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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2012‒07‒01
eight papers chosen by Laura Stefanescu European Research Centre of Managerial Studies in Business Administration |
| By: | Raffaele Paci; Emanuela Marrocu |
| Abstract: | Regional competitiveness, especially in the industrialised countries, is increasingly reliant on the availability of an adequate endowment of knowledge assets at the local level, like technological and human capital. These intangible factors enhance regional efficiency directly as inputs of the production function, but they also play a crucial role in allowing the territory to absorb the potential knowledge spillovers from the neighbouring regions. The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of the internal and external factors in determining the productivity level for a large set of regions belonging to the EU27 plus Norway and Switzerland. We estimate a Cobb-Douglas production function over the period 2000-2008 where, in addition to the traditional inputs of physical capital and units of labour, we consider innovation activities and human capital endowments as relevant knowledge assets. We also control for other geographical and industrial features of the regions. In order to take into account the commonly found geographic association across regions, our analysis is carried out within the spatial panel econometric framework. Main results, robust to a wide array of sensitivity checks, show that knowledge assets exhibit positive and significant coefficients and the impact of human capital on GDP is higher than the one found for technological capital in most of the estimated empirical models. Moreover, we find evidence of spatial spillovers directly associated with the two immaterial assets, which turn out to be much more effective in the regions of the 12 new accession countries with respect to all other European regions. The significant presence of such spillovers emphasizes the important role played by highly educated labour forces in increasing the regions’ absorptive capacity of new external knowledge and in ensuring its effective use in the production process. |
| Keywords: | knowledge; innovation; human capital; production function; spatial spillovers; European regions |
| JEL: | C23 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201213&r=knm |
| By: | Ugo Pagano |
| Abstract: | The last three decades have witnessed the emergence of a new species of capitalism. In spite of marked differences among its different national varieties, a common characteristic of this species can be found in the global monopolization of knowledge. This monopolization involves hierarchical relations among firms and between capital and labor because the capital of some firms includes the exclusive ownership of much of the knowledge used in production. Since the 1994 TRIPS agreements, the growing commoditization of knowledge has extended the role of closed science and closed markets at the expense of open science and open markets. The intrinsic long-term dynamics of this species of capitalism are increasingly characterized by inequality and stagnation. In order to exit from the current crisis, we must change many features of Intellectual Monopoly Capitalism and rely on an eclectic approach that draws insights from the Liberal, the Keynesian and the Marxian traditions |
| Keywords: | intellectual monopoly, great depression, eclecticism |
| JEL: | F55 G01 B52 E11 E12 |
| Date: | 2012–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:634&r=knm |
| By: | Fernandes, Ana M.; Paunov, Caroline |
| Abstract: | While innovation is a source of competitiveness, it may expose plants to survival risks. Using a rich set of plant-product data for Chilean manufacturing plants during the period 1996-2006 and discrete-time hazard models controlling for unobserved plant heterogeneity, this paper shows that innovating plants have higher survival odds. However, risk plays an important role for the innovation-survival link: only innovators that retain diversified sources of revenues survive longer. Single-product innovators are at greater risk of exiting. In addition, only innovators facing lower market risk, measured by fewer innovative competitors, low-pricing strategies, or lower sales volatility in the new products'markets, see their odds of survival increase significantly. Technical risk, measured by the proximity of product innovations to the plants'past expertise, the degree of sophistication of new products, or their novelty to the Chilean market, does not play a substantial role in the innovation-survival link. Engaging in risky innovation is not an irrational decision, since plants reap big payoffs -- higher productivity, employment and sales growth -- from such innovations. However, those payoffs are not always higher than those from cautious innovation, suggesting that constraining factors, such as credit constraints, force plants to take on more risk when innovating. An implication of the findings for industry dynamics is that among innovators, only the survival of cautious innovators is guaranteed. Since engaging in cautious innovation may not be feasible for all plants, there could be a role for policy in reducing innovators'exposure to risks and providing assistance to deal with failed innovations, while setting the right incentives. |
| Keywords: | Labor Policies,E-Business,Markets and Market Access,Innovation,Knowledge for Development |
| Date: | 2012–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6103&r=knm |
| By: | Fabrizio Germano; Peio Zuazo-Garin |
