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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2026–01–12
twelve papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira, Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Son Thi Kim Le; Laurent Scaringella (Rennes SB - Rennes School of Business) |
| Abstract: | Literature on innovation has identified specific innovation patterns under scarcity conditions. This research investigates organizational and business environment factors that could be predictors of Jugaad-driven innovation to gain insight into the mechanisms of how resourceconstrained firms can innovate following an informally recognized innovation paradigm. In particular, we explore the drivers of self-constructed innovation-a form of Jugaad-driven innovation among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in resource-constrained environments in developing countries. Using quantitative analysis of 2929 Vietnamese SMEs, we investigate how resource scarcities, social networking, and absorptive capacity influence the emergence of self-constructed innovation. Our findings reveal that weak infrastructure plays a significant role in triggering self-constructed innovation, whereas capital and human resource constraints do not show a significant effect. Additionally, we find that strong social networking and higher absorptive capacity enhance SMEs' ability to access external knowledge and develop selfconstructed innovations. The study also highlights that self-constructed innovation primarily emerges as a cost-effective, non-R&D alternative for firms facing resource limitations, reinforcing its strong connection with bricolage and frugal innovation. By examining the combined influence of external knowledge sources and internal capabilities, this study contributes to the literature on non-R&D innovation management, in particular Jugaad innovation and responds to the call for further research on innovation networks in developing economies. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and managers seeking to support SME innovation under resource constraints. |
| Keywords: | Developing country, Social networking, Absorptive capacity, Scarcity |
| Date: | 2025–07–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05411228 |
| By: | Lapo Santarlasci; Armando Rungi; Loredana Fattorini; Nestor Maslej |
| Abstract: | Artificial intelligence has become a key arena of global technological competition and a central concern for Europe's quest for technological sovereignty. This paper analyzes global AI patenting from 2010 to 2023 to assess Europe's position in an increasingly bipolar innovation landscape dominated by the United States and China. Using linked patent, firm, ownership, and citation data, we examine the geography, specialization, and international diffusion of AI innovation. We find a highly concentrated patent landscape: China leads in patent volumes, while the United States dominates in citation impact and technological influence. Europe accounts for a limited share of AI patents but exhibits signals of relatively high patent quality. Technological proximity reveals global convergence toward U.S. innovation trajectories, with Europe remaining fragmented rather than forming an autonomous pole. Gravity-model estimates show that cross-border AI knowledge flows are driven primarily by technological capability and specialization, while geographic and institutional factors play a secondary role. EU membership does not significantly enhance intra-European knowledge diffusion, suggesting that technological capacity, rather than political integration, underpins participation in global AI innovation networks. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.19569 |
| By: | Riku Watanabe |
| Abstract: | This study incorporates two heterogeneous industries into an endogenous growth model within the framework of a circular economy. In the model, industries are classified as either brown or green, and each can transition between states through R&D activities related to innovation and greening. Greening R&D is conducted exclusively by firms in the brown industry and enables the transition to the green industry. We analyze the effects of subsidies for greening R&D and show that such subsidies increases labor allocation to both innovation and greening R&D. As a result, the model yields win-win outcome: economic growth is promoted not only by productivity-driven growth acceleration but also by a decline in the share of brown industries that rely on exhaustible resources, which mitigates the negative impact of resource depletion on growth. These findings suggest that advancing a circular economy can be compatible with sustained economic growth. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:1286r |
| By: | Ufuk Akcigit; Harun Alp; Jeremy Pearce; Marta Prato |
| Abstract: | Why do some entrepreneurs drive economic growth while others do not? This piece discusses new work that studies entrepreneurs using a comprehensive dataset from Denmark. We study who becomes an entrepreneur, along with their hiring and business decisions, and find that a distinct minority are “transformative.” These individuals, who generate disproportionate productivity gains, tend to have high IQ scores, be well-educated, and hire technical (R&D) workers. The data support the idea of productivity growth being driven by the symbiotic relationship between transformative entrepreneurs and R&D workers. For policymakers, the lesson is that when an economy has more R&D workers and transformative entrepreneurs, they sustain higher long-run productivity growth. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship; R&D; innovation; productivity growth |
| JEL: | O31 O38 |
| Date: | 2026–01–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednls:102298 |
| By: | Krieger, Bastian; Scrofani, Stefania; Strecke, Linus |
