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on Small Business Management |
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Issue of 2010‒04‒11
seven papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Tuomo Nikulainen |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the outcomes of university-industry interaction from the perspective of an individual academic researcher. Two contributions are made to the extant literature. First, in the existing research, the focus has mostly been on outcomes such as university-based patenting, licensing revenues, invention disclosures to technology transfer offices, and academic entrepreneurship. This narrow focus has excluded intangible outcomes, such as the identification of new research ideas and commercial opportunities, from the discussion. Therefore, in this paper, both intangible and tangible outcomes are taken into account, and the empirical analysis identifies unique individual-level factors related to the different types of outcomes. Second, in the extant literature, it is argued that a boundary-spanning position within different types of networks is related to higher performance and the identification of unique ideas. This aspect is analysed by identifying the role of a boundary-spanning position in research collaboration networks with respect to the different outcomes. The empirical results show that the different outcomes are clearly related to different individual-level factors, and that a boundary-spanning position in research collaboration networks is related to both intangible and tangible outcomes. |
| Keywords: | technology transfer, university-industry interaction, individual researchers, research collaboration, research networks, boundary spanning, nanotechnology |
| JEL: | O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2010–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:dpaper:1214&r=sbm |
| By: | Michael Schwartz; Francois Peglow; Michael Fritsch; Jutta Günther |
| Abstract: | Systemic innovation theory emphasizes that innovations are the result of an interdependent exchange process between different organizations. This is reflected in the current paradigm in European innovation policy, which aims at the support of collaborative R&D and innovation projects bringing together science and industry. Building on a large data set using project-level evidence on 406 subsidized R&D cooperation projects, the present paper provides detailed insights on the relationship between the innovative success of R&D cooperation projects and project characteristics. Patent applications and publications are used as measures for direct outcomes of R&D projects. We also differentiate between academic-industry projects and pure inter-firm projects. Main results of negative binomial regressions are that large-firm involvement is positively related to pa-tent applications, but not to publications. Conversely, university involvement has positive effects on project outcomes in terms of publications but not in terms of patent applications. In general, projects’ funding is an important predictor of innovative success of R&D cooperation projects. No significant results are found for spatial proximity among cooperation partners and for the engagement of an applied research institute. Results are discussed with respect to the design of R&D cooperation support schemes. |
| Keywords: | R&D Cooperation; Innovation; Academic-Industry-Linkages; Innovation Policy |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:7-10&r=sbm |
| By: | Sahu, Santosh; Narayanan, K |
| Abstract: | The demand for energy, particularly for commercial energy, has been growing rapidly with the growth of the economy, changes in the demographic structure, rising urbanization, socio-economic development, and the desire for attaining and sustaining self-reliance in some sectors of the economy. In this context the energy intensity is one of the key factors, which affect the projections of future energy demand for any economy. Energy intensity in Indian industry is among the highest in the world. According to the GoI statistics, the manufacturing sector is the largest consumer of commercial energy in India. Energy consumption per unit of production in the manufacturing of steel, aluminum, cement, paper, textile, etc. is much higher in India, even in comparison with some developing countries. In this study we attempt to analyze energy intensity at firm level and define energy intensity as the ratio of energy consumption to sales turnover. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that determine industrial energy intensity in Indian manufacturing. The results of the econometric analysis, based on firm level data drawn from the PROWESS data base of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy during recent years, identify the sources of variation in energy intensity. Also, we found a non-linear ‘U’ shaped relationship between energy intensity and firm size, implying that both very large and very small firms tend to be more energy intensive. The analysis also highlights that ownership type is an important determinant of energy intensity. We found that foreign owned firms exhibit a higher level of technical efficiency and therefore are less energy intensive. The technology import activities are important contributors to the decline in firm- level energy intensity. The paper also identifies that there is a sizable difference between energy intensive firm and less energy intensive firms. In addition the results shows that younger firms are more energy efficient as compared to the older firms and an inverse U’ shaped relationship is found between the energy intensity and the age of the firm. |
