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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2026–06–22
eleven papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira, Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Alvarez, Lourdes; Bullón, Angel |
| Abstract: | Innovation is a fundamental driver of productivity, playing a pivotal role in fostering market dynamism. This study examines firm-level data from Peru, analyzing innovation activities in small and large enterprises across the manufacturing and services sectors. Employing a rigorous methodological framework—including Fligner–Policello tests, matching techniques, and unconditional quantile treatment effects—the analysis reveals that innovation significantly increases sales growth in large manufacturing firms and service-sector SMEs, while no immediate effects on productivity are detected. Regarding firm longevity, significant impacts are observed exclusively among large manufacturers. These findings indicate that, in contrast to sales, productivity gains from innovation may require a longer horizon to emerge. |
| Keywords: | Business innovation, Sales growth, Labor productivity, Firm longevity, SMEs, Manufacturing and Services. |
| JEL: | L1 O31 |
| Date: | 2025–11–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129105 |
| By: | Koski, Heli |
| Abstract: | Abstract Geopolitical tensions have increasingly extended to the development of strategic technologies. In particular, technological rivalry between the United States and China has reshaped firms’ international innovation networks and the organization of research and development activities. Patent data from leading 5G firms indicate that the effects of geopolitical fragmentation are strongest among firms whose innovation networks were previously highly integrated across geopolitical blocs. In these firms, the increase in geopolitical fragmentation is associated with a reduction of approximately 2.1 percentage points in the likelihood of collaboration between cross-block inventors, equivalent to roughly one quarter of the average level of collaboration. Geopolitical fragmentation also reduces inventor team diversity and the participation of inventors from rival geopolitical blocs. The effects were the broadest among Chinese firms. The findings suggest that geopolitical rivalry affects not only trade, investment, and technology transfer but also innovation networks through which new technologies are developed. In strategic industries such as 5G, geopolitical fragmentation may narrow the channels of international knowledge exchange and reshape the structure of global innovation networks. |
| Keywords: | 5G, Geopolitical fragmentation, Innovation networks, Crossborder collaboration, Patents |
| JEL: | F51 O31 O33 L96 |
| Date: | 2026–06–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:182 |
| By: | yeboah, samuel |
| Abstract: | This study reviews the relationship between carbon emissions and cost efficiency in manufacturing firms within the broader context of sustainable industrial transformation and increasing environmental pressures. The review synthesises contemporary theoretical and empirical literature published between 2020 and 2026, with particular emphasis on Scopus-indexed and Q1-ranked journal articles. The study examines the interaction between carbon emissions, operational efficiency, digital transformation, energy efficiency, and green innovation within manufacturing systems. The findings suggest that improvements in energy efficiency, technological innovation, and digital transformation can significantly reduce carbon emissions while simultaneously enhancing cost efficiency, productivity, and overall firm performance. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence remains mixed and highly context-dependent. Whereas several studies report substantial efficiency gains associated with low-carbon manufacturing practices and digital integration, others identify weak, conditional, or heterogeneous effects influenced by institutional quality, industrial structure, technological readiness, regulatory environments, and firm-specific capabilities. The review further reveals a strong geographical concentration within the literature, particularly the dominance of China-based manufacturing studies, with comparatively limited empirical evidence from African economies and other emerging industrial contexts. Moreover, most existing studies employ indirect indicators such as total factor productivity, ESG performance, or innovation output rather than direct measures of cost efficiency derived from frontier-based techniques such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). The originality of this study lies in its integrated synthesis of carbon emissions and cost efficiency within a unified manufacturing framework, an area that remains fragmented in the existing literature. The study advances an innovative perspective by conceptualising environmental sustainability, digital transformation, and operational cost efficiency as interconnected dimensions of industrial competitiveness rather than isolated constructs. Its contribution to knowledge derives from identifying major theoretical inconsistencies, methodological limitations, and contextual gaps that constrain current understanding, particularly the limited evidence from emerging economies and the inadequate application of direct cost efficiency measurement approaches in manufacturing research. |
| Keywords: | Manufacturing Firms; Digital Transformation; Energy Efficiency; Sustainable Manufacturing; Green Innovation; Industrial Productivity |
| JEL: | C67 D12 L60 O33 Q40 Q56 |
| Date: | 2026–04–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129216 |
| By: | Xiao Ma; Zi Wang; Xiaodong Zhu |
| Abstract: | We develop a dynamic multi-country trade model with trade-related technology diffusion and endogenous R&D to quantify the impacts of trade policies and trade wars on innovation, technology rivalry, and welfare. We estimate the model using data on trade and patent citations and validate it in the context of U.S. export controls on China. Counterfactual analysis yields three main results. First, U.S. export controls on China reduce technological progress in both countries: China experiences a sharp contraction in knowledge inflows, while the U.S. faces a decline in R&D. Second, trade-driven diffusion and endogenous innovation substantially amplify the technological and welfare gains in the U.S. and losses in other major economies from the 2025 Liberation Day tariffs. Third, U.S. optimal tariffs on China, under varying geopolitical concerns, reflect a trade-off between curbing technology diffusion to China and sustaining U.S. innovation. |
