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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2013‒11‒02
twelve papers chosen by Laura Stefanescu European Research Centre of Managerial Studies in Business Administration |
| By: | Conte, Andrea (European Commission); Vivarelli, Marco (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the relationship between a company's investment in innovation and its success in introducing new product and/or process innovations. In doing so, this analysis departs from the standard approach which puts forward a homogenous R&D-based knowledge production function by introducing different types of innovation investments (R&D and technology acquisition) for different sets of companies. Using the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) dataset comprising more than 3000 Italian manufacturing companies, the econometric analysis adopts a set of techniques which allows to control for the sample selection, endogeneity and simultaneity problems which arise when dealing with CIS data. The main findings are summarised as follows: (1) beyond the acknowledged effect of R&D in increasing the probability of success of product innovation, a larger-than-expected role is played by technology acquisition in the innovation process; (2) the relative importance of R&D and technology acquisition varies significantly across different types of companies where crucial dimensions of analysis are company size and the technological domain of a sector. |
| Keywords: | R&D, product innovation, process innovation, embodied technical change, sample selection, SUR, community innovation survey |
| JEL: | O31 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7671&r=knm |
| By: | Sammut-Bonnici, Tanya; Paroutis, Sotirios |
| Abstract: | Purpose: This paper aims to lay the foundations to develop a dominant logic and a common thematic framework of strategic innovation, and to encourage consensus over the field’s core foundation of main themes. Methods: We explore the intersection between the constituent fields of strategic management and innovation management through a concept mapping process. We categorize the main themes and search for common ground in order to develop the core thematic framework of strategic innovation. We look at the sub themes of strategic innovation in published research and develop a more detailed framework. The conceptual categories derived from the process are then placed in a logical sequence according to how they occur in practice or in the order of how the concepts develop from one other. Findings: The results yield seven main themes that form the main taxonomy of strategic innovation: types of strategic innovation, environmental analysis of strategic innovation, strategic innovation planning, enabling strategic innovation, collaborative networks, managing knowledge, and strategic outcomes. Research limitations and implications: The new thematic framework we are proposing for strategic innovation remains preliminary in nature and would need to be tried and tested by researchers and practitioners in order to gain acceptability. Academic rigor and methodological structure are not sufficient to determine whether our conceptual framework will become widely diffused in academia and industry. It would have to pass through an emergent, evolutionary process of selection, adoption and an inevitable degree of change and adaptation, just like any other innovation. Practical implications: The practical implications concern the production of instructive material and the application of strategic management initiatives in industry. The proposed themes and sub themes can serve as a logical framework to develop and update publications, which have been instrumental in their own right to shape the field. The paper also provides a checklist of potential research projects in strategic innovation, which will improve and strengthen the field. The new framework provides a comprehensive checklist of strategic management initiatives that will help industry to initiate, plan and execute effective innovation strategies. Originality: The concept mapping of the themes of strategic innovation yield a new dominant logic, which will influence the evolution of the field and its relevance to both academia and industry. |
| Keywords: | Strategic innovation, dominant logic, thematic framework, taxonomy, strategic management, innovation management |
| JEL: | O3 O30 O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:50577&r=knm |
| By: | Ernest Miguélez (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization & AQR-IREA & CReAM); Rosina Moreno (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which regions’ absorptive capacity determines knowledge flows’ impact on regional innovation intensity. In particular, it looks at the role of the cross-regional co-patenting and mobility of inventors in fostering innovation, and how regions with large absorptive capacity make the most of these two phenomena. The paper uses a panel of 274 regions over 8 years to estimate a regional knowledge production function with fixed-effects. Network and mobility variables, and interactions with regions’ absorptive capacity, are included among the r.h.s. variables to test the hypotheses. We find evidence of the role of both mobility and networks. However, inflows of inventors are critical for wealthier regions, while have more nuanced effects for less developed areas. It also shows that regions’ absorptive capacity critically adds an innovation premium to the benefits to tap into external knowledge pools. Indeed, the present study corroborates earlier work on the role of mobility and networks for spatial knowledge diffusion and subsequent innovation. However, it clearly illustrates that a certain level of technological development is critical to take advantage of these phenomena, and therefore “one-size-fits-all” innovation policies need to be reconsidered. |
| Keywords: | absorptive capacity, inventor mobility, spatial networks, patents, regional innovation. JEL classification: |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201316&r=knm |
