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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2014‒08‒25
twelve papers chosen by Laura Ştefănescu Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor |
| By: | Warda, Peter (Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), and Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS) KTH, Sweden); Johansson, Börje (Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS) KTH, and Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE), Sweden) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze how firms’ knowledge absorption capacity – given the knowledge environment – affects the development, adoption and introduction of new export products among Swedish manufacturing firms. Our model formulation builds on theoretical arguments which imply that firms can influence the usefulness of their knowledge environment by establishing formal and informal networks with input suppliers (especially suppliers of knowledge-intensive business services) and by exploiting their absorptive capacity. The model suggests that the higher the knowledge absorption in firms, the higher the introduction frequency of new export products. In particular, it is the conjunction of a high absorptive capacity and a high external knowledge potential that makes certain firms successful introducers of new export products. |
| Keywords: | Absorptive capacity; innovation; exports; manufacturing; knowledge; Sweden |
| JEL: | D21 D24 F23 L60 R30 |
| Date: | 2014–08–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0368&r=knm |
| By: | Fujii, Hidemichi; Kazuma, Edamura; Sumikura, Koichi; Furusawa, Yoko; Fukuzawa, Naomi; Managi, Shunsuke |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the total factor productivity of 1,067 Japanese manufacturing firms. In production estimation, we employ the directional distance function and Luenberger productivity indicator. Research and development strategy survey data are used to analyze the determinant factors related to improvements in innovation and productivity. Our results indicate that increasing technology and knowledge through a “black box” process is related to an increase in productivity. Furthermore, the protection and management of production knowledge and expertise is a valid method of increasing global technical change. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, productivity change, R&D strategy, directional distance function, Japanese manufacturing firms |
| JEL: | D24 J24 O38 O47 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:57996&r=knm |
| By: | Spyros Arvanitis (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Euripidis N. Loukis (University of the Aegean, Department of Information and Communication Systems Engineering, Greece) |
| Abstract: | Hospitals are making big investments in various types of ICT, so it is important to investigate their effects on innovation and performance. In this paper is presented an empirical study in this direction, based on data for 743 hospitals from 18 European countries, which were collected in the course of the e-Business Survey of the European Union. We specified and estimated econometrically five equations: one for product innovation, one for process innovation and three equations for the three different dimensions of (ICT-enabled) hospital performance that are taken into consideration in this study. All five equations included various ICT-related variables reflecting ICT infrastructure and a series of important ICT applications, some of them hospital-specific, and some others of general business use, and also ICT personnel (viewed as a kind of ‘soft’ ICT investment), as right-hand variables, while the performance equations also included the two innovation measures. The study contributes threefold to literature. First, it is to our knowledge the first comprehensive study of this kind for European hospitals. Second, it analyzes the effects of various types of ICT on innovation and (ICT-enabled) economic performance of hospitals in an integrated framework. Third, it is based on relatively detailed information on ICT infrastructure and specific ICT applications, both health-specific and general, and also ICT personnel, examining and comparing their effects on innovation and economic performance. |
| Keywords: | hospitals, innovation, performance, ICT use |
| JEL: | O31 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:14-366&r=knm |
| By: | Link, Albert N. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The flow of knowledge from a university research park is not a new theme in the academic domain, but those studies that have focused on the prevalence of this phenomenon in the United States have been somewhat limited in the availability of data related to both the genesis of the park as well as to the performance of the park. The performance measures that I focus on in this paper are two: patents received and scholarly publications emanating from the research conducted by in-park firms. To place those flows of knowledge in perspective, I compare such in-park firm performance to matched pairs of off-park firms in an effort toward quantifying the impact of a firm being located in a university research park. My analysis shows that on average performance is greater among on-park firms than among off-park firms thus making a suggestive case that the environment created by a university research park confers competitive advantages in the form of new flows of knowledge. |
| Keywords: | research park; science park; innovation; patents; technology; competitive advantage |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O34 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–08–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2014_006&r=knm |
