|
on Small Business Management |
|
Issue of 2015‒08‒19
twenty-two papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Rehman, Naqeeb, Ur |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of internal and external R&D on SMEs innovation performance. Micro level data was obtained from Enterprise Survey. For analysis, bivariate models have been used. The results show that internal and external R&D positively affects the product and process innovations. However, this effect is stronger for Indian SMEs. In comparison, only external R&D showed positive association to product and process innovation for Pakistani SMEs. Similarly, Pakistani SMEs are externally constrained (lack of access to credit) than Indian SMEs. Moreover, Indian SMEs are dominant in terms of undertaking internal R&D, generating product and process innovations than Pakistani SMEs. Lastly, the complementary relationship has been examined between internal and external R&D for both countries. Regarding contribution, this research study for the first time has examined the Indian and Pakistani SMEs innovation activities. The implication of this study suggests that business managers can utilize the balance combination of internal and external R&D to accelerate the SMEs innovation performance. |
| Keywords: | Internal and External R&D,SMEs |
| JEL: | O3 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:113229&r=sbm |
| By: | Wagner, Joachim (Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany, Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies (CESIS), & Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden.) |
| Abstract: | Crinò and Epifani (2012) report and discuss two empirical regularities they find in a representative sample of Italian manufacturing firms. First, there is a negative correlation between firms’ productivity and their export share to low-income destinations. Second, there is a negative correlation between firms’ innovation activity and their export share to low-income destinations. This note uses recently available comparable high quality firm level data for six European countries (including Italy) and similarly specified empirical models in an attempt to replicate these results. Replication failed completely. The link found between the share of exports to low-income countries and either productivity or R&D intensity is never in line with the results from Crinò and Epifani (2012). |
| Keywords: | exports; low-income destinations; productivity; innovation; EFIGE data |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2015–07–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0417&r=sbm |
| By: | Costa, M. Teresa (Maria Teresa), 1951-; García, José, 1963-; Segarra Blasco, Agustí, 1958- |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the extent to which innovative Spanish firms pursue improvements in energy efficiency (EE) as an objective of innovation. The increase in energy consumption and its impact on greenhouse gas emissions justifies the greater attention being paid to energy efficiency and especially to industrial EE. The ability of manufacturing companies to innovate and improve their EE has a substantial influence on attaining objectives regarding climate change mitigation. Despite the effort to design more efficient energy policies, the EE determinants in manufacturing firms have been little studied in the empirical literature. From an exhaustive sample of Spanish manufacturing firms and using a logit model, we examine the energy efficiency determinants for those firms that have innovated. To carry out the econometric analysis, we use panel data from the Community Innovation Survey for the period 2008â€2011. Our empirical results underline the role of size among the characteristics of firms that facilitate energy efficiency innovation. Regarding company behaviour, firms that consider the reduction of environmental impacts to be an important objective of innovation and that have introduced organisational innovations are more likely to innovate with the objective of increasing energy efficiency. Keywords: energy efficiency, corporate targets, innovation, Community Innovation Survey. JEL Classification: Q40, Q55, O31 |
| Keywords: | Energia, Economia ambiental, Tecnologia -- Innovacions, Empreses -- Espanya -- Aspectes ambientals, 33 - Economia, 504 - Ciències del medi ambient, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/248362&r=sbm |
| By: | Gorodnichenko, Yuriy; Svejnar, Jan; Terrell, Katherine |
| Abstract: | Our estimates, based on large firm-level and industry-level data sets from eighteen countries, suggest that FDI and trade have strong positive spillover effects on product and technology innovation by domestic firms in emerging markets. The FDI effect is more pronounced for firms from advanced economies. Moreover, our results indicate that the spillover effects can be detected with micro data at the firm-level, but that using linkage variables computed from input-output tables at the industry level yields much weaker, and usually insignificant, estimated effects. These patterns are consistent with spillover effects being rather proximate and localized. |
| Keywords: | emerging markets; FDI; foreign competition; horizontal and vertical linkages; innovation; spillovers |
| JEL: | F23 M16 O16 P23 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10757&r=sbm |
| By: | Max Nathan |
| Abstract: | Minority ethnic inventors play important roles in US innovation, especially in high-tech regions such as Silicon Valley. Do ‘ethnicity–innovation’ channels exist elsewhere? Ethnicity could influence innovation via production complementarities from diverse inventor communities, co-ethnic network externalities or individual ‘stars’. I explore these issues using new UK patents microdata and a novel name-classification system. UK minority ethnic inventors are spatially concentrated, as in the USA, but have different characteristics reflecting UK-specific geography and history. I find that the diversity of inventor communities helps raise individual patenting, with suggestive influence of East Asian-origin stars. Majority inventors may benefit from multiplier effects. |
| Keywords: | innovation; cultural diversity; minority ethnic inventors patents; cities |
| JEL: | J15 O31 R11 |
| Date: | 2014–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:57946&r=sbm |
