|
on Economics of Strategic Management |
|
Issue of 2026–08–10
nineteen papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira, Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Dohse, Dirk; Fehrenbacher, Sophia |
| Abstract: | African innovators typically suffer from severe resource constraints and need to develop strategies to cope with these constraints. This paper focusses on external knowledge sourcing and, in particular, on the role of cooperation as a means to compensate for missing resources. Findings suggest that domestic inter-firm cooperation is of outstanding importance for firm-level innovation in Nigeria, whereas cooperation with other partners (research institutions, foreign firms, consultants, or the government) has no sizable impact on the innovative performance of Nigerian firms. Moreover, we show that it is in particular young firms and firms suffering from financial constraints that benefit from cooperation, whereas foreign-owned firms benefit less. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the drivers of firm-level innovation in sub-Saharan Africa and have important implications for firm strategies and innovation policy. |
| Keywords: | Resource-constrained innovation, Knowledge sourcing, Inter-firm cooperation, Coactive learning, Africa |
| JEL: | D22 L25 O32 O36 O55 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:341859 |
| By: | Asia Guerreschi (Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamic Studies (SEEDS); Department of Economics and Management, University of Ferrara); Corentin Tenailleau (HEC Paris, Sustainability and Organizations Institute (S&O); École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Department of City, Environment, Transportation); Fernando J. Díaz López (Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamic Studies (SEEDS); HEC Paris, Sustainability and Organizations Institute (S&O); Department of Industrial Engineering, Stellenbosch University) |
| Abstract: | Climate adaptation and resilience are increasingly important dimensions of corporate sustainability and R&D strategies, yet management and economics research remains largely focused on climate mitigation and decarbonisation. This paper develops an exploratory framework linking business model innovation, organisational resilience and climate adaptation through the lens of dynamic capabilities. Using a multiple case study of three France-based logistics and transportation firms (CMA CGM, Getlink and Sogaris), the study examines how firm-level micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities contribute to anticipating, absorbing, adapting to and transforming in response to climate change. Findings suggest that climate resilience capabilities are emerging but remain unevenly developed across firms, with sensing and seizing capabilities more mature than reconfiguration and innovation capabilities. The paper proposes an initial conceptual framework (CLIMB Framework) and identifies avenues for future theoretical and empirical research on climate resilience innovation. |
| Keywords: | Climate adaptation; Climate resilience; Dynamic capabilities; Business model innovation; Corporate resilience; Climate innovation |
| JEL: | D81 Q54 Q55 Q56 O32 O39 |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:1226 |
| By: | Aaron Chatterji; Daniel Rock; Eduard Talamas |
| Abstract: | Nonaka emphasized that innovation is the result of a continuous back-and-forth between tacit and explicit knowledge. Artificial intelligence introduces a fundamentally new object into this process -- tacit machine knowledge -- but Nonaka's ideas are more relevant than ever. The central role of the knowledge-creating company remains the same: to create the shared context in which different kinds of knowledge can feed off each other, become organizational knowledge, and set off further cycles of innovation. |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2606.29227 |
| By: | Mutsamwira, Sam |
| Abstract: | This study examines how scientist-entrepreneurs in New Zealand experience and navigate intellectual property (IP) during the technology transfer process. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with fourteen scientist-entrepreneurs, analysed via reflexive thematic analysis. The findings reveal a central IP Paradox; IP is simultaneously an indispensable prerequisite for technology transfer and a significant impediment. Useful theories, the Innovation Incentive Theory, Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship, and Resource-Based View, only partially explain this phenomenon, as managing IP introduces profound strategic tensions, costs, and uncertainties. The analysis elucidates the IP Paradox for scientific start-ups, which complements and adds on to these dominant theoretical frameworks, and then develops an IP Navigation Matrix as a sense-making and decision-support tool grounded in entrepreneurs’ lived experience. This provides a nuanced understanding of IP’s dual role, offering direct managerial and policy implications for improving technology transfer, supporting academic entrepreneurship, and fostering innovation in New Zealand and other small open economies. The findings also provide practical insights for IP practitioners advising scientific ventures in New Zealand. Keywords: intellectual property protection; scientific start-ups; patents; trade secrets; technology transfer; New Zealand |
| Date: | 2026–05–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:ywp2a_v1 |
| By: | Schmutzler, Armin |
