nep-ino New Economics Papers
on Innovation
Issue of 2022‒03‒28
six papers chosen by
Uwe Cantner
University of Jena

  1. Regional recombinant novelty, related and unrelated technologies: a patent-level approach By Anne Plunket; Felipe Starosta de Waldemar
  2. Cultural diversity and innovation-oriented entrepreneurship By Paula Prenzel; Niels Bosma; Veronique Schutjens; Erik Stam
  3. The Effect of External Innovation on Firm Employment By Guillermo Arenas Díaz; Andrés Barge-Gil; Joost Heijs; Alberto Marzucchi
  4. Prizes versus Contracts as Incentives for Innovation By Yeon-Koo Che; Elisabetta Iossa; Patrick Rey
  5. Scaling Technology Ventures in Africa: New Opportunities for Research By Weiss, Tim; Perkmann, Markus; Phillips, Nelson
  6. Made in Latam: How smart manufacturing can give Latin America new hope for industrialization By Grosman, Nicolás; Braude, Hernán; Rovira, Sebastián; Patiño, Alejandro

  1. By: Anne Plunket (RITM - Réseaux Innovation Territoires et Mondialisation - UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11); Felipe Starosta de Waldemar (RITM - Réseaux Innovation Territoires et Mondialisation - UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11)
    Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of regional technological relatedness on the emergence of recombinant novelty (i.e. new combinations of subclasses occurring for the first time) in French regions using patent data over 1990-2010. We find that relatedness favors incremental innovations which reuse already applied combinations, whereas increasing levels of relatedness reduces the likelihood of novelty. However, the impact is less negative when combined technologies are new, unrelated or not locally specialized because it facilitates learning and technological recombination. We also find that universities and large incumbents are less dependent on relatedness than small and novel players to create novelty.
    Keywords: innovation,recombinant novelty,technological relatedness,Regional development
    Date: 2022–02–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03567051&r=
  2. By: Paula Prenzel; Niels Bosma; Veronique Schutjens; Erik Stam
    Abstract: A growing empirical literature has established a positive relationship between cultural diversity and entrepreneurship rates, often attributing this effect to innovative benefits of diversity. However, not all entrepreneurship is inherently innovative, raising the question of whether cultural diversity may increase the relative prevalence of entrepreneurs pursuing innovative instead of more replicative strategies. This study investigates the relationship between regional cultural diversity and the innovation-orientation of early-stage entrepreneurs and considers moderating factors by decomposing shares of foreign-born population by origin within and outside of the EU and by education level. Combining survey data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor with various measures of cultural diversity, we carry out a multilevel analysis for 166 European regions. The results suggest that entrepreneurs in more culturally diverse regions are significantly more likely to exhibit innovation-orientation. We find some evidence that this effect is supported by cognitive proximity as the share of EU-born foreign population is driving this result. Moreover, our analysis suggests that the effect of cultural diversity on innovative entrepreneurship is not due to human capital availability or moderated by entrepreneurs' absorptive capacity but rather stems from the diversity in cultural background itself.
    Keywords: cultural diversity, entrepreneurship, innovation, European regions, multilevel analysis
    JEL: F22 L26 O30 R1
    Date: 2022–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2205&r=
  3. By: Guillermo Arenas Díaz (Dipartimento di Politica Economica, DISCE, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Andrés Barge-Gil (Department of Economic Analysis, Complutense University of Madrid, ICAE and GRIPICO, Madrid, Spain); Joost Heijs (Department of Applied Economics, Structure and History, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain); Alberto Marzucchi (Gran Sasso Science Institute, Social Sciences, L'Aquila, Italia)
    Abstract: This paper analyses the effects of product innovations introduced by firms in upstream and downstream sectors and firms in the same sector on firm employment. To this aim, we extend the Harrison et al. (2014) model to analyse the relationship between firm innovation and employment to account for innovation in the same and related sectors. We employ panel data for the innovation activities of Spanish firms together with input–output data. The results show that product innovation by firms in the same sector harms the firm's employment, which is consistent with a business-stealing mechanism. A negative effect on employment is found for the introduction of new products in upstream sectors, which results in the reduction of labour in the focal firm. The type of labour that is displaced by innovations introduced by both same-sector and upstream firms is predominantly low-skilled. No significant effects are found for innovations introduced in downstream industries.
