nep-ppm New Economics Papers
on Project, Program and Portfolio Management
Issue of 2012‒12‒10
three papers chosen by
Arvi Kuura
Parnu College - Tartu University

  1. The inhibiting factors that principal investigators experience in leading publicly funded research projects By James Cunningham; Paul O'reilly; Conor O'kane; Vincent Mangematin
  2. Determinants of Greenfield Investment in Knowledge Intensive Business Services By Martin Falk
  3. Evolution of innovation policy in Emilia-Romagna and Valencia: Similar reality, similar results? By López-Estornell,Manuel; Barberá-Tomás,David; García-Reche,Andrés; Mas-Verdú,Francisco

  1. By: James Cunningham (Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change - J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economic); Paul O'reilly (College of Business - Dublin Institute of Technology); Conor O'kane (Department of Management - University of Otago); Vincent Mangematin (MTS - Management Technologique et Strategique - Grenoble École de Management (GEM))
    Abstract: Securing public funding to conduct research and leading it by being a principal investigator (PI) is seen as significant career development step. Such a role brings professional prestige but also new responsibilities beyond research leadership to research management. If public funding brings financial and infrastructure support, little is understood about the inhibiting factors that publicly funded PIs face given the research autonomy offered by publicly funded research. Our study finds that there are three key PI inhibiting factors 1) political and environmental, 2) institutional and 3) project based. Traditional knowledge, skills and technical know-how of publicly funded PIs are insufficient to deal with the increasing managerial demands and expectations i.e. growing external bureaucracy of public funding agencies. Public funding is no longer the 'freest form of support' as suggested by Hackett (1990) and the inhibiting factors experienced by publicly funded PIs limits their research autonomy. We also argue that PIs have little influence in overcoming these inhibiting factors despite their central role in conducting publicly funded research.
    Keywords: Publicly Funded Research; Principal Investigators; Inhibiting Factors; Research Leadership; Research Management; Research Autonomy
    Date: 2012
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemwpa:hal-00756228&r=ppm
  2. By: Martin Falk
    Abstract: This study investigates the determinants of bilateral Greenfield FDI projects and flows in knowledge intensive business services from OECD/BRIC countries to the EU countries for the period 2003-2010. Greenfield FDI projects are distinguished by type of activity: (i) business services, (ii) design, development and testing activities, (iii) headquarters activities and (iv) R&D services. Another aim of this study is to provide new empirical evidence on the patterns of Greenfield investments in knowledge intensive business services over time, source country and destination country. For Austria, the number of Greenfield investments in headquarter functions remains stable over time whereas Greenfield investments in R&D and related activities declined during the sample period. The same holds true for the number of jobs generated through greenfield investments. The results using panel count data models show that wage costs, tertiary education, corporate taxes, having a common border and sharing a common language all play a significant role in determining bilateral Greenfield FDI projects in knowledge intensive services. However, the impact of corporate taxation and labour costs differs widely across the functions and does not play a role in Greenfield investments in R&D and development, design and testing services.
    Keywords: Greenfield foreign direct investment, knowledge intensive business services, headquarter functions, R&D activities, gravity equation, panel data, FDI determinants
    JEL: F23
    Date: 2012–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wsr:ecbook:2010:i:iv-002&r=ppm
  3. By: López-Estornell,Manuel; Barberá-Tomás,David; García-Reche,Andrés; Mas-Verdú,Francisco
    Abstract: This paper examines the evolution of regional innovation policy in Emilia-Romagna, and Valencia, regions with similar economic features that implemented similar innovation policies in the 1970s and 1980s. We investigate whether their similarities have led to similar targets, policy tools and governance developments. We show that innovation policy in both regions suffered from the effects of privatization, budget constraints and changes to manufacturing during the 1990s and highlight the consequences. Although Emilia-Romagna experienced deeper change to its innovation policy, privatizations and/or the replacement of public funds promoted commercial approaches and induced market failures in both regions. The worst effects of these policies were the implementation of less risky innovation projects, the shift towards extra-regional projects and markets, and the favouring of large firms.
    Keywords: innovation policy, industrial district
    Date: 2012–11–29
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ing:wpaper:201210&r=ppm

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