| Keywords: | Trade-related Technology Diffusion; Innovation; Endogenous Growth Model; Trade War; Optimal tariffs |
| JEL: | F12 F13 F14 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–06–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-824 |
| By: | Tamilina, Larysa; Akaliyski, Plamen |
| Abstract: | Innovation is widely recognized as a fundamental driver of long-term economic and societal prosperity, prompting extensive research into its determinants. Although culture and formal institutions are increasingly acknowledged as critical antecedents of innovation, empirical evidence remains limited regarding how these factors combine to either facilitate or constrain national innovation performance. This study investigates the joint effects of individualism–collectivism and formal institutions on both low and high innovation. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 80 countries, we identify multiple configurations of cultural and institutional conditions associated with divergent innovation outcomes. Our findings indicate that innovation is shaped by asymmetric patterns of sufficiency between cultural and institutional factors. High innovation requires their joint presence, while low innovation can arise from multiple forms of institutional or cultural deficiency. Building on this asymmetric relationship, we propose a novel typology of national innovation regimes. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, culture, individualism-collectivism, formal institutions, fsQCA |
| JEL: | C1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2026–06–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129487 |
| By: | Kyriakos Drivas; Afroditi Anagnosti |
| Abstract: | Innovation and exports are closely related concepts that are frequently explored in the academic literature, particularly in the fields of economics, business strategy, and intellectual property management. The purpose of this paper is to explore these concepts via two complementary approaches. First, while the relationship between innovation and exports is well established, the specific contributions of different stages of innovation remain underexplored. We therefore use the principle of relatedness and examine how different stages of innovation—namely technology, market, and design activities—are related to export specialisation. The results show that technology- and market-related capabilities serve as key drivers of new export specialisation. Second, we conducted an in-depth survey of Greek inventors with the aim to identify the motives, challenges and opportunities they face throughout the complex process of patenting and valorisation. The study reveals significant differences in the patenting motivations of Greek inventors according to their affiliation. Independent inventors and university-affiliated researchers see patents primarily as tools for commercialisation, exploiting them through licensing or sales. In contrast, large companies focus on strategic patenting to protect products and block competitors. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, export, patents, inventors, motives to file IPRs |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hel:greese:207 |
| By: | yeboah, samuel |
| Abstract: | Digital transformation has become a critical strategic driver of cost efficiency and competitiveness in manufacturing firms. This literature review synthesises contemporary theoretical and empirical evidence on the relationship between digital transformation and cost efficiency in manufacturing contexts. Drawing on resource-based view, dynamic capabilities theory, and transaction cost economics, the study explains how digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, automation, and integrated digital platforms enhance operational efficiency and reduce production costs. The review identifies multiple transmission mechanisms, including improvements in production efficiency, supply chain coordination, labour productivity, innovation efficiency, and resource utilisation. Empirical evidence from diverse contexts consistently shows that digital transformation reduces operating costs, enhances total factor productivity, improves energy efficiency, and strengthens firm performance. However, the review also highlights significant variations in outcomes depending on organisational readiness, technological capability, and institutional environments. While most studies report positive efficiency effects, evidence remains fragmented across different efficiency dimensions and geographically concentrated in developed and Chinese manufacturing sectors, limiting broader generalisability. The study further identifies key implementation challenges, including infrastructural constraints, capability gaps, and organisational resistance, particularly in emerging economies. By integrating existing literature, this review develops a conceptual framework linking digital transformation to cost efficiency through multiple mediating mechanisms. The study concludes with policy implications and future research directions aimed at strengthening digital capability development and enhancing manufacturing competitiveness globally. |
| Keywords: | Manufacturing firms; Industry 4.0; Operational efficiency; Supply chain efficiency; Total factor productivity |
| JEL: | D24 L60 M15 O33 Q55 |
| Date: | 2026–04–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:129217 |
| By: | Koski, Heli |
| Abstract: | Abstract This study examines how the U.S.–China technological rivalry reshapes inventive collaboration in core 5G infrastructure technologies. Using 106, 117 priority patent applications filed by leading 5G patenting firms between 2010 and 2023, we construct patent-level measures of inventor collaboration and diversity across geopolitical blocs. To identify the effects of geopolitical fragmentation, we exploit differences in firms’ pre-existing exposure to cross-bloc inventor integration and the changes in global cross-bloc co-invention over time. Geopolitical fragmentation significantly reduces cross-bloc inventor integration. Firms with greater pre-existing exposure to cross-bloc knowledge recombination experience larger declines in collaboration as fragmentation intensifies. A one-standard-deviation increase in the fragmentation shock reduces the likelihood of collaboration between U.S. and Chinese inventors by 2.1 percentage points, or roughly one quarter relative to the sample mean. Fragmentation also reduces inventor diversity and the share of inventors from rival geopolitical blocs, with the most pervasive and statistically robust effects observed among Chinese companies. |