| By: | Hayter, Christopher S. (Arizona State University); Link, Albert N. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | University proof of concept centers (PoCCs) are an organizational innovation intended to improve the dissemination and commercialization of new knowledge to industry. During the past 15 years, at least 32 university-affiliated PoCCs have been established at universities within the United States. Despite this recent growth, little systematic empirical research exists relating to the organization or impact of PoCCs. Analyzing data published by the Association of University Technology Managers, we find that universities affiliated with a PoCC enjoy a positive and statistically significant increase in the number of spinoffs established each year after adoption. While additional research is needed, our findings are consistent with the presumption that PoCCs may offer a promising new tool for regional and national economic development. |
| Keywords: | proof of concept centers; innovation; economic development |
| JEL: | O22 O31 |
| Date: | 2014–08–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2014_007&r=knm |
| By: | Alexander Tübke (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Fernando Hervás (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Jörg Zimmermann (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | This report presents the findings of the eigth survey on trends in industrial R&D investment. These are based on 172 responses of mainly larger companies from the 1000 EU-based companies in the 2012 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. These 172 companies are responsible for R&D investment worth € 62 billion, constituting around 41% of the total R&D investment by the 1000 EU Scoreboard companies. The main conclusion is that, between 2013-15, the responding companies expect to increase their R&D investments by 2.6 % on average per year. Due to decreased expectations in the automobiles & parts sector, this is a third lower than in the previous survey. The responding companies carry out a quarter of their R&D outside the EU. Their expectations for R&D investment for the next three years show continued participation of European companies in the global economy, in particular growth opportunities in emerging economies, while maintaining an R&D focus in the EU. Two thirds of the European companies in the sample chose their home country as the most attractive location for R&D, and identified the US, Germany, China and India as the most attractive locations outside their home country. Knowledge-sharing, human resources, proximity to other company sites and market demand make countries attractive for R&D activities. Comparing the attractiveness for R&D activities of the surveyed companies among eight EU countries, quality of R&D personnel and knowledge-sharing opportunities with universities and public organisations are most frequently stated among the top three. Comparing the attractiveness of the EU to the US, the proximity factor is leading before knowledge sharing opportunities and R&D personnel. Comparing the attractiveness of the EU to the one of China and India, for the EU geographic proximity to other company sites and technology poles & incubators is a factor for attractiveness. |
| Keywords: | R&D investment expectations, EU Scoreboard, internationalisation, knowledge-sharing |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc85328&r=knm |
| By: | Hottenrott, Hanna; Lawson, Cornelia |
| Abstract: | Academic researchers face mobility related decisions throughout their careers. We study the importance of team and organisational characteristics of the home departments for career choices of departing researchers in the fields of science and engineering at higher education institutions in Germany. We find that the organisational environments - the nests - shape career paths. Research funding, research performance in terms of patents and publications as well as the industry ties of department heads shape job choices. In particular, public research grants increase the probability that departing researchers take a research job at a university or public research centre, while grants from industry increase the likelihood that they take a job in industry. Publication performance of the department head relates to R&D jobs in public, but not in industry and patents predict the probability that departing researchers will move to small and medium-sized firms. For these firms seeking technological knowledge from former university employees may be particularly crucial. Academic start-ups are more likely to be a job destination for departing researchers from technical universities, from departments with higher publication output and with a research focus on experimental development. -- |
| Keywords: | R&D,Researcher Mobility,Research Funding,Science-Industry Technology Transfer,Academic Entrepreneurship,Academic Careers |
| JEL: | I23 J24 O3 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:153&r=knm |
| By: | Trippl, Michaela (CIRCLE, Lund University); Sinozic, Tanja (Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Lawton Smith , Helen (Department of Management; Birkbeck, University of London) |
| Abstract: | The literature on universities’ contributions to regional development is broad and diverse. A precise understanding of how regions can potentially draw advantages from various university activities and the role of public policy institutions (imperatives and incentives) in promoting such activities is still missing. The aim of this paper is to advance a more nuanced view on universities’ contributions to regional economic and societal development. We identify and review four conceptual models: (i) the entrepreneurial university model, (ii) the regional innovation system model, (iii) the mode 2 university model, and (iv) the engaged university model. The paper demonstrates that these four models emphasise very different activities and outputs by which universities are seen to benefit their regions. We also find that these models differ markedly with respect to the policy implications that can be drawn. Analysing public policy imperatives and incentives in the UK, Austria and Sweden the paper highlights that in the UK national policies encourage and have resulted in all four university models. In Sweden and Austria policy institutions tend to privilege in particular the RIS university model, whilst at the same time there is some evidence for increasing support of the entrepreneurial university model. |
