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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2015‒01‒14
eighteen papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Grillitsch , Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Nilsson , Magnus (Department of Business Administration and CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | It is widely accepted that firms in peripheral regions benefit to a lesser extent from local knowledge spillovers than firms located in agglomerations or industrial clusters. This paper investigates the extent to which innovative firms in peripheral regions compensate for the lack of access to local knowledge spillovers by collaborating at other geographical scales. So far the literature predominantly suggests that collaborations complement rather than compensate for local knowledge spillovers. Using data on the collaboration patterns of innovative firms in Sweden, this paper provides evidence that firms with low access to local knowledge spillovers tend to collaborate more. This effect, however, depends on firm size and in-house capabilities. Our findings suggest that firms with strong in-house capabilities do indeed compensate for a lack of local knowledge spillovers with collaborations while firms with weaker in-house capabilities depend more on the regional knowledge infrastructure. |
| Keywords: | Local knowledge spillovers; periphery; collaboration; innovation; geography; Sweden |
| JEL: | O18 O30 O31 P48 R10 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–12–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2014_033&r=cse |
| By: | Manniche , Jesper (Centre for Regional and Tourism Research (CRT), Bornholm, Denmark); Moodysson , Jerker (Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE), Lund University, Sweden); Testa , Stefania (Polytechnic School, University of Genova, Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper has three aims. Firstly, to provide a critical review of previous conceptualizations of the knowledge base approach in the research fields of innovation studies and economic geography. Secondly, to propose a broadened interpretation of the knowledge base approach which allows for considering combinatorial knowledge bases within and across industries, regions and time periods and for analytically integrating the cognitive, organizational and spatial dimensions of innovation and learning. Thirdly, to provide methodological suggestions for how to apply such broadened interpretation of the knowledge base approach in empirical innovation studies, regardless of industrial, geographical or temporal context. The paper thereby dismisses the wide-spread taxonomical application of knowledge base conceptualizations in innovation studies and economic geography for classification of firms, industries and economies into fixed categories based on their knowledge base characteristics. Instead it proposes a typological approach and a conceptual and methodological basis for explaining the shifting dynamics of innovation processes in firms, industries and economies. In addition to highlighting limitations and strengths of the knowledge base approach, the paper thus targets investigation of unexploited potentials of knowledge base conceptualizations and provides suggestions for future research. |
| Keywords: | Biographies; economic geography; innovation; knowledge; learning |
| JEL: | L20 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2014–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2014_028&r=cse |
| By: | Eric Rugraff |
| Abstract: | This article questions the nature of the foreign direct R&D investments in Central Europe. Do the affiliates of the multinationals still undertake adaptive R&D? Have they recently engaged in innovative R&D activities in their Central European affiliates? We assess the nature of the R&D activities of the multinationals in Central Europe in three steps. In a first step we use the OECD database on foreign direct R&D expenditure and personnel to compare the foreign affiliates’ R&D intensity with the indigenous firms’ R&D intensity. We find few differences between the two families of firms. In a second step we use patents granted to foreigners in Central Europe as a variable proxy to assess the evolution of innovative R&D activities in Central Europe. We find that the patenting activities of foreigners rose with the increase of their R&D investments in Central Europe. We also suggest that the Central European affiliates still have a marginal position in the patenting strategy of the multinationals. In a third step we focus on the patent data of the foreign affiliates in the Czech Republic – the Central European leader as regards of foreign direct R&D investments –, in the major foreign direct R&D sectors – electronics, electrical equipment, machinery and motor vehicles –. We build a sample made of the ten multinationals representing the most active R&D investors in the country and assess the recent evolution of their patenting activity. We suggest that, (a) even these major R&D investors still only marginally apply for patents in their Czech affiliates; (b) there is no under-evaluation of the innovation activity of the Czech affiliates due to a geographical separation of inventions – in the Czech Republic – and patent location – in Western Europe; (c) the researchers working in the Czech affiliates are still not sufficiently oriented towards innovation activities to be integrated in the patenting-oriented international teams built by the multinationals. Foreign direct R&D investments in Central Europe remain mostly production supportive and associated with the international exploitation of technology produced in the Western headquarters and affiliates. Despite the strong engagement of the Czech government towards foreign direct R&D, real innovative R&D increases very slowly. |
| Keywords: | business R&D, multinationals, Central Europe, innovative R&D, patents. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2014-22&r=cse |
| By: | Franz Tödtling; Markus Grillitsch |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwsre:sre-disc-2014_07&r=cse |
| By: | Shevtsova Yevgeniya |
