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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2015‒12‒01
fourteen papers chosen by Laura Ştefănescu Centrul European de Studii Manageriale în Administrarea Afacerilor |
| By: | Salome Baslandze (UPenn) |
| Abstract: | What is the impact of information and communications technologies (ICT) on aggregate productivity growth and industrial reallocation? In this paper, I analyze the impact of ICT through facilitating knowledge diffusion in the economy. There are two opposing effects. The increased flow of ideas between firms and industries improves learning opportunities and spurs innovation. However, knowledge diffusion through ICT also results in broader accessibility of knowledge by competitors, reducing expected returns from research efforts and hence harming innovation incentives. The nature of the tradeoff between these opposing forces depends on an industry's technological characteristics, which I call external knowledge dependence. Industries whose innovations rely more on external knowledge benefit greatly from knowledge externalities and expand, while more self-contained industries are more affected by intensified competition and shrink. This results in the reallocation of innovation and production activities toward more externally-focused, ``knowledge-hungry'' industries. I develop a general equilibrium endogenous growth model featuring this mechanism. In the model, firms belonging to technologically heterogeneous industries learn from external knowledge and innovate. These firms' abilities to access external information is governed by ICT. Using NBER patent and citations data together with BEA industry-level data on ICT, I empirically validate the mechanism of the paper. Quantitative analysis from the calibrated model illustrates that it is important to account for both technological heterogeneity and the knowledge-diffusion role of ICT to explain U.S. trends in productivity growth and sectoral reallocation in recent decades. Counterfactual experiments are conducted to quantitatively assess separate channels and illustrate various growth decompositions. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:1488&r=knm |
| By: | Thomas Hoeren (Institute for Information, Telecommunication and Media Law (ITM), University of Münster (Germany).); Francesca Guadagno (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.); Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.) |
| Abstract: | Semiconductor technology is at the origin of today’s digital economy. Its contribution to innovation, productivity and economic growth in the past four decades has been extensive. This paper analyzes how this breakthrough technology came about, how it diffused, and what role intellectual property (IP) played historically. The paper finds that the semiconductor innovation ecosystem evolved considerably over time, reflecting in particular the move from early - stage invention and first commercialization to mass production and diffusion. All phases relied heavily on contributions in fundamental science, linkages to public research and individual entrepreneurship. Government policy, in the form of demand-side and industrial policies were key. In terms of I P, patents were used intensively. However, they were often used as an effective means of sharing technology, rather than merely as a tool to block competitors. Antitrust policy helped spur key patent holders to set up liberal licensing policies. In contrast, and potentially as a cautionary tale for the future, the creation of new IP form s – the sui generis system to protect mask design - did not produce the desired outcome. Finally, copyright has gained in importance more recently. |
| Keywords: | semiconductors, innovation, patent, sui generis, copyright, intellectual property. |
| JEL: | O33 O34 O47 O38 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:27&r=knm |
| By: | Andrew Keisner (Attorney, Davis & Gilbert LLP, New York, New York, U.S.A); Julio Raffo (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.); Sacha Wunsch-Vincent (Economics and Statistics Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.) |
| Abstract: | Robotics technology and the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence are breakthrough innovations with significant growth prospects and the potential to disrupt existing economic and social facets of everyday life. Few studies have analyzed the developments of robotics innovation. This paper closes this gap by analyzing how innovation in robotics is taking place, how it diffuses, and what role intellectual property (IP) plays. The paper finds that robotics clusters are mainly located in the US, Europe, but increasingly also in the Republic of Korea and China. The robotics innovation ecosystem builds on cooperative networks of actors, including individuals, research institutions, and firms. Governments play a significant role in supporting robotics innovation, in particular through funding, military demand, and national robotics strategies. Robotics competitions and prizes provide for an important incentive to innovation. Patents are used to exclude third parties, to secure freedom to operate, to license technologies and to avoid litigation. The countries with the highest number of filings are Japan, China, Republic of Korea and the US. The growing stock of patents owned by universities and PROs, in particular in China, is noteworthy too. Automotive and electronics companies are still the largest patent filers, but new actors in fields such as medical technologies and the Internet are emerging. Secrecy is often used as a tool to appropriate innovation. Copyright protection is relevant to robotics too, mainly in its role in protecting software, and more recently in protecting so-called Netlists. Finally, proprietary approaches co-exist with open-source robotics platforms which are developing rapidly in robotics clusters. |
