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on Small Business Management |
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Issue of 2011‒06‒11
ten papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Aurora A. C. Teixeira (CEF.UP, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto; INESC Porto, OBEGEF); Margarida Catarino (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto) |
| Abstract: | Despite the large number of publications related to business cooperation in R&D and the wide perception of the importance of intermediary institutions in the R&D cooperation process, empirical studies on its role are scarce, scattered and fragmented. Moreover, the academic work developed in this area is basically of a theoretical nature, whereas the international perspective of R&D cooperation is seldom approached. Departing from a unique database that includes 473 R&D cooperation projects developed within the 6th Framework Programme, involving firms and intermediaries from all European Union countries, this paper gauges the determinants of the importance attached to Intermediaries, through a direct survey to the organizations involved. Based on an estimation of the multivariate model, this study demonstrates that the importance given to Intermediaries depends more on project features than on the characteristics of the participating organizations. In particular, the nationality of participating organizations and the promoter emerged with a strong explanatory power: ceteris paribus, projects with at least one participant from the United Kingdom tend to assign greater importance to intermediaries in international R&D cooperation. Unambiguously, results evidence that the innovating capacity of an organization emerges (both positively and significantly) associated with a greater importance attached to Intermediaries. |
| Keywords: | R&D Cooperation; Intermediaries; International projects; Europe |
| JEL: | O32 O52 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mde:wpaper:0038&r=sbm |
| By: | Gustavsson , Patrik (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Poldahl, Andreas (Statistics Sweden (SCB)) |
| Abstract: | Research and Development (R&D) is a key component behind technological development and economic growth; therefore, understanding the drivers of R&D is crucial. An interesting question is the role of technology spillovers, transferred by trade, and their impact on firm R&D. Here we analyze not only how international and domestic inter- and intra-industry technology spillovers affect firm R&D but also the relatively unexplored issue of how relationship-specific interactions between buyer and seller affect such spillovers. We find international technology spillovers to be larger and more significant than domestic inter- and intra-industry spillovers. Moreover, relationship-specific interactions between seller and buyer enhance technology spillovers in general and international spillovers in particular. |
| Keywords: | R&D; spillovers; imports; relationship-specific investments |
| JEL: | L10 L60 O10 O30 |
| Date: | 2011–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0251&r=sbm |
| By: | Richard Harris (Department of Economics, University of Glasgow); Qian Cher Li (Imperial College, London); John Moffat (University of Strathclyde) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates whether sourcing knowledge from and/or cooperating on innovation with higher education institutions impacts on establishment-level TFP and whether this impact differs across domestically-owned and foreign-owned establishments and across the regions of Great Britain. Using propensity score matching, the results show overall a positive and statistically significant impact although there are differences in the strength of this impact across production and non-production industries, across domestically-owned and foreign-owned firms, and across regions. These results highlight the importance of absorptive capacity in determining the extent to which establishments can benefit from linkages with higher education institutions. |
| Keywords: | Universities; University-Industry knowledge links; Firm-level productivity |
| JEL: | D24 I23 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:str:wpaper:1018&r=sbm |
| By: | Bodas Freitas Isabel Maria; Geuna Aldo; Rossi Federica (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the factors affecting firms’ decisions concerning whether to collaborate with universities in their region or elsewhere, and the level of investment in the collaboration. Building upon an original survey of a representative sample of firms in the Italian region of Piedmont, the paper examines the effect of firm and collaboration characteristics (including the type and diversity of each collaboration’s objectives) on the location of the university partners and on the investment in university-industry collaborations. We find that firms that are smaller, less engaged in international markets, less vertically integrated, and that engage in collaborations with universities in order to solve organizational problems, tend to collaborate more with regional universities. Firms tend to invest more in collaborations focused only on R&D activities with nearby universities, though the maximum amount spent in a collaboration was with a foreign university. |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:labeco:201105&r=sbm |
| By: | Thomas Gries (University of Paderborn); Stefan Jungblut (University of Paderborn); Wim Naude (United Nations University) |
| Abstract: | We propose that the rate of creation and failure of new firm start-ups can be modelled as a search and matching process, as in labor market matching models. Deriving an "entrepreneurial" Beveridge curve, we show that a successful start-up depends on the efficiency with which entrepreneurial ability is matched with business opportunity, and outline a number of possible applications of this matching approach to assist in formalizing the economics of entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, start-ups, labor market matching |
