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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2014‒12‒08
seven papers chosen by Laura Ştefănescu Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor |
| By: | Antonelli, Cristiano; Colombelli, Alessandra (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes the economics of knowledge and innovation with the analysis of the knowledge cost function and sheds light on the determinants of the large variance in the cost of innovation across firms. The amount and the structure of external knowledge and the internal stocks of knowledge that firms can access and use in the generation of new technological knowledge help firms to reduce the costs of innovations. The empirical section is based upon a panel of companies listed on UK and the main continental Europe financial markets (Germany, France and Italy) for the period 1995 – 2006, for which information about patents have been gathered. The econometric analysis of the costs of knowledge considers the unit costs of patents on the right hand side, and on the left hand side next to R&D expenditures, the stock of knowledge internal and external to each firm. In order to articulate the different facets of the external knowledge that is made accessible by proximity with firms co-localized in the same region (NUTS2), we further include other variables proxying for regional variety, complementarity and similarity. The results confirm that the stock of internal knowledge and the access to external knowledge play a key role in reducing the actual cost of the generation of new technological knowledge at the firm level. |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201427&r=knm |
| By: | Bartelsmann, Eric; Dobbelaere, Sabien; Peters, Bettina |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how productivity effects of human capital and innovation vary at different points of the conditional productivity distribution. Our analysis draws upon two large unbalanced panels of 6,634 enterprises in Germany and 14,586 enterprises in the Netherlands over the period 2000-2008, considering 5 manufacturing and services industries that differ in the level of technological intensity. Industries in the Netherlands are characterized by a larger average proportion of high-skilled employees and industries in Germany by a more unequal distribution of human capital intensity. In Germany, average innovation performance is higher in all industries, except for low-technology manufacturing, and in the Netherlands the innovation performance distributions are more dispersed. In both countries, we observe non-linearities in the productivity effects of investing in product innovation in the majority of industries. Frontier firms enjoy the highest returns to product innovation whereas for process innovation the most negative returns are observed in the best-performing enterprises of most industries. We find that in both countries the returns to human capital increase with proximity to the technological frontier in industries with a low level of technological intensity. Strikingly, a negative complementarity e¤ect between human capital and proximity to the technological frontier is observed in knowledge-intensive services, which is most pronounced for the Netherlands. Suggestive evidence suggests an interpretation of a winner-takes-all market in knowledge-intensive services. |
| Keywords: | Human capital,innovation,productivity,quantile regression |
| JEL: | C10 I20 O14 O30 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14064&r=knm |
| By: | Buse, Stephan; Tiwari, Rajnish |
| Abstract: | Aim of this study is to analyse product-related innovation strategies of German Hidden Champions (globally leading, mid-sized companies) in the BRIC countries, especially in the fast growing and still unsaturated markets of China and India. With the help of an empirical survey we discover that the BRIC markets are perceived to be of high and growing strategic importance. An overwhelming majority of the surveyed firms market their global, adapted, or exclusively developed products in those countries. The survey reveals that companies very often target high-end, premium segments with global products developed at the headquarters. With such a strong focus on affluent customers Hidden Champions run the risk of ignoring very large customers groups that seek affordable excellence in products (frugal innovation). |
| Keywords: | Global Innovation Management,Internationalization of R&D,Innovation Strategy,R&D-Strategy,Hidden Champions |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuhtim:85&r=knm |
| By: | Vassili Joannides (GDF - Gestion, Droit et Finance - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)); Nicolas Berland (DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - CNRS : UMR7088 - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | Purpose - This paper contributes to the sociology-of-science type of accounting literature, addressing how accounting knowledge is established, advanced and extended. Design/methodology/approach - The research question is answered through the example of research into linkages between accounting and religion. Adopting an Actor-Network Theory (ANT) approach, we follow the actors involved in the construction of accounting as an academic discipline through the controversies in which they engage to develop knowledge. Findings - We show that accounting knowledge is established, advanced and developed through the ongoing mobilisation of nonhumans (journals) who can enrol other humans and nonhumans. We show that knowledge advancement, establishment and development is more contingent on network breadth than on research paradigms, which appear as side-effects of positioning vis-à- vis a