| Keywords: | Robotics; artificial intelligence; innovation; patents; trade secrets; copyrights. |
| JEL: | F23 L86 O3 L6 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:30&r=knm |
| By: | Lisa Larrimore Ouellette (Stanford Law School, USA.) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of intellectual property and other innovation incentives in the development of one field of breakthrough innovation: nanotechnology. Because nanotechnology is an enabling technology across a wide range of fields, the nanotechnology innovation ecosystem appears to be a microcosm of the global innovation ecosystem. Part I describes the nature of nanotechnology and its economic contribution, Part II explores the nanotechnology innovation ecosystem, and Part III focuses on the role of IP system s in the development of nanotechnology. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, nanotechnology, intellectual property |
| JEL: | O3 O34 O38 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:29&r=knm |
| By: | Ionara Costa; Howard Rush; Andrew Grantham |
| Abstract: | This study focuses on ‘multilatinas’, a group of emerging multinationals headquartered in Latin American countries, and analyses the flows of knowledge between multilatinas’ European subsidiaries and their headquarters. The research tracts both the occurrence of conventional flows of knowledge from headquarters to their European subsidiaries, as well those flows going in the reverse direction. The paper’s main findings can be summarised as follows. First, multilatinas presence in Europe is the result of the combination of market and strategic-asset seeking drivers; with Europe being both an important market for multilatinas, as well as a key location for their R&D activities. Second, multilatinas’ European subsidiaries exchange knowledge with their headquarters in Latin America, implying the concurrency of both conventional and reverse knowledge flows. Third, multilatinas are not only tapping into European knowledge base (strategic-asset seeking), they are also bringing knowledge into their European operations, suggesting the occurrence of spillovers into the host environments. Forth, intra-firm trade is a key mechanism for knowledge transfers, particularly from Europe to Latin America. |
| Keywords: | emerging multinationals; multilatinas; multinational subsidiaries; knowledge flows; knowledge management |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:glowps:2015-13&r=knm |
| By: | MARTIN Ludivine |
| Abstract: | I investigate the impact of innovative work practices and of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on employees' motivations. While the existing literature assumes that their positive effects on performance are due to employees' motivation but only assess related concepts, this paper directly analyses employees' motivations. The data come from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2013. The paper provides new and interesting results on how firms can build a motivational environment shaped by work practices and ICT. I resort to an original empirical framework that permits one to take into account the potential reverse causation between, on the one hand, the voluntary participation in innovative work practices and the use of ICT and motivations on the other. Within this framework, I modify what previous analyses reveal about quality circle and training participation. The results confirm the positive role of work practices such as teamwork, quality norms, formal appraisals, management recognition and family-friendly policies on employee's positive attitudes. Moreover, I introduce a large range of ICT compared to existing research and find that the ICT that most contributed to the development of a motivational environment are those that facilitate access to information and knowledge such as workflow, Internet and e-mail. |
| Keywords: | Innovative work practices; information and communication technologies; Employees' motivations |
| JEL: | J81 L23 M12 M54 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2015-05&r=knm |
| By: | Javier Alonso; Alfonso Arellano |
| Abstract: | The traditional Bass model (Bass, 1969) for the adoption and diffusion of new products has customarily been used to gauge the speed at which new products were adopted in a market by estimating innovation (p) and imitation (q) parameters. |
| Keywords: | Developed Economies , Digital economy , Research , Spain , Working Paper |
