|
on Small Business Management |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of business advice to SMEs and startups in supporting place transition to higher productivity activities. It draws evidence from case study regions in Malaga, Spain, South East Ireland, and Scania, Sweden. It covers the coaching, mentoring, training and consultancy services and information portals offered to startups and SMEs in each region, the success factors for these supports and the impacts on transforming the business base. The paper ends with key takeaways for policymakers on local business advisory services. |
| Keywords: | Business advice, Entrepreneurship, Incubation, Local Development, Mentoring, SMEs, Startups |
| JEL: | H70 L2 L26 M13 L25 |
| Date: | 2026–05–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2026/07-en |
| By: | Giulia Fontanelli (Department of Economics and Management, University of Ferrara) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between eco-innovation and firm performance among SMEs operating in Emilia-Romagna using data from the ECOSISTER Project, Spoke 5 – Circular Economy (C.E.) and Blue Economy. Particular attention is devoted to the role of C.E. Investment Intensity and C.E. Human Capital (HC) as complementary dimensions of sustainability-oriented transformation. The findings suggest that firms progressively integrate eco-innovation, C.E. investments, and specialised HC within their development strategies, highlighting their relevance for competitiveness and economic performance. The study contributes to the literature on innovation, sustainability, and C.E. transitions. |
| Keywords: | Eco-Innovation; Circular Economy; Firm Performance; Human Capital; Circular Economy Investments |
| JEL: | O31 O32 Q55 Q56 |
| Date: | 2026–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:1126 |
| By: | Myungkoo Song (Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade) |
| Abstract: | This study assesses the evolving innovation climate of South Korea’s manufacturing industry by examining the relationship between perceived innovation barriers and innovation activities. Using firm-level microdata from the Korean Innovation Survey covering the period from 2020 to 2024, the analysis reveals a post-pandemic paradox: a heightened perception of innovation barriers has coexisted with a significant increase in overall innovation activity.<p> However, this aggregate trend masks a critical divergence based on technological intensity. For firms in the low-technology sector, the results support a “revealed barrier” effect, in which heightened barrier perception stems from persistent engagement in innovation.<p> Conversely, for firms in the high-technology sector, barriers act as genuine “Deterrents, ” with financial and market constraints significantly reducing innovation success rates. These findings suggest that a one-size-fits-all policy approach is insufficient. The study concludes that innovation policy must be bifurcated: focusing on de-risking financial and market uncertainties for high-technology sectors, while addressing operational and capability frictions for low-technology sectors. |
| Keywords: | innovation; innovation activities; barriers to innovation; innovation policy; technology; technology adoption; technology policy; research and development; R&D |
| JEL: | L60 O31 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kieter:022557 |
| By: | Farooq, Nida; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | With the world evolving to a digital environment, pharmaceutical companies in developing markets such as Pakistan are under more pressure to embrace innovative approaches that can bring competitiveness and long-term viability in performance. This paper examines how digital trust affects open innovation and performance of firms in the Pakistani pharmaceutical market. Digital trust is the measurement of the technological preparedness dimensions of innovation, discomfort, and insecurity, which are conceptualised as a major facilitator of open innovation. We contend that digital trust (DT), measured by DT innovation and DT insecurity positively influenced by knowledge processing capabilities measured by Knowledge Acquisition, knowledge Dissemination, and Knowledge utilisation. These capabilities, in turn, positively affect open innovation and ultimately firm performance based on the performance indexes like general operational efficiency, market share expansion, and payback. We also infer that information sharing positively moderates the effect of digital trust on open innovation in a way that higher levels of information sharing will strengthen the effect of digital trust on open innovation. The quantitative research design was used. Data was collected from 201 professionals working in the pharmaceutical industries in Karachi, Pakistan, using a closed-ended questionnaire and analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and partial least square structured equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that digital trust is a major driver of open innovation, which in its turn has a positive impact on the firm's performance. Results also showed that the insecurity dimension showing positive impact, while the innovation dimension showed mixed effects on knowledge processing capabilities. Moreover, there was a partial mediation between digital trust and open innovation by the capabilities of knowledge processing. However, the moderating effect of information sharing remained inconclusive. Overall, the study highlights the critical role of digital trust and knowledge management in fostering innovation performance in the pharmaceutical industry. This study expands the open innovation and digital trust literature into an unstudied, regulated sector of a developing economy. In practice, it provides practical suggestions that pharmaceutical companies and policymakers can use to advance innovation and improvement through digital trust and collaborative knowledge strategies. These results highlight the urgency of digital maturity and an open information space that would allow regulated markets, such as pharmaceuticals, to experience sustainable innovation. |