| Abstract: | By affecting prices and thereby market shares of green and brown firms, product innovations and process innovations influence industry emissions even when they do not directly affect the emission intensity of the innovating firm. Using a differentiated two-stage duopoly, this paper therefore analyzes the effects of environmental policy on such innovations, and it asks how these effects differ from each other and from those of environmental innovations that directly reduce the emission intensity. The paper investigates the determinants of R&D investments, showing in particular that incentives for certain types of potentially beneficial innovations may be negative. Moreover, it analyzes how suitable policies can foster green innovation. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; Environmental policy; Imperfect competition |
| JEL: | Q55 L13 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:20170 |
| By: | Jorge-Vinicio Murillo-Rojas (Instituto Centroamericano de Administración de Empresas (Costa Rica, Alajuela) - INCAE); Jan Brinckmann (URL - Universitat Ramon Llull [Barcelona]); Marc van Essen (EM - EMLyon Business School) |
| Abstract: | Research Summary: Business incubators are among the most widely implemented instruments to foster entrepreneurship. Yet empirical evidence on their effectiveness remains fragmented and often contradictory. Limited research systematically compares how different types of incubators influence multiple venture performance outcomes, including innovation, survival, growth, profitability, and employment. In this meta-analysis of 39 empirical studies encompassing 55, 219 firms, we synthesize the relationship between business incubation and different venture performance dimensions. Our results reveal a significant positive overall effect, moderated by the types of support mechanisms provided and the incubators' ownership identities. We find strong positive effects on innovation and a modest but statistically significant effect on growth, whereas effects on survival, profitability, and employment are weaker and, in part, statistically insignificant. Managerial Summary: Policymakers regularly invest in incubators, yet uncertainty remains about which models deliver meaningful value to supported firms. Drawing on evidence from 39 studies covering more than 55, 000 firms, this meta-analysis shows that incubators can improve innovation and firm growth, while effects on survival, profitability, and job creation are limited or inconsistent. Incubator design and governance are central drivers of support effectiveness. Programs that emphasize bridging-that is, linking startups to investors, customers, and expert networks-generate stronger outcomes than models focused primarily on buffering, such as subsidized space or administrative support. Private and university incubators outperform public models, which often face bureaucratic constraints. These findings provide guidance on how managers and policymakers can align an incubator's support model and governance with the specific outcomes they seek to achieve. |
| Keywords: | incubator, meta-analysis, ownership, performance, resource support |
| Date: | 2026–06–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05680688 |
| By: | Akcigit, Ufuk; Alp, Harun; Pearce, Jeremy; Prato, Marta |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the symbiotic relationship between transformative entrepreneurs and inventors, which is crucial for economic growth. We utilize microdata from Denmark to demonstrate that while the relationship between IQ and general entrepreneurship tends to be negative, it is strongly positive among transformative entrepreneurs. Transformative entrepreneurs, often with higher IQ and education levels, significantly drive R&D and business growth, thereby providing substantial opportunities for inventors. In contrast, average entrepreneurs are more influenced by their family’s entrepreneurship background. Our economic model links these dynamics to overall economic progress, highlighting how higher education influences career paths in entrepreneurship and invention. We identify talent misallocation caused by unequal education access, particularly affecting lower-income families. Our findings indicate the most effective policies strengthen the interplay between higher education, innovation, and entrepreneurship to foster transformative businesses and achieve long-run economic growth. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | O31 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:20185 |
| By: | Francisco Villegas (UDP - Universidad Diego Portales [Santiago - Chili]); Stefan Markovic (NEOMA - Neoma Business School); Cristina Sancha (ESADE Barcelona - Sant Cugat); Nebojsa Davcik (Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School); Piyush Sharma (Curtin University); Joan Llonch (UAB - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona = Autonomous University of Barcelona = Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | Among the extensive research into various environmental strategies and their effects on competitive advantage, a gap remains regarding whether small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from adopting a circular economy and what kinds of internal knowledge they need to embrace it effectively. Based on survey data from 205 SME managers, this study examines how intrinsic and extrinsic learning orientations influence circular economy adoption and competitive advantage. Using structural equation modeling, we validate that both learning orientations are important in fostering the adoption of circular economy within organizations, leading to an increased competitive advantage. Our findings highlight the need for formal knowledgebuilding mechanisms and internal ecosystems to support sustainable change. Overall, our study offers a guide for learning process development for practitioners, consumers, and policymakers in SME contexts. |
