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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
| By: | Doraszelski, Ulrich; Jaumandreu, Jordi |
| Abstract: | We develop a simple estimator for production functions in the presence of endogenous productivity change that allows us to retrieve productivity and its relationship with R&D at the firm level. Our dynamic investment model can be viewed as a generalization of the knowledge capital model (Griliches 1979) that has remained a cornerstone of the productivity literature for more than 25 years. We relax the assumptions on the R&D process and examine the impact of the investment in knowledge on the productivity of firms. We illustrate our approach on an unbalanced panel of more than 1800 Spanish man- ufacturing firms in nine industries during the 1990s. Our ¯ndings indicate that the link between R&D and productivity is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, nonlinearity, and heterogeneity across firms. Abstracting from uncertainty and nonlinearity, as is done in the knowledge capital model, or assuming an exogenous process for productiv- ity, as is done in the recent literature on structural estimation of production functions, overlooks some of its most interesting features. |
| Keywords: | production function; knowledge capital; productivity; R&D; |
| JEL: | O3 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1246&r=knm |
| By: | Janneke Bemmel Van |
| Abstract: | Urban Renewal is carried out to renovate, demolish and rebuild houses in problematic urban areas. Urban renewal processes are complex; many actors are involved, the goals and strategies of these actors can change over time, and contextual factors (such as the housing market, residents’ wishes, the political direction) change constantly. This creates a lot of uncertainty in urban renewal processes; uncertainty about knowledge and values (substantive uncertainty), uncertainty about the intentions and strategies of the parties involved (strategic uncertainty), and uncertainty about when, where and by whom decisions are made (institutional uncertainty). With learning, this uncertainty can be made more manageable. The creation, sharing, use and evaluation of knowledge in urban renewal networks helps to respond to changes in, amongst others, residents’ wishes, the housing market, and technological developments. Learning can be defined as the creation of knowledge that is applicable in the activities of the parties involved. In urban renewal, four important steps towards learning can be recognised: the (collective) development of knowledge, the mutual sharing of knowledge, the use of the relevant knowledge available, and the evaluation of the knowledge gathered. A complex urban renewal project has been studied in the second largest Dutch city; Rotterdam, in the district ‘Hoogvliet’. This case study, that has an explorative character, exists of interviews with professionals working on urban renewal in Hoogvliet and observations during meetings at several levels of the cooperation network. Preliminary findings suggest that the development and sharing of knowledge in urban renewal in Hoogvliet takes place mainly through face-to-face contact, for instance during meetings and debates, and not so much in writing, for instance in databases or guidebooks. Another finding is that for collective learning to occur, a minimum of collective knowledge is needed; the parties involved must know the basics of the tasks and responsibilities of the other parties and of the knowledge built up earlier in the process. Furthermore, to increase the potential for learning, it seems smarter to sketch the outlines of complex long-term projects and concretize these along the way, then to make detailed plans far in advance. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p785&r=knm |
| By: | Franz Toedtling; Patrick Lehner |
| Abstract: | Innovations are increasingly seen as result of an interactive process of knowledge generation and knowledge application. According to the innovation systems model the business sector, the science sector, and policy actors are involved in this process. What is often neglected in existing literature is the aspect that different kinds of innovation may require specific types of relations. Radical innovations often draw on new scientific knowledge generated in universities and research organizations. The exchange of this type of knowledge requires intensive personal interactions and thus might favor local / regional levels over others. Incremental innovations on the other hand are often taking place in interaction with customers and suppliers which are often located at higher spatial levels beyond the region. In the present paper we will analyze the relationship between the different kinds of innovation and the respective knowledge links – characterized by the type and location of innovation partners as well as by the mode of knowledge exchange. Preliminary results show that firms introducing products new to the market are relying to a higher degree on patents and they are cooperating with universities and research institutes. Hereby, researchers seem to exert a bridging function between the business and the science sector. The mode of knowledge exchange seems to be also influenced by location. Knowledge between geographically close science and industry partners is exchanged through cooperation, whereas over longer distances knowledge is more often acquired by contract research. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p513&r=knm |
| By: | Mita Marra |