| JEL: | O30 L81 L86 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bbv:wpaper:1529&r=knm |
| By: | Stefan Bechtold (ETH Zurich) |
| Abstract: | Three-dimensional (3D) printing – or “additive manufacturing” – technologies differ from traditional molding and casting manufacturing processes in that they build 3D objects by successively creating layers of material on top of each other. Rooted in manufacturing research of the 1980s, 3D printing has evolved into a broad set of technologies that could fundamentally alter production processes in a wide set of technology areas. This report investigates, from the perspective of an intellectual property scholar, how 3D printing technology has developed over the last few decades, how intellectual property rights have shaped this breakthrough innovation and how 3D printing technologies could challenge the intellectual property rights system in the future. As in other areas of innovation policy, the role of the intellectual property system in fostering innovation in 3D printing technologies is a complex one. It played a beneficial role in some instances (sometimes intended and sometimes unintended), and it may have played a neutral or detrimental role in other instances. Studying the progress of 3D printing technologies thereby also informs us about the intricate relationship between intellectual property and innovation. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, 3D printing, intellectual property. |
| JEL: | K29 L60 O30 O32 O34 O38 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wip:wpaper:28&r=knm |
| By: | Gabriele Pellegrino (World Intellectual Property Organization, Economics and Statistics Division, 34, chemin des Colombettes CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland; EPFL, College of Management of Technology, Lausanne; Barcelona Institute of Economics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how firm age can affect a firm’s perception of the obstacles (deterring vs. revealed) that hamper and delay innovation. Using a comprehensive panel of Spanish firms for the period 2004-2011, the empirical analysis conducted shows that distinct types of obstacle are perceived differently by firms of different ages. First, a clear-cut negative relationship is identified between firm age and a firm’s assessment of both the internal and external shortages of financial resources. Second, young firms seem to be less sensitive to the lack of qualified personnel when initiating an innovative project than when they are already engaged in such activities. By contrast, the attempts of mature firms to engage in innovation activity are significantly affected by the lack of qualified personnel. Finally, mature incumbents appear to attach greater importance to obstacles related to market structure and demand than is the case of firms with less experience. |
| Keywords: | Barriers to innovation, firm age, probit panel data model |
| JEL: | C23 O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:2015-33&r=knm |
| By: | François-Seck Fall (LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - UTM - Université Toulouse 2 Le Mirail - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Toulouse - École Nationale de Formation Agronomique - ENFA); Yaya Ky (CRES - Consortium pour la Recherche Economique et Sociale - University of Dakar); Ousmane Birba (CRES - Consortium pour la Recherche Economique et Sociale - University of Dakar) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to uncover the socioeconomic factors that explain the adoption of mobile banking (mbanking), based on data collected from households in the suburbs of Dakar (Senegal). Starting from the hypothesis that adopting an innovation goes through three stages, at each stage we identify the factors that explain adoption. In the first stage, that of "knowledge", the individual must know about the product and its uses. In the second stage, that of "possession", the person must test the product. If the product is accessible and its advantages are observable, he/she can finally adopt it in the last stage of the process. Therefore, the steps "knowledge" and "possession" are required passages in the adoption process. In this article, we use a sequential logit model to highlight the determinants at each level of this process. The results show that age was the only determining factor in the first stage of adoption, that is, "knowledge" of m-banking. In the second phase, other factors appeared in addition; cognitive factors came into play, such as literacy, education level, as well as financial factors such as membership in a ROSCA (rotating credit and savings scheme) that influenced the ‘possession' of m-banking. At the final stage of the adoption process, the variables education level, wages and owning a business were the factors involved in the adoption of m-banking. |
| Keywords: | Senegal,innovation adoption,Mobile banking, Low-income populations, Sequential Logit Model |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01225149&r=knm |
| By: | Ugur, Mehmet; Trushin, Eshref; Solomon, Edna |