| Abstract: | The paper empirically explores the microeconomic exporting-productivity links using data from Ukrainian manufacturing and service sectors for the years 2000-2005 distinguishing between various industries and export destinations. Overall, the findings confirm self-selection of more productive firms into exporting showing that firms with higher total factor productivity (TFP) in the year prior to exporting are significantly more likely to engage in international trade. Also, age, and, to some extent, intangible assets positively affect the probability of becoming an exporter. The results also suggest significant positive post-entry productivity effect for the firms that enter export markets and negative productivity effect for the firms that exit. At the industry level the presence of learning-by-exporting effect is not universal and varies between industries and export destinations. Firms in capital-intensive industries that export to the countries of the European Union and other OECD countries experience stronger export-related productivity shocks than firms exporting to other CIS countries. The magnitude of the effect is also positively correlated with the capital intensity of the industries. These findings have important implications for industrial policies, suggesting that programs designed to upgrade firms’ productivity and innovative capabilities should be industry specific. Such policies, should they be implemented, will increase benefits arising from exporting, which should further enhance international competitiveness of Ukrainian firms. |
| JEL: | D24 F14 L25 R38 |
| Date: | 2014–11–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eer:wpalle:14/07e&r=cse |
| By: | Matthias Brachert; T. Brökel |
| Abstract: | Technological complementarity is argued to be a crucial element for effective Research and Development (R&D) collaboration. The real structure is, however, still largely unknown. Based on the argument that organizations’ knowledge resources must fit for enabling collective learning and innovation, we use the co-occurrence of firms in collaborative R&D projects in Germany to assess inter-sectoral technological complementarity between 129 sectors. The results are mapped as complementarity space for the Germany economy. The space and its dynamics from 1990 to 2011 are analyzed by means of social network analysis. The results illustrate sectors being complements both from a dyadic and portfolio/ network perspective. This latter is important, as complementarities may only become fully effective when integrated in a complete set of different knowledge resources from multiple sectors. The dynamic perspective moreover reveals the shifting demand for knowledge resources among sectors at different time periods. |
| Keywords: | collaborative R&D projects, resource complementarity, co-occurrence analysis |
| JEL: | L14 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:13-14&r=cse |
| By: | Amendolagine , Vito (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche Sociali – Università di Pavia); Cozza , Claudio (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Aziendali, Matematiche e Statistiche- Università di Trieste); Rabellotti , Roberta (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche Sociali – Università di Pavia) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we aim to contribute to the literature on Chinese and Indian multinationals investing in Europe, through an empirical investigation of their identity and characteristics and the association between these features and their international business strategies. The investigation exploits a dataset at the level of the investing firms. In relation to mode of entry, we find that the greenfield is a more likely option for large-sized companies, and that weak propensity for innovation is associated with a low probability to enter through a merger or acquisition. A high propensity for innovation is related to asset-seeking FDI, while high profitability is needed to invest in the core EU countries. Finally, very large size characterizes companies that invest in more than country. |
| Keywords: | China; India; FDI; firm-level data; MNEs |
| JEL: | F21 F23 |
| Date: | 2014–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2014_027&r=cse |
| By: | Voxi Amavilah (Glendale College, Economics); Simplice A. Asongu (African Governance and Development Institute, Yaoundé, Cameroon); Antonio R. Andrés (Universidad Camilo Jose Cela, Facultad de CC. Jurídicas y Económicas) |
| Abstract: | A previous analysis of the impact of formal institutions on the knowledge economy of 22 Middle-Eastern and Sub-Sahara African countries during the 1996-2010 time period concluded that formal institutions were necessary, but inadequate, determinants of the knowledge economy. To extend that study, this paper claims that globalization induces peace and stability, which affects governance and through governance the knowledge economy. The claim addresses one weakness of previous research that did not consider the effects on the knowledge economy of globalization. We model the proposition as a three-stage process in four hypotheses, and estimate each hypothesis using robust estimators that are capable of dealing with the usual statistical problems without sacrificing economic relevance and significance. The results indicate that globalization has varying effects on peace and stability, and peace and stability affect governance differently depending on what kind of globalization induces it. For instance, the effects on governance induced by globalization defined as trade are stronger than those resulting from globalization taken to be foreign direct investment. Hence, we conclude that foreign direct investment is not a powerful mechanism for stimulating and sustaining the knowledge economy in our sample of countries. However, since globalization-induced peace and stability have both positive and negative effects on governance simultaneously, we also conclude that while the prospect for knowledge economy in African countries is dim, it is still realistic and attainable as long as these countries continue to engage in the kind of globalization that does indeed induce peace and stability. We further conclude that there is a need for a sharper focus on economic and institutional governance than on general governance as one possible extension of this paper. |
| Keywords: | Globalisation, Peace and Stability, Governance, Knowledge Economy |
| JEL: | I20 I28 K42 O10 O55 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adv:wpaper:201404&r=cse |