| JEL: | L26 M13 O10 O14 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdn:wpaper:39&r=sbm |
| By: | Antonelli Cristiano; Scellato Giuseppe (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | The analysis of social interactions as drivers of economic dynamics represents a growing field of the economics of complexity. Social interactions are a specific form of interdependence whereby the changes in the behavior of other agents affect utility functions for households and production functions for producers. In this paper, we apply the general concept of social interactions to the area of the economics of innovation and we articulate the view that knowledge interactions play a central role in the generation of new technological knowledge so that innovation becomes the emergent property of a system, rather then the product of individual actions. In particular, we articulate and test the hypothesis that different layers of knowledge interactions play a crucial role in determining the rate of technological change that each firm is able to introduce. The paper presents an empirical analysis of firm level total factor productivity (TFP) for a sample of 7020 Italian manufacturing companies observed during the years 1996-2005 that is able identify the distinctive role of regional, inter-industrial and localized intra-industrial knowledge interactions as distinctive and significant determinants, together with internal research and innovation efforts, of changes in firm level TFP |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:labeco:201102&r=sbm |
| By: | Alessandra Colombelli; Naciba Haned; Christian Le Bas |
| Abstract: | In the paper we wish to examine if the firms that innovate know a higher growth than the firm that do not. We use diverse waves of CIS for the French industries over the period 1992- 2004 and carry out different models and new econometric methods (quantile regression). Our main findings are that innovative firms produce more growth than non innovative firms. The estimates show that the results are robust to the different types of models that we have implemented. Process innovators are more productive in terms of growth than product innovators when OLS and Random effects models are used. The reverse is true for Fix effect model and quantile regression. In the three growth equations estimated by GMM the coefficients related to innovation product are always higher. Our study does not give definitive results with respect to the magnitude of the effects of the type of innovation on firm growth. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, process and product, firm growth, CIS |
| JEL: | L20 L60 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:icr:wpicer:07-2011&r=sbm |
| By: | Richard Harris (Department of Economics, University of Glasgow); Qian Cher Li (Imperial College, London.); john.moffat@strath.ac.uk John (Strathclyde University) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates whether knowledge links with universities impacts on establishment-level TFP. Using propensity score matching, the results show a positive and statistically significant impact although there are across production and non-production industries and domestically- and foreign-owned firms. |
| Keywords: | Universities, Firm-level productivity |
| JEL: | D24 I23 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:str:wpaper:1017&r=sbm |
| By: | Okamuro, Hiroyuki; Nishimura, Junichi |
| Abstract: | Despite various expected advantages, university-industry research collaboration (UIC), a relationship between two different worlds, often faces serious difficulties. Thus, the performance of UIC depends on the research partners’ strategies to bridge the gaps between them according to the institutional environment. In Japan, UIC has developed rapidly since the late 1990s based on drastic institutional changes regarding universities. We pay special attention to the role of the university intellectual property (IP) policy introduced after 2003 and empirically examine its impact on the performance of UIC projects. A clear and equitable IP policy that can be applied flexibly to the needs of partners would be optimal for a UIC to be efficiently managed. Otherwise, the project might face serious conflicts of interests and low incentive for cooperation. Using a sample of Japanese firms from our original survey, we find that the IP policy of partner universities indeed has a positive and significant impact on various performances of UIC projects, controlling for firm and project characteristics and considering potential selection bias from UIC participation. |
| Keywords: | university, intellectual property policy, research collaboration, project performance, Japan |
| JEL: | D23 L24 O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:hitcei:2011-1&r=sbm |
| By: | Manuel Mira Godinho (UECE and ISEG/UTL); Rui Cartaxo (ISEG/UTL) |
| Abstract: | The paper assesses the performance of the technology licensing offices (TLO) and technology transfer offices (TTO) which have been active in Portuguese higher education institutions. Data stemming from a survey of these entities was analyzed in successive steps through factor analysis, cluster analysis and estimation of a model using the Partial-Least Squares methodology. It is shown that the institutional nature of each of the surveyed organizations implies different behaviours and outcomes. Further it has also became clear that the type of resources and activities in the surveyed organizations determine both their “primary outcome” (patent applications and technology transfer processes) and their “final outcome” (technology licensing contracts and technology-based spin-offs). The results of this paper might be particularly relevant for other similar economies as Portugal where high-tech and knowledge-intensive industries have not been dominant. |
| Keywords: | technology transfer; university-industry relationships; university patenting; university spin-offs |
| JEL: | O32 O34 I23 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2011/6/doc2011-11&r=sbm |