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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2019‒06‒17
fourteen papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Valentina De Marchi (Department of Economics and Management ‘Marco Fanno’, University of Padova); Eleonora Di Maria (Department of Economics and Management ‘Marco Fanno’, University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | Environmental sustainability has increased its relevance within business strategies and innovation in particular while circular economy (CE) is receiving growing attention as a new paradigm of production and value creation. Low attention has been given to explore the relationship between digital transformation of business processes via industry 4.0 technologies and CE strategies. On the one hand, digital manufacturing supports efficient use and control of resources. On the other hand, such technologies improve product life cycle management (through IoT or big data) and new business models (product-as-a-service). The paper explores the relationship between environmental sustainability strategies, technological investments in industry 4.0 and green outcomes, based on unique data gathered through an original 2017 survey on a sample of more than 1,100 Italian firms. Results show the positive relationship between green drivers and green outcomes for firms adopting industry 4.0 technologies, both in terms of eco-efficiency and circularity. Investing in digital manufacturing, smart products, and higher variety of 4.0s technologies characterize adopters with green outcomes. Having a clear green strategy, ICT propensity, domestic production, and low customer dependency are factors positively related with green outcomes for adopters. |
| Keywords: | digital manufacturing, industry 4.0, circular economy, sustainability, eco-efficiency |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pad:wpaper:0231&r=all |
| By: | Ben Westmore; Paula Adamczyk |
| Abstract: | Portugal’s export performance over the past decade has been impressive, helping to reduce external imbalances. This partly owed to a sequence of structural reforms that benefited the productivity of the export sector and led to an increase in its size. Nonetheless, exports as a share of GDP and the stock of foreign direct investment remain below that of other comparable small European economies. Further shifting the orientation of the economy to the external sector is vital for Portugal given the strong link between trade openness and GDP per capita. To do this, policymakers must ensure that policy settings incentivise exporting firms to expand and improve their competitiveness, both through lower price and improved quality. For example, regulatory barriers that reduce competition in professional services should be lowered to improve the cost and quality of intermediate inputs. Increasing the efficiency of domestic infrastructure is also key, especially through competition-enhancing reforms to the port sector. To further differentiate and improve Portuguese export products, skills in the business sector need to be enhanced through better-targeted lifelong learning opportunities. At the same time, there is a need to focus innovation policies on raising the participation of small and medium enterprises in innovative activities. |
| Keywords: | competitiveness, export performance, foreign direct investment, infrastructure, innovation, lifelong learning, regulatory reforms |
| JEL: | F43 G38 H25 O31 O43 |
| Date: | 2019–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1556-en&r=all |
| By: | Marco Grazzi; Chiara Piccardo; Cecilia Vergari |
| Abstract: | This work investigates the relationship between proxies of innovation activities, such as patents and trademarks, and firm performance in terms of revenues, growth and profitability. By resorting to the virtual universe of Italian manufacturing firms this work provides a rather complete picture of the Intellectual Property (IP) strategies pursued by Italian firms, in terms of patents and trademarks, and we study whether the two instruments for protecting IP exhibit complementarity or substitutability. In addition, and to our knowledge novel, we propose a measure of concordance (or proximity) between the patents and trademarks owned by the same firm and we then investigate whether such concordance exert any effect on performance. |
| Keywords: | Trademarks; Patents; Innovation; Intellectual Property; Complementarity; Concordance; Technological proximity; firm performance; firm growth. |
| Date: | 2019–06–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2019/19&r=all |
| By: | Bishnupriya Gupta (University of Wawick); Dilip Mookherjee (Boston University); Kaivan Munshi (University of Cambridge); Mario Sanclemente (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | We argue that community networks played an important role in the emergence of Indian entrepreneurship in the early stages of the cotton textile and jute industry in the late 19th and early 20th century respectively, overcoming the lack of market institutions and government support. From business registers, we construct a yearly panel dataset of entrepreneurs in these two industries. We find no evidence of entry patterns being affected by price shocks or pre-industrial accumulation of wealth or experience in trading in the corresponding upstream sector. Firm directors exhibited a high degree of clustering of entrepreneurs by community. The dynamics of entry is consistent with a model of network-based dynamics. |
| Date: | 2018–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bos:iedwpr:dp-318&r=all |