| By: | Coccia M. (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | The fundamental problem in the field of the economics of innovation is which economic subjects are the sources of radical innovations and high technological performances. The study here confronts this problem by developing a theoretical framework underpinned in the concept of purposeful system having a purpose of global leadership, which endeavours to analyse the sources of General-Purpose Technologies GPTs in a Schumpeterian world of innovation-based competition. Through an inductive study based on some societies that in the history have generated technological and economic change Roman and Britain Empire, and current USA, the analysis shows vital characteristics that can be the sources of changes in the techno-economic paradigm. In particular, purposeful country-systems with high economic military potential, supported by a strategy of high RD expenditures, and the objective of global leadership, winning international conflicts against other great powers a very strong competition for the hegemony, tend to generate several inventions and radical innovations that are spread, in the long run, across wide geo-economic areas. It seems that the initial sources of GPTs e.g. aqueduct, steam engine, jet aircraft, computer, etc. are, de facto, associated with the global posture of great powers to achieve/sustain global leadership in intensive effective and/or potential international competitions, rather than warfare per se. This study refers to this nexus as leadership-driven innovation. International conflict is the context that spurs the GPTs, which are driven by global leadership of critical societies, whereas initial military RD, demand and procurement are important mechanisms underlying the process that induces emerging path-breaking technologies. The vital linkages between observed facts can support a general socio-economic framework of the sources of path-breaking innovations based on a leadership of main economic subjects that support innovative activity mainly in communications and energy systems parallel to transportation technology and the evolution and development of human societies. |
| Keywords: | Economic History: General; Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913; Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: Europe: Pre-1913; Economic Development: General; Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives; Technological Change: Other; |
| JEL: | O31 O39 O10 N00 N31 N33 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2014087&r=cse |
| By: | Chatterji, Aaron K. (Duke University); Findley, Michael (University of Texas at Austin); Jensen, Nathan M. (George Washington University); Meier, Stephan (Columbia University); Nielson, Daniel (Brigham Young University) |
| Abstract: | Strategy research often aims to empirically establish a causal relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable such as firm performance. For many important strategy research questions, however, traditional empirical techniques are not sufficient to establish causal effects with high confidence. We propose that field experiments have potential to be used more widely in strategy research, leveraging methodological innovations from other disciplines to address persistent puzzles in the literature. We first review the advantages and disadvantages of using field experiments to answer questions in strategy. We define two types of experiments, "strategy field experiments" and "process field experiments," and present an original example of each variety. The first study explores the liability of foreignness and the second study tests theories regarding corporate culture. |
| Keywords: | field experiments, research methods, culture, liability of foreignness, foreign direct investment, strategy research, corporate culture |
| JEL: | C93 D03 L10 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8705&r=cse |
| By: | Igor B. Gurkov (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper reports the results of a survey of top executives of Russian manufacturing subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs). We reveal the prevailing types of job contracts and the use of monetary and non-monetary benefits, and find the similarities with and differences from such arrangements in locally owned industrial companies. We also reveal the differences in human resource management (HRM) policies based on the source of authority over HRM issues (global headquarters, regional headquarters, local groups of companies, etc.). The findings assist in predicting the possible evolution of HRM policies in Russian manufacturing subsidiaries of MNCs during the anticipated period of economic recession in Russia. |
| Keywords: | Multinational corporations, Human resource management policies, Russia, Manufacturing, International management |
| JEL: | F23 M12 M11 L60 L23 J32 J32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:28man2014&r=cse |
| By: | Alexey A. Kindras (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Dirk Meissner (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Konstantin O. Vishnevskiy (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Mario Cervantes (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Whereas national and corporate Foresight are established instruments for anticipatory STI policy and innovation strategy respectively, regional Foresight is a rather new phenomena in this arena. Placed in between national and corporate Foresight regional Foresight can be considered to fulfill a briding role between the two by taking advantage of corporate Foresight done at corporations which are based in the regions and by orienting on the broader national Foresight and the related challenges covered by these studies. In addition regional Foresight also involves stakeholders who might be engaged in national as well as corporate but presumably these stakeholders play a more important and prominent role in the regional Foresight. Also it is understood that regional networks are important for the successful implementation of the results. Also at the regional dimension it shows that stronger personal linkages exist than in national or corporate Foresight. The article introduces and discusses two regional Foresight case studies in Russian regions, namely Bashkortostan and Samara. Regional Foresight in both case studies was designed to mirror the quadruple helix instead of focusing on the triple helix only as it is done in many other regional Foresight cases, e.g. the focus was extended beyond the science, government and industry stakeholders by including civil society as well. However the limitation of the case studies is the modest participation and representation of the innovative industries sectors which is also due to the common weakness of Russian industry overall. Still it is found that both cases created reasonable momentum for developing the regions in the STI dimension but also even broader in the economic and social welfare dimension. |