| Abstract: | This paper explores a novel web-based indicator to examine how firms' disclosure of university ties on their websites shapes their innovation performance. First, using data from the German Community Innovation Survey 2023 and the Tenders Electronic Daily database, combined with firms' discloser of university ties on their website provided by ISTARI.AI, we investigate the indicator's properties by comparing the most frequently disclosed types of university ties: innovation collaborations, university customers, and employee education, with firms' survey responses and their procurement contracts. Second, we analyze how website disclosure of university ties relates to firms' revenues from new or significantly improved products or services, applying Ordinary Least Squares, a Control Function, and Lewbel Instrumental Variable approach. In sum, the website disclosure of ties with universities is significantly associated with its related survey items and procurement contracts. Moreover, website disclosures show no consistent association with revenues from innovations new-to-the-firm. A consistent statistically significant relationship emerges only for small firms, where website disclosures are associated with higher revenues from market novelties. These findings suggest that our web-based indicator captures ties between firms and universities and that disclosing these ties on firms' websites may influence the market success of their novel products. |
| Keywords: | University-Industry Transfer, Innovation Performance, Signaling |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O36 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:333900 |
| By: | Julius Koschnick |
| Abstract: | What was the origin of modern economic growth? Joel Mokyr has argued that self-sustained modern economic growth originated from a feedback loop between propositional (theoretical) and prescriptive (applied) knowledge, which turned positive in the eighteenth century during the "Industrial Enlightenment". While influential, this thesis has never been directly tested. This paper provides the first quantitative evidence by estimating the impact of knowledge spillovers between propositional and prescriptive knowledge on innovation in England, 1600-1800. For this, it introduces two new text-based measures for 1) the innovativeness of publications and 2) knowledge spillovers. The paper finds strong evidence that a feedback loop between propositional and prescriptive knowledge became positive during the second half of the eighteenth century. It also documents that this process had positive effects on the real economy as measured through patents. Overall, the findings provide empirical support for Mokyr's original hypothesis. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2512.16587 |
| By: | Roth, Felix; Rammer, Christian |
| Abstract: | Intangible assets have increasingly been identified as a main source of productivity gains. Since the pioneering work by Corrado, Hulten, and Sichel (2005), empirical research has largely focused on macro and industry-level studies, while firm-level studies have often been confined to a limited set of intangible assets, especially Research and Development (R&D). This paper employs a unique firm-level panel database that contains information on four types of intangible assets: R&D, software & databases (S&D), firm-specific human capital (HC), and brand value (BV). For R&D, we find much lower productivity returns than for S&D and HC. R&D even loses significance once controlling for other intangibles, except for high-tech manufacturing. In contrast to R&D, we find that S&D and HC tend to be the primary drivers of productivity gains, particularly in services. Our findings have implications for research policy, suggesting a stronger focus on supporting investment in non-R&D intangibles, including S&D and HC. |
| Keywords: | Non-R&D intangibles, productivity, R&D, digitalisation, firm-specific human capital, brand value, firm-level panel data |
| JEL: | E22 O33 O38 D24 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:333901 |
| By: | Xuan, Zhichong; Li, Xinrong; Yang, Boqiong; Zhao, Qiran |
| Abstract: | In response to the global push for low‐carbon development and the persistent tension between economic growth and ecological goals in developing countries, China launched the Low-Carbon City Pilot (LCCP) policy in 2010 to explore potential synergies between environmental regulation and economic performance. This study treats the LCCP policy as a quasi‐natural experiment to evaluate its average treatment effect on foreign direct investment (FDI) and to analyze its spatial spillover effects and underlying mechanisms. Using panel data for 282 prefecture‐level cities from 2005 to 2021, we employ staggered difference‐in‐differences and spatial difference‐in‐differences methods. Our findings indicate that the LCCP policy significantly deters FDI in pilot cities, lending support to the pollution haven hypothesis. A mechanism analysis identifies four pathways: induced green technological innovation, strengthened environmental governance, an optimized foreign investment structure, and public behavior-driven. Notably, the LCCP policy generates positive spillovers by stimulating FDI in adjacent cities. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the negative impacts are more pronounced in growing and mature resource‐based cities, as well as in the eastern and central regions of China. These results suggest that, while environmental regulations may discourage FDI in the short run, they can effectively foster spatial cooperation and industry restructuring that promote sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea25:360767 |
| By: | J. Moussavou; J. Y. Lee (Audencia Business School) |
