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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2009‒12‒19
ten papers chosen by Laura Stefanescu European Research Centre of Managerial Studies in Business Administration |
| By: | Muller, Emmanuel; Zenker, Andrea; Héraud, Jean-Alain |
| Abstract: | -- |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisidp:18&r=knm |
| By: | Czarnitzki , Dirk; Wastyn, Annelies |
| Abstract: | The concept of knowledge has gained in interest since industrialized economics have induced a shift in importance from labor, capital and natural resources towards intellectual resources. This study investigates how the management of knowledge influences the innovation performance of a firm. While former studies mainly focused on knowledge management cycles, we distinguish different types of knowledge management techniques. It turns out that there is a difference between three knowledge management techniques and their influence on product and process innovation. The ability to source external knowledge positively affects the firm's introduction of new products and products new to the market. For obtaining cost reductions it is effective to stimulate employees to share knowledge. The availability of a codified knowledge management policy also positively affects the cost reduction possibilities of a firm. These results indicate that it is important for a firm to carefully select the tools of knowledge management in function of the kind of technical innovation it wants to proceed. -- |
| Keywords: | Knowledge management,innovation performance |
| JEL: | O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:09067&r=knm |
| By: | Kalvet, Tarmo |
| Abstract: | Innovation policy forms a foundation, and probably the most important one, of economic development in any society, especially in today’s society driven by information and communication technologies (ICT). The Schumpeterian processes of creative destruction need stewardship – creative destruction management – and this paper aims to explore some key aspects of innovation policies from the perspective of the current ICT paradigm. The basic feature of the latter is the trend towards globalisation, towards facilitation of heterogeneity, diversity, and adaptability, which leads to market segmentation and niche proliferation as well as to production disaggregation and segment relocation. Analysis of innovation policies of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries shows that their current national innovation system based innovation policies are lacking several crucial features. First, one of the central arguments of creative-destruction management is paradigm-based, activity-specific priority-setting, but such wide-scale selection mechanisms have been and are still missing, and currently innovation policies by themselves can not lead to economic restructuring. Second, the whole concept of innovation systems has to a large extent focused on activities related to the production and use of codified scientific and technical knowledge leading to the situation where existing policies have essentially nothing to do with the average companies. Third, the current paradigm is characterised by globalised and open financial markets which, in case of the CEE countries, have enforced speculative economic growth, fuelled by domestic consumption and based on foreign borrowing. Finally, while the state is generally considered an important factor influencing how concrete innovation systems develop, linkages to policymaking itself and administrative capacities are quite missing and need to be revived, including the reconsideration of governance. |
| Keywords: | innovation; economic development; innovation policy; ICT Paradigm; open innovation; governance; dissertations; |
| JEL: | O38 O30 B52 O20 B15 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:19387&r=knm |
| By: | Gaston Heimeriks |
| Abstract: | Research policy is a complex matter. Copying best practices in research policy, as identified by benchmarking studies, is popular amongst policy makers but fails because of ‘knowledge asymmetries’. Research fields exhibit distinct knowledge dynamics that respond differently to governance interventions. Extending the idea of search regimes, this paper aims at providing a policy model for different knowledge dynamics by elaborating the notion of knowledge production as a complex adaptive system. Complex regimes emerge from three interacting sources of variance. In our conceptualisation, researchers are the nodes that carry the science system. Research can be considered as geographically situated practices with site specific skills, equipments and tools. The emergent science level refers to the formal communication activities of the knowledge published in journals and books, and announced in conferences. The contextual dynamics refer to the ways in which knowledge production provides resources for social and economic development. This conceptualization allows us to disaggregate knowledge dynamics both in horizontal (field related) and vertical (level related) dimensions by articulating the three different dynamics and their path dependencies (in research, science and society) in co-evolution with each other to produce distinct search regimes in each field. The implication for research governance is that generic measures can sometimes be helpful but there is clear need for disaggregated measures targeting field specific search regimes. Governing knowledge production through disaggregated measures means targeting in a distinct way not only different fields, but also, and more importantly, the interactions between local research practices, emergent scientific landscapes, and the field’s relationship to its societal context. If all three “levels” are aligned, there is a stable regime. |
| Keywords: | search regime, research and innovation governance, complex adaptive system |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uis:wpaper:0916&r=knm |
| By: | Nobuyuki Hanaki; Ryo Nakajima; Yoshiaki Ogura |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we provide an empirical analysis of evolving networks of successful R&D collaborations in the IT industry (consisting of firms that obtained patents in the technological category of computers and communication) in the U.S. between 1985 and 1995. We first show that the R&D network has become more extensive, more clustered, and more unequal in the sense that 'stars' have emerged in the network. We then analyze the effect of the existing network structure in the process of new R&D collaboration formation. We control for unobserved similarities among firms based on the community structures within the network that the algorithm developed by Girvan and Newman (2004) identifies and find a significant cyclic closure and preferential attachment effect. |
| Date: | 2009–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tsu:tewpjp:2009-014&r=knm |
| By: | Köhler, Christian; Sofka, Wolfgang; Grimpe, Christoph |
