nep-ino New Economics Papers
on Innovation
Issue of 2013‒09‒13
thirteen papers chosen by
Steffen Lippert
University of Otago, Dunedin

  1. Sources of spillovers for imitation and innovation By Cappelli, Riccardo; Czarnitzki, Dirk; Kraft, Kornelius
  2. The Determinants of R&D Investment: An Empirical Survey By Bettina Becker
  3. Outsourcing, Offshoring and Innovation: Evidence from Firm-level Data for Emerging Economies By Ursula Fritsch; Holger Görg
  4. Do trademarks diminish the substitutability of products in innovative knowledge-intensive services? By Crass, Dirk; Schwiebacher, Franz
  5. A taxonomy of manufacturing and service firms in Luxembourg according to technological skills By El Joueidi, Sarah
  6. R&D, IP, and firm profits in the automotive supplier industry By Stefan Lutz
  7. Innovation in a generalized timing game By Smirnov, Vladimir; Wait, Andrew
  8. The value of disclosing IPR to open standard setting organizations By Hussinger, Katrin; Schwiebacher, Franz
  9. Impact of Renewable Energy Policy and Use on Innovation: A Literature Review By Felix Groba; Barbara Breitschopf
  10. Patents in the University: Priming the Pump and Crowding Out By Scotchmer, Suzanne
  11. Self-organization of knowledge economies By Lafond, Francois
  12. Designing an optimal 'tech fix' path to global climate stability: Directed R&D and embodied technical change in a multi-phase framework By Zon, Adriaan van; David, Paul
  13. Evolution of Standards and Innovation By AOKI Reiko; ARAI Yasuhiro

  1. By: Cappelli, Riccardo; Czarnitzki, Dirk; Kraft, Kornelius
    Abstract: We estimate the effect of R&D spillovers on sales realized by products new to the firm (imitation) and new to the market (innovation). It turns out that spillovers from rivals lead to more imitation, while inputs from customers and research institutions enhance original innovation. --
    Keywords: innovation,imitation,spillovers
    JEL: L12 O31 O32
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13064&r=ino
  2. By: Bettina Becker (School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, UK)
    Abstract: This paper offers an extensive survey and a critical discussion of the empirical literature on the driving factors of R&D. These factors are subsumed under five broad types. The paper first summarises the key predictions from theory regarding each type's R&D effect. It then examines for which factors differences in the theoretical predictions can also be found in empirical studies, and for which factors the empirical evidence is more unanimous. As the focus is on the empirical literature, methodological issues are also highlighted. The major factor types identified in the literature are, individual firm or industry characteristics, particularly internal finance and sales; competition in product markets; R&D tax credits and subsidies; location and resource related factors, such as spillovers from university research within close geographic proximity, membership of a research joint venture and cooperation with research centres, and the human capital embodied in knowledge workers; and spillovers from foreign R&D. Although on balance there is a consensus regarding the R&D effects of most factors, there is also variation in results. Recent work suggests that accounting for nonlinearities is one area of research that may explain and encompass contradictory findings.
    Keywords: R&D; R&D policy; innovation policy; financial constraints; competition; public funding; knowledge spillovers.
    JEL: G20 G28 M15
    Date: 2013–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lbo:lbowps:2013_09&r=ino
  3. By: Ursula Fritsch; Holger Görg
    Abstract: It is striking that by far the lion’s share of empirical studies on the impact of outsourcing on firms considers industrialized countries. However, outsourcing by firms from emerging economies is far from negligible and growing. This paper investigates the link between outsourcing and innovation empirically using firm-level data for over 20 emerging market economies. We find robust evidence that outsourcing is associated with a greater probability to spend on research and development and to introduce new products and upgrade existing products. The effect of offshoring on R&D spending is significantly higher than the effect of domestic outsourcing. However, only domestic outsourcing increases the probability to introduce new products. We also show that the results crucially depend on the level of protection of intellectual property in the economy. Firms increase their own R&D effort in the wake of outsourcing only if they operate in an environment that intensively protects intellectual property
    Keywords: outsourcing, offshoring, innovation, emerging economies
    JEL: F14 O31 O34
    Date: 2013–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1861&r=ino
  4. By: Crass, Dirk; Schwiebacher, Franz
    Abstract: Trademarks are often supposed to reduce substitutability and imitability of product innovations. Using German CIS data for 2010, we provide empirical evidence that trademarking firms assess easy product substitutability as less characteristic for their competitive environment. This is particularly the case for knowledge-intensive service providers, product innovators and firms which consider trademarks as important intellectual property rights. This suggests that trademarks are an important supplementary mechanism to protect innovations in knowledgeintensive services. --
    Keywords: Trademarks,product differentiation,innovation,services
    JEL: O32 O34
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13061&r=ino
  5. By: El Joueidi, Sarah
    Abstract: This study uses data on Luxembourg manufacturing and service firms, sourced from CIS, to illustrate empirical methods of firms’ classification according to pattern and intensity of innovation and the use of technology. This topic is of relevance to Luxembourg, as to date no such specific classification exists for this country. Existing classifications are industry-based rather than firm-based which appears inappropriate given the heterogeneity within Luxembourgish industries. Moreover, they neglect the financial services, of primary importance to Luxembourg. Results show that cluster methods are well suited to classify firms for the case at hand. The analysis identifies four clusters exploiting information on the firms' innovation competencies, the technology used, and the human skills. Firms in the sample are classified into 4 groups, named respectively as i) high-technology, ii) medium-high-technology, iii) medium-lowtechnology, iv) low-technology. Characteristics of each group are discussed.
