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on Small Business Management |
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Issue of 2011‒10‒09
eight papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Waheed, Abdul (UNU-MERIT) |
| Abstract: | The impact of size and competition on firm-level innovative activities has obtained considerable attention in developed countries, but the focus is still lacking in developing world. This paper is an attempt to contribute in this direction by including 14 Latin American countries, and by using Enterprise Survey data of the World Bank. We consider both input and output innovation to observe the influence of firm size and of market concentration on innovative activities, and to interrogate the differences in influences of innovation determinants in different size classes and competition statuses. Our analysis reveals that employment increases the likelihood of R&D and product innovation, and its influence on R&D expenditures is positive but at less than proportionate rate. We find that product market competition increases the probability of both R&D decision and innovation output, but it has no influence on R&D intensity. We observe no relationship between R&D expenditures per employee and product innovation. Country and industry differences also contribute substantially towards firm-level R&D activities and product innovation. Moreover, large or small firms do no tend to be advantageous for employment and competition in order to influence R&D activities; however, for product innovation, competition is a more significant stimulus for large firms compared to small ones. Our results suggest that firms' R&D productivity is independent of size classes and competition environments. All of the determinants (of innovation) are jointly observed to have different effects, for large and small firms, as explanatory factors of both R&D intensity and product innovation, and for different competition environments only for product innovation. |
| Keywords: | R&D, Product innovation, Firm size, market competition |
| JEL: | L11 L12 L13 O32 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unumer:2011052&r=sbm |
| By: | David Mare (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Richard Fabling (Reserve Bank of New Zealand); Steven Stillman (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, IZA and CReAM) |
| Abstract: | We combine firm-level innovation data with area-level Census data to examine the relationship between local workforce characteristics, especially the presence of immigrants and local skills, and the likelihood of innovation by firms. We examine a range of innovation outcomes, and test the relationship for selected subgroups of firms. We find a positive relationship between local workforce characteristics and average innovation outcomes in labour market areas, but this is accounted for by variation in firm characteristics such as firm size, industry, and research and development expenditure. Controlling for these influences, we find no systematic evidence of an independent link between local workforce characteristics and innovation. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; Immigration; Local labour market |
| JEL: | O31 R30 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1110&r=sbm |
| By: | Jakub Growiec; Fabio Pammolli; Massimo Riccaboni |
| Abstract: | We provide a detailed analysis of a model of innovation and corporate dynamics that encompasses the Gibrat’s Law of Proportionate Effect and the Simon growth process as particular instances. The predictions of the model are derived in terms of (i) firm size distribution, (ii) the distribution of firm growth rates, and (iii-iv) the relationships between firm size and the mean and variance of firm growth rates. We test the model against data from the worldwide pharmaceutical industry and find its predictions to be in good agreement with empirical evidence on all four dimensions. |
| Keywords: | Business firm size; firm growth distribution; Gibrat's Law; Pareto distribution; lognormal distribution, size-variance relationship. |
| JEL: | C49 L11 L25 L65 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trt:disawp:2011/8&r=sbm |
| By: | Marco Corsino; Roberto Gabriele; Sandro Trento |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically investigates gross job flows and the growth patterns of continuing limited liability companies in Italy over the period 1996-2004, using original data on work forces and other characteristics of the firm. The descriptive analysis reveals that the magnitude of gross job flows among small and medium-sized companies in Italy is lower than what observed in Anglo-Saxon countries, but it is consistent with evidence for the Euro area. Alongside, the magnitude of job flows significantly shrunk in the aftermath of the economic downturn in 2001: firms fared worse than in the late nineties and the labour market became less efficient in allocating job opportunities. The econometric analysis shows that size negatively affects firms’ net employment growth, even though the negative correlation vanishes among companies with more than 24 employees. The impact of age on growth is complex: new ventures and firms that are at most 14 years old outperform the average firm in the sample. On the contrary, age does not have any bearing on the growth of units aged 15 years and more, and it even represents a burden among the oldest firms in the sample. |
| Keywords: | Gross job flows, firm growth, firm size, firm age |
| JEL: | J62 L25 L60 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trt:disawp:2011/5&r=sbm |
| By: | Cocchi, Andrea |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to explore the potential role of Innovation Intermediaries in the evolution of a traditional cluster toward a service-oriented perspective. In particular, we will highlight the generative function of business models, here as market devices, in stimulating the co- evolution of Intermediary and target firms’ strategies. |
| Keywords: | Business Models; Innovation Intermediaries; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing; Systemic Instruments |
| JEL: | A12 O33 L26 D83 L64 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:33766&r=sbm |
| By: | Hou, Jun (UNU-MERIT); Mohnen, Pierre (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | In order to catch up with the technological frontier, firms, especially in developing countries, try to acquire technological advancement through internal R&D efforts as well as through external technology sourcing activities. This study tests the existence of a complementarity between in-house R&D and external technology acquisition in Chinese manufacturing firms. We show that the two sources of technological upgrading are complementary in stimulating product innovation across small and medium size manufacturing firms in China, but not in generating process innovation nor in achieving higher levels of labor productivity. |
| Keywords: | R&D, technology purchasing, complementarity, China, manufacturing |
| JEL: | O33 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:unumer:2011048&r=sbm |
| By: | Sangho KIM (Department of International Trade, Honam University, Gwangju 506-714, KOREA); Donghyun PARK (Economics and Research Department, Asian Development Bank, 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, PHILIPPINES 1550) |
| Abstract: | The central objective of our paper is to empirically examine the relationship between the ownership structure of firms and their export performance using data from Korea. Due to growing globalization, export performance has become a highly influential determinant of firm performance. While a large and growing empirical literature investigates the relationship between the ownership structure and overall performance of firms, there are almost no studies which delve into the issue of whether the concentration of ownership has a positive or negative effect on export performance. The primary contribution of our study is to help remedy this serious gap in the empirical literature on ownership and performance. Our empirical results indicate that firms with more concentrated ownership are more likely to be exporters and export more. |
| Keywords: | Exports, ownership structure, logit analysis, Tobit regression, Korea |
| JEL: | F10 G30 D80 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nan:wpaper:1101&r=sbm |
| By: | Maria Comune (University of Siena and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Alireza Naghavi (University of Bologna and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Giovanni Prarolo (University of Bologna and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | With the rise of the knowledge economy, delivering sound innovation policies requires a thorough understanding of how knowledge is produced and diffused. This paper takes a step to analyze a new form of globalization, the so-called system of Global Innovation Networks (GINs), to shed light on how the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) influences their creation and development. We focus on the role of IPR protection in fostering international innovative activities in emerging economies (South), such as China and India, and more generally, how IPRs affect the development of GINs between newly industrialized countries and OECD countries. Using both survey-based firm-level and country-level global data, we find IPRs to be an important determinant of participation in GINS from a Southern perspective. We find IPR protection at home and its harmonization across county pairs foster South-North formation of GINs. We also find that a stringent regime in the destination country discourages foreign international innovative activities that originate in NICs. Both levels of our analysis confirm the ICT industry, particularly the hardware segment, to rely on IPRs when engaging in the international outsourcing and offshoring of innovation or in patenting activities abroad. |
| Keywords: | Gravity Model, Information Communication Technology, Innovation, Intellectual Property Rights, International collaborations, Networks |
| JEL: | D23 F53 O34 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2011.59&r=sbm |