| Keywords: | Energy Intensity; Commercial Energy Consumption; Indian Manufacturing Industries |
| JEL: | B23 Q4 |
| Date: | 2010–01–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:21646&r=sbm |
| By: | Christian Keuschnigg; Peter Egger |
| Abstract: | The paper proposes a model where heterogeneous firms choose whether to undertake R&D or not. Depending on R&D choice, innovative firms are more productive, have larger investment opportunities and lower own funds than non-innovating firms. As a result, innovative firms are financially constrained while standard firms are not. The efficiency of the financial sector and a country's institutional quality relating to corporate governance determine the share of R&D intensive firms and the comparative advantage in innovative goods. We show how protection, R&D subsidies and financial development improve access to external finance in distinct ways, support the expansion of innovative industries and boost national welfare. International welfare spillovers depend on the interaction between terms of trade effects and financial frictions and may be positive or negative, depending on foreign countries' trade position. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, financial development, R&D subsidies, protection |
| JEL: | F11 G32 L26 O38 |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:dp2010:2010-08&r=sbm |
| By: | Giorgia Giovannetti (Università degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche); Giorgio Ricchiuti (Università degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche); Margherita Velucchi (Università degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica “G. Parenti”) |
| Abstract: | The recent empirical literature on firms’ performance has focused on the multidimensional concept of firms’ managerial strategies. In this paper, we analyze the relationship between firms’ managerial strategies and firms’ performance, accounting for entrepreneur’s specific characteristics, firm’s strategies, organizational capabilities. We also emphasize the role of firms’ internationalization mode. We match and merge three different datasets for Italy, the Capitalia survey, ICE-Reprint and AIDA for the period 2001-2003 and investigate a possible non-linear impact of managerial strategies on firms’ erformance. The specific characteristics of the entrepreneur do not seem to significantly affect firms’ performance, while the mode of internationalization plays a role. We find evidence of some important non linearities when we single out the role of skilled workers and managers in determining firm’s success in highly competitive markets. |
| Keywords: | Managerial Strategies, Internationalization, Panel Analysis, Non-linearities |
| JEL: | C1 F1 F2 L1 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2010_04.rdf&r=sbm |
| By: | Erzo G.J. Luttmer |
| Abstract: | The Pareto-like tail of the size distribution of firms can arise from random growth of productivity or stochastic accumulation of capital. If the shocks that give rise to firm growth are perfectly correlated within a firm, then the growth rates of small and large firms are equally volatile, contrary to what is found in the data. If firm growth is the result of many independent shocks within a firm, it can take hundreds of years for a few large firms to emerge. This paper describes an economy with both types of shocks that can account for the thick-tailed firm size distribution, high entry and exit rates, and the relatively young age of large firms. The economy is one in which aggregate growth is driven by the creation of new products by both new and incumbent firms. Some new firms have better ideas than others and choose to implement those ideas at a more rapid pace. Eventually, such firms slow down when the quality of their ideas reverts to the mean. As in the data, average growth rates in a cross section of firms will appear to be independent of firm size, for all but the smallest firms. |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedmsr:440&r=sbm |
| By: | MIYAGAWA Tsutomu; Keun LEE; KABE Shigesaburo; Junhyup LEE; Hyoungjin KIM; YoungGak KIM; EDAMURA Kazuma |
| Abstract: | To compare management practices between Japanese and Korean firms, we conducted interview surveys on organizational and human resource management based on Bloom and Van Reenen (2007). The average management scores resulting from the interview surveys in Japanese firms were higher than in Korean firms. The gap in the scores between Japan and Korea can be explained by more conservative human resource management practices in Korean small and medium sized firms. We regressed some indicators representing management practices on firm performance. Estimation results suggest that human resource management affects firm performance in Korean firms. In Japanese firms, we expect that organizational reform plays a role in improving firm performance in the service sector. |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:10013&r=sbm |