| Keywords: | Digital trust, Open innovation, Knowledge Acquisition, Knowledge Dissemination, Knowledge utilisation, Firm performance |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341064 |
| By: | Dany Bahar (Center for International Development at Harvard University); Shreyas Gadgin Matha; Ricardo Hausmann (Harvard's Growth Lab); Santiago Segovia (Harvard's Growth Lab) |
| Abstract: | Japan remains one of the world’s most technologically sophisticated economies, yet its labor productivity has been stagnant for more than two decades. This paper investigates the apparent contradiction between Japan’s high R&D intensity and its weak productivity performance by examining the allocation, composition, and effectiveness of innovation across industries. Using industry-level data from the OECD, patent-level data linked across technology and industry classifications, and a set of nine technological taxonomies, we document that Japan disproportionately concentrates R&D in mid-technology manufacturing sectors—such as motor vehicles, electrical equipment, and chemicals—that generate relatively low productivity spillovers. High-technology sectors, including ICT, pharmaceuticals, scientific R&D, and advanced digital services, receive a significantly smaller share of investment and exhibit much higher productivity contributions in other countries. We further show that Japan’s indirect, tax-based system of R&D support reinforces this equilibrium by favoring large incumbents and under-supporting SMEs. We conclude by assessing the potential of Japan’s new 17-sector strategy to reorient the innovation system toward frontier technologies. |
| Keywords: | Japan, innovation, industrial policy |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:glh:wpfacu:269 |
| By: | Enghin Atalay; Ali Hortacsu; Nicole Kimmel; Chad Syverson |
| Abstract: | How do investments in innovation translate into future productivity growth? Empirically answering this question is challenging. R&D spending is an observed input into the innovation process, but mapping it to productivity growth requires assumptions about the depreciation of R&D capital, gestation lags, and how well such expenditures capture true innovative effort (Hall, 2007). Patents, an alternative measure, capture successful innovations but vary widely in novelty (Kelly et al., 2021) and economic value (Kogan et al., 2017). Firms may forgo patenting to preserve secrecy, while others patent strategically to protect existing products even when their underlying innovations are marginal. |
| Keywords: | productivity measurement; innovation |
| JEL: | D24 E31 O31 O47 |
| Date: | 2026–04–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:103326 |
| By: | Will Aarons; Asani Sarkar |
| Abstract: | We recently updated the suite of indicators describing the performance of small businesses in the Second District (defined, for the purpose of this study, as New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) and nationally with data from the 2025 edition of the Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS). In this post, we find that regional small businesses reported severe declines in employment and revenue growth in 2025 and became more pessimistic about growth in 2026. In contrast, small firms in the rest of the nation enjoyed stable revenues and employment in 2025 and, while they also had lower expectations of future growth, the decline was smaller in magnitude. Given the importance of small businesses in employment generation, analyzing such data helps to inform the design of effective monetary policy and to understand trends in the regional economy. |
| Keywords: | small business performance; Second District |
| JEL: | L1 G0 |
| Date: | 2026–06–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednls:103353 |
| By: | Minsung Kang (Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes R&D investment and Digital Transformation (DX) technology utilization at South Korean manufacturing and service enterprises during the period from 2017 to 2023 using data extracted from the Survey of Business Activities by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.<p> Overall, R&D activity levels are higher, more consistent, and more intensive in the manufacturing sector than in the service sector, but even as service firms are less likely to engage in R&D, they have pursued digital transformation (DX) at a higher rate, albeit with greater variability and significant size-based polarization.<p> DX contributes more to competitiveness in services than in manufacturing, and small firms lag significantly in both sectors.<p> Based on the results of the analysis, the paper recommends expanding customized integrated support packages, building a full-cycle DX support system with strong human capital development, and shifting the regulatory sandbox toward a more flexible, ex post regulation framework to accelerate adoption and reduce disparities. |
| Keywords: | innovation; innovation activities; research and development; R&D; corporate R&D; R&D investment; digital transformation; DX |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O33 O38 L60 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kieter:022561 |
| By: | Mdhlalose, Dickson |