| Keywords: | SMEs, Intrinsic vs. extrinsic learning orientation, Environment, Competitive advantage, Circular economy |
| Date: | 2025–09–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05652058 |
| By: | Gumpert, Anna; Manova, Kalina; Rujan, Cristina; Schnitzer, Monika |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an integrated analysis of multinational companies' global production and innovation. We establish novel stylized facts using rich data on the network of production affiliates and patent activity of German multinationals. We rationalize these facts with a heterogeneous-firm model, in which companies jointly determine the location and scale of production, basic innovation and applied innovation, under asymmetric complementarities across these three activities. Empirical evidence consistent with the model indicates that bigger MNCs innovate more intensively in terms of patent frequency and quality, and offshore innovation to more countries, including both countries with and without production affiliates. Moreover, MNCs' innovation portfolio follows countries' comparative advantage across technology classes, with applied innovation more likely to be co-located with production than basic innovation. |
| Keywords: | Multinational firms; Fdi; Offshoring; Innovation; Patents |
| JEL: | F20 F23 F63 L23 L24 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:20045 |
| By: | Tiago Neves Sequeira (University of Coimbra, Faculty of Economics and CeBER) |
| Abstract: | Many frontier technologies generate both civilian and military applications, raising the question of how policies targeting one application influence innovation when knowledge is shared across sectors. This paper develops a Schumpeterian model of directed technical change in which civilian, military and dual-use technologies coexist as endogenous innovation ladders. The key innovation is to distinguish between a non-rival stock of knowledge generated by dual-use research and rival intermediate goods supplying civilian and military markets. Consequently, policy interventions in one sector redirect research incentives throughout the economy. The model admits a stable balanced-growth path with an interior allocation of research effort. A calibration based on U.S. patent stocks, aggregate R&D intensity and defence R&D expenditure illustrates the transition dynamics. Modest policy interventions substantially redirect innovation towards dual-use technologies, generating civilian knowledge spillovers while leaving long-run aggregate growth largely unchanged. |
| Keywords: | Directed technical change, dual-use innovation, endogenous growth, defense R&D, Schumpeterian growth, industrial policy |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O33 O40 H56 L16 |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gmf:papers:2026-06 |
| By: | D'Alessandro, Francesco; Santarelli, Enrico; Vivarelli, Marco |
| Abstract: | This study examines how regional technological relatedness and local AI knowledge influence regional innovative activity, as measured by patenting activity. Using a novel three-way longitudinal dataset (670 four-digit CPC classes × 302 NUTS-2 regions × nine four-year periods, 1986-2021) and leveraging a deep learning-based identification of AI patents, we show that two broad mechanisms operate in parallel. First, in accordance with the extant literature, technologies that are cognitively close to a region's existing patent portfolio enjoy higher patenting activity, confirming that relatedness remains a strong and persistent predictor of innovative output. Second, local AI endowments are positively associated with patenting across technological fields, even after conditioning on relatedness, indicating that AI plays an enabling and cross-cutting role in a given regional innovation system. Moreover, the interaction between relatedness and AI turns out to be negative and statistically significant, implying that AI attenuates the extent to which local innovative efforts depend on the technology's proximity to the regional portfolio. In sum, AI appears to enhance overall local innovative activity while reducing its reliance on pre-existing regional knowledge structures. |
| Keywords: | Artificial intelligence, AI, technological change, regional innovation, relatedness |
| JEL: | O31 R11 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1792 |
| By: | Comin, Diego; Lashkari, Danial; Mestieri, Marti |
| Abstract: | We document the structural transformation of innovation using historical patent data since the 1850s, along with R&D expenditure and TFP growth for the post-war period. Over time, innovation has shifted from agricultural sectors to manufacturing, and, more recently, to services. We develop and quantify a multi-sector semi-endogenous growth model of structural change in innovation and production, incorporating the classical demand-pull and technology-push drivers of innovation. Sectors differ in their innovation technologies, and the extent to which they benefit from knowledge spillovers (technology-push). Nonhomothetic demand shifts the market shares toward income-elastic sectors along the growth process (demand-pull). A calibrated version of our model replicates the structural transformations of innovation and production observed in the US data. Using the model, we evaluate the future impact of Baumol’s disease on aggregate productivity and find it to be minimal. Our results suggest that aggregate productivity growth may recover in the coming decades as the service sector becomes increasingly innovation-driven. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; Productivity |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:20273 |