| Abstract: | European cohesion policies are increasingly relying on grassroots networks tapping into tacit knowledge and participatory decision-making processes. Regional governments delegate their decision making power to local institutions with the assumption that local agents possess both contextual knowledge and political legitimacy to integrate different policy measures in a cooperative fashion. Delegation of decision making power is therefore presumed to minimize the unintended or conflicting outcomes emerging, for instance, when environmental protection and infrastructure building are not designed consistently to local contextual needs nor are these pursued through a cooperative effort of local networks of actors. Different agents, including resource users and government agencies try to work together to resolve shared dilemmas of coordination, as an increasingly common alternative to centralized institutions. Coordination consists of managing interdependencies among multiple individuals or organizations involved in the overall program or project management. Several studies classify different types of coordination mechanisms, including standards, hierarchy, targets or plans, slack resources, vertical information systems, direct contact, liaison roles, task forces, and integrating roles. Other ways of classifying coordination include formal impersonal, formal interpersonal, and informal interpersonal; non-coordination, standards, schedules and plans, mutual adjustment, and teams; task-task, task-resource, and resource-resource coordination; vertical and horizontal coordination; coordination by programming and by feedback; and coordination by standards, plans, and mutual adjustment. Building upon a current field research in four regions of the South of Italy, this paper examines how coordination occurs across local development programs, which are embedded within multilevel governance structures and relations. The paper presents a number of cases of local collaborations in which large numbers of local actors representing a wide range of contending groups have, with the help of mediating institutions, worked out agreements for integrating development programs. In some circumstances, specific coordination mechanisms encouraged consensus building offering all relevant groups the knowledge and skills needed to participate in these negotiations. In other circumstances, though, delegation of decision making power opened the door for opportunistic participation, lacking vision and trust for mutual cooperation. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p530&r=knm |
| By: | Simon Gaechter (University of Nottingham); Georg von Krogh (ETH Zurich); Stefan Haefliger (ETH Zurich) |
| Abstract: | Incentives to innovate is a central element of innovation theory. In the private-investment model, innovators privately fund innovation and then use intellectual property protection mechanisms to appropriate returns from these investments. In the collective-action model, public subsidy funds public goods innovations, characterized by non-rivalry and non-exclusivity. Recently, these models have been compounded in the privatecollective innovation model where innovators privately fund public goods innovations (von Hippel and von Krogh, 2003). Private-collective innovation can be illustrated in the case of open source software development. The current paper contributes to the work on private-collective innovation by investigating incentives that motivate innovators to share their knowledge in an initial situation devoid of community activity. We use game theory to predict knowledge sharing behavior, and test these predictions in a laboratory setting. The results show that knowledge sharing is a coordination game with multiple equilibria, reflecting the fragility of knowledge sharing between innovators with conflicting interests. The experimental results demonstrate important asymmetries in the fragility of knowledge sharing and, in some situations, much more knowledge sharing than theoretically predicted. A behavioral analysis suggests that knowledge sharing is not only affected by the material incentives, but also by social preferences. The results offer general insights into the relationship between incentives and knowledge sharing and contribute to a better understanding of the inception of privatecollective innovation. |
| Keywords: | innovation, private-collective innovation model, knowledge sharing, incentive, open source software, experimental economics, game theory |
| Date: | 2006–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdx:dpaper:2006-21&r=knm |
| By: | Javier Revilla Diez; Ludwig Schatzl |
| Abstract: | This paper presents empirical evidence on university-industry relations (UIR) and knowledge transfer in the regional innovation system of Bangkok and broaches the issue of adapting well-established concepts for the analysis of innovation processes in newly industrialising countries. The potential for UIR is restricted due to 1) a weak and fragmented innovation system, 2) low technological and absorptive capacities in the industrial sector, and 3) slowly improving research capabilities in the scientific sector. Hence the level of UIR in the regional innovation system of Bangkok is mainly limited to occasional and personal modes. It is suggested to strengthen the knowledge transfer capabilities within both actors and to establish effective mechanisms for bridging institutional barriers between academia and industry. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p882&r=knm |
| By: | Amnon Frenkel; Eran Leck |
