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on Economics of Strategic Management |
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Issue of 2025–11–17
nine papers chosen by João José de Matos Ferreira, Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Barra Novoa, Rodrigo |
| Abstract: | The study examines the evolution of Chile’s industrial policy between 1990 and 2022 through the lens of state capacity, innovation, and endogenous development. In a global context where governments are reclaiming a proactive role in fostering innovation, Chile presents a paradox. It is a stable and open economy that has expanded investment in science, technology, and innovation but still faces structural barriers to turning that investment into sustainable capabilities. Drawing on the works of Mazzucato, Aghion, Howitt, Mokyr, Samuelson, and Sampedro, the research integrates evolutionary economics, public policy, and humanist ethics to assess Chile’s capacity for innovation-driven transformation. Using a longitudinal case study approach and official data, the study finds institutional progress but persistent coordination gaps, regional disparities, and a fragile culture of knowledge. It concludes that inclusive and sustainable innovation will require adaptive governance, long-term vision, and an ethical understanding of innovation as a public good. |
| Keywords: | State capacity, Innovation, endogenous development, industrial policy, Chile, entrepreneurial state |
| JEL: | O25 O1 O38 E02 L52 P42 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:330597 |
| By: | I. Etzo; L. Ciucci |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the competitiveness and efficiency of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) in Italy, using a comprehensive firm-level dataset from 2019 to 2023. We estimate Total Factor Productivity (TFP) to analyze firm performance, addressing endogeneity concerns through panel fixed-effects models and employing a Translog production function for flexible input elasticity. Our findings reveal significant spatial heterogeneity, with central and north-western regions exhibiting higher CCI productivity than southern areas. Furthermore, we uncover disparities related to firm size, age, and specialization within Creative versus Cultural domains. The largest and oldest CCI firms show a higher TFP. The Creative industry demonstrates greater productivity than the Cultural industry. We provide evidence that manufacturing-oriented CCI tend to exhibit lower productivity compared to service-oriented CCI. The results underscore the importance of targeted policies to address regional disparities and sectorspecific challenges within the CCI ecosystem, promoting innovation and sustainable growth. |
| Keywords: | Cultural and creative industries;total factor productivity;SMEs;Italian regions |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202514 |
| By: | Lars Hornuf; Daniel Vrankar |
| Abstract: | Those seeking to drum up public support for the space industry frequently cite its potential to generate valuable spillovers to other industries. However, existing research on spillover effects overlooks differences in business models among commercial actors and focuses only on individual projects or specific space agencies. We analyze how evolving business models influence spillovers by comparing the dynamic capabilities of traditional aerospace conglomerates to those of new space firms, using a unique dataset of 35, 696 space-related patent applications. We find that, in addition to industries directly related to space, such as aeronautics, sectors like manufacturing and communication technology in particular benefit from space activities. At the firm level, we observe that new space business models present greater spillover potential and generate more spillovers than traditional aerospace conglomerates. However, traditional conglomerates such as Airbus or Boeing induce spillovers into digital systems and clean tech, while new space firms cannot translate their digital business models into digital spillovers and occupy more peripheral positions in the innovation network of space. Additionally, based on two different innovation metrics and more than 1.6 million additional patent applications, we find no evidence that the business models of the space industry have generally led to more spillovers than other high-tech industries. |
| Keywords: | new space business models, new space economy, innovation, dynamic capabilities, spillover, patent data |
| JEL: | D62 H57 L20 L21 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12236 |
| By: | Hümmer, Matthias |
| Abstract: | Outsourcing has emerged as a strategic approach that allows organizations to improve efficiency, access specialized expertise, and focus on their core business functions. However, these benefits come with significant risks, particularly the potential erosion of internal organizational knowledge and core competencies that are central to a firm's competitive advantage. This article synthesizes literature on outsourcing processes, core competence theory, dynamic capabilities, and knowledge management to propose a comprehensive integrated framework spanning the entire lifecycle of outsourcing arrangements. The framework encompasses four critical phases that are strategic preparation, vendor selection and contracting, transition and integration, and post-transition governance, with particular emphasis on protecting and reinforcing internal knowledge resources. Drawing on empirical evidence and theoretical contributions from leading scholars in the field, we demonstrate how firms can effectively balance outsourcing efficiencies with the imperative to retain essential know-how. The article concludes with theoretical contributions, managerial implications, and directions for future research, providing both scholars and practitioners with a robust model for preserving critical organizational knowledge while capitalizing on external efficiencies. |
| Date: | 2025–11–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:8n4zd_v1 |
| By: | Fabio Franceschini |
| Abstract: | This paper provides robust empirical evidence that shocks to aggregate Research and Development (R&D) have persistent effects on macroeconomic dynamics and represent a significant risk for investors, as predicted by the 'long-run risk' literature. The analysis focuses on a single variable, 'effective R&D', which captures the entire contribution of R&D to productivity growth, flexibly accounting for knowledge spillovers and product proliferation effects. Deviations of effective R&D from its equilibrium level can be empirically identified leveraging the error correction term in the cointegration relationship among R&D, total factor productivity, and the labor force. In US data, structural effective R&D shocks affect productivity and consumption growth rates beyond business cycle horizons and are associated with a significant risk premium in a cross section of stock and bond portfolios (around 2% annually), with cash-flow sensitivities proving a key determinant. |
| JEL: | E32 E44 G12 O30 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp1215 |
| By: | Luca Fornaro; Martin Wolf |
| Abstract: | We provide a theory connecting trade policies to innovation and technological hegemony, based on the notion that high-tech clusters generate technological rents for the countries hosting them. We show that tariffs on high-tech imports may be used to steal technological rents from the rest of the world, by redirecting innovation activities from foreign to domestic firms. This strategy may lead to welfare gains, which however come at the expense of even larger welfare losses in the rest of the world. Tariffs may backfire even for the country imposing them if they are not well designed, or if the rest of the world retaliates. |
| Keywords: | tariffs, innovation, endogenous growth, international trade, intangibles, high-tech |
| JEL: | E22 F12 F13 F42 F43 O24 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1925 |
| By: | Martin Wolf; Luca Fornaro |
| Abstract: | We provide a theory connecting trade policies to innovation and technological hegemony, based on the notion that high-tech clusters generate technological rents for the countries hosting them. We show that tariffs on high-tech imports may be used to steal technological rents from the rest of the world, by redirecting innovation activities from foreign to domestic firms. This strategy may lead to welfare gains, which however come at the expense of even larger welfare losses in the rest of the world. Tariffs may backfire even for the country imposing them if they are not well designed, or if the rest of the world retaliates. |
| Keywords: | endogenous growth, high-tech, innovation, intangibles, international trade, tariffs |
| JEL: | E22 F12 F13 F42 F43 O24 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1530 |
| 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:uhhhdp:20 |
| By: | Fourné, Marius |
| Abstract: | Climate policies do not operate in isolation but propagate through global production networks, affecting industries beyond national borders. This paper combines international input-output data with a granular instrumental variable approach to capture how foreign regulations transmit through upstream and downstream linkages. Distinguishing between market-based policies, non-market regulations, and technology support, the analysis shows that foreign climate policies can enhance domestic productivity, with effects shaped by industry characteristics and operating through technological adjustment along supply chains. The results underscore the importance of accounting for international spillovers when evaluating the economic impact of environmental regulation. |
| Keywords: | climate policy, environmental regulations, global value chains, green innovation, international trade, productivity |
| JEL: | F18 L16 O44 Q37 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:330918 |