| Keywords: | Digital Entrepreneurship, Fintech, Innovation, Organizational Ambidexterity, Mixed Ambidexterity |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05424256 |
| By: | Blagica Petreski; Marjan Petreski |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ftm:policy:2025-12/58 |
| By: | Tadhg Ryan-Charleton (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Conor O’Kane (University of Otago); Dean Hyslop (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); David C. Maré (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Amelia Blamey (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | The Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) was introduced on 1 April 2019 to encourage business innovation, by offering a 15% tax credit on eligible research and development (R&D) expenditure. It replaced the R&D Growth Grants scheme, which closed to new applicants in 2019 and was phased out in 2021. The legislation introducing the RDTI specifies that an objective and independent evaluation of the scheme must be laid before the House of Representatives every five years. Motu Research was engaged by MBIE to lead the first five-year evaluation. Motu Research worked with the University of Otago, who contributed qualitative and subject-specific expertise to the evaluation. Our team was asked to address five questions focusing on the impact of the RDTI (and of other types of government R&D support to businesses), as well as the RDTI’s compliance costs, administrative processes and legal requirements. We were also asked to consider a sixth question — how certain conclusions from our evaluation would be affected by changes to three specific policy settings. We addressed these questions using a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative analysis of survey and administrative data with qualitative insights from interviews with key stakeholders. The quantitative approach relied primarily on statistical analysis of data from Statistics New Zealand’s Longitudinal Business Database, with our descriptive analysis also drawing on other administrative data sources. The qualitative analysis used data from 67 semi-structured interviews we conducted with 84 participants. This includes 41 interviews with firms, 10 with RDTI operational team members, 5 with policy experts and 11 with professional tax advisors. Our quantitative analysis found firms supported by the RDTI spent more on R&D than they would have in the absence of RDTI support. The difference was stronger for smaller firms. Annual R&D expenditure was on average $274, 000 higher per firm because of RDTI support. The total additional R&D expenditure generated by the RDTI was $1.83 billion. For every $1 of government spend, firms invested $1.40 in additional R&D, which is similar to OECD benchmarks. The additional R&D stimulated by the RDTI was estimated to generate an impact on New Zealand’s GDP of $6.77 billion (mid-point of a range estimate), which suggests an overall economic impact of 4.2 times government investment. Our qualitative analysis suggested significant RDTI compliance costs were more than offset by the ability to access greater levels of R&D support. Most firms indicated the RDTI had a positive impact on their R&D activities and business outcomes. Several firms with international operations explained the RDTI is influential in attracting and retaining R&D work in Aotearoa New Zealand. There was also a strong indication that businesses prefer policy stability, with the implication that instability leads to lower R&D expenditure and lower uptake. |
| Keywords: | Public funding for business R&D, business innovation, technology and innovation policy, RDTI, New Zealand |
| JEL: | O38 O31 D22 |
| Date: | 2025–12–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:25_11 |
| By: | Malek, Mohd Dahlan Abdul |
| Abstract: | Understanding Technology in the Context of National Development: Critical Reflections by Tiwari, Kostenko, and Yekhanurov (2025) has quickly gained academic and pedagogical significance. The work offers a comprehensive examination of how digital transformation and technological innovation intersect with national development strategies, governance models, and economic growth. It situates technology as both a driver of progress and a subject of critical reflection within development economics and ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development). Drawing on key policy frameworks including OECD’s digital transformation guidelines, United Nations (UN) development agendas, and the Network Readiness Index the authors analyze themes such as technological advancements, human capital, governance, and innovation ecosystems. The review finds that the book makes a valuable contribution to debates on digital transformation and development by identifying thematic pillars, capturing stakeholder insights, elaborating on twin foundations of tech enabled growth, and proposing concrete solutions to governance and inclusion challenges. This is shown by its adoption as post graduate course material for Industrial & Organizational programs at University Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Malaysia and Esa Unggul University, Indonesia, where the author is associated with and currently using the book for post graduate studies courses listed in the curriculum. The curricular integration underscores the book’s broader pedagogical relevance in Southeast Asia. In doing so, it bridges theoretical discourse with practical policy considerations, providing scholars, policymakers, and practitioners a timely resource aligned with global development frameworks. |
| Keywords: | Technology and National Development, Digital Transformation, Governance, ICT4D, Development Economics, Innovation, Network Readiness Index, Industrial & Organizational Psychology, Pedagogy |
| JEL: | O10 O19 O2 O21 O3 O32 |
| Date: | 2025–12–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:127189 |