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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2025–06–30
ten papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira, Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Marco Vivarelli (Dipartimento di Politica Economica, DISCE, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy – UNU-MERIT, Maastricht, The Netherlands – IZA, Bonn, Germany - Global Labor Organization (GLO), Essen, Germany); Mariacristina Piva (Dipartimento di Politica Economica, DISCE, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy); Massimiliano Tani (School of Business, The University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia – IZA, Bonn, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Labor mobility is considered a powerful channel to acquire external knowledge and trigger complementarities in the innovation and R&D investment strategies; however, the extant literature has focused on either scientists’ mobility or migration of high-skilled workers, while virtually no attention has been devoted to the possible role of short-term business visits. Using a unique and novel database originating a country/sector unbalanced panel over the period 1998-2019 (for a total of 8, 316 longitudinal observations), this paper aims to fill this gap by testing the impact of BVs on R&D investment. Results from GMM-SYS estimates show that short-term mobility positively and significantly affects R&D investments; moreover, our findings indicate - as expected - that the beneficial impact of BVs is particularly significant in less innovative countries and in less innovative industries. These outcomes justify some form of support for BVs within the portfolio of the effective innovation policies, both at the national and local level. |
| Keywords: | Business visits; labor mobility; knowledge transfer; R&D investments |
| JEL: | O31 J61 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie5:dipe0049 |
| By: | Peter Persoon |
| Abstract: | Technological knowledge evolves not only through the generation of new ideas, but also through the reinterpretation of existing ones. Reinterpretations lead to changes in the classification of knowledge, that is, reclassification. This study investigates how reclassified inventions can serve as renewed sources of innovation, thereby accelerating technological progress. Drawing on patent data as a proxy for technological knowledge, I discuss two empirical patterns: (i) more recent patents are more likely to get reclassified and (ii) larger technological classes acquire proportionally more reclassified patents. Using these patterns, I develop a model that explains how reclassified inventions contribute to faster innovation. The predictions of the model are supported across all major technology domains, suggesting a strong link between reclassification and the pace of technological advancement. More generally, the model connects various, seemingly unrelated knowledge quantities, providing a basis for knowledge intrinsic explanations of growth patterns. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.08656 |
| By: | Estrin, Saul; Herrmann, Andrea; Levesque, Moren; Mickiewicz, Tomasz; Sanders, Mark |
| Abstract: | We present a Schumpeterian model of new venture creation, under uncertainty, which explains the tradeoff between speed-to-breakeven and revenue-at-breakeven and relates this to the level of innovation. We then explore the tradeoffs between these outcomes empirically in a sample of 331 information and communication technology (ICT) ventures using a multi-input, multi-output stochastic frontier model. We estimate the contribution of financial capital and labor to the outcomes and the tradeoffs between them, as well as address heterogeneity across ventures. We find that more innovative (and therefore more uncertain) ventures have lower speed-to-breakeven and/or lower revenue-at-breakeven. Moreover, for all innovativeness levels, new ventures face a tradeoff between speed-to-breakeven and revenue-at-breakeven. Our results suggest that it is the availability of proprietary resources (founder equity and founder labor) that helps ventures overcome bottlenecks in the venture creation process, and we propose a line of research to explain the variation in venture creation efficiency. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; innovation; new venture creation; proprietary resource; Stochastic frontier analysis; Schumpeterian growth model |
| JEL: | O31 L29 |
| Date: | 2025–06–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128098 |
| By: | Yoichiro NISHIMURA; Katsushi SUZUKI |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of bank–firm relationships on innovation outcomes by utilizing patent data from Japanese firms. Our results reveal that compared with other firms, (1) firms with closer relationships with banks are less likely to engage in high-risk innovation and that (2) firms that receive board member appointments or equity investment from banks tend to pursue exploitative innovation rather than exploratory innovation. Conversely, firms with greater dependence on loans from specific banks tend to exhibit greater R&D investment but produce fewer patents than do other firms. These findings suggest that while banks with close relationships with firms may encourage higher levels of R&D investment, they simultaneously impede the pursuit of high-quality and exploratory innovation. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25051 |
| By: | Rikard FORSLID; Toshihiro OKUBO |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how firm’s internalization strategies - specifically exporting and foreign direct investment (FDI) - relate to their product scope. We develop a model incorporating firm heterogeneity and multi-product firms. The most productive firms engage in FDI and produce the broadest range of products. Firms with intermediate productivity levels tend to export, offering fewer product varieties than FDI firms. In contrast, low-productivity firms typically operate domestically and have the smallest product scope. The model also predicts that the ratio of the product scope of exporters and domestic firms and the ratio of FDI firms and exporters should decline as the difficulty of expanding the product scope increases. The Japanese firm-level data support the theoretical predictions. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25053 |
| By: | Khezri, Mohsen |
