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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2009‒10‒10
nine papers chosen by Laura Stefanescu European Research Centre of Managerial Studies in Business Administration |
| By: | Sungu Armagan (College of Business Administration - Florida International University); Manuel Portugal Ferreira (Instituto Politécnico de Leiria) |
| Abstract: | Groups can capitalize on knowledge to the extent that it is shared among its members. However, groups are in constant flux as its membership structure changes with new members joining and others exiting continuously. In this paper, we examine the effects of membership change on the knowledge flows and stocks within the group. Specifically, we focus on membership changes that involve the replacement of an oldtimer by a newcomer that joins the group. We argue that membership change affects the extent of knowledge transfer, the type of knowledge transferred and the knowledge stock held by the group. Specifically we focus on two dimensions of knowledge: component (technical) and architectural. Firms may benefit from recognizing these relationships and differences on the pool of knowledge held to improve knowledge flows in groups and enhance their performance, namely their innovative ability. |
| Keywords: | membership change, newcomer, knowledge transfer, knowledge, turnover |
| JEL: | M0 M1 |
| Date: | 2009–09–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pil:wpaper:40&r=knm |
| By: | Jérôme Vicente (LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux. - Université des sciences socailes de Toulouse); Raphaël Suire (CREM - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Management - CNRS : UMR6211 - Université de Rennes I - Université de Caen) |
| Abstract: | One of the most convincing explanations papers generally provide concerning clusters in knowledge-based economies refers to the geographically bounded dimension of knowledge spillovers. Here we shall underline that location decision externalities precede local knowledge spillovers in the explanation of cluster aggregate efficiency, which thus requires us to focus on the sequential process of location and the nature of interdependences in location decision-making. To that end, we mean to associate cluster emergence with the formation of locational norms, and to study the critical parameters of their stability. These parameters relate to the type of decision externalities among more or less cognitively distant firms, which influences the weight and the resulting ambivalent role of knowledge spillovers at the aggregate level of clusters. We suggest two theoretical propositions which we test within a simple and general norm location dynamics modeling framework. We then proceed to discuss the results so obtained by comparing them with an emerging related literature based on the life cycle and viability of clusters |
| Keywords: | clusters, location under decision externalities, cognitive distance, knowledge spillovers |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00418539_v1&r=knm |
| By: | Ilke Van Beveren; Hylke Vandenbussche |
| Abstract: | Using data from the Community Innovation Survey for Belgium in two consecutive periods, this paper explores the relationship between firm-level innovation activities and the propensity to start exporting. To measure innovation, we include indicators of both innovative effort (R&D activities) as well as innovative output (product and process innovation). Our results suggest that the combination of product and process innovation, rather than either of the two in isolation, increases a firm¡¯s probability to enter the export market. After controlling for potential endogeneity of the innovation activities, only firms with a sufficiently high probability to start exporting engage in product and process innovation prior to their entry on the export market, pointing to the importance of self-selection into innovation. |
| Keywords: | Exports, Product innovation, Process innovation, Self-selection, Firm heterogeneity |
| JEL: | D24 F14 L25 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:24709&r=knm |
| By: | Andersson, Martin (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Johansson, Sara (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between human capital endowments and the structure of regional export flows. Since the development of each export product may be assumed to be associated with innovation activity, requiring human capital inputs, the core hypothesis tested in this paper is that cross-regional variations in endowments of human capital influence the extensive margin (number of export products) rather than the intensive margin (average export value per product). The hypothesis is tested in a cross-regional regression model, applied to aggregate and within-industry export flows from Swedish regions. The empirical results confirm the theoretical prediction that the response of regional export flows to cross-regional variations in human capital is an increase in the extensive margin. To the extent that the regional human capital endowment affects the intensive margin, the effect is a higher average price per export product. |
| Keywords: | product differentiation; knowledge; human capital; accessibility; export diversity; extensive margin; economies of scale |
| JEL: | F12 F14 R12 R32 |
| Date: | 2009–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0195&r=knm |
| By: | Ronald Jean Degen (International School of Management Paris) |
