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on Small Business Management |
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Issue of 2013‒09‒13
eight papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | El Joueidi, Sarah |
| Abstract: | This study uses data on Luxembourg manufacturing and service firms, sourced from CIS, to illustrate empirical methods of firms’ classification according to pattern and intensity of innovation and the use of technology. This topic is of relevance to Luxembourg, as to date no such specific classification exists for this country. Existing classifications are industry-based rather than firm-based which appears inappropriate given the heterogeneity within Luxembourgish industries. Moreover, they neglect the financial services, of primary importance to Luxembourg. Results show that cluster methods are well suited to classify firms for the case at hand. The analysis identifies four clusters exploiting information on the firms' innovation competencies, the technology used, and the human skills. Firms in the sample are classified into 4 groups, named respectively as i) high-technology, ii) medium-high-technology, iii) medium-lowtechnology, iv) low-technology. Characteristics of each group are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, classification, taxonomy, innovation surveys, cluster analysis. |
| JEL: | C1 C10 C8 O3 O30 O31 O38 |
| Date: | 2013–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:49532&r=sbm |
| By: | Bettina Becker (School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, UK) |
| Abstract: | This paper offers an extensive survey and a critical discussion of the empirical literature on the driving factors of R&D. These factors are subsumed under five broad types. The paper first summarises the key predictions from theory regarding each type's R&D effect. It then examines for which factors differences in the theoretical predictions can also be found in empirical studies, and for which factors the empirical evidence is more unanimous. As the focus is on the empirical literature, methodological issues are also highlighted. The major factor types identified in the literature are, individual firm or industry characteristics, particularly internal finance and sales; competition in product markets; R&D tax credits and subsidies; location and resource related factors, such as spillovers from university research within close geographic proximity, membership of a research joint venture and cooperation with research centres, and the human capital embodied in knowledge workers; and spillovers from foreign R&D. Although on balance there is a consensus regarding the R&D effects of most factors, there is also variation in results. Recent work suggests that accounting for nonlinearities is one area of research that may explain and encompass contradictory findings. |
| Keywords: | R&D; R&D policy; innovation policy; financial constraints; competition; public funding; knowledge spillovers. |
| JEL: | G20 G28 M15 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lbo:lbowps:2013_09&r=sbm |
| By: | Cappelli, Riccardo; Czarnitzki, Dirk; Kraft, Kornelius |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of R&D spillovers on sales realized by products new to the firm (imitation) and new to the market (innovation). It turns out that spillovers from rivals lead to more imitation, while inputs from customers and research institutions enhance original innovation. -- |
| Keywords: | innovation,imitation,spillovers |
| JEL: | L12 O31 O32 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13064&r=sbm |
| By: | Ursula Fritsch; Holger Görg |
| Abstract: | It is striking that by far the lion’s share of empirical studies on the impact of outsourcing on firms considers industrialized countries. However, outsourcing by firms from emerging economies is far from negligible and growing. This paper investigates the link between outsourcing and innovation empirically using firm-level data for over 20 emerging market economies. We find robust evidence that outsourcing is associated with a greater probability to spend on research and development and to introduce new products and upgrade existing products. The effect of offshoring on R&D spending is significantly higher than the effect of domestic outsourcing. However, only domestic outsourcing increases the probability to introduce new products. We also show that the results crucially depend on the level of protection of intellectual property in the economy. Firms increase their own R&D effort in the wake of outsourcing only if they operate in an environment that intensively protects intellectual property |
| Keywords: | outsourcing, offshoring, innovation, emerging economies |
| JEL: | F14 O31 O34 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1861&r=sbm |
| By: | Crass, Dirk; Schwiebacher, Franz |
| Abstract: | Trademarks are often supposed to reduce substitutability and imitability of product innovations. Using German CIS data for 2010, we provide empirical evidence that trademarking firms assess easy product substitutability as less characteristic for their competitive environment. This is particularly the case for knowledge-intensive service providers, product innovators and firms which consider trademarks as important intellectual property rights. This suggests that trademarks are an important supplementary mechanism to protect innovations in knowledgeintensive services. -- |
| Keywords: | Trademarks,product differentiation,innovation,services |
| JEL: | O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:13061&r=sbm |
| By: | Stefan Lutz |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:man:sespap:1313&r=sbm |
| By: | Isakov, Dusan; Weisskopf, Jean-Philippe |
| Abstract: | This article examines founding family influence on pay-out policies for Swiss listed firms over the period 2003-2010. We find that founding family firms have higher dividends and total pay-outs than non-family firms. There is no significant difference between stock repurchases for the two types of firms. We show that specific firm characteristics such as active involvement of family members, the presence of only one or multiple family members or the existence of a second blockholder play an important role for pay-out policies in family firms. Firms using control enhancing mechanisms do not have significantly lower pay-outs. We propose three possible explanations for the observed pay-out policies: private benefit extraction, reputation building, and family legacy. Our findings appear to be consistent with the reputation building hypothesis. |
| Keywords: | founding family firms ; dual-class shares ; pay-out policy ; dividends ; share repurchases ; minority shareholders ; private benefits |
| JEL: | G32 G35 |
| Date: | 2013–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fri:fribow:fribow00443&r=sbm |
| By: | Lech Kalina (Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Economic theory typically predicts that productivity should increase when a firm’s market is expanding since the benefits of reducing costs are higher when spread across a larger market. On the other hand there is a strong line of research stressing the positive impact of increasing competition and claiming that productivity should jump when a firm’s market is being squeezed by new compe titors. This paper investigates the effects of industry structure dynamics on productivity growth on panel data from industries of ten European countries. The econometric results provide empirical support for p ositive impact of less fragmented market stru ctures on productivity, however results also point out the important role which dynamics of firms turnover play in industry performance. |
| JEL: | D4 L1 |
| Date: | 2013–09–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wse:wpaper:67&r=sbm |