| Abstract: | Universities and academic research institutions play an important role in contributing to the economic growth of countries, mainly through the diffusion of scientific knowledge, new methods, and technologies. This study investigates the relationship between investments in higher education and the economic performance of developed countries. Cross-sectional data, relating to higher education, workforce composition, and macro-economic indicators, were analyzed. The empirical analysis was based on data gathered from international datasets: World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank, OECD Statistics Portal, and UNSECO for the 30 OECD member states. The main research hypothesis was that a positive and significant linkage exists between investment in higher education and economic growth. The examination was carried out by employing two models. The first model (a two-stage model) assumed that an indirect link existed between higher education and economic growth. The instrumental indicator used in the analysis was the country’s labor force composition (specifically, the percentage of employees in scientific and engineering fields). The second model employed a multivariate regression model to directly test the relationship between higher education and growth indicators. The research findings show that higher education inputs translate into human capital outputs (a trained workforce in the computing, science, and engineering fields), and these transform back into the inputs that explain the economic performance of OECD countries. Smaller European countries, such as Finland, the Netherlands, and Denmark, are more efficient in translating their educational investments into a high-quality labor force. The two main activities of universities - teaching and research - were found to be connected to enhancing the per capita GDP of OECD countries. The research findings also support evidence from other studies that show decreasing returns to scale in education. The elasticity of per capita GDP with respect to R&D expenditure per student and the expenditure on teaching in research universities were found to be fairly large, with a constant elasticity of 0.78% and point elasticities (when expenditure on teaching is held constant) ranging from 0.04% (Turkey) to 0.84% (Sweden). Point elasticities for the majority of OECD countries were found to be at the 0.2%-0.5% level. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p153&r=knm |
| By: | Marina van Geenhuizen; Nurul Indarti |
| Abstract: | In developed countries, localized learning in clusters of small and medium-sized firms is seen as beneficial for innovation in these firms. This paper questions whether such a situation is also true for small firms in developing countries. By examining 90 furniture manufacturers in the district of Jepara (Indonesia) we observe knowledge access mainly through one-sided local learning mechanisms, e.g. in-house learning-by-doing and informal contacts with buyers (contractors). This pattern tends to cause a dominance of product innovation (changes in design) and low levels of newness, and points to a lack of advantages from local learning. The major principle behind this is the way in which subcontracting relations are structured. However, the furniture manufacturers in Jepara are willing to connect with global knowledge, but financial obstacles prevent a change. This situation calls for the establishment of centres or renewal of existing centres where global knowledge can be accessed e.g. through the Internet, and support can be given in absorption of the new knowledge. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p847&r=knm |
| By: | Danny Soetanto; Marina van Geenhuizen |
| Abstract: | University spin-offs (USOs), as a type of entrepreneurial firms, face the challenge of obtaining sufficient resources to realize perceived business opportunities. USOs are vulnerable to many obstacles in this endeavor, particularly obstacles related to a lack of entrepreneurial knowledge (skills). Support such as office facilities, loan, and business coaching provided by incubator organizations, may help USOs to overcome obstacles. On the other hand, USOs may also overcome the lack of resources by participating in networks of supportive relationships. Social networking by USOs, including its spatial dimension, is not well understood. For instance, it is still not known how universities as a main source of knowledge contribute to the knowledge needs of nearby USOs; similarly, the spatial layout of knowledge relations of USOs has remained virtually unknown. This paper attempts to fill this knowledge gap. Our conceptual model of early growth of USOs, in terms of knowledge needs and fulfilment, is based on resource-based theory and social network theory. In this paper, we assume that USOs’ embeddedness in a network of ties is an important source of variation in the acquisition of knowledge resources. We argue that, aside from support from incubation organizations, USOs that maintain networks rich in bridging or boundary-spanning ties with knowledge institutions/actors are better-off compared with USOs that don’t employ such ties. We focus on the role of local institutions, particularly the university, as a source of knowledge. Our assumptions are tested on the basis of a sample of academic spin-offs of TU Delft, the Netherlands. The results from regression modeling are expected to support the embeddedness hypothesis and to produce new insights about the link between USOs’ social networks, the acquisition of knowledge and survival and growth. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p467&r=knm |
| By: | Knol, W.H.C. |