    Keywords: same sector, downstream and upstream sectors, product innovation, employment growth
    JEL: J23 O31 O33 L6
    Date: 2022–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie5:dipe0026&r=
  4. By: Yeon-Koo Che (Columbia University [New York]); Elisabetta Iossa (University of Rome TorVergata); Patrick Rey (TSE - Toulouse School of Economics - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)
    Abstract: Procuring an innovation involves motivating a research effort to generate a new idea and then implementing that idea efficiently. If research efforts are unveriable and implementation costs are private information, a trade-off arises between the two objectives. The optimal mechanism resolves the trade-off via two instruments: a cash prize and a follow-on contract. It primarily uses the latter, by favoring the innovator at the implementation stage when the value of the innovation is above a certain threshold and handicapping the innovator when the value of the innovation is below that threshold. A cash prize is employed as a supplementary incentive only when the value of innovation is sufficiently high. These features are consistent with current practices in the procurement of innovation and the management of unsolicited proposals.
    Keywords: Contract rights,Innovation,Prizes,Procurement and R&D
    Date: 2021–01–23
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03544026&r=
  5. By: Weiss, Tim; Perkmann, Markus; Phillips, Nelson
    Abstract: Research on new venture creation in Africa is growing rapidly. This increasing interest reflects both the potential for entrepreneurship to contribute to the economic and social development of Africa, as well as the potential for this research to provide new insights that challenge and extend theories developed primarily from studies of North American and European new ventures. In this editorial essay, we argue for an expansion of this important research stream to include a focus on how technology ventures scale in Africa. We identify seven topics that offer interesting opportunities for research on scaling in Africa: (1) the effect of venture location on scaling; (2) the effect of founding team diversity on scaling; (3) the effect of entrepreneurial strategies on scaling; (4) the effect of nascent ecosystems on scaling; (5) the effect of the institutional environment on scaling; (6) the effect of nascent financial markets on scaling; and (7) the societal effects of scaling. We discuss each of these topics, their potential to contribute to the existing literature, and provide examples of African technology firms that have scaled to illustrate each topic. We conclude with a discussion of how African social, political, and regulatory change, combined with rapidly developing entrepreneurial ecosystems, are creating a context where the successful scaling of technology ventures is becoming increasingly common, and research is therefore increasingly valuable.
    Date: 2021–10–24
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:z6rjg&r=
  6. By: Grosman, Nicolás; Braude, Hernán; Rovira, Sebastián; Patiño, Alejandro
    Abstract: Innovation, automatization, and digitalization of production processes entail many positive externalities for companies. These include higher levels of competitiveness and productivity brought about by improving operational processes, facilitating access to new markets, easing product differentiation and optimizing the entire value chain. Smart manufacturing trends capture these changes, highlighting opportunities and challenges for companies. Various factors condition the adoption of new technologies in companies in Latin America and the Caribbean, thus hampering innovation and technological change, but these can be overcome with adequate strategies to provide the necessary environment and incentives to promote innovation. This document provides an analytical framework for the design of such strategies, based on the study of a set of initiatives, both public and private, aimed at promoting smart manufacturing. It is intended to serve as a guide and inspiration to continue fostering technological change and industrialization policies in the region.
    Keywords: INDUSTRIA, DESARROLLO INDUSTRIAL, EMPRESAS MANUFACTURERAS, INNOVACIONES TECNOLOGICAS, AUTOMATIZACION, TECNOLOGIA DIGITAL, INDUSTRIALIZACION, PEQUEÑAS EMPRESAS, EMPRESAS MEDIANAS, PROGRAMAS DE ACCION, ESTUDIOS DE CASOS, INDUSTRY, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES, TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS, AUTOMATION, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRIALIZATION, SMALL ENTERPRISES, MEDIUM ENTERPRISES, PROGRAMMES OF ACTION, CASE STUDIES
    Date: 2021–11–16
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col022:47439&r=

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