| Abstract: | Theoretical and empirical work on innovation and firm survival has produced varied and often conflicting findings. In this paper, we draw on Schumpeterian models of competition and innovation and stochastic models of firm dynamics to demonstrate that the conflicting findings may be due to linear specifications of the innovation-survival relationship. We demonstrate that a quadratic specification is appropriate theoretically and fits the data well. Our findings from an unbalanced panel of 39,705 UK firms from 1997-2012 indicate that an inverted-U relationship holds for different types of R&D expenditures and sources of funding. We also report that R&D intensity is more likely to increase survival when firms are in more concentrated industries and in Pavitt technology classes consisting of specialized suppliers of technology and scale-intensive industries. Finally, we report that the effects of firm and industry characteristics as well as macroeconomic environment indicators are all consistent with prior findings. The results are robust to step-wise modeling, controlling for left truncation and use of lagged values to address potential simultaneity bias. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, post-entry performance, R&D, survival analysis |
| JEL: | C41 D22 L1 O21 O3 |
| Date: | 2015–10–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:68010&r=knm |
| By: | Olga V. Kotomina (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) are characterized by high concentration in large urban areas due to the presence of more developed infrastructure, higher human capital development, proximity to the large customer, etc. However, companies in the KIBS sector have potential for development (new knowledge, experience) in collaboration with agents located in other regions. This paper is focused on the spatial aspects of the knowledge intensive business services sector in Russia. The study is based on a unique empirical data from mass surveys of Russian producers and consumers of KIBS. Comparative analysis of the incoming and outgoing flows of KIBS in Russian regions helps us to classify federal districts by their involvement in KIBS exchange, and to map the intensity of these flows. We have identified regions that are actively involved in both the purchase of services and their delivery outside the regional boundaries (Volga and Central Districts); active regions of consumption with an average level of production (Northwestern and Siberian Districts); and the passive regions, who are only weakly involved in inter-regional exchange of knowledge intensive business services (Ural and Southern Federal Districts) |
| Keywords: | Knowledge intensive business services, spatial proximity, spatial development, interregional cooperation. |
| JEL: | O18 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:50sti2015&r=knm |
| By: | Douglas Hanley (University of Pittsburgh) |
| Abstract: | There is substantial heterogeneity across industries in the level of interdependence between new and old technologies. I propose a measure of this interdependence--an index of sequentiality in innovation--which is the transfer rate of patents in a particular industry. I find that highly sequential industries have higher profitability, higher variance of firm growth, lower exit rates, and lower rates of patent expiry. To better understand these trends, I construct a model of firm dynamics where the productivity of firms evolves endogenously through innovations. New innovators either replace existing technologies or must purchase the rights to existing technologies from incumbents in order to produce, depending on the level of sequentiality in the industry. Estimating the model using data on US firms and recent data on US patent transfers, I can account for a large fraction of the cross-industry trends described above. Because innovation results in larger monopoly distortions in more sequential industries, there is an overinvestment of research inputs into these industries. This misallocation, which amounts to 2.5% in consumption equivalent terms, can be partially remedied using a patent policy featuring weaker protection in more sequential industries, yielding welfare gains of 1.7%. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed015:1491&r=knm |
| By: | Christian Awuku-Budu; Leo Sveikauskas |
| Abstract: | This paper uses Census microdata and a regression-based approach to assign multi-division firms’ pre-2008 Research and Development (R&D) expenditures to more than one industry. Since multi-division firms conduct R&D in more than one industry, assigning R&D to corresponding industries provides a more accurate representation of where R&D actually takes place and provides a consistent time-series with the National Science Foundation R&D by line of business information. Firm R&D is allocated to industries on the basis of observed industry payroll, as befits the historic importance of payroll in Census assignments of firms to industry. The results demonstrate that the method of assigning R&D to industries on the basis of payroll works well in earlier years, but becomes less effective over time as firms outsource their manufacturing function. |
| Keywords: | business R&D, industry classification, Tobit model, establishment payroll |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:15-42&r=knm |