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on Small Business Management |
| By: | Grillitsch , Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Nilsson , Magnus (Department of Business Administration and CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | It is widely accepted that firms in peripheral regions benefit to a lesser extent from local knowledge spillovers than firms located in agglomerations or industrial clusters. This paper investigates the extent to which innovative firms in peripheral regions compensate for the lack of access to local knowledge spillovers by collaborating at other geographical scales. So far the literature predominantly suggests that collaborations complement rather than compensate for local knowledge spillovers. Using data on the collaboration patterns of innovative firms in Sweden, this paper provides evidence that firms with low access to local knowledge spillovers tend to collaborate more. This effect, however, depends on firm size and in-house capabilities. Our findings suggest that firms with strong in-house capabilities do indeed compensate for a lack of local knowledge spillovers with collaborations while firms with weaker in-house capabilities depend more on the regional knowledge infrastructure. |
| Keywords: | Local knowledge spillovers; periphery; collaboration; innovation; geography; Sweden |
| JEL: | O18 O30 O31 P48 R10 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–12–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2014_033&r=sbm |
| By: | Lööf , Hans (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Nabavi, Pardis (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Existing studies associates financial constraints among innovators to small, young and high-tech firms. High adjustment cost implies that firms save money by smoothing innovation spending across the business cycle if they have available resources. This paper examines whether previous findings on financial constraints can be generalized to exporting firms. To do so, we investigate possible differences in the innovation-cash flow link between high-tech firms and all exporters, creation and exploitation innovation activities, persistent and non-persistent exporters. Applying a modified Euler model and dynamic two-step GMM estimator on close to 7,000 exporting firms in Sweden, the estimation shows that (i) the typical exporter is not financially constrained in any type of innovation activities, (ii) high-tech firms - but only persistent exporters - behave as if they have higher adjustment cost than other firms engaged in knowledge creating activities, and (iii) both persistent and non-persistent exporters in high-tech sector are more financially constrained than the whole group of manufacturing exporters when innovation is measured as knowledge exploitation. |
| Keywords: | innovation; exports; credit constraints; two-step GMM |
| JEL: | F14 G32 O16 O30 O32 |
| Date: | 2014–12–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0387&r=sbm |
| By: | Franz Tödtling; Markus Grillitsch |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwsre:sre-disc-2014_07&r=sbm |
| By: | Eric Rugraff |
| Abstract: | This article questions the nature of the foreign direct R&D investments in Central Europe. Do the affiliates of the multinationals still undertake adaptive R&D? Have they recently engaged in innovative R&D activities in their Central European affiliates? We assess the nature of the R&D activities of the multinationals in Central Europe in three steps. In a first step we use the OECD database on foreign direct R&D expenditure and personnel to compare the foreign affiliates’ R&D intensity with the indigenous firms’ R&D intensity. We find few differences between the two families of firms. In a second step we use patents granted to foreigners in Central Europe as a variable proxy to assess the evolution of innovative R&D activities in Central Europe. We find that the patenting activities of foreigners rose with the increase of their R&D investments in Central Europe. We also suggest that the Central European affiliates still have a marginal position in the patenting strategy of the multinationals. In a third step we focus on the patent data of the foreign affiliates in the Czech Republic – the Central European leader as regards of foreign direct R&D investments –, in the major foreign direct R&D sectors – electronics, electrical equipment, machinery and motor vehicles –. We build a sample made of the ten multinationals representing the most active R&D investors in the country and assess the recent evolution of their patenting activity. We suggest that, (a) even these major R&D investors still only marginally apply for patents in their Czech affiliates; (b) there is no under-evaluation of the innovation activity of the Czech affiliates due to a geographical separation of inventions – in the Czech Republic – and patent location – in Western Europe; (c) the researchers working in the Czech affiliates are still not sufficiently oriented towards innovation activities to be integrated in the patenting-oriented international teams built by the multinationals. Foreign direct R&D investments in Central Europe remain mostly production supportive and associated with the international exploitation of technology produced in the Western headquarters and affiliates. Despite the strong engagement of the Czech government towards foreign direct R&D, real innovative R&D increases very slowly. |
| Keywords: | business R&D, multinationals, Central Europe, innovative R&D, patents. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2014-22&r=sbm |
| By: | Hunjra, Ahmed Imran; Chani, Muhammad Irfan; Javed, Sehrish; Naeem, Sana; Ijaz, Muhammad Shahzad |
| Abstract: | The aim of our study is to analyze the factors that affect performance of the cement sector focusing particularly on Pakistani firms. The study further finds the impact of size on performance, to examine the relationship between age of the firm and firm performance, to measure the effect of growth on firm’s performance and to highlight the impact of leverage on performance of the firm. There are twenty six cement companies listed in KSE. However, for the purpose of this paper only twenty companies were selected whose data was readily available over the period of eleven years from 2002 to 2012. Methodology: The data for the study was extracted from the annual reports of all the companies. In this study panel data analysis is used. Findings: After analyzing the data we have come to a point that all of the four variables have significant impact on the performance of the firm. We have seen that leverage has a positive impact effect on the performance of the firm when ROA is analyzed. Size, age and growth have a positive impact on return on equity (ROE) while leverage has a negative impact. Recommendations: This paper shows new insights for policy makers to improve the performance of Pakistani firms. |
| Keywords: | Microeconomic Variables, ROA, ROE, Panel approach, Cement sector |
| JEL: | D2 D24 D4 G31 |
| Date: | 2014–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:60792&r=sbm |
| By: | Pugsley, Benjamin (Federal Reserve Bank of New York); Sahin, Aysegul (Federal Reserve Bank of New York) |
| Abstract: | We document two striking facts about U.S. firm dynamics and interpret their significance for aggregate employment dynamics. The first observation is the steady decline in the firm entry rate over the last thirty years, and the second is the gradual shift of employment from younger to older firms over the same period. Both observations hold across industries and geographies. We show that, despite these trends, firms’ life-cycle dynamics and business-cycle properties have remained virtually unchanged. Consequently, the reallocation of employment toward older firms results entirely from the cumulative effect of the thirty-year decline in firm entry. This “start-up deficit” has both an immediate and a delayed (by shifting the age distribution) effect on aggregate employment dynamics. Recognizing this evolving heterogeneity is crucial for understanding shifts in aggregate behavior of employment over the business cycle. With mature firms less responsive to business cycle shocks, the cyclical component of aggregate employment growth diminishes with the increasing share of mature firms. At the same time, the trend decline in firm entry masks the diminishing cyclicality during contractions and reinforces it during expansions, which generates the appearance of jobless recoveries where aggregate employment recovers slowly relative to output. |
| Keywords: | firm dynamics; employment dynamics; business cycles; entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | E32 J00 L25 L26 |
| Date: | 2014–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsr:707&r=sbm |