| Abstract: | This study explores the impacts of 11 diverse entrepreneurship indicators on green technology innovation (GTI) to determine the optimal environmental regulatory framework that fosters green entrepreneurship. Additionally, the study investigates the impacts of environmental regulations on GTI by utilizing nonlinear panel smooth threshold regression (PSTR) models on data collected from 18 countries from 2002 to 2020. By identifying a critical regulatory threshold of 1.89, the research reveals how varying levels of environmental regulations significantly influence GTI dynamics. The estimation results emphasize that GDP per capita and financial development are critical in fostering GTI. However, stringent environmental regulations can counteract these positive effects. Urbanization and trade openness also positively influence GTI, with environmental regulations complementing their impacts. The transition to a service-oriented industrial structure positively affects GTI. The results underscore the negative impact of entrepreneurship indicators, potentially diverting resources away from GTI. Nonetheless, environmental regulations with stringent enforcement mechanisms can counterbalance the negative impacts of specific entrepreneurship metrics. Among the entrepreneurship indicators analyzed, financing for entrepreneurs, governmental support and policies, and governmental programs exhibit an inverted U-shaped impact pattern, peaking at specific levels of environmental regulation. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurial indicators; environmental regulations; GTI; Green Technology Innovation; panel smooth threshold regression; PSTR |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2025–07–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128368 |
| By: | Ronald B. Davies; Mahdi Ghodsi (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Francesca Guadagno (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | The hope that multinational firms will improve local employment and productivity is a driving force behind policy efforts to attract investment. Such spillovers are often motivated by technological spillovers from foreign to domestic firms. We address this possibility by using the patenting activity of foreign multinationals in Europe as a measure of affiliate activity alongside more traditional proxies. We find that local firms’ employment and labour productivity is higher when FDI activity increases, particularly when those multinationals are upstream of locals. Furthermore, this effect is particularly significant among domestic patenting firms. Thus, it seems that the benefits of inbound investment are greatest for local innovators who are exposed to inbound innovating foreigners. |
| Keywords: | spillovers; Foreign Direct Investment; Patents |
| JEL: | F23 O24 O33 O34 Q55 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:wpaper:265 |
| By: | Le Ngoc, Anh (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City); Heshmati, Almas (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the dual impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on sustainable economic growth in Asia, focusing on its effects on Green GDP, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Using data from 38 Asian countries spanning 1999 to 2022 and employing a two-step GMM regression analysis, the findings reveal that while FDI positively influences Green GDP growth, it concurrently exacerbates GHG emissions and reduces EPI scores. These results underscore the paradoxical role of FDI in fostering economic growth while posing environmental challenges. The study highlights the importance of robust environmental policies, investment in green technologies, and regional cooperation to align FDI with sustainability goals. It also emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to leverage FDI's economic benefits without compromising environmental integrity. This research contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of FDI's environmental and economic implications in the Asian context, offering policy recommendations for achieving sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | sustainable economic growth, green economy, foreign direct investment, Asia |
| JEL: | F20 F21 O11 O44 O53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17900 |
| By: | Joshua S. Gans |
| Abstract: | Building on recent advances in the literature on knowledge creation and innovation (notably Carnehl and Schneider (2025), we propose a novel general equilibrium model that explicitly incorporates artificial intelligence (AI) as a decision-enhancing technology capable of interpolating between known points of knowledge. Our framework formalises the trade-off between AI’s coverage— its ability to span wider knowledge gaps—and its accuracy, and reveals the surprising result that, beyond producing immediate productivity gains, AI fundamentally alters the novelty of research. Specifically, when AI systems offer sufficiently broad coverage, they incentivise exploratory research that taps into novel, distant areas of knowledge and accelerates long-run growth; conversely, limited coverage promotes incremental research that may boost short-term efficiency while dampening the overall advancement of new ideas. Moreover, our analysis uncovers that the type of knowledge—whether novel or dense—plays a critical role in determining both the growth and welfare implications of AI, charting a new path for understanding how knowledge influences research strategies. By also examining the roles of market structure, licensing arrangements, and regulatory frameworks, our work contributes new, policy-relevant insights that reconcile the immediate benefits of AI adoption with the demands of sustainable long-term economic expansion. |
| JEL: | O30 O31 O40 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33907 |
| By: | Shijun Gu; Chengcheng Jia |
| Abstract: | Can the expansion of higher education lead to firm productivity growth? In this paper, we examine how China's college expansion program contributes to the rapid growth of firms' R&D expenditure and productivity. In our model, heterogeneous firms make endogenous R&D decisions, requiring them to allocate skilled workers between production and R&D. We structurally estimate the model using firm-level data on the level and distribution of R&D, as well as macro-level data on skill prices and sectoral allocation. Quantitative analysis reveals that between 2004 and 2018, the combination of the R&D-sector-biased technology shock, the skill-biased technology shock, and the skilled-labor supply shock leads to a 12 percent increase in total factor productivity (TFP), of which one-fifth is explained by the rising supply of skilled labor. Counterfactual analysis shows that a further increase in the share of skilled labor has the potential to increase TFP by an additional 2 percent, but the marginal effect diminishes due to the rising wages of unskilled labor. |
| Keywords: | R&D; TFP; skilled labor; college expansion; Chinese economy |
| JEL: | J24 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2025–06–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwq:101133 |