| Abstract: | We extend Aumann's theorem [Aumann, 1987] deriving correlated equilibria as a consequence of common priors and common knowledge of rationality by explicitly allowing for non-rational behavior. We replace the assumption of common knowledge of rationality with a substantially weaker notion, joint p-belief of rationality, where agents believe the other agents are rational with probability p or more. We show that behavior in this case constitutes a constrained correlated equilibrium of a doubled game satisfying certain p-belief constraints and characterize the topological structure of the resulting set of p-rational outcomes. We establish continuity in the parameter p and show that, for p sufficiently close to one, the p-rational outcomes are close to the correlated equilibria and, with high probability, supported on strategies that survive the iterated elimination of strictly dominated strategies. Finally, we extend Aumann and Dreze's theorem [Aumann and Dreze, 2008] on rational expectations of interim types to the broader p-rational belief systems, and also discuss the case of non-common priors. |
| Keywords: | correlated equilibrium, approximate common knowledge, bounded rationality, p-rational belief system, common prior, information, noncooperative game |
| JEL: | C72 D82 D83 |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1326&r=knm |
| By: | Agulles, Remei (IESE Business School); Prats, Maria Julia (IESE Business School) |
| Abstract: | Companies desiring to keep and improve their competitive advantage must be flexible enough to undergo change when needed. Meaningful change requires the ability to learn from their own as well as from others' experience. But learning is not easy, and there are many factors that may prevent it to occur. This paper explores existing literature and provides a classification of the different obstacles that may appear in the way. At the same time, without the pretension of being exhaustive, it suggests some solution paths. |
| Keywords: | organizational learning; strategic management; corporate culture; organizational change; knowledge management; innovation; |
| Date: | 2012–05–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:iesewp:d-0955&r=knm |
| By: | Chia-Lin Chang (Department of Applied Economics, Department of Finance, National Chung Hsing University Taichung, Taiwan); Sung-Po Chen (Department of Applied Economics, National Chung Hsing University Taichung, Taiwan); Michael McAleer (Econometric Institute, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands, Department of Quantitative Economics, Complutense University of Madrid, and Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University.) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of the three main channels of international trade on domestic innovation, namely outward direct investment (ODI), inward direct investment (IDI), and exports. The number of Triadic patents serves as a proxy for innovation. The data set contains 37 countries that are considered to be highly competitive in the world market, covering the period 1994 to 2005. The empirical results show that increased exports and outward direct investment are able to stimulate an increase in patent output. In contrast, IDI exhibits a negative relationship with domestic patents. The paper shows that the impact of IDI on domestic innovation is characterized by two forces, and the positive effects of cross-border mergers and acquisitions by foreigners is less than the negative effect of the remaining IDI. |
| Keywords: | International direct investment, Exports, Imports, Triadic Patent, Outward direct investment, Inward direct investment, R&D, negative binomial model. |
| JEL: | F14 F21 O30 O57 |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucm:doicae:1216&r=knm |
| By: | Martin Berger; Heinz Hollenstein |
| Abstract: | The paper complements entry mode research by dealing with the choice of alternative modes of governance in the specific case of foreign R&D and its impact on a parent firm’s performance. Firstly, we identify the factors that determine whether a firm locates abroad any R&D activities, and, if it does so, whether it chooses an equity-based rather than a non-equity co-operative mode of governance. The OLI paradigm is used as theoretical background of this analysis. Secondly, we determine the impact of foreign R&D on a parent firm’s performance in terms of innovation output and labour productivity, and investigate whether this effect differs among firms using the one or the other governance mode. The study is based on separate estimations for Switzerland and Austria using comparable firm data and model specifications. The two countries are interesting cases as they strongly differ in terms of level and pattern of internationalisation. |
| Keywords: | Internationalisation of R&D, Governance of foreign R&D, International R&D co-operation, Foreign R&D and performance, OLI paradigm and R&D |
| JEL: | F23 L22 L24 O31 |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wsr:wpaper:y:2012:i:097&r=knm |
| By: | Ufuk Akcigit; William R. Kerr |
| Abstract: | We study how exploration versus exploitation innovations impact economic growth through a tractable endogenous growth framework that contains multiple innovation sizes, multiproduct firms, and entry/exit. Firms invest in exploration R&D to acquire new product lines and exploitation R&D to improve their existing product lines. We model and show empirically that exploration R&D does not scale as strongly with firm size as exploitation R&D. The resulting framework conforms to many regularities regarding innovation and growth differences across the firm size distribution. We also incorporate patent citations into our theoretical framework. The framework generates a simple test using patent citations that indicates that entrants and small firms have relatively higher growth spillover effects. |
| Keywords: | CES,economic,research,micro,data,microdata,endogenous growth, innovation, exploration, exploitation, research and development, patents, citations, scientists, engineers |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O41 L16 |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:12-08&r=knm |