| Keywords: | universities; regional development; public policy; UK; Sweden; Austria |
| JEL: | I28 R10 R58 |
| Date: | 2014–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2014_013&r=knm |
| By: | World Bank |
| Keywords: | Governance - E-Government Governance - E-Government Education - Education for the Knowledge Economy Private Sector Development - E-Business Public Sector Corruption and Anticorruption Measures Public Sector Development |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:18941&r=knm |
| By: | Crass, Dirk; Licht, Georg; Peters, Bettina |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the role intangible capital plays for economic growth in different sectors in Germany. It consists of two major parts. In the first part, we aim at measuring investment in intangibles at the sector level. We shed light on differences across sectors but also compare these figures with investment in physical capital and with investment in intangibles in the UK as European benchmark. The second part explores the role of intangible assets for stimulating growth at the sector level by performing growth accounting analyses. We find that German firms have boosted investments in intangible capital from 1995-2006 by 30%. Furthermore, results reveal differences in the investment patterns among the UK and Germany. In nearly all sectors investments in design and computerized information are larger in the UK. In contrast, German firms invest a higher proportion of gross output in R&D in all sectors, and advertising is also more common except for the sector trade & transport. Intangible assets have stimulated labour productivity growth in all sectors. The contribution varies between 0.17 (construction) and 0.59 (manufacturing) percentage points. In manufacturing, financial and business services innovative property capital is the most influential type of intangible capital for labour productivity, followed by economic competencies and computerized information. In all other sectors, economic competencies play the most prominent role for labour productivity growth. -- |
| Keywords: | intangible assets,economic growth,sector |
| JEL: | E22 O47 L60 L80 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14049&r=knm |
| By: | Anna Sabadash (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | While the EU economy is struggling with the joint consequences of the 2008-2009 recession and the sovereign-debt crisis, the theoretical and policy debate largely revolves around the role ICT play in the structural dynamics of the labour markets. However, despite a wealth of theoretical speculation and empirical evidence, a consensus regarding the employment effect of ICT remains elusive. This report provides an overview of current perspectives on the employment impact of ICT. The main objective of this paper is to convey the need for a careful and open-minded assessment of the relation between employment and ICT. This assessment is needed in order to capture the full complexity of the factors influencing this relation, the transmission mechanisms involved, and the associated labour market effects. Our review devotes equal space to each mainstream economic theory on the complex connection between ICT and employment, while giving greater emphasis to those studies which provide empirical support to sound theoretical grounds. |
| 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:iptwpa:jrc76143&r=knm |
| By: | Trippl, Michaela (CIRCLE, Lund University); Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Isaksen, Arne (Department of Working Life and Innovation, University of Agder); Sinozic, Tanja (Institute for the Environment and Regional Development, Vienna University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | The past two decades have witnessed an ever-growing scholarly interest in regional clusters. The focus of research has mainly been on why clusters exist and what characteristics “functioning” clusters hold. Although the interest in more dynamic views on clusters is not new, in recent years, however, more attention has been paid to providing better explanations of how clusters change and develop over time, giving rise to an increasing popularity of different variants of the cluster life cycle approach. This article offers a critical review of various cluster life cycle models. We discuss the key ideas and arguments put forward by their main protagonists and we identify several shortcomings – such as the problematic predefinition of development phases, indifference to context-specific factors and neglect of multi-scalar impacts – that surround these models. Based on this critical assessment the article identifies several core issues for future research. In particular, we argue that there is a need to gain a better understanding of the context sensitivity of cluster evolution, to explore how cluster development paths are influenced by a multiplicity of factors and processes at various spatial scales and their interactions, and to investigate the role of human agents and to unravel how they shape the long-term development of regional clusters. |
| Keywords: | cluster evolution; life cycle approaches; context sensitivity; multi-scalar frameworks; human agency |
| JEL: | P48 R10 R11 R50 R58 |
| Date: | 2014–07–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2014_012&r=knm |