| By: | Sophia El Kerdini (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris); Sophie Hooge (CGS - Centre de Gestion Scientifique - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the first stages of the innovation process within the Fuzzy Front End activities and illustrates the contribution of creativity in strategic foresight activities through the analysis of a collaborative research led in partnership with the dedicated team of a global French carmaker. The paper investigates the findings of the literature to highlights the importance of the individual level toward the collective collaboration in futures studies and in particular in the strategic foresight activities. We shed light on the issue to build a conceptual collective framework that enables to explore the unknown. Main managerial implications of such framework are twofold: 1/ in structuring new and shared knowledge and 2/ in expliciting the benefits of joined creativity and strategic foresight. |
| Keywords: | strategic foresight, conceptual framework, creativity |
| Date: | 2013–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00824348&r=knm |
| By: | Nathalie Lazaric (GREDEG CNRS); Alain Raybaut (GREDEG CNRS) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore with a model the potential tensions between the incentive system of groups of inventors and knowledge diversity in a high tech firm. We show that, when all groups are rewarded and able to interact freely with their peers, extrinsic and intrinsic motives are mutually self-reinforcing, leading to crowding in effects. As a result, the level of created knowledge increases in each group, reinforcing the diversity of the firm’s knowledge base. By contrast, competitive rewards and constrained autonomy are likely to produce motivating effects in a small number of groups, limiting knowledge creation to the firm’s core competencies. In this case, the firm can suffer from crowding out effects by the other groups, leading eventually to the extinction of creation in their fields and reduced diversity in the long run. The results are illustrated with empirical findings from a case study of a French high tech firm. |
| Keywords: | work motivation, groups of inventors, knowledge creation, knowledge diversity |
| JEL: | O31 O32 L20 D83 J30 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2013-40&r=knm |
| By: | Joshua S. Gans; Fiona E. Murray; Scott Stern |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a theoretical investigation of the tension over knowledge disclosure between firms and their scientific employees. While empirical research suggests that scientists exhibit a ‘taste for science,’ such open disclosures can limit a firm’s competitive advantage. To explore how this tension is resolved we focus on the strategic interaction between researchers and firms bargaining over whether (and how) knowledge will be disclosed. We evaluate four disclosure strategies: secrecy, patenting, open science (scientific publication) and patent-paper pairs providing insights into the determinants of the disclosure strategy of a firm. We find that patents and publications are complementary instruments facilitating the disclosure of knowledge and, counter-intuitively, that stronger IP protection regimes are likely to drive openness by firms. |
| JEL: | M55 O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19560&r=knm |
| By: | Tomoatsu Shibata; Mitsuru Kodama |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a theoretical framework under which large companies should be able to bring about strategy transformation. Firstly, we present the concept of "strategic innovation capability," a corporate system capability to achieve corporate strategy transformation by strategic innovation. Then, we consider strategic innovation capability by comparing it to previous theories (dynamic capability, major innovation dynamic capability, breakthrough innovation capability). Secondly, we present the case example of strategy transformation at Fanuc, a company that holds the top global share in the numeric control (NC) market. In this case study research, we consider and analyze historically how the company aimed for new creativity in the NC market, developed innovative NC technology for the machine tool market, and using that technology energetically commercialized products. From the strategic innovation capability framework, the core theory of this paper, we also analyze and consider how top management made conscious efforts to form a new development organization within the company, and the processes involved in achieving strategy transformation to establish competitive superiority in this field. Finally, we discuss the implications drawn from this case analysis, and the issues for future research. |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:tmarga:110&r=knm |
| By: | Anna Sabadash (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | This report surveys the literature on the employment impact of ICT. Two competing views - compensation and substitution theory - dominate the current economic debate. The first assumes that the labour-saving impact of technological progress is counterbalanced by various compensation mechanisms. The second asserts that technology cause job displacement, leading to polarization, de-skilling and possibly a jobless economy. Recent employment trends are often seen as indicative of mismatches between rapidly changing demand for skills and slow adjustment in the supply. Despite a wealth of theoretical models and empirical evidence, a consensus regarding the employment effect of ICT remains elusive. While there are many empirical studies on technological progress in general, few are based on specific ICT indicators. Our review devotes equal space to each mainstream economic theory on the complex connection between technology and employment, while giving greater emphasis to those studies which specifically look at ICT and that provide empirical support to sound theoretical grounds. This report recommends further empirical research on the specific employment impact of ICT. |
| Keywords: | ICT, technological progress, innovation, employment, skills, occupations |