| By: | Vogt, Savio |
| Abstract: | The global doctoral economy is undergoing profound structural transformation driven by geopolitical competition, technological change, artificial intelligence, industrial policy and strategic innovation (OECD, 2025; UNESCO, 2021). Doctoral education increasingly functions at the intersection of national innovation, scientific capability, technological sovereignty and economic resilience rather than solely as a mechanism of academic credential formation. Contemporary reforms consequently oscillate between two competing institutional logics: publication-driven academic productivity and innovation-oriented industrial relevance. Whilst both respond to legitimate policy pressures, neither adequately addresses the long-term problem of preserving knowledge continuity, methodological integrity and institutional resilience under conditions of geopolitical uncertainty. This paper argues that doctoral policy has become constrained by a false binary between publication accumulation and innovation acceleration. Rather than interpreting doctoral education as either a publication economy or an innovation economy, it introduces the concept of Regulated Doctoral Economies, developed within the broader Regulated Accumulation Policy (RAP) framework. Doctoral systems are conceptualised as dynamic knowledge ecosystems whose resilience depends upon regulating expansion through institutional constraint rather than publication metrics or commercial outputs alone. Drawing upon comparative policy developments across China, India and Europe (2024–2026), the study integrates higher education governance, innovation systems, research integrity, comparative policy analysis, Fisherian variance and volatility assessment to examine the institutional conditions under which doctoral systems preserve equilibrium whilst avoiding both publication inflation and innovation concentration. The analysis further explores the risks of policy imitation across South Asia, arguing that resilient doctoral systems emerge not through maximising publications or products independently, but through maintaining a dynamic balance between scholarly originality, supervisory capacity, methodological rigour, industrial relevance and long-term knowledge continuity. The paper concludes by proposing the Regulated Doctoral Framework as a comparative policy architecture for strengthening doctoral resilience across increasingly geopolitically fragile frontiers, positioning doctoral education as a critical component of scientific sovereignty, institutional stability and long-term civilisational knowledge continuity. |
| Date: | 2026–07–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:edarxi:tukvx_v1 |
| By: | Alice Albonico; Marco Guerzoni |
| Abstract: | Is the aggregate productivity slowdown in the U.S. driven by a decline in successful innovation? This paper addresses this question using a medium-scale DSGE model with endogenous technology growth. The model distinguishes between two innovation channels: a spillover channel, which governs the efficiency with which aggregate R&D advances the technological frontier, and a difficulty channel, which governs the probability that sectoral R&D efforts successfully generate innovation. We estimate the model on U.S. macroeconomic and R&D data over the period 1984-2019, using macroeconomic observables and incorporating a patent-text-based measure of technological creativity that is informative about innovation probability. The results show that spillover shocks are the main drivers of short and medium run fluctuations in TFP growth, while R&D difficulty shocks mainly explain the probability of successful innovation. Once creativity data are included, the estimated difficulty shock becomes less volatile and more persistent, suggesting that innovation difficulty is a slow moving force shaping successful innovation. However, its quantitative contribution to TFP fluctuations remains substantially smaller than that of spillover shocks, although it matters in specific episodes. |
| Keywords: | Innovation Difficulty, Endogenous growth, R&D investments, Bayesian estimation |
| JEL: | E3 O3 O4 C11 C13 |
| Date: | 2026–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:580 |
| By: | Ku, Hyejin; Mu, Tianrui |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how China’s growing research capabilities impact global research universities across scientific fields. Using bibliometric data from 1980 to 2020, we assess the effects of the “China shock†on high-impact publications, novel concepts, and citation patterns. Our analysis reveals a positive net effect in Chemistry and Engineering & Materials Science (EMS), but a negative effect in Clinical & Life Sciences (CLS). In other fields, the effects are mostly positive but imprecise. We highlight the coexistence of competition and spillover effects, with their relative strength shaped by field characteristics, such as expansion potential and the quality of China’s research. |
| JEL: | J24 I23 O31 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:20191 |