| By: | Jonathan Eberle (Department of Economic Geography and Location Research, Philipps University Marburg); Philipp Boeing (ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, Mannheim and Peking University, China Center for Economic Research (CCER), Beijing) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of research and development (R&D) subsidies on R&D inputs of large- and medium-sized firms and on additional innovation and economic activities in Chinese provinces. A panel vector autoregressive (VAR) model and corresponding impulse response function (IRF) analysis allow us to differentiate between direct and indirect effects, which add up to total effects. We find that an increase of R&D subsidies significantly decreases private R&D investments, although there is a significant positive effect on the R&D personnel employed in firms. We interpret these findings as a partial crowding-out effect because public funds substitute some private funds while total R&D inputs still increase. Complementarily, we find a positive secondary effect on the provincial patent activity, our measure of technological progress. Interestingly, we also find potentially unintended effects of R&D subsidies on increases in the investment rate in physical capital and residential buildings. Although R&D subsidies fail to incentivize private R&D expenditures, firms increase total R&D inputs, and provincial economies benefit from secondary effects on technological progress and capital deepening. |
| Keywords: | China, R&D subsidies, regional economic growth, panel VAR, impulse response functions |
| JEL: | C33 R11 R58 O38 O47 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pum:wpaper:2019-03&r=all |
| By: | Elert, Niklas (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Stam, Erik (Utrecht School of Economics); Stenkula, Mikael (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | Trust and entrepreneurship are seen as key ingredients of long-term prosperity. However, it is not clear how these two are related. Part of the confusion can be traced back to the measurement of entrepreneurship, biased towards independent entrepreneurship (self-employed and new firms), and excluding entrepreneurship within established organizations. We shed new light on the relationship between trust and entrepreneurship, by proposing two mechanisms relating trust to entrepreneurship by employees, so-called intrapreneurship. We hypothesize that generalized trust influences the prevalence of intrapreneurship in an economy, and the allocation of entrepreneurial talents between independent entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, through two mechanisms. First, generalized trust may substitute for complete contracts as a means of organizing labor in society, enabling a level of job autonomy in organizations necessary for intrapreneurship to flourish. Second, by way of its influence on the size and scope of the welfare state, generalized trust may increase the benefits of employment relative to self-employment, causing entrepreneurial individuals to elect to be intrapreneurs rather than independent entrepreneurs. Using a novel dataset, we find support for these hypotheses in a cross-country regression model covering the time period 2011–2017. |
| Keywords: | Trust; Intrapreneurship; Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial behavior; Institutions; Job autonomy; Welfare state |
| JEL: | H30 J20 J83 L26 M13 O12 O31 O43 O57 |
| Date: | 2019–05–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1280&r=all |
| By: | Enrietti, Aldo; Geuna, Aldo; Nava, Consuelo R.; Patrucco, Pier Paolo (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | By discussing the relation between the traditional Marshallian/Jacobian approach and Klepper’s concept of spinoffs and their role, this paper tries to explain the early genesis and later evolution of the Italian automotive industry, based on the for mation of the Torino’s car cluster from the late nineteenth century. Historical analysis and econometric models are integrated to identify key factors that enabled the creation and success of the automotive industry in Turin. Specifically, we investigate agglomeration economies, the role of spinoffs and institutional factors such as the level and importance of local education. Based on original archival research, we built a new database of all Italian automobile companies. Replication of Klepper’s (2007) and Boschma and Wenting’s (2007) models shows no particular influence of the Turin cluster and no early entry advantages. Our model, which integrates and extends previous contributions, confirms the existence of a spinoffs effect, and in particular the positive effect of inherited technical skills embedded in pilots. We find support also, for positive agglomeration effects at the regional level and inter industry externalities from aeronautics, a metropolitan cluster effect and the significance of metropolitan education. |
| Date: | 2019–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201909&r=all |
| By: | YAMAGUCHI Akira; IKEUCHI Kenta; FUKAO Kyoji; KWON Hyeog Ug; KIM Young Gak |
| Abstract: | In Japan small-and-medium-sized-firms invest less in R&D activities than large firms, which is contrary to the situation observed in the United States. We constructed a new dataset on buyer and supplier relationships and capital relationships including small firms whose number of employees is less than 50 and empirically tested the hypothesis that investments in R&D of buyers and suppliers or capital affiliates have substitution effects on R&D activities of small firms. We found the evidence that is consistent with our hypothesis and results indicating that on the contrary, investments in R&D of buyers, suppliers and capital affiliates complement investments in R&D of large firms. |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:19032&r=all |
| By: | Marcin Kolasa (Narodowy Bank Polski); Grzegorz Wesołowski (Narodowy Bank Polski) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a two-country model with asset market segmentation to investigate the effects of quantitative easing implemented by the major central banks on a typical small open economy that follows independent monetary policy. The model is able to replicate the key empirical facts on emerging countries’ response to large scale asset purchases conducted abroad, including inflow of capital to local sovereign bond markets, an increase in international comovement of term premia, and change in the responsiveness of the exchange rate to interest rate differentials. According to our simulations, quantitative easing abroad boosts domestic demand in the small economy, but undermines its international competitiveness and depresses aggregate output, at least in the short run. This is in contrast to conventional monetary easing in the large economy, which has positive spillovers to output in other countries. We also find that limiting these spillovers might require policies that affect directly international capital flows, like imposing capital controls or mimicking quantitative easing abroad by purchasing local long-term bonds. |