| Keywords: | regional foresight; roadmapping; scenarios; BRICS |
| JEL: | O11 O18 O32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:29sti2014&r=cse |
| By: | Kimle, Kevin |
| Abstract: | This paper suggests four models that could link US and Chinese investment and yield productive new avenues for commercial collaboration. All four models focus on animal protein supply chain technologies. That is because agricultural innovation in this realm is of particular importance to demandside developments and to rapidly changing consumption patterns in China. These four models focus on early-stage agricultural innovation and business development. |
| Keywords: | China; innovation; agricultural technologies; Investment; Business startups |
| JEL: | M13 M16 O32 Q13 Q16 |
| Date: | 2014–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:38334&r=cse |
| By: | Marko Gasiæ, Vladan Ivanoviæ, Marija Stojiljkoviæ (BUSINESS SCHOOL OF APPLIED STUDIES - BLACE, Serbia) |
| Abstract: | In a dynamic tourism industry, the tourism market which is becoming increasingly competitive, business success of one destination directly depends upon in advance programmed objectives and ways of their implementation. Turbulent changes, tendencies and trends in the part of tourism demand and on the side of the tourism supply, as well, greatly affect business behavior and response to the tourist destination and thus require strategic marketing. However, the strategic marketing process is very complex and for its successful implementation is necessary to ensure the unity of the participants, because if it’s not provided marketing strategies won’t be properly implemented which will result in reduction of the competitiveness of tourist, profits, etc. |
| Keywords: | strategic marketing, market trends, marketing mix, analysis. |
| JEL: | M31 L83 |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esb:casdrg:2014-221&r=cse |
| By: | Decramer, Stefaan; Fuss, Catherine; Konings, Jozef |
| Abstract: | Policy-making institutions such as the European Commission, the ECB and the OECD often use unit labor costs as a measure of international competitiveness. The goal of this paper is to examine how well this measure is related to international export performance at the firm level. To this end, we use Belgian firm-level data for the period 1999-2010 to analyze the impact of unit labor costs on exports. We use exports adjusted for their import content. We find a statistically significant negative effect of unit labor costs on export performance of firms with an estimated elasticity of the intensive margin of exports ranging between -0.2 and -0.4. This result is robust to various specifications, including firm, time and sector fixed effects and estimation approaches. We find that this elasticity varies between sectors and between firms, with firms that are more labor-intensive having a higher elasticity of exports with respect to unit labor costs. The micro data also enable us to analyze the impact of unit labor costs on the extensive margin. Our results show that higher unit labor costs reduce the probability of starting to export for non-exporters and increase the probability of exporters stopping. While our results show that unit labor costs have an impact on the intensive margin and extensive margin of firm-level exports, the effect is rather low, suggesting that passthrough of costs into prices is limited or that demand for exported products is not elastic. The latter is consistent with recent trade models emphasizing that not only relative costs, but also demand factors such as quality and taste matter for explaining firm-level exports. JEL Classification: F1, F4, F16 |
| Keywords: | competitiveness, exports, heterogeneity, unit labor costs |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20141752&r=cse |
| By: | Laura D. Kimmey Eugene Rich |
| Keywords: | collaboration, data infrastructure, institutional review board, multidisciplinary, teamwork |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2014–12–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:9c40aa42dc114a37892191b3d97a470f&r=cse |
| By: | Natalia A. Shmatko (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Adopting a Bourdieusian perspective, human capital of research team in the paper is understood as the configuration of the active properties of individual team’s members and the distribution of differences of their active properties. The paper describes a research team as an ensemble of social distinctions determined by a distribution of “active properties” of the team members (educational, research, administrative and media characteristics) and analyses their empirical distribution. The study is based on the consideration of sociological factors of research teams’ performance. The paper discusses in depth the performance of research team (from a sociological point of view) and the relationship between the performance and the social management efficiency. It is prouved that the performance depends on the efficiency of human capital management research team. These distributions show how holistic properties of the field develop, how they relate to individual agents’ properties and how individual researchers “fit” into science. |
| Keywords: | human capital, scientific capital, research and development, laboratory, performance, efficiancy, research management |
| JEL: | I2 I28 J24 O32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:32sti2014&r=cse |
| By: | Elizabeth O. Babalola; Rosa R. Bair; Stefan Gravenstein; Lauren Capizzo; Amy Zimmerman; Rebekah Gardner |
| Abstract: | There is increasing interest in the potential of health information technology (HIT) to improve quality of care, prevent medical errors, and increase administrative efficiencies in the nursing home setting. The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of nursing homes that were predictors of high versus low levels of technology adoption. |
| Keywords: | Health information technology, health information exchange, nursing homes, patient safety, care transitions, electronic health records |
| JEL: | I |
| Date: | 2014–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:db1319f6b2974df38033a15807a6566d&r=cse |