nep-ino New Economics Papers
on Innovation
Issue of 2008‒07‒30
eight papers chosen by
Steffen Lippert
Massey University Department of Commerce

  1. Reinforcing the patent system? Effects of patent fences and knowledge diffusion on the development of new industries, technical progress and social welfare By Murat YILDIZOGLU (GREThA UMR CNRS 5113)
  2. R&D Partnerships and Capability of Innovation of Small and Medium-Sized Firms in Zhongguancun, Beijing: The Power of Proximity By Nobuaki Hamaguchi; Yoshihiro Kameyama
  3. Drivers and Effects of Internationalising Innovation by SMEs By Rammer, Christian; Schmiele, Anja
  4. How Does Industry Specialization Affect the Efficiency of Regional Innovation Systems? By Michael Fritsch; Viktor Slavtchev
  5. R&D, firm size, and product innovation dynamics. By Marco Corsino; Giuseppe Espa; Rocco Micciolo
  6. Successful Patterns of Scientific Knowledge Sourcing: Mix and Match By Aschhoff, Birgit; Sofka, Wolfgang
  7. University Spin-Off’s Transfer Speed: Analyzing the Time from Leaving University to Venture By Müller, Kathrin
  8. Institutions, Innovation and Economic Growth By Tebaldi, Edinaldo; Elmslie, Bruce