| Abstract: | Energy innovations with sustainable fundamentals are needed to fulfill energy demands for the coming decades. This leads to a seeking process for new knowledge and technologies in order to create incremental and breakthrough energy innovations. The question is what the role is of small-scale technologies (nanotechnologies) for these innovations? This paper examines in a brief and non-exhaustive manor the role and implication directions of small-scale technologies for energy innovations. First, the paper describes the necessity for energy innovations and small-scale technologies. Next, based on examples role and implication directions are discussed. The conclusion focuses on the outline presented. |
| JEL: | Q40 O33 L00 |
| Date: | 2005–01–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1325&r=knm |
| By: | Riccardo Cappellin; Luigi Orsenigo |
| Abstract: | The paper aims at investigating the transfer of tacit knowledge both at the regional and at the interregional level and it focuses on the factors and forms of the processes of interactive learning between small and medium size in medium technology sectors. The analysis proceeds from the contributions of four strands of literature, focusing on economics of agglomeration, cognitive economics, industrial strategic alliances and governance in a knowledge economy. While industrial economics interprets technology spill-over at the local level as an automatic and chaotic process allowed by geographical proximity of the firms, regional economics identifies different specific types of flows and networks, which link together in an organized way the various firms and other private and public actors within a given regional innovation system. Cognitive economics may bring a significant contribution, as it considers the relevance for economics of human cognitive aspects and it discovers the key role in the creation of new ideas of selected factors, such as the stimulus by changes in the external environment, the process of “neurognosis†or negative reaction aiming to the protection of the internal integrity, the search process constrained by cognitive proximity, the success in pattern making and the achievement of consistency and compatability, the process of “exaptation†or reconversion leading to path-dependency, the creation of new connections and routines and institutions, which allows to save the limited cognitive capacity of individuals and organizations. This theoretical framework in the analysis of the processes of knowledge creation may be schematically represented through the model of “Territorial Knowledge Managementâ€, which aims at promoting the interactive learning processes within the regional innovation systems and focuses on a selected list of knowledge levers, such as: market orientation, accessibility, receptiveness, common identity, creativity and governance. On the base of these theoretical concepts and tools, the paper analyses various case studies of firms embedded in different industrial clusters in Europe, focusing on the forms of the process of interactive learning and innovation between the various regional actors. Finally, the paper attempts to derive from that analysis useful indications for the possible extension of knowledge and innovation networks at the interregional and international level and for decreasing the regional divide in a modern knowledge economy. The research has been undertaken within the framework of the project: “IKINET – International Knowledge and Innovation Network†(EU FP6, N° CIT2-CT-2004-506242). Keywords: knowledge creation, interactive learning processes, industrial clusters, innovation policies, European integration, medium technology sectors, small and medium size firms. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p334&r=knm |
| By: | Frank Van Oort; Roderik Ponds; Koen Frenken |
| Abstract: | The geography of innovation has established itself as a central subject in economic geography. Geographical proximity to firms and organizations like universities is supposed to have a positive effect on a firms’ innovative performance. One of the reasons causing these positive agglomeration effects is the fact that collaboration is eased by geographical proximity. Although the role of proximity for collaboration is a well researched theme with regard to innovation, less is known about the role of proximity in scientific collaboration and how this affects the probability and nature of networking among research institutions. This is surprising given the fact that collaboration in science has become a central policy issue. In this paper we set out a number of theoretical considerations about the role of geography for innovation and see whether these apply for science as well. The empirical part will focus on the geography of collaboration in scientific knowledge production, testing the hypothesis that collaboration between different kinds of organizations is geographically more localized than collaboration between the same kinds of organizations due to institutional or organizational proximity. Besides this we will analyze the importance of spatial proximity for various forms of collaboration (such as university-university and university-firm collaboration) using the concept of the gravity model. Finally we will look at the spatial structure of these collaboration networks using insights from social network methodology. Based on co-publications, central nodes of collaborative interaction and network structures are analysed over time. On the network-level we conclude on differences in the fields of life- and physical sciences and on differences on the type of relations according to university-firm, university-university and university-governmental institution linkages. On the regional level we conclude on the centrality and spatial extent of scientific collaboration hubs over time |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p762&r=knm |