| JEL: | E24 J21 J23 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:decwpa:2013-07&r=knm |
| By: | Mitsuru Kodama; Tomoatsu Shibata |
| Abstract: | Through research into new product development processes at a precision device maker, this paper discusses the skilful management of knowledge boundaries that lie between various organizations, and between specialized human skills and functions that make up a project organization, and presents the ways in which new organizational capabilities are brought about for the development of new products, as exploratory activities that dynamically merge and integrated the various knowledge within a company. This paper describes some of the implications derived from analysis and observations of the new organizational forms of the company's ambidextrous R&D management which the company uses to engage in both 'uncertainty management (exploration)' and 'existing product management (exploitation),' through the partnering of its existing formal organizations and dynamic structuring of diverse multifunctional teams formed as projects spanning different specializations and capabilities. |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:tmarga:109&r=knm |
| By: | Herman R.J. Vollebergh (CentER and Tilburg Sustainability Centre, Tilburg University, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, CESifo); Edwin van der Werf (Wageningen University, CESifo) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to help policy makers identify how standards can contribute to the effective and cost-efficient development and deployment of eco-innovations (innovations that result in a reduction of environmental impact). To that end we discuss what standards are, how the process of standardization works, and how standards are related to induced innovation and diffusion in different type of markets, e.g. markets for add-on technologies versus markets for integrated resource- or emission-saving technologies. This broad perspective enables us to identify interesting economic dimensions of standards, such as their contribution to positive network externalities, and the extent to which they are substitutes or complements to environmental policy instruments. Finally we discuss how governments might contribute to eco-innovation by selecting, stimulating or creating (inter)national standards. |
| Keywords: | Standards, Technological Change, Eco-innovation, Environmental Policy Instruments |
| JEL: | Q38 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.74&r=knm |
| By: | Karlsson, Charlie (Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), Center of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS) KTH, Sweden); Rouchy, Philippe (Bleking Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Large media clusters have emerged in a limited number of large cities, characterizing the geographical concentration of the global media industry. This paper starts by exploring the effect of the rapid advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) had on the media economy. It concludes that the role of the “weightless economy” on media cluster has enhanced its production and distribution functions. We review the specificities of media cluster that ties agglomeration to creative, diversified attributes of production and distribution. The implication is that media firms hold strong tendencies to cluster in urban regions since they make full usage of its resources, namely its export capabilities and import transformation strength. Finally, we invite researchers to consider Jacobs’ metropolitan and global reciprocating system of city growth as a valid unit for analysing media clusters. The question leads envisaging if media clusters' strong metropolitan base allows them to grow further through globalised circuits. The paper concludes that large, media clusters drive on intellectually dense network of information, which can only be cultivated through large agglomerations existing capabilities. Consequently, the research question focuses upon the economic role of knowledge in media creation and export replacement. We emphasize the strength of Jacob’s model of media cluster for understanding its mechanism of value creation and endogenous system of globalisation. |
| Keywords: | clustering; media industry; agglomeration; weightless economy; creative industry; globalization; regional development |
| JEL: | L82 R11 |
| Date: | 2013–10–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0328&r=knm |
| By: | Danielle Galliano (Economics - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA)); Luis Orozco (LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux - Université des Sciences Sociales - Toulouse I : EA4212 - École Nationale de Formation Agronomique - ENFA - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Toulouse - Université Toulouse le Mirail - Toulouse II) |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the relationship between the adoption of electronic traceability systems (ETSs) and the organization of firms. More precisely, it analyzes the respective roles of a firm's organizational structure, and organizational changes, in the process of ETS adoption in agribusiness. We use data from the French "Organizational Changes and Computerization" survey from 2006. We test a probit model to demonstrate the organizational structure and organizational changes underlying the firm's ETS adoption choice. Results show that ETS adoption is strongly favored by organizations with heavy hierarchical structures, standardized managerial practices and contractual mechanisms with external partners. This adoption process seems to coevolve with the organization: firms that implemented an ETS during the observed period (2003-2006) have experienced the most important organizational changes in terms of managerial practices, information systems and contractual relations, as well as the strengthening of the intermediate levels in the hierarchy. |
| Keywords: | traceability systems; firm organization; technological change; agribusiness |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00846618&r=knm |