| Keywords: | quantitative easing, international spillovers, bond market segmentation, term premia |
| JEL: | E44 E52 F41 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbp:nbpmis:309&r=all |
| By: | SUZUKI Shinya; IKEUCHI Kenta |
| Abstract: | As many Japanese companies develop global research and development activities, the influence of technological cooperation with overseas universities on corporate research and development activities is also increasing. In this paper, we investigate the influence of the existence of a company’s overseas affiliates in the country where the cooperating research partner is located and the country type of that partner, when a Japanese company carries out technical cooperation with overseas universities. As a result of analyzing the samples of Japanese manufacturing firms, we found that when overseas affiliates of Japanese companies exist in countries of partner universities, the research and development performance of the company increased. Also, if a partner university is located in a developed country, the research and development performance of the company is enhanced. The findings suggest that the research and development activities of companies are influenced by both the nature of the implementation and cooperation partner in international collaboration efforts. |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:19019&r=all |
| By: | Magadán-Díaz, Marta; Sotiriadis, Marios; Rivas-García, Jesús |
| Abstract: | The main goal of this research is to determine whether the accommodation capacity and the financial performance can be considered as the main driving forces of eco-innovation in the context of Spanish hotel industry. Eco-innovation is a challenge for tourism industry, given the connection and interrelationship between environmental quality and business performance. The eco-innovation plans represent a new field of research in its infancy. This paper addresses the conceptual evolution of eco-innovation to subsequently develop an analytical framework that tentatively explores this concept and its implementation in Spanish hotel companies through two basic internal characteristics of these organizations: their business performance and their respective size, measured in terms of accommodation capacity. The case study method was applied -through documentary evidence and structured interviews- to the 10 companies leading -in terms of turnover- the national hotel offering and have a remarkable international presence. All these interviews were conducted between November 6th, 2017 and February 28th, 2018. |
| Keywords: | Eco-innovation; environmental responsibility; hospitality industry; drivers; organizational change; Spain |
| JEL: | L83 M14 Q2 |
| Date: | 2019–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:94090&r=all |
| By: | Boberg-Fazlic, Nina; Sharp, Paul |
| Abstract: | Despite the growing literature on the impact of immigration, little is known about the role existing migrant settlements can play for knowledge transmission. We present a case which can illustrate this important mechanism and hypothesize that nineteenth century Danish-American communities helped spread knowledge on modern dairying to rural America. From around 1880, Denmark developed rapidly and by 1890 it was a world-leading dairy producer. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, and data taken from the US census and Danish emigration archives, we find that counties with more Danes in 1880 subsequently both specialized in dairying and used more modern practices. |
| Keywords: | dairying; Immigration; Knowledge Spillovers; technology |
| JEL: | F22 J61 N11 N31 N51 O33 Q16 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13757&r=all |
| By: | Nina Boberg-Fazlić (University of Southern Denmark); Paul Sharp (University of Southern Denmark) |
| Abstract: | Despite the growing literature on the impact of immigration, little is known about the role existing migrant settlements can play for knowledge transmission. We present a case which can illustrate this important mechanism and hypothesize that nineteenth century Danish-American communities helped spread knowledge on modern dairying to rural America. From around 1880, Denmark developed rapidly and by 1890 it was a world-leading dairy producer. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, and data taken from the US census and Danish emigration archives, we find that counties with more Danes in 1880 subsequently both specialized in dairying and used more modern practices. |
| Keywords: | Dairying, immigration, knowledge spillovers, technology |
| JEL: | F22 J61 N11 N31 N51 O33 Q16 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hes:wpaper:0155&r=all |
| By: | Beata Bierut (Narodowy Bank Polski); Piotr Dybka (SGH Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Although the impact of institutions has been broadly studied in the literature on economic growth, their impact on international trade is less well-established. We aim to fill this gap by creating an extended database that, apart from price and non-price factors traditionally analyzed as determinants of exports, also includes measures of institutional development. Next, we introduce the Bayesian Model Averaging to establish which factors play the most important role for the export performance. Our results show that institutions have two types of effects on exports: a direct positive effect on the overall export performance (e.g. regulation) as well as a transformational impact on the export structure (from less to more technologically advanced exports, e.g. freedom to trade internationally). Our results also confirm that technological factors (e.g. patents) have a much greater impact on export performance than price factors. Moreover, some technological factors only have a significant transformational impact on the export structure (e.g. R&D expenditure). Human capital also seems to have only a transformational, rather than direct, impact on exports. |
| Keywords: | Trade, price competitiveness, technological competitiveness, institutional environment, Bayesian Model Averaging |
| JEL: | C11 C33 F14 F15 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbp:nbpmis:306&r=all |