community. Research limitations - In our analysis, we followed humans and were able to let them share their strategies with us and validate our ex post facto reading of their papers. We were unable to do the same with nonhumans because of their intrinsic properties. Practical implications - This paper provides scholars with analytical tools that could help them position their research projects within a scientific network and understand the need for interactions with other actors in establishing, advancing and developing knowledge. Originality value - The originality of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we apply ANT to accounting knowledge, whereas the accounting literature applies it to the spread of management accounting ideas, methods and practices. Secondly, we develop an original methodology for data collection by inviting authors from the network to give a reflexive account of their writings at the time they joined the network. Well diffused in sociology and philosophy, such an approach is, albeit, original in accounting research. |
| Keywords: | Research network; Accounting research; Knowledge; Actor-network theory; Controversies; Translation; Knowledge management |
| Date: | 2013–05–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00824632&r=knm |
| By: | Jackie Krafft (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS)); Francesco Quatraro (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - CNRS : UMR7321 - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS)); Pier-Paolo Saviotti (GAEL - Grenoble Applied Economic laboratory - Aucune) |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the co-evolutionary patterns of the dynamics of technological alliances and of the structure of the knowledge base in the pharmaceutical sector. The main hypothesis under scrutiny is that technological alliances represent a key resource for firms in knowledge intensive sectors to cope with dramatic changes in the knowledge base, marked by the introduction of discontinuities opening up new technological trajectories. Using patent information and data on technological alliances drawn from the CATI-MERIT database, we compare the evidence concerning the so-called triad regions, i.e. United States, Europe and Japan. The empirical results support the existence of a life cycle in biotechnology affecting the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, the dynamics of alliances is found to depend on (i) the phase of the biotechnology life cycle, (ii) the strength of the region in biotechnology and (iii) the general features of the economic environment of the region. |
| Date: | 2014–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01070561&r=knm |
| By: | Segarra Blasco, Agustí, 1958-; Teruel, Mercedes; Bové Sans, Miquel Àngel |
| Abstract: | Using a database of 2,263 responses to R&D public calls in Catalonia, during the period 2007–2010, this paper proceeds to analyse the potential interaction of the territorial and policy dimensions with the propensity to apply for, and be awarded, a public R&D subsidy. Controlling for characteristics at the firm and project level, we estimate models using a two-step procedure. In the first step, our results suggest that large firms which export and which belong to high-tech manufactures are more likely to participate in a public R&D call. Furthermore, both urban location and past experience of such calls have a positive effect. Our territorial proxy of information spillovers shows a positive sign, but this is only significant at intra-industry level. Membership of one of the sectors prioritized by the Catalan government, perhaps surprisingly, does not have a significant impact. In the second step, our results show that cooperative projects, SMEs or old firms shows a positive effect on the probability of obtaining a public subsidy. Finally, the cluster policy does not show a clear relationship with the public R&D call, suggesting that cluster policies and R&D subsidies follow different goals. Our results are in line with previous results in the literature, but they highlight the unequal territorial distribution of the firms which apply and the fact that policymakers should interlink the decision criteria for their public call with other policies. Keywords: Evaluation, R&D policies, territorial approach, clusters JEL Classifications: L53, L25, O38 |
| Keywords: | Innovacions tecnològiques -- Política governamental, Sistemes productius locals, Política industrial, Empreses -- Dimensió -- Catalunya, 332 - Economia regional i territorial. Economia del sòl i de la vivenda, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/242275&r=knm |
| By: | André Spithoven, Belgian Science Policy Office and Ghent University; Michel Dumont; Peter Teirlinck, Belgian Science Policy Office and KU Leuven |
| Abstract: | In this paper we assess the impact of public support for R&D activities on the educational mix of R&D employees in private companies in Belgium, covering the period 2001-2009. Data on federal tax incentives in support of R&D activities are matched with R&D survey data to investigate changes in the share of R&D employees with a specific degree: PhDs; higher education (second stage and first stage respectively); and other qualifications. Estimations show that public support significantlyraises the share of researchers holding a PhD. There are indications that PhDs substitute for R&D employees with a lower degree. We also show that controlling for the changes in the educational mix of R&D personnel lowers the estimates of the impact of public support on the average wages of researchers. |
| JEL: | H32 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2014–10–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpb:wpaper:1408&r=knm |