| By: | Ibañez-Zarate, Guiomar |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the effect of competition intensity as a determinant of cooperative partner choice. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to study the relationship between research and development (R&D) cooperation and direct measures of competition intensity. Competition intensity is measured by the number of competitors in the firm's core market and the price elasticity reported by firms. Using information from German firms for 2011, our results show that competition intensity is a determinant for different types of collaborative innovation (e.g., with customers, suppliers, competitors, universities, or firms of the same group). Overall, the effect of competition is negative for cooperation with universities, customers and firms of the same group, and positive for cooperation with suppliers and competitors (and ambiguous for cooperation with consultants). Competition negatively affects partnerships with customers and universities, which look for radical innovation and involve high risks of disclosure. By contrast, competition positively influences partnerships with suppliers and competitors, which pursue incremental innovation and which involve a symmetric risk of information disclosure. Keywords: innovation; R&D cooperation; competition intensity; appropriability conditions. JEL Classification Numbers: L10; O32; O33; L60. |
| Keywords: | Investigació industrial, Competència econòmica, Innovacions tecnològiques, Empreses -- Alemanya, Col·laboració empresa-universitat, 338 - Situació econòmica. Política econòmica. Gestió, control i planificació de l'economia. Producció. Serveis. Turisme. Preus, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/252214&r=sbm |
| By: | Mark Boden (European Commission, JRC-IPTS); Elisabetta Marinelli (European Commission, JRC-IPTS); Karel Haegeman (European Commission, JRC-IPTS); Patrice Dos Santos (European Commission, JRC-IPTS) |
| Abstract: | At the core of regional smart specialisation strategies (RIS3) is the bottom-up identification of a limited set of priorities for which regions think they have potential to obtain a comparative advantage. For setting such priorities entrepreneurs are in the driver seat, by identifying business opportunities together with other research and innovation actors. Such process, also referred to as an entrepreneurial process of discovery (EDP), has been widely described in theory, but reported experiences on its implementation are scarce. This policy brief takes stock of a novel experience on implementing an EDP process in the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, drawing on practices from a European Parliament Preparatory Action through which the Knowledge for Growth Unit of the JRC-IPTS has been engaged in the refinement and implementation of a RIS3 strategy in this region. The region one of poorest regions in Europe and was heavily hit by the crisis. The challenge of implementation of a RIS3 strategy in this context offers lessons not only for the region itself but also for other convergence regions in Greece and Europe. |
| Keywords: | Smart Specialisation, ERDF, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Entrepreneurial Discover Process. |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96584&r=sbm |
| By: | Mario Pianta (Italian National Institute of Statistics (Italy)) |
| Abstract: | The Country Report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Italy for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Italian research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Italy |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96575&r=sbm |
| By: | Pierre Bitard (Association nationale de la recherche et de la technologie (France)) |
| Abstract: | The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in France for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the French research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, France |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96577&r=sbm |
| By: | Merle Jacob (Lund University (Sweden)) |
| Abstract: | The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Sweden for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Swedish research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Sweden |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96470&r=sbm |
| By: | Domagoj Racic (Mreza Znanja (Knowledge Network) (Zagreb, Croatia)); Jadranka Švarc (Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar (Zagreb, Croatia)) |
| Abstract: | The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Croatia for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Croatian research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Croatia |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96366&r=sbm |
| By: | Susan Alexander (Minerva Research & Advisory (Luxembourg)) |
| Abstract: | The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Luxembourg for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Luxembourg research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Luxembourg |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96484&r=sbm |
| By: | Alexander Cuntz (Technical University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany)) |
| Abstract: | This Country Report builds on the series of ERAWATCH reports. The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Austria for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Austrian research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Poland |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96293&r=sbm |
| By: | Lena Tsipouri (University of Athens (Greece) Author-Workplace-Homepage http://www.uoa.gr/); Sophia Athanassopoulou (University of Athens (Greece) Author-Workplace-Homepage http://www.uoa.gr/) |
| Abstract: | The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Greece for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Greek research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Greece |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96491&r=sbm |
| By: | Emanuela Todeva (University of Surrey (Guildford, United Kingdom) Author-Workplace-Homepage: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/) |
| Abstract: | The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Bulgaria for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Bulgarian research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Bulgaria |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96561&r=sbm |
| By: | Vladimír Baláž (The Institute for Forecasting of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia)) |
| Abstract: | The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in the Slovak Republic for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Slovak research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Slovak Republic |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96368&r=sbm |