    Keywords: Innovation, classification, taxonomy, innovation surveys, cluster analysis.
    JEL: C1 C10 C8 O3 O30 O31 O38
    Date: 2013–09–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49532&r=ino
  6. By: Stefan Lutz
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:man:sespap:1313&r=ino
  7. By: Smirnov, Vladimir; Wait, Andrew
    Abstract: We examine innovation as a timing game with complete information and observable actions in which firms decide when to enter a market. We characterize all pure strategy subgame perfect equilibria for the two-player symmetric game. In particular, we describe all subgame perfect equilibria when both the leader's and the followers' payoff functions are multi-peaked, non-monotonic and discontinuous. We find that there are potentially multiple equilibria, which could involve: joint adoption by both firms, with and without rent equalization; and, alternatively, single-firm adoption with a second-mover advantage. Economic applications are discussed including process and product innovation and the timing of the sale of an asset.
    Keywords: product innovation; process innovation; follower; leader; entry; timing games
    Date: 2013–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:syd:wpaper:2123/9340&r=ino
  8. By: Hussinger, Katrin; Schwiebacher, Franz
    Abstract: Open standard-setting organizations (SSOs) have emerged as important coordination and diffusion mechanism for information and communication technologies. Open standards are developed non-discriminatorily and licensed to anybody at reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Little is known about the value of IP contributions to open standards for technology providers. This paper provides a large-scale empirical assessment thereof. Our findings show that disclosure of standard-relevant IP ownership is valued positively by financial markets only if the disclosure refers explicitly to associated patents. The loss of exclusivity to IPR appears to be outweighed by the expected benefits from open standards. Patents appear to signal the technological quality of IP contributions from firms with low R&D intensities. --
    Keywords: Open standards,IP disclosures,market value
    JEL: O32 O34 L15
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13060&r=ino
  9. By: Felix Groba; Barbara Breitschopf
    Abstract: Technological changes in renewable energy technologies play an important role in the context of climate change as they contribute to a reduction of technology costs and lead to an increasing market penetration of emission reducing technologies. This paper provides a comprehensive literature review highlighting numerous motivations and necessities underlying the introduction of renewable energy policies. Starting with a brief overview on the induced innovation hypothesis, we show that policy intervention has been an effective tool to change relative prices, thus, incentivizing innovation, but that also various influencing factors are at play. We show that the literature agrees on the need for specific renewable energy policies in order to overcome concomitant market failures and barrier. We highlight that technology specific policies are generally understood as necessary complements to environmental non-technology specific policies in order to generate <br /> <br /> adequate demand in energy markets. However, in that respect, we outline the ongoing debate on the effectiveness of different technology specific policies on the demand-pull side and the role of technology-push policies. Additionally we provide a summary on methodological approaches to measure policy efforts and technological change respecting different impact levels and stages within the technological change process. Finally, by focusing on international competitiveness and technology cost we highlight two aspects of the effects renewable technology innovation and respective policy support.
    JEL: N70 O31 O32 O57
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1318&r=ino
  10. By: Scotchmer, Suzanne
    Abstract: The Bayh-Dole Act allows universities to exploit patents on their federally sponsored re- search. University laboratories therefore have two sources of funds: direct grants from sponsors and income from licensing. Tax credits for private R&D also contribute, because they increase the profitability of licensing. Because Bayh-Dole profits are a source of funds, the question arises how subsidies and Bayh-Dole profits fit together. I show that subsidies to the university can either "prime the pump" for spending out of Bayh-Dole funds, or can crowd it out. Because of crowding out, if the sponsor wants to increase university spending beyond the university's own target, it will end up funding the entire research bill, just as if there were no profit opportunities under the Bayh-Dole Act. A subsidy system that requires university matching can mitigate this problem.