| By: | Acharya, Viral; Engle, Robert; Wang, Olivier |
| Abstract: | We study how government policies and corporate commitments to decarbonize interact under two externalities: environmental damages and green innovation spillovers. Unconstrained carbon taxes and innovation subsidies could achieve first-best outcomes, but when government policies face constraints, commitments by large firms and institutional investors can serve as profit-driven coordination devices that spur green innovation and technology adoption, and thereby reduce overall transition costs. Firm commitments also enhance government policy credibility by lowering the need for high future carbon taxes. Our empirical evidence confirms that firm size and green common ownership drive Net Zero commitments and decarbonization investments. |
| Keywords: | Emissions; Abatement; Renewables |
| JEL: | Q5 H2 G3 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:20040 |
| By: | Züfle, Simon; Bickenbach, Frank |
| Abstract: | The global proliferation of organizations like incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces is particularly striking on the African continent. Over the last 10+ years, a large number of such organizations have been established in African countries, which are mainly referred to as (innovation) hubs. However, along with the strong growth in the number of innovation hubs, a vast increase in the diversity of these organizations can also be observed, resulting in a general fuzziness of the hub concept. In this critical review, we describe the origin and the evolution of the concept. We contribute to the literature by providing conceptual clarity and disentangling the fuzziness of the innovation hub concept. We introduce a new definition of innovation hubs and develop four key differentiation criteria. Based on that, we provide avenues for advancing research on innovation hubs. Our review also entails practical implications, as entrepreneurs in African countries are wondering which type of hub they should choose for developing their business ideas and growing their entrepreneurial ventures. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Technology, Africain, cubator, accelerator, innovation hub |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:341698 |
| By: | Iglesias-Osores, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | This working paper analyses the architecture and evolution of public funding for science, technology and innovation (STI) in Peru. It applies a descriptive method combining official budget series for 2015-2025 for CONCYTEC and ProInnóvate, administrative grant records, competition information and official 2026 funding calendars. Nominal amounts are contrasted with real values expressed in 2025 soles. The results show high budget execution and real growth for both national operators, with a recent acceleration in business innovation funding. Allocation nevertheless remains fragmented by institution, instrument, beneficiary type and territory: PROCIENCIA is concentrated in universities and research institutes, ProInnóvate mainly serves firms and entrepreneurs, and Lima captures a dominant share of scientific funding. The paper concludes that grants, co-financing and R&D tax incentives perform complementary functions, while firms’ access depends on project stage, co-financing capacity and the quality of project formulation. The analysis is descriptive and does not estimate the causal impact of public funding on innovation outcomes. |
| Keywords: | science, technology and innovation; public funding; public budget; business innovation; Peru |
| JEL: | H54 O31 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2026–07–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:130207 |
| By: | Krieger, Bastian; Steines, Leon; Bangert, Hendrik Hermann; Glas, Andreas; Eßig, Michael |
| Abstract: | Public organizations rely on open innovation to maintain and improve public service performance. Suppliers are a key source of such innovation. Public contracting authorities act as the interface between public organizations and supply markets, shaping whether supplier innovations are identified, rewarded, and selected. Combining representative firm-level data from the German Community Innovation Survey with official tender-level data from the Tenders Electronic Daily database, we construct firms' public procurement award histories between 2006 and 2023. We distinguish between four tender categories that differ by geographic scope (domestic versus international) and award mechanism (price-based versus criteria-based). We further differentiate between "real outsiders" and "pseudo-outsiders" based on experience supplying public markets. Using multivariate probit models, we examine how different degrees of innovation novelty are associated with supplier selection across tender categories and outsider status. Three findings emerge. i) Suppliers' category-specific procurement experience increases the likelihood of subsequent selection, indicating rigidity in public procurement markets. ii) Price-based tenders are associated with firm-level novelties, whereas criteria-based tenders are associated with market-specific novelties. iii) These innovation advantages are concentrated among "real outsiders" and largely disappear for "pseudo-outsiders", for whom prior category-specific procurement experience becomes the main predictor of subsequent selection. |
| Keywords: | Public procurement, open innovation, supply markets, tender design, competition |
| JEL: | H57 O36 D40 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:341998 |