  1. By: Murat YILDIZOGLU (GREThA UMR CNRS 5113)
    Abstract: This article extends the industry dynamics model of Vallée & Yildizoglu (2006) in order to carry out a richer theoretical analysis of the consequences of a stronger patent system. This model explicitly takes into account the potentially positive effects of patents: publication of patents participates to the building of a collective knowledge stock on which new innovations can rely, and dropped patents can provide a source of technological progress for firms that are lagging behind the leaders of the industry. These dimensions of the patent system are used to question the negative results of Vallée & Yildizoglu (2006). The main results of the new model show that these positive effects do not counterbalance the negative effects of a stronger patent system on social welfare and global technological progress, even if it is a source of better protection and higher profits for the firms. The model also considers the effect of patents on the survival of the newly founded industries and on their development.
    Keywords: Innovation, Technical progress, Patent system, Intellectual property rights (IPR), Technology policy
    JEL: O3 O34 L52
    Date: 2008
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2008-17&r=ino
  2. By: Nobuaki Hamaguchi (Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University); Yoshihiro Kameyama (The International Centre for the Study of East Asian Development (ICSEAD))
    Abstract: We examine the impact of research partnerships on a firm's own R&D capability along with the context of the importance of geographical proximity using original survey data obtained from small and medium-sized firms in Zhongguancun Science Park (ZSP). This study develops an analytical framework related to the impact of research partnerships on a firm's R&D capability. Results show that research cooperation with universities and research institutes and small and medium-sized firms enhances the R&D capability of individual firms when the partners are located nearby, although distance has no significant effect on cooperation with large firms.
    Keywords: research cooperation, spillovers, R&D capability
    JEL: O32 R12 R39
    Date: 2008–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kob:dpaper:225&r=ino
  3. By: Rammer, Christian; Schmiele, Anja
    Abstract: This paper investigates the drivers and the effects of the internationalisation of innovation activities in SMEs based on a large data set of German firms covering the period 2002-2007. We look at different stages of the innovation process (R&D, design, production and sales of new products, and implementation of new processes) and explore the role of internal resources, home market competition and innovationrelated location advantages for an SME’s decision to engage in innovation activities abroad. By linking international innovation activities to firm growth in the home market we try to identify likely internationalisation effects at the firm level. The results show that export experience and experience in knowledge protection are highly important for international innovation activities of SMEs. Fierce home market competition turns out to be rather an obstacle than a driver. High innovation costs stimulate internationalisation of non-R&D innovation activities, and shortage of qualified labour expels production of new products. R&D activities abroad and exports of new products spur firm growth in the home market while there are no negative effects on home market growth from shifting production of new products abroad.
    Keywords: Internationalisation of Innovation, Globalisation, SMEs, Effects of Innovation, Absorptive Capacities, Market Structure
    JEL: F23 L22 L25 O31 O32 O47
    Date: 2008
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:7307&r=ino
  4. By: Michael Fritsch (Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration; Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, Germany); Viktor Slavtchev (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, Germany)
    Abstract: This study analyzes the relationship between the specialization of a region in certain industries and the efficiency of the region in generating new knowledge. The efficiency measure is constructed by relating regional R&D input and output. An inversely u-shaped relationship is found between regional specialization and R&D efficiency, indicating the presence of externalities of both Marshall and Jacobs’ type. Further factors influencing efficiency are spillovers within the private sector as well as from public research institutions. The impact of both the specialization and the additional factors is, however, different for regions at different efficiency levels.
    Keywords: Efficiency, innovation, spillovers, patents, regional analysis.
    JEL: O31 O18 R12
    Date: 2008–07–17
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2008-058&r=ino
  5. By: Marco Corsino; Giuseppe Espa; Rocco Micciolo
    Abstract: This paper addresses a debated issue in the economics innovation literature, namely the existence of increasing return to R&D expenditures and firm size on innovation output. It further explores how structural characteristics of the firm as well as contextual factors affect the dynamics of product innovation over a relatively long period of time. Taking advantage of an original and unique database comprising innovation data recorded on a monthly base we show that: (i) a negative binomial distribution model is able to predict with great accuracy the probability of having a given number of product announcement sent out in a month; (ii) constant returns to size and R&D expenditure may reasonably characterize the innovation production function of sampled firms; (iii) vertically integrated manufacturers as well as producers operating a larger product portfolio exhibit a higher propensity to introduce new products than their specialized competitors.
    Date: 2008–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trt:disawp:0803&r=ino
  6. By: Aschhoff, Birgit; Sofka, Wolfgang
    Abstract: Valuable knowledge emerges increasingly outside of firm boundaries, in particular in public research institutions and universities. The question is how firms organize their interactions with universities effectively to acquire knowledge and apply it successfully. Literature has so far largely ignored that firms may combine different types of interactions with universities for optimizing their collaboration strategies. We argue conceptually that firms need diverse (broad) and highly developed (deep) combinations of various interactions with universities to maximize returns from these collaborations. Our empirical investigation rests upon a survey of more than 800 firms in Germany. We find that both the diversity and intensity of collaborative engagements with universities propel innovation success. However, broadening the spectrum of interactions is more beneficial with regard to innovation success. Applying latent class cluster analysis we identify four distinct patterns of interaction. Our findings show that formal forms of interaction (joint/contract) research provide the best balance between joint knowledge development and value capture.
    Keywords: Technology transfer, industry-science links, open innovation, university knowledge
    JEL: C30 D83 O32
    Date: 2008
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:7305&r=ino
  7. By: Müller, Kathrin
    Abstract: For academic spin-offs I analyze the length of time between the founder's leaving of academia and the establishment of his firm. Technology transfer can take place even years after leaving the mother institution. A duration analysis reveals that a longer time-lag is caused by the necessity of assembling complementary skills, either by acquisition by a single founder or by searching for suitable team members. Furthermore, new ventures are established earlier if the intensity of technology transfer is high, the founders have access to university infrastructure, or received informal support by former colleagues.
    Keywords: academic spin-offs, technology transfer, skill complementarities
    JEL: C41 J24 L26 M13
    Date: 2008
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:7306&r=ino
  8. By: Tebaldi, Edinaldo; Elmslie, Bruce
    Abstract: This article contributes to the growth literature by developing a formal growth model that provides the basis for studying institutions and technological innovation and examining how human capital and institutional constraints affect the transitional and steady state growth rates of output. The model developed in this article shows that the reason that growth models a-la-Romer (1990) generate endogenous growth is the use of a set of restrictive and unrealistic assumptions regarding the role of institutions in the economy. The baseline model developed in this article shows that the long-run growth of the economy is intrinsically linked to institutions and suggests that an economy with institutions that retard or prevent the utilization of newly invented inputs will experience low levels and low growth rates of output. The model also predicts that countries with institutional barriers that prevent or restrict the adoption of newly invented technologies will allocate a relative small share of human capital in the R&D sector. Moreover, both the baseline and the extended version of the model suggest that sustainable growth in human capital, not an increase in the stock of human capital, generates a growth effect.
    Keywords: Institutions; innovation; human capital; economic growth
    JEL: O43 O3
    Date: 2008–05–13
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:9683&r=ino

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