    Keywords: research subsidy, tax credits, Bayh-Dole Act, matching grants, crowding out
    Date: 2013–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:27419&r=ino
  11. By: Lafond, Francois (UNU-MERIT / MGSoG)
    Abstract: Suppose that homogenous agents fully consume their time to invent new ideas and learn ideas from their friends. If the social network is complete and agents pick friends and ideas of friends uniformly at random, the distribution of ideas’ popularity is an extension of the Yule-Simon distribution. It has a power-law tail, with an upward or downward curvature. For infinite population it converges to the Yule-Simon distribution. The power law is steeper when innovation is high. Diffusion follows S-shaped curves.
    Keywords: innovation, diffusion, two-mode networks, cumulative advantage, quadratic attachment kernel, power law, Yule-Simon distribution, generalized hypergeometric distribution
    JEL: D83 D85 O31 O33
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unumer:2013040&r=ino
  12. By: Zon, Adriaan van (UNU-MERIT/MGSoG, and Maastricht University); David, Paul (SIEPR, and Economics Department, Standford University, and UNU-MERIT/MGSoG)
    Abstract: The research reported here gives priority to understanding the inter-temporal resource allocation requirements of a program of technological changes that could halt global warming by completing the transition to a "green" (zero net CO2-emission) production regime within the possibly brief finite interval that remains before Earth's climate is driven beyond a catastrophic tipping point. This paper formulates a multi-phase, just-in-time transition model incorporating carbon-based and carbon-free technical options requiring physical embodiment in durable production facilities, and having performance attributes that are amenable to enhancement by directed R&D expenditures. Transition paths that indicate the best ordering and durations of the phases in which intangible and tangible capital formation is taking place, and capital stocks of different types are being utilized in production, or scrapped when replaced types embodying socially more efficient technologies, are obtained from optimizing solutions for each of a trio of related models that couple the global macro-economy's dynamics with the dynamics of the climate system. They describe the flows of consumption, CO2 emissions and the changing atmospheric concentration of green-house gas (which drives global warming), along with the investment dynamics required for the timely transformation of the production regime. These paths are found as the welfare-optimizing solutions of three different "stacked Hamiltonians", each corresponding to one of our trio of integrated endogenous growth models that have been calibrated comparably to emulate the basic global setting for the "transition planning" framework of dynamic integrated requirements analysis modeling (DIRAM). As the paper's introductory section explains, this framework is proposed in preference to the (IAM) approach that environmental and energy economists have made familiar in integrated assessment models of climate policies that would rely on fiscal and regulatory instruments -- but eschew any analysis of the essential technological transformations that would be required for those policies to have the intended effect. Simulation exercises with our models explore the optimized transition paths' sensitivity to parameter variations, including alternative exogenous specifications of the location of a pair of successive climate "tipping points": the first of these initiates higher expected rates of damage to productive capacity by extreme weather events driven by the rising temperature of the Earth's surface; whereas the second, far more serious "climate catastrophe" tipping point occurs at a still higher temperature (corresponding to a higher atmospheric concentration of CO2). In effect, that sets the point before which the transition to a carbon-free global production regime must have been completed in order to secure the possibility of future sustainable development and continued global economic growth.
    Keywords: global warming, tipping point, catastrophic climate instability, extreme weatherrelated damages, R&D, directed technical change, capital-embodied technologies, optimal sequencing, multi-phase optimal control, sustainable endogenous growth
    JEL: Q54 Q55 O31 O32 O33 O41 O44
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unumer:2013041&r=ino
  13. By: AOKI Reiko; ARAI Yasuhiro
    Abstract: We present a framework to examine how a standard evolves when a standard consortium or firm (incumbent) innovates either to improve the standard or to strengthen the installed base which increases switching cost. By investing also in technology improvement, both investments make it more difficult for another firm (entrant) to introduce a standard. Our analysis shows that that the incumbent's strategy will differ according to whether the technology is in its infancy or if it has matured, but the existing standard will never be replaced by the entrant. Stability of a standard consortium standard has dynamic benefits in that it prevents replacement by an entrant. The incumbent deters entry when the technology is in its infancy but allows entry and co-existence of two standards when the technology is mature. This implies that dominance of a single standard even for well-established technologies suggests some market power by the incumbent. Our results also indicate that superior technology will never be sufficient to overtake an existing standard.
    Date: 2013–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:13075&r=ino

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