nep-knm New Economics Papers
on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy
Issue of 2012‒01‒10
five papers chosen by
Laura Stefanescu
European Research Centre of Managerial Studies in Business Administration

  1. Defence firms facing liberalization: innovation and export in an agent-based model of the defence industry By Blom, Martin; Castellacci, Fulvio; Fevolden, Arne
  2. Results of the 2009 Survey of Innovation Activities (SIA) By Aldaba, Rafaelita M.; Albert, Jose Ramon G.; Quimba, Francis Mark A.; Yasay, Donald
  3. A Contingency Perspective on Centralization of Supply Chain Decision-making and its Role in the Transformation of Process R&D into Financial Performance By Krotov, Konstantin V.; Germain, Richard N.
  4. Trust-Based Working Time and Organizational Performance: Evidence from German Establishment-Level Panel Data By Michael Beckmann; Istvàn Hegedüs
  5. The Interdependence of R&D Activity and Debt Financing of Young Firms By Fryges, Helmut; Kohn, Karsten; Ullrich, Katrin

  1. By: Blom, Martin; Castellacci, Fulvio; Fevolden, Arne
    Abstract: The paper presents an agent-based simulation model of the defence industry. The model resembles some of the key characteristics of the European defence sector, and studies how firms in this market will respond to the challenges and opportunities provided by a higher degree of openness and liberalization in the future. The simulation analysis points out that European defence firms will progressively become more efficient, less dependent on public procurement and innovation policy support, and more prone to knowledge sharing and inter-firm collaborations. This firm-level dynamics will in the long-run lead to an increase in the industry’s export propensity and a less concentrated market.
    Keywords: Defence industry; liberalization; EU; export; innovation; agent-based simulation model
    JEL: C6 F5 M2 F1 O3 L1
    Date: 2012–01–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:35702&r=knm
  2. By: Aldaba, Rafaelita M.; Albert, Jose Ramon G.; Quimba, Francis Mark A.; Yasay, Donald
    Abstract: In this paper, results of the 2009 Survey of Innovation Activities are described and discussed. The term innovation, traditionally associated with research and development, has evolved to mean the implementation of new or significantly improved goods and services, production process, marketing, or organizational methods in a firm. Innovation data gathered in the survey help better understand innovation and its relation to economic growth, and provide indicators for benchmarking national performance. Results of the survey suggest that more than half of sampled firms are innovators, with larger firms innovating more than smaller ones. Firms vary in innovation activity by study areas. Effects of innovation are largely customer-driven. Firms suggest cost factors to be the most important barrier to innovation. Government support is found to be limited, particularly for product innovations, to medium-sized firms. Knowledge and cooperation networks for innovation are rather weak. Firms do not access technical assistance from the government and research institutions. Cooperation is also low between the establishments and academe. Firms tend to cooperate more with establishments within their enterprise, their customers and suppliers. The results point to the need to articulate the innovation strategy to firms, and to improve information dissemination on programs available to assist firms. Networking, linkages, and collaboration among the government, industry associations, and universities and research institutions must be also be further enhanced.
    Keywords: innovation, Philippines, process innovation, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), documentary stamp tax, stock market transactions, tax elasticity, product innovation, organizational innovation, marketing innovation
    Date: 2011
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2011-15&r=knm
  3. By: Krotov, Konstantin V.; Germain, Richard N.
    Abstract: The research examines whether centralized supply chain decisionmaking within the firm plays a role in how the firm transforms investments in process research and development (R&D) into financial performance. This transformation includes the process investment - financial performance chain, which consists of process R&D funds, applied supply chain knowledge, supply chain process variance, and financial performance. In addition, the model includes production technology routineness, size, and integration. The results, based on a sample of 204 manufacturers operating in the United States, suggest that centralization cleaves the process investment - financial performance chain at the connection of supply chain process variance and financial performance. The net effect is that firm scale, production technology routineness, integration, and process R&D investment predict financial performance only when supply chain decision-making is decentralized within the firm. Firm scale, production continuity, integration, and process R&D investment confer no performance advantage in centralized firms.
    Keywords: centralization of supply chain, contingency perspective,
    Date: 2011
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sps:wpaper:320&r=knm
  4. By: Michael Beckmann; Istvàn Hegedüs (University of Basel)
    Keywords: Trust-based working time, working time flexibility, firm performance
    JEL: J24 J81 M50
    Date: 2011
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bsl:wpaper:2011/13&r=knm
  5. By: Fryges, Helmut (ZEW Mannheim); Kohn, Karsten (KfW Bankengruppe); Ullrich, Katrin (KfW Bankengruppe)
    Abstract: We investigate the interdependence of debt financing and R&D activities of young firms. Using micro-level data of the KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel, our estimation results show that firm characteristics are more important than personal characteristics of the founders for explaining young firms' leverage, whereas firm characteristics and human capital of both founders and employees heavily influence R&D intensity. Applying a bivariate Tobit model, we find that there is a positive interdependent relationship between the share of loan financing and R&D intensity. A higher share of loan financing allows for more R&D in young firms and, at the same time, a higher R&D intensity allows for a higher loan share. This relationship cannot be detected by merely estimating single-equation models for R&D intensity and debt financing.
    Keywords: innovation financing, capital structure, business start-ups, KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel, Germany
    JEL: G32 O32 L26
    Date: 2011–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6217&r=knm

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