| By: | Kameshwari Shankar (Charles River Associates, Boston, MA); Suman Ghosh (Department of Economics, College of Business, Florida Atlantic University) |
| Abstract: | This paper builds a theoretical model to address evidence on labor mobility patterns in technology-intensive firms engaged in R&D. Labor turnover in these firms is characteristically different from turnover in traditional industries both in size and composition. Specifically, the pool of workers switching employers comprises of relatively productive workers. Our model focuses on distinguishing features of R&D-intensive firms, in particular, the stochastic nature of returns to R&D investment and the transmission of knowledge spillovers through worker movement, to explain patterns of labor mobility in these firms. The analysis also serves as a tool to analyze the role of Non Disclosure Agreements in wage contracts. |
| Date: | 2005–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fal:wpaper:05006&r=knm |
| By: | Anne Paalanen; Vesa Harmaakorpi; Timo Pihkala |
| Abstract: | As a consequence of for example agglomeration economies, features such as good reputation and highly-skilled labour force tend to accumulate in university regions. The accumulation of highly-skilled labour and high research intensity secure a continuous flow of “raw-material†for innovations in the knowledge-based economy. However, in the regions lacking a university it is vitally important to find other ways of increasing innovation activity. Through implementation of non-linear innovation activity which combines knowledge of normal practice-based activities and science-based research, a region can create radically new perspectives of operating. The new theories of innovation suggest that a great potential of innovation exists in the structural holes and weak links of the innovation system. The new sources of innovation set demands for the innovating partners. In order to exploit the hidden potential in the innovation system the actors of the region must possess, for example, high absorptive capacity, tolerance for diversification and especially the bridging elements of social capital. The Lahti Region in Finland is one of the regions lacking strong regional research base. Determined to create a new source of competitive advantage, the Lahti Region is heading towards a vision of being a top region in promoting practice-based innovation activities. Therefore, the region has created a new policy framework to achieve the vision: network-facilitating innovation policy. The policy aims to promote networked innovation processes especially by exploiting the potential of the structural holes of the innovation system and linking the research-based knowledge from neighbouring strong research centres in the regional innovation processes. This paper examines the readiness of the regional actors to face the demands of the new policy framework. The case study is a compilation of 12 interviews of the key persons in the regional development field and a survey study among representatives of companies, educational and research organizations as well as public organizations. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p347&r=knm |
| By: | Knut Ingar Westeren |
| Abstract: | Aker Verdal produces steel jackets for the offshore industry and is situated in Trøndelag in peripheral Norway. The firm has about 600 employees and a yearly production value of about 200 mill. $. The main competitors are in the southern part of Europe, for example Dragados in Spain. The wage level at Dragados is about 50% lower than at Aker Verdal, but Aker has won several contracts in the later years. One reason for this is that Aker has a knowledge component that contributes to the compensation for higher wage costs. The firm wants to analyze how it acquires and develops knowledge capital by looking at: · Identification: What are the central knowledge processes that take place · Measurement: What kind of indicators can be used · Management: How is management of knowledge integrated in the general management of the firm In this paper we will look at a case study and see how that can be understood in a theoretical framework. We will also analyze the advantages and disadvantages of peripheral location and its influence on knowledge creation and development. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p582&r=knm |
| By: | Riccardo Cappellin; Eugenio Corti; Massimiliano Bianca |
| Abstract: | This empirical study is a part of a large theoretical and empirical research project, “IKINET – International Knowledge and Innovation Network†(EU FP6, N° CIT2-CT-2004-506242), coordinated by University of Roma “Tor Vergataâ€, on the international/interregional dimension of existing knowledge and innovation networks, where not only information or codified knowledge, as in the collaboration between RTD institutions, but also tacit knowledge, know-how and competencies circulate. With particular focus on how to decrease the “organisational and institutional distance†between the various regions at the international/interregional level, since tacit knowledge and innovation capabilities often are embodied in human capital and individual organisations and institutions. The aim of the paper is to identify the key barriers to an efficient operation of knowledge creation and transfer and innovation networks in the Aeronautical Industrial Cluster in Campania Region, in the south of Italy. In Campania there is a long tradition in this sector and today there are about sixty enterprise that work in the sector, we use, like sample of the regional industrial, fifteen enterprise subdivide in large primer contractor and suppliers of first and second range. Information and data on the selected sample are colleted, and also by suitable questionnaires, and interviews, that the authors have submitted to the entrepreneurs and to the top managers of either the enterprises. We focalize our analysis on firm recent performance and related factor of competitiveness; organizational characteristics of the firms, competencies and management of human resources; innovation history and knowledge creation and transfer processes within the firms; finally we analyze from qualitative point of view relevance of enterprise in the cluster like technological crux. Examined sample give back a realty extremely composed with strategy really different but with some common aim and operative behaviourism that let us to deduce some homogenous group. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p643&r=knm |