| Keywords: | Geopolitical fragmentation, Technological decoupling, 5G, Innovation networks, Cross-border collaboration, Inventor networks |
| JEL: | F23 O32 O33 L96 D85 |
| Date: | 2026–06–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:140 |
| By: | Maczulskij, Terhi |
| Abstract: | Abstract TThe EU ETS is the main climate policy instrument in the European Union. By putting a price on carbon emissions, it aims to reduce GHG emissions while encouraging firms to adopt cleaner technologies. This policy brief summarizes the results from the recent paper examining the effects of the EU ETS on productivity, innovation activity, and environmental performance among Finnish energy-intensive firms. The analysis is based on various firm-level datasets covering the period 2000–2020. The data include financial statements, emissions, energy use, innovation activity, and R&D expenditure. Causal effects are identified by exploiting the staggered difference-in-difference method. The results show that the EU ETS did not reduce firms’ productivity or R&D expenditure. At the same time, regulated firms became significantly more likely to introduce both process and product innovations. In addition, energy intensity declined by approximately ten percent following regulation. These findings suggest that carbon pricing can stimulate technological adaptation and innovation without generating measurable costs on firm competitiveness. The innovation effects appear to arise primarily through technology adoption and process improvements rather than increased R&D inputs. Overall, the results support the use of climate policies as an effective tool for promoting the green transition while maintaining economic performance. |
| Keywords: | EU ETS, Innovation, Productivity |
| JEL: | D24 O31 O33 Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2026–06–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:181 |
| By: | Edoardo Borlatto (UNITO - Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin, UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, GRM - Groupe de Recherche en Management - EA 4711 - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur); Elisa Ballesio (UNITO - Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin, UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, GRM - Groupe de Recherche en Management - EA 4711 - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur); Elisa Truant (UNITO - Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin); Laura Broccardo (UNITO - Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | Management control systems (MCSs) are of paramount importance as they enable managers to achieve organizational objectives, and comprehensively oversee performance. Within the domain of MCSs, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) assumes a pivotal role, acting as a bridge between decision-makers who rely on MCSs for resource oversight and its traditional responsibilities as both an accountant and the leader of the financial and strategic divisions of the firm. Although there has been quite a scientific debate about the CFO's role and MCSs in the last decade, the discourse at the intersection of these two research fields is still scarce and fragmented. Therefore, the present manuscript aims to review the current literature on the interplay between MCSs and CFOs, as well as the evolution of their roles. Drawing on a systematic literature review of 53 peer-reviewed articles, retrieved from the Scopus database and assessed through content analysis, this manuscript underscores how modern MCSs have transformed the CFO's position from a primarily accounting-focused role into that of a strategic partner. Additionally, it emphasizes the CFO's dual role as both a user and shaper of MCSs, illustrating how the reciprocal influence between these two elements facilitates organizational adaptability to today's changing environment. Furthermore, the present manuscript provides a theoretical framework and a research agenda that could offer valuable insights to both academics and practitioners. |
| Keywords: | Financial Executive, Management Accounting, Strategy, Corporate sustainability, Management Control Systems, Chief Financial Officer, CFO |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05624443 |
| By: | Baumann, Ursel; Faia, Ester; Ferrando, Annalisa; Rariga, Judit; Cullen, Zoe; Perez-Truglia, Ricardo |
| Abstract: | How well does innovation diffuse across geographic boundaries? To shed light on this question, we present a large-scale field experiment involving 3, 300 firms across twelve European Union countries. We elicit firms’ perceptions of the share of similar firms in their own country that had invested in artificial intelligence (AI), as well as the corresponding share among similar firms in Germany, France, and Italy. We randomly provide half of the sample with accurate information about both domestic and foreign AI investment. We show that firms substantially underestimate competitors’ current AI investment, both domestically and abroad, and that they update their expectations about competitors’ future AI investment in response to the information treatment. The treatment also causes a statistically significant increase in firms’ own expected AI investment rate. We find strong strategic complementarities within borders: a 1 pp increase in the expected share of domestic peers investing in AI raises a firm’s own expected AI investment rate by 0.570 pp. These complementarities are absent across borders: the effect of an increase in the expected share of foreign peers investing in AI on a firm’s own expected AI investment rate is statistically insignificant. Overall, our evidence shows that innovation diffusion and strategic complementarities in AI investment are much stronger domestically than internationally. JEL Classification: O33, D22, C93, L21 |
| Keywords: | artificial intelligence, field experiment, innovation diffusion, survey data |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20263246 |