government attention. National and local policymakers wish to accelerate the local area's development: such cluster policies are back in vogue as part of a re-awakened interest in industrial policy in many developed countries. Surprisingly little is known about Tech City's firms or the wider ecosystem, however, and existing cluster policies have a high failure rate. This paper performs a detailed mixed-methods analysis, combining rich enterprise-level data with semi-structured interviews. We track firm and employment growth from 1997-2010 and identify a number of distinctive features: branching from creative to digital content industries, street-level sorting of firms, the importance of local amenities and a lack of conventional cluster actors such as universities or anchor businesses. We also argue that the existing policy mix embodies a number of tensions, and suggest areas for improvement. |
| Keywords: | Digital economy, cities, clusters, innovation, London, Silicon Roundabout, Tech City |
| JEL: | L2 L52 M13 O18 O31 R11 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:sercdp:0146&r=cse |
| By: | Meyer, Moritz (World Bank); Vandenberg, Paul (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | The paper analyzes the link between firm characteristics and labor market regulation in five Asian economies—Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. Labor market policies and labor standards do not only affects workers, but also influence firms’ investment and employment decisions. The empirical analysis uses information from enterprise surveys. Empirical results describe systematic differences in the perceived level of labor market regulation. Controlling for a wide set of firm characteristics, the perceived level of labor market regulation is found to vary between firms that participate in global trade as against those supplying the domestic market. The in-country location of a firm is also a significant determinant. The level of labor intensity explains variation in the reported level of labor market regulation between firms. Findings support a better understanding of the types of firms that find labor market regulation to be an obstacle to their operations, and can be used to design targeted policy interventions. |
| Keywords: | labor market institutions (regulation); trade and labor markets; developing countries |
| JEL: | D22 F16 J23 |
| Date: | 2013–08–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0361&r=cse |
| By: | Christian Milelli; Alice Sindzingre |
| Abstract: | The spectacular surge in Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has been reinforced by China’s accession to the WTO (2001). The understanding of their determinants remains a key theoretical question, in particular whether they confirm the standard conceptual framework - ‘ownership’, ‘location’, ‘internalisation’ (OLI) and ‘linkages’ (augmenting competences by learning). The paper argues that the determinants of Chinese OFDI change over time and converge toward global strategies, via a comparison between Chinese OFDI in developed countries (based on an original database of 1800 investment operations in Europe from 2002 onwards) and in developing countries (Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America). While their impacts indeed vary according to countries’ contexts, Chinese OFDI in developed and developing countries converges toward complex and similar motives, become more mature through the combination of various modes of entry (greenfield and mergers-and-acquisitions), and exhibit more commonalities than differences. The comparison thus demonstrates that while the determinants of Chinese OFDI in developed countries were initially access to their markets, they now include efficiency-seeking motives (dispersing design, R&D and production) and assets-seeking (or augmenting assets) motives, the latter’s prevalence in developed countries (e.g., patents, skills, brands) remaining a contrast with developing countries. Chinese OFDI in developing countries is mostly driven by resource-seeking motives (strategic inputs for China’s growth), but also in resource-endowed developed countries (Australia, Canada). Large investments are driven by Chinese state-backed firms both in developed and developing countries. The growing number of Chinese small and medium private enterprises which invest in developing countries (e.g., Sub-Saharan Africa) shows that market access has increasingly become a determinant of OFDI, together with efficiency - and assets-seeking motives - rising labour costs in China being incentives for relocating abroad, in particular in labour-intensive sectors where competitiveness is driven by prices. Chinese firms often conduct these various strategies simultaneously. |
| Keywords: | China; foreign direct investment, Europe; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | F21 F23 O53 O55 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2013-34&r=cse |
| By: | ITO Keiko; SHIMIZU Junko |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate export competitiveness based on unit labor costs (ULCs) and nominal effective exchange rates (NEERs) for Japan, China, and Korea for the 12 two-digit manufacturing industries for the period 2001-2009. Japan's ULCs either are relatively stable or declining in most industries, while that of Korea shows an upward trend in many industries, with the electrical and optical equipment industry being a major exception. China's ULCs are declining in most industries. Evaluating ULCs on a foreign currency basis, Japan's ULCs increased rapidly during the period of yen appreciation, suggesting that its cost reduction efforts were more than offset by the appreciation of the yen. The results of our empirical analysis suggest that both increases in ULCs and appreciation of the home currency reduce exports by raising the home country's relative prices. The negative impact of ULCs is largest for China, while it is negligible for Japan. However, the negative impact of NEERs is largest for Japan. Moreover, the negative impact of ULCs tends to be larger for machinery-related industries, suggesting that cost competitiveness is particularly important in these industries. |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13094&r=cse |
| By: | Yu, Li; Orazem, Peter; Jolly, Robert W. |
| Abstract: | The fraction self-employed rises in recessions because wage work is more sensitivethan self-employment to the business cycle, not because of necessityentrepreneurship. Graduating during a recession reduces the probability of starting a business forthe next 11 years. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Boom; Bust; Delay; Graduates |
| JEL: | J2 |
| Date: | 2013–10–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:36672&r=cse |