| Abstract: | The shift towards more open and interconnected innovation activities has been a major topic of recent academic and practitioner discussions. Firms have to connect their in-house R&D activities with external partners, such as leading customers or universities, to increase the effectiveness of their innovation activities. Hence, management needs to define search strategies for valuable knowledge in its environment. In this paper we argue that search strategies have to reflect the heterogeneity of various knowledge sources with regard to the knowledge they can provide and how these sources can be activated. We hypothesize that search strategies driven by science, suppliers and the product market will contribute differently to innovation success with radically new versus incrementally refined products. We suggest that innovation in service sectors is fundamentally different in nature which influences the performance of different search strategies. We test these hypotheses for a sample of more than 5,000 firms from five European countries. The results support our hypotheses and highlight the potentials and shortcomings of different search strategies. -- |
| Keywords: | Search strategies,service innovation,radical versus incremental innovation |
| JEL: | L60 O32 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:09066&r=knm |
| By: | A. SEGHERS; S. MANIGART; T. VANACKER |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how entrepreneurs’ human and social capital influence their knowledge of finance alternatives. For this purpose, we use survey data from 125 Belgian start-ups. Results demonstrate that entrepreneurs with a business education and entrepreneurs with experience in accountancy or finance have a broader knowledge of finance alternatives. Having a strong network in the financial community further enhances the knowledge of finance alternatives. However, more generic human capital has almost no impact on the knowledge of finance alternatives. Overall, this study demonstrates how not only supply-side factors, but also demand-side factors may constrain entrepreneurs in their search for finance. |
| Date: | 2009–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:09/617&r=knm |
| By: | Sofka , Wolfgang; Grimpe, Christoph |
| Abstract: | Searching for externally available knowledge has been characterized as a vital part of the innovation process. The availability of such innovation impulses, however, critically depends on the environment a firm is operating in. Little is known on how institutional infrastructures for innovation differ with respect to the munificence in providing innovation impulses. In this paper, we suggest that these differences are particularly pronounced between established market economies and transition economies. We argue that these differences shape a firm's search pattern and that the search pattern subsequently moderates the relationship between innovation inputs and outputs. Based on a sample of more than 4,500 firms from ten European countries we find that search strategies differ considerably between established market and transition economies. Search in transition economies is characterized by much more variety. However, management capacity in these countries is a particularly scarce resource which is why focused search strategies turn out to be most successful. -- |
| Keywords: | Search strategies,open innovation,transition economies,institutional infrastructure for innovation |
| JEL: | L60 O32 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:09061&r=knm |
| By: | Schmiele, Anja |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to shed light on firm specific drivers that lead firms to internationalise their innovation activities. The paper draws a comprehensive picture of driving forces by including firm capabilities, characteristics of the firm’s competitive environment and the influence of innovation obstacles in the home country. In particular, the role of the potential driving forces is tested on the probability to carry out different innovative activities abroad (R&D, design/conception of new products, manufacturing of innovative products and implementation of new processes). In a second step these driving forces are used to observe their impact on the decision to locate innovation activities in various countries and regions (China, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and North America) as well as in groups of countries with similar levels of knowledge (country clubs). The analysis is based on the Mannheim Innovation Panel survey which represents the German CIS (Community Innovation Survey) contribution. Two survey waves are combined and result in a sample of about 1400 firms. The results show that the decision to perform innovation activities abroad is mainly driven by organisational capabilities such as absorptive capacities, international experience and existing technological competences of the respective firm. Innovation barriers at the German home base such as lack of labour and high innovation costs foster the set up of later-stage innovation activities abroad while the lack of demand demonstrates a barrier to the internationalisation decision for the development and manufacturing of new products. Location decisions receive the strongest influencing effects from the international experience of the firm. Firms which innovate in developing countries seem to require a more extensive level of international experience by international R&D cooperation. -- |
| Keywords: | Internationalisation of R&D,Innovation,Absorptive Capacities,Market Structure,China,Asia,Emerging countries |
| JEL: | F23 L22 L25 O31 O32 O47 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:09064&r=knm |
| By: | Baldwin, John R.; Gu, Wulong; Lafrance, Amélie; Macdonald, Ryan |
| Abstract: | This paper presents estimates of intangible investment in Canada for the purpose of innovation, advertising and resource extraction. It first expands upon work by Beckstead and Gellatly (2003), Baldwin and Hanel (2003), Beckstead and Gellatly (2003), Beckstead and Vinodrai (2003) and Baldwin and Beckstead (2003) who argue that the scope of innovative activity extends beyond research and development (R&D) as defined by the Frascati Manual. It extends the definition of innovative activities to include all scientific and engineering expenditures - regardless of whether they are market-based or produced with a firm. The paper also considers expenditures on intangible items such as brands or resource exploration. The paper contributes to the existing literature by creating intangible investment estimates (science and engineering knowledge, advertising, mineral exploration by industry) using Statistics Canada's high quality and internally consistent databases. It produces estimates that accord with other intangibles studies (Corrado, Hulten and Sichel 2005, 2006; Jalava, Ahmavarra and Alanen 2007) and shows that traditional R&D type investment estimates account for about a quarter of intangible science and engineering investments. |
| Keywords: | Science and technology, Innovation, Research and development |
| Date: | 2009–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp6e:2009026e&r=knm |