| By: | M-Cristina Martinez-Fernandez; Kim Leevers |
| Abstract: | University-industry alliances have long been pursued by public funded programs hoping to boost innovation spillovers in a geographical or cognitive area of research-strength by universities. However, there is still a lack of industry-university cooperation in many fields while at the same time the benefits of universities to their regions’ knowledge intensity is firmly advocated (Acs 2004, Martinez-Fernandez & Leevers 2004, Martinez-Fernandez 2004)). The issue is not limited to the dissemination of knowledge, a traditional role of universities, but to introducing change into the region’s innovation system through activities that increase industry competitive advantage. Results from a project conducted in South-West Sydney from 2003 to 2005 shows that active industry engagement by Universities offering specific expertise in frontier technologies has a positive effect in university-industry cooperation if compared with other technologies well established in the private sector. The project results also show that the role of Universities as active facilitators of industry engagement in frontier technologies is a critical element in the regional/local innovation system where the university operates. The paper discusses first the context of the emergence of the UWS Nanotechnology Network as a sophisticated knowledge intensive service activity led by the University. Secondly the paper discusses the particular case of nanotechnology as a science in an early path and the role of universities at this particular stage. Thirdly, the paper discusses the use and barriers of firms to nanotechnology applications and the role played by UWS during the duration of the project. Finally policy issues arise in relation to the role of the public education sector in the early promotion of frontier technologies. References Acs, Z. (2002) Innovation and the Growth of Cities. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Martinez-Fernandez, M.C. (2004) ‘Regional Collaboration Infrastructure: Effects in the Hunter Valley of NSW’, Australian Planner Vol 41(4); Planning Institute of Australia: Queensland. Martinez-Fernandez, M.C. and K. Leevers (2004) ‘Knowledge Creation, Sharing and Transfer as an Innovation Strategy: The Discovery of Nano-technology by South-West Sydney’. International Journal of Technology Management (IJTM), Volume 28 (3/4/5/6): 560-581. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p819&r=knm |
| By: | Sierdjan Koster |
| Abstract: | Spin-offs are considered successful founding efforts. The combination of relevant industry specific knowledge and direct support from a parent company make these firms stand out from the rest. Spin-offs are usually defined on the basis of the previous employment positions of the entrepreneurs. This method disregards the process of resource transfer that theoretically explains the differences in performance with other foundings. This paper offers an empirical analysis based on the actual resource transfer from parent firm to founding. Using the ERC dataset, entrepreneurial skills are used to explain the successful conclusion of the founding process. Having skills related to production seems to be beneficial, especially when the founding effort also receives support from the parent company. Receiving support as such does not render any positive results. Next to the effect of production skills, industry experience adds to the explanation of successful founding. It is probable that skills related to market knowledge, being part of a network, and reputation enhance chances of pre-entry survival as well. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p745&r=knm |
| By: | Sumon Majumdar (Queen's University); Katsumi Shimotsu (Queen's University) |
| Abstract: | As Canada increasingly structures itself towards a "knowledge based economy", the supply of high-skilled professionals such as engineers and other science graduates acquires more importance. Following the theoretical framework developed by Ryoo and Rosen(2004), we develop and estimate a dynamic supply and demand model for engineers and scientists in Canada. We find that the estimated stock-flow dynamics are supportive of the theoretical model. The relative employment of engineers is quite sensitive to research and development (R&D) expenditures as a fraction of GDP, particularly after 1997. We then use the estimates to develop a dynamic impulse response function. Looking at the impact of a permanent increase in allocation towards R&D, we find that the adjustment process is relatively smooth and the market adjusts in about 2 to 8 years (plus the four years of natural lag in production) to within 80% of the final steady state. For a one-time improvement in R&D allocation, we find that under rational expectations, there is an initial increase in the number of science graduates, but then it falls to below the steady state value and remains there for a long period as the initial increase works its way through the market. |