| Abstract: | This paper explains how the increasingly popular social network driven ideation works for some companies, and how this can be expanded to encompass the complete crowdsourcing innovation process (beyond simple ideation). In a contemporary context, businesses that are unable to keep up with innovations are simply overrun by those who are more efficient at this. This results in the dilemma that confronts all innovating companies in the 21st century: while innovation is critical for survival of a company, internal R&D is an inefficient approach to innovation. As a result of this dilemma, today?s innovative companies generally conduct little or no basic research on their own. They mostly innovate using the research discoveries of others. Some of these companies promote ideation forums on social networks to gain ?memes? for innovative ideas. This first step in the crowdsourcing innovation process can be expanded to include all the remaining steps of the innovation process, up to marketing and selling the product or service, as these all originate from ?crowdsourcing ideation?. |
| Keywords: | social network driven innovation, ideation forums, crowdsourcing ideation, crowdsourcing innovation process, memes, mavens, connectors, influencers, nanostories, flash mobs, job to be done |
| JEL: | M0 M1 |
| Date: | 2009–10–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pil:wpaper:47&r=knm |
| By: | Christian R. Østergaard; Bram Timmermans; Kari Kristinsson |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of employee diversity in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and education on the firm’s likelihood of introducing an innovation. The analysis draws on data from a recent innovation survey. This data is merged with a linked employer-employee dataset that allow us to identify the employee composition of each firm. We test the hypothesis that employee diversity is associated with better innovative performance. The econometric analysis reveals positive, negative and non-significant effects of the different employee characteristics on the likelihood of introducing an innovation. |
| Keywords: | Diversity, Innovation, Education, Gender, Cultural Backgrund |
| JEL: | A |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:abbswp:09-03&r=knm |
| By: | Görg, Holger (Kiel Institute for the World Economy); Hanley, Aoife (Kiel Institute for the World Economy) |
| Abstract: | We provide a comprehensive empirical analysis of the links between international services outsourcing, domestic outsourcing, profits and innovation using plant level data. We find a positive effect of international outsourcing of services on innovative activity at the plant level. Such a positive effect can also be observed for domestic outsourcing of services, but the magnitude is smaller. This makes intuitive sense, as international outsourcing allows more scope for exploiting international factor price differentials, therefore giving the establishment higher profits and more scope to restructure production activities towards innovation. We also find that international services outsourcing has a positive effect on profitability, as predicted by theory, while this is not true for domestic sourcing. The results are robust to various specifications and an instrumental variables analysis. |
| Keywords: | innovation, services outsourcing, offshoring, R&D |
| JEL: | F19 O31 |
| Date: | 2009–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4404&r=knm |
| By: | Ang, James |
| Abstract: | Abstract The main objective of this paper is to explore the impact of financial sector reforms, financial deepening and intellectual property protection on the accumulation of knowledge for one of the world’s largest developing countries. The findings indicate that increased intellectual property rights protection is associated with higher knowledge accumulation. While financial deepening facilitates the accumulation of ideas, the implementation of a series of financial liberalization policies is found to have a non-linear effect. The results show that financial liberalization will exert a beneficial impact on technological deepening only if the financial system is sufficiently liberalized. |
| Keywords: | financial liberalization; ideas production; endogenous growth; India. |
| JEL: | O30 E58 O53 E44 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:17656&r=knm |
| By: | Erik S. Reinert; Rainer Kattel; Margit Suurna |
| Abstract: | The paper aims to show that, first, innovation policies deployed in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries since 1990s have been a double-edged sword: on the one hand enabling fast and furious industrial restructuring while, on the other hand, locking CEE economies into economic activities with low value added/productivity growth and thus undermining future sustainable growth. However, the impact of accession into the European Union (EU) has been equally pivotal for industrial restructuring and innovation policy making in CEE countries in the 2000s and this process can be summed up as a strong Europeanization of innovation policy in CEE. The paper proceeds to show, second, that also Europeanization has been largely a double-edged sword for CEE countries. Since joining the EU in 2004 or 2007, and already during the accession process, there is a strong change in innovation policies in many CEE countries towards a much more active role of the state. In this change there is a clear and strong role of EUÿs structural funding, particularly the negotiations and planning that comes with it. However, these changes come with specific problems: first, there is an over-emphasis in emerging CEE innovation policies on a linear understanding of innovation (from lab to market) that is based on the assumption that there is a growing demand from industry for R&D (which is not the case because of the structural changes that took place in the 1990s via the Washington Consensus policies); and, second, increasing usage of independent implementation agencies in an already weak administrative capacity environment lacking policy skills for networking and long-term planning. |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tth:wpaper:23&r=knm |