| By: | Oana Peia (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - Université de Cergy Pontoise - CNRS, ESSEC Business School - Essec Business School); Radu Vranceanu (Economics Department - Essec Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes how banks' funding constraints impact the access and cost of capital of small firms. Banks raise external finance from a large number of small investors who face co-ordination problems and invest in small, risky businesses. When investors observe noisy signals about the true implementation cost of real sector projects, the model can be solved for a threshold equilibrium in the classical global games approach. We show that a "socially optimal" interest rate that maximizes the probability of success of the small firm is higher than the risk-free rate, because higher interest rates relax the bank's funding constraint. However, banks will generally set an interest rate higher than this socially optimal one. This gives rise to a built-in inefficiency of banking intermediation activity that can be corrected by various policy measures. |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01109331&r=sbm |
| By: | Degryse, Hans; Matthews, Kent (Cardiff Business School); Zhao, Tianshu |
| Abstract: | We study the sensitivity of banks’ credit supply to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the UK to banks’ financial condition before and during the financial crisis. Employing unique data on the geographical location of all bank branches in the UK, we connect firms’ access to bank credit to the financial condition (i.e., bank health and the use of core deposits) of all bank branches in the vicinity of the firm over the period 2004-2011. Before the crisis, banks’ local financial conditions did not influence credit availability irrespective of the functional distance (i.e., the distance between bank branch and bank headquarters). However, during the crisis, we find that SMEs with in their vicinity banks that have stronger financial condition face greater credit availability when the functional distance is low. Our results point to a “flight to headquarters” effect during the financial crisis. |
| Keywords: | financial crisis; credit supply; flight to headquarters; flight to quality; bank organization |
| JEL: | G21 G29 L14 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdf:wpaper:2015/5&r=sbm |
| By: | David Popp |
| Abstract: | The mix of public and private research funding investments in alternative energy presents a challenge for isolating the effect of government R&D funding. Factors such as energy prices and environmental policy influence both private and public R&D decisions. Moreover, because government R&D is further upstream from the final commercialized product, it may take several years for its effect on technology to be realized. Combining data on scientific publications for alternative energy technologies with data on government R&D support for these technologies, we address these challenges. First, we ask how long it takes for energy R&D to provide successful research outcomes. We both provide information on the lags between research funding and new publication and link these articles to citations in U.S. energy patents. One million dollars in additional government R&D funding leads to 1-2 additional publications, but with lags as long as ten years between initial funding and publication. Second, we ask whether adjustment costs associated with large increases in research funding result in diminishing returns to government R&D. There is no evidence of diminishing returns on the level of publication output, but some evidence that additional funding leads to lower quality publications, using citations as a measure of publication quality. |
| JEL: | O21 O38 Q42 Q48 Q55 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21415&r=sbm |
| By: | Krzysztof Klincewicz (University of Warsaw (Warsaw, Poland)) |
| Abstract: | This analytical country report is the first of a series of annual RIO Country Reports. This Country Report builds on the series of ERAWATCH reports. The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Poland for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Polish research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context. |
| Keywords: | R&I system, R&I policy, ERA, innovation union, Semester analysis, Poland |
| JEL: | I20 O30 Z18 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc96343&r=sbm |
| By: | Mueller, Matthias; Bogner, Kristina; Buchmann, Tobias; Kudic, Muhamed |
| Abstract: | In our work we adopt a structural perspective and apply an agent-based simulation approach to analyse knowledge diffusion processes in four structurally distinct networks. The aim of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding of how network characteristics, such as path length, cliquishness and the distribution and asymmetry of degree centrality affect the knowledge distribution properties of the system. Our results show - in line with the results of Cowan and Jonard (2007) - that an asymmetric or skewed degree distribution actually can have a negative impact on a network's knowledge diffusion performance in case of a barter trade knowledge diffusion process. Their key argument is that stars rapidly acquire so much knowledge that they interrupt the trading process at an early stage, which finally disconnects the network. However, our findings reveal that stars cannot be the sole explanation for negative effects on the diffusion properties of a network. In contrast, interestingly and quite surprisingly, our simulation results led to the conclusion that in particular very small, inadequately embedded agents can be a bottleneck for the efficient diffusion of knowledge throughout the networks. |
| Keywords: | innovation networks,knowledge diffusion,agent-based simulation,scale free networks,Netzwerk,Simulation,Wissen |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohdps:052015&r=sbm |
| By: | Díaz Serrano, Lluís |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the determinants of productivity differentials across urban areas in Spain. To do so we resort to Spanish Social Security administrative data (MCVL) matched with workers’ fiscal information. We use two-step approach that allows us to control for the confounding effects due to the sorting of more productive workers and more productive firms in bigger cities. Our results indicate that city size is a significant determinant of productivity differentials across Spanish urban areas. We estimate an elasticity of urban agglomeration of 3.3%, which is within the range of values already observed in other countries. We also find that the level of human capital, firm size and the level of industrial specialization also matters in order explain productivity differentials across Spanish cities. Keywords: Agglomeration, wages, productivity, city size. JEL codes: R10, R23, J31 |
| Keywords: | Àrees metropolitanes, Espanya, Ciutats, Productivitat (Economia), Salaris, Economia regional, 332 - Economia regional i territorial. Economia del sòl i de la vivenda, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/247805&r=sbm |