| Keywords: | dynamic supply and demand, engineers and scientists, R & D expenditure, adjustment dynamics |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J31 J44 I2 |
| Date: | 2006–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:wpaper:1105&r=knm |
| By: | Garrido Azevedo, Susana; Ferreira, João; Leitão, João |
| Abstract: | With the rapid growth of technologies, our economic society and life are changing significantly in the 21th century. The way to capture their competitive advantage has become the most important issue for enterprises in the rapidly changing and uncertain business environments. Many researches have pointed out that the adoption of technology is the most important tool for enterprises to keep their competitive advantage. The survival of an enterprise in the age of knowledge-based economy depends on how to improve their technological capability. In this sense, firms should develop adequate methodologies, in order to adopt, in a successful way, new technologies in the logistics field, and also to integrate logistics into the corporate strategy for becoming even more competitive. Growing number of firms are under pressure from their partners to change their traditional management style, both operationally and organizationally, replacing them with integrated systems that help increase the speed and fluidity of physical and information flows. In order to reach this kind of integration they are investing on new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). In this paper we consider that the ICT are the devices or infrastructures to make more efficient the communications of business information among organizations (Dawe, 1994). Being so, the present paper aims: (i) to highlight the importance of ICT on logistics; and (ii) to understand the impact of ICT on the firms’ competitiveness. In this paper a conceptual model for the adoption of Logistics’ ICT is presented, by taking into consideration four determinant factors: individual, organizational, technological or innovation, and environmental. The interaction established between the referred determinant factors may be identified through the computation of the predominant factor, by using a selected set of adequate indicators and a simple geometry methodology. These procedures may provide the identification of the sources of firms’ competitive advantages that adopt Logistics’ ICT. The Logistics’ ICT analysed in this paper are grouped into four types, such as, the identification, the data communications and the data acquisition technologies. With regard to the identification technologies, firms may appeal to barcoding, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The barcoding (Chapman et al., 2003; Ellram et al., 1999), and RFID (Kumar et al., 2006; Twist, 2005; Choy et al., 2007), are identification technologies that facilitate logistics information collection and exchange. Nowadays, as regards the data acquisition technologies, the firms usually deal with a large amount of goods and data which means that data collection and exchange are critical for logistics information management and control. Good quality in data acquisition can help firms deliver customers' goods more accurately and efficiently. To attain this goal firms could appeal to some data acquisition technologies in logistics field, such as the optical scanning, the electronic pen notepads, (Lin, 2006), the voice recognition and the robotics (Dawe, 1994). |
| Keywords: | ICT; Logistics; Competitive Advantages; Strategy. |
| JEL: | M0 M11 |
| Date: | 2007–01–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1359&r=knm |
| By: | Silviya Draganinska; Rudiger Wink |
| Abstract: | For most SME in incumbent medium-technology sectors, international business is only possi-ble, if additional support by specified institutions is provided. These additional services in-clude information on foreign markets – regulation, market partners, sales potential – as well as coordination – for trade fairs, common international recruitment and qualification strategies – and capabilities like access to financial markets or international public funding for interna-tionalisation or cutting-edge technological knowledge. For many of these services, private provision is possible, as exclusive use and rivalry in consumption are given. For other ser-vices, however, network characteristics restrict a completely private provision. The proposed paper analyses institutional arrangements particularly designed on regional, national or European level to support linkages between organisations and networks in differ-ent European regions. The investigation is based on information collected within the frame-work of the “IKINET project – International Knowledge and Innovation Network†(EU FP6, N° CIT2-CT-2004-506242). The specific challenge of the institutions investigated within this paper refers to linkages between organisations and networks with different institutional de-signs, e.g. the role of public and/or private supply, the characteristics and subjects of services, organisational structures and modes of coordination. These institutions attempt to bridge the gap between SME and organisations in different regions, but also to ease the access to EU funding for transnational (transregional) cooperation between SME. The paper will analyse their products, organisational structure, funding and codes of interaction. This investigation will be used to identify general and regionally specific prerequisites for effective interregional boundary spanning institutions. Secondly, the connectivity between the institutions will be analysed to reveal necessary