| Abstract: | South African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for around 34% of national GDP and generate around 60% of employment; however, they continue to be disproportionately impacted by financial management inadequacies. This paper investigates whether the expansion of accessible digital accounting technologies such as cloud-based accounting software, mobile financial applications, and artificial intelligence-assisted analytics is significantly altering the adoption and utility of management accounting information among South African SME owners and managers, or if it simply automates non-value-added compliance tasks. This study synthesises evidence from an integrative review of 60 peer-reviewed sources published between 2020 and 2026, focusing on four thematic domains: digital transformation in the accounting profession; cloud software adoption by SMEs; the evolving advisory role of external accountants; and the triangular relationship among technology use, financial literacy, and decision-making quality. The study contends that digital technologies establish a legitimate yet contingent avenue for improved management accounting participation; their transformative potential is realised solely when supported by sufficient financial literacy, the development of digital skills, and contextually suitable software design. Essential recommendations are aimed at small and medium-sized enterprise owners, accounting practitioners, software developers, and policymakers in South Africa. |
| Keywords: | Cloud-based accounting software, Financial literacy, Decision-making quality, Compliance versus advisory, South African SMEs |
| JEL: | M41 M15 O33 L26 O55 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341046 |
| By: | Pierre-Alexandre BALLAND; Valentina DI GIROLAMO; Florence BENOIT; Julien RAVET; Alexandr HOBZA |
| Abstract: | Fragmentation in the European Union's R&I system is increasingly acknowledged as a major hindrance to its performance. However, theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence remain scarce. This paper introduces a novel complexity-based approach to analyse the competitiveness costs of R&I fragmentation, focusing specifically on hub connectivity as a key metric. Using a comprehensive dataset combining patent records (OECD REGPAT) and scientific publications (OpenAlex) from 2000 to 2023, we examine R&I networks across multiple spatial levels and technological domains. Our analysis identifies three critical findings. First, the European R&I system is much more fragmented compared to the US, with major European hubs showing notably weaker interconnectivity than their US counterparts. Second, we demonstrate that hub connectivity becomes particularly crucial for complex technologies and scientific fields. Third, we find that there is an efficiency gap between the US and Europe in all domains, but it is most pronounced in complex ones, resulting in a substantial competitive disadvantage in strategic sectors. These findings have significant implications for European innovation policy and suggest the urgent need for targeted interventions to enhance cross- regional R&I collaboration in complex technological and scientific domains. |
| Keywords: | Research Fragmentation, Economic Complexity, Inter-Regional Connectivity, Innovation Networks, EU Competitiveness |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2608 |
| By: | Tahir, Aliza; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | The research investigates the effects of the dimensions of Green Strategic Leadership Capabilities i.e. 1. foresight, 2. adaptive, and 3. absorptive capabilities on pro-environmental behavior and green innovative behavior in manufacturing firms in Pakistan and then considers the mediating influences of environmental knowledge sharing, green rewards, and green self-efficacy, along with the moderating effect of green training. We infer that foresight capabilities are measured by 1. Green tester (GT), and 2. Green farmer (GF), adaptive capabilities that included 1. Green management system (GMS), 2. Green Markets (GM), and 3. Gren Technology (GTEC), and absorptive capabilities measured by 1. Green Acquisition (GA), 2. Green assimilation (GAS), and 3. Green Transformation (GTRAN), and Green Exploitation (GE), all enhance environmental knowledge sharing, this will in turn increase green rewards and green self-efficacy, ultimately leading to pro-environmental behavior and green innovative behavior. We also contend that the effects of green rewards and green self-efficacy on pro environmental and green innovative behavior are moderated by green training in a way that high levels of training with make these relationships more pronounced. The study has collected 300 responses from the managerial staff of Pakistani manufacturing firms. The results show that Green foresight capability negatively significantly affects environmental knowledge sharing, while green absorptive capability greatly enhances both environmental knowledge sharing and green self-efficacy. Environmental knowledge sharing positively and significantly mediates the relationship between the two green capabilities and green rewards. Moreover, green rewards favor green innovative behavior and pro environmental behavior while green self-efficacy has a positive and significant effect on green innovative behavior. Finally, green training moderates the relationship between green rewards and pro-environmental behavior in a negative way because of mediation. The overall conclusion suggests that environmental knowledge sharing acts as an important mediator for a lot of relationships, whereas green training moderates the effect on behavior. Thus, the results show that organizational capabilities with knowledge sharing are important drivers of sustainable behavior and innovation in these manufacturing firms. |
