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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2010‒05‒29
four papers chosen by Laura Stefanescu European Research Centre of Managerial Studies in Business Administration |
| By: | Denise Tsang (School of Management, University of Reading) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the institutional sources of innovation, with reference to the role of institutions in generating creativity within knowledge-intensive entertainment industry. Despite growing importance of innovation in the knowledge industry, including interactive games, the ‘informal’ source of innovation has attracted relatively little attention. We have attempted to fill this gap with a comparative case study of indigenous UK and Korean online gaming firms. By closely looking at the idea exploration, generation and selection process where creativity plays a major role, we intend to find out why and how values and norms contribute to firm innovation. This study shows that both Korean and UK’s firm value, regardless of their different socio-economic contexts, plays an important role in generating innovation. An additional point suggested in this paper is that the Korean game development firms are likely to take advantage of governmental policy support, in order to overcome inadequate institutional settings, in conjunction with the initial conditions of online gaming development. |
| Keywords: | Online gaming industry, Institution, Innovation, Firm culture, Public policy |
| Date: | 2010–05–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2009-08&r=knm |
| By: | Wiel, H.P. van der (Tilburg University) |
| Abstract: | This PhD thesis deals with competition and innovation as drivers of productivity. According to literature, competition and innovation seem to be indivisibly connected to each other. Competition stimulates innovation by firms, and firms that innovate try to beat their competitors otherwise they will be swallowed by them. Competition as well as innovation are main drivers of productivity growth, but according to recent insights a trade-off may exist between these drivers. In fact, the relationship could look like an inverted U suggesting that competition is not always positively correlated with innovation. If competition is too intense, it has a negative effect on innovation (and productivity). This thesis has two main goals. First, it sheds more light on how to measure competition on product markets. In that respect, it elaborates on a new competition measure, the profit elasticity (PE). Chapter 2 extensively discusses this indicator and explicitly focus on what is meant by ‘competition’. Chapter 3 provides a guide for researchers how to measure PE in practice. The second goal of this thesis is to analyze the relationship between competition, innovation and productivity. As empirical evidence for this relationship is hardly available for the Netherlands, chapter 4 fills this gap by using Dutch (aggregate) firm level data. Chapter 5 examines the link between competition and product innovation at the firm level. It particularly analyzes the effect of product differentiation related to making products less close substitutes, and hence making markets less competitive. |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:tilbur:urn:nbn:nl:ui:12-3959784&r=knm |
| By: | Francesco Aiello; Paola Cardamone (Dipartimento di Economia e Statistica, Università della Calabria) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the impact of R&D efforts on production in the North and Centre-South of Italy by using a panel of 1203 manufacturing firms over the period 1998-2003. The estimations are based on a nonlinear translog production function augmented by a measure of R&D spillovers. This measure combines the geographical distance between firms, the technological similarity within each pair of firms and the technical efficiency of each firm. The estimation method takes into account the endogeneity of regressors and the potential sample selection issue regarding firms’ decision to invest in R&D. Results show that the external stock of technology exerts a higher impact in the Centre-South of Italy. Finally, it emerges that R&D capital and R&D spillovers are substitutes for Northern firms and complements for Centre-Southern firms. |
| Keywords: | R&D spillovers, Italian economic divide, translog production function, technical efficiency. |
| JEL: | O33 L29 C23 |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:clb:wpaper:201010&r=knm |
| By: | Kravtsova, V.; Radošević, S. |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the determinants of the productivity in the countries of Eastern Europe (EE) through the perspective of ‘narrow’ and ‘broad’ national systems of innovation (NSI). Based on panel econometrics it examines the extent to which systems in EE could be considered ‘(in)efficient’. Our results suggest that the EE countries have lower levels of productivity than might be expected given their research and development (R&D), innovation and production capabilities. The inefficiencies of ‘broad’ NSI are compounded by the inefficiencies of ‘narrow’ NSI in terms of generating numbers of science and technology publications and resident patents relative to R&D employment, compared to the rest of the world. Our results point to an important distinction between technology and production capability as the drivers of productivity improvements, and provide some policy implications. |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:ucllon:http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/18816/&r=knm |