standards or institutional arrangements to secure interregional trust in cooperation. These standards can range from rather informal, for example on the basis of business norms in trade fairs, to completely formal arrangements, for example in the case of contractual agreements on intellectual property rights and licenses. The assessment of these institutional arrangements uses an integrative methodological framework based on institu-tional analysis to overcome information asymmetries in cooperative innovative processes, sociological and cognitive psychological models of organisational and cognitive proximity and management models for SME as learning organisations. As a result, insights are expected for the European Union, which institutional arrangements are necessary for technology plat-forms on a regional level to secure interregional knowledge interactions. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p404&r=knm |
| By: | Aija Leiponen; Constance E. Helfat |
| Abstract: | Companies face an expanding set of choices about where to locate their innovation activity, both within their home countries and abroad. This location choice also requires firms to make a simultaneous choice about the organizational structure of innovation activity : almost by definition, multiple locations per firm imply some degree of decentralization. Using firm-level data on innovation output and the location of research and development (R&D) activity, we shed new light on the question of whether firms that have multiple locations also have greater innovation success. Our results indicate that, on average, having distributed R&D activity is beneficial in terms of the extent and breadth of innovation success, and the effect is strongly related to the knowledge sourcing strategies that firms employ. These results are consistent with the interpreta-tion that R&D location decisions are driven by the desire of firms to access a broad set of external sources of knowledge for innovation activities. We also find that the benefits of multiple R&D lo-cations do not apply to novel (new-to-the-market) innovations. Our results suggest that when analyzing technological innovation, it is important to distinguish between novel and imitative innova-tions, since their determinants may differ. |
| JEL: | O32 L22 |
| Date: | 2006–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:dpaper:1063&r=knm |
| By: | Charlie Karlsson; Martin Andersson; Urban Grasjo |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the role of knowledge accessibility in re¬gional economic growth. The research question is the following: can the variation in knowledge accessibility between regions in a given period explain the variation in their growth performance in subsequent periods? As knowledge measures, we use company R&D, university R&D and patents. A main assumption in the paper is that knowledge accessibilities as a measure of knowledge potentials transform into potential knowledge flows. Our regression results indicate that the intra-municipal and intra-regional knowledge accessibilities of municipalities are significant and capable of ex¬plaining a significant share of the variation in growth of value added per employee between Swedish municipalities. However, the inter-regional knowledge accessibility of municipalities turned out to be insignificant. This is interpreted as a clear indication of spatial dependence in the sense that the knowledge resources in a given municipality tend to have a positive effect on the growth of another municipality, conditional on that the municipalities belongs to the same functional region. Thus, the results of the analysis indicate that knowledge flows transcend municipal borders, but that they tend to be bounded within functional regions. Also, the analysis shows that there is no remaining spatial correlation among the residuals of the spatial units (municipalities) when using accessibility measures in the model, which confirms that the spatial dependence is captured by the accessibility variables. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p93&r=knm |
| By: | Andres Rodriguez-Pose; Riccardo Crescenzi |
| Abstract: | The paper aims at understanding the balance between “endogenous†factors and “external†knowledge flows in the process of innovation and growth of EU regions. Research on the impact of innovation on regional economic performance in Europe has fundamentally followed three approaches: a) the analysis of the link between investment in R&D, patents, and economic growth; b) the examination of geographical diffusion of regional knowledge spillovers; and c) the study of the existence and efficiency of regional innovation systems. These complementary approaches have, however, rarely been combined. Important operational and methodological barriers have thwarted any potential cross-fertilization. In this paper, we try to fill this gap in the literature by combining in one model R&D, spillovers, and innovation systems approaches. A multiple regression analysis approach is conducted for all regions of the EU-25, including measures of R&D investment, proxies for socio-economic structure, for each region and in neighbouring regions. The empirical results highlight how the three above-mentioned factors interact with one another uncovering the importance not only of “endogenousâ€innovative efforts but also of local socio-economic conditions for the genesis and assimilation of innovation and its transformation it into economic growth across European regions. In addition, the quantitative analysis shows the importance of proximity for the transmission of economically productive knowledge. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p371&r=knm |