| Keywords: | Pro-Environmental Behavior, Green Leadership, Green Rewards, Green Self-Efficacy, Pakistan, PLS-SEM. |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341019 |
| By: | Masatoshi KATO; Kenta IKEUCHI |
| Abstract: | Using a longitudinal dataset of Japanese start-ups, this study evaluates the J-Startup program, Japan’s flagship initiative aimed at fostering globally competitive start-ups. We estimate the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) using propensity score matching, finding that program participation significantly enhances firm growth, particularly in employment and sales, and increases the likelihood of generating high-growth firms. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that these effects are particularly pronounced for younger firms, while evidence on firm size remains inconclusive. To explore underlying mechanisms, we examine financing capacity and network expansion as potential channels. We find that program participation enhances financing capacity, which in turn is positively associated with firm growth, which is consistent with a certification-induced financing channel. While program participation also expands investor and customer networks, these channels show limited association with firm growth. Overall, the findings suggest that while the program exhibits elements of “picking winners, ” its marginal impact is strongest for firms at earlier stages of development, and that growth effects operate primarily through certification-induced improvements in financing capacity. |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:26043 |
| By: | Andrea Bacchiocchi (Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo); Germana Giombini (Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo); Ludovica Segneri (Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo); Francesco Venturini (Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo) |
| Abstract: | Does financial risk affect the firm decision to develop a new technology? We study this issue in the context of the take-off of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Using data on 28, 000 Italian firms (2012–2019) matched with patent records, we find that companies handling higher cash-flow volatility are significantly more likely to innovate in AI. The role of financial risk is weaker for relatively more mature technologies, suggesting that firms more subject to financial uncertainty are more willing to undertake innovation in high-uncertainty, high-reward domains and drive frontier technological change. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence, Financial risk, Cash-flow volatility, Technological uncertainty. |
| JEL: | O31 G32 L25 C23 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wmofir:199 |
| By: | Hussain, Syed Qamber; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | In the global race toward sustainability, the necessity for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in developing economies, to march towards a Sustainable Net Zero Economy (SNZE), became much more pressing. In particular, the study analyzes the impact of tangible resources, intangible resources, and human skills on the financial, environmental, and social performance of SMEs in Pakistan, considering sustainable manufacturing and circular economy capabilities as mediation variables. The model underlying the research grounded in the Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV) and Human Capital Theory, and data were quantitatively analysed using input from 309 SMEs. The hypothetical relationships of this model tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) based on the Partial Least Squares (PLS) approach. The results suggested that tangible assets, organizational culture, and human capital most critically influence the adoption of SNZE practices. Furthermore, sustainable manufacturing and circular economy capabilities operate as key channels through which the resource inputs translate into better performance outcomes. While sustainable manufacturing enhances efficiency, innovation, and environmental compliance, circular economy capabilities assure cost savings, resource optimization, and engagement with stakeholders. Together with these mediators, it enables SMEs to improve competitiveness and resilience while contributing to environmental and social value. This study contributes to the theory by advancing sustainability research through an empirical examination of the application of the NRBV and human capital perspectives in the context of a developing country. In practice, the study identifies actionable strategies for SME managers and policymakers to help overcome constraints imposed by limited resources, weak provisions for their protection, and low sustainability awareness. |
| Keywords: | Tangible Resources, Human Skills, Intangible Resources, Sustainable Net Zero Economy, Sustainable Manufacturing, Circular Economy Capabilities, Performance Outcomes, Pakistan SMEs, SEM |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341049 |
| By: | Ethan Kapstein; Javier Ospital; Guntram Wolff |
| Abstract: | Battlefields are rapidly evolving, with new technologies reshaping military strategy and tactics. Many of the new technologies originate in firms outside the traditional defence sector, rather than with the existing prime contractors. In the United States, the Department of Defense (DoD) created the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in 2015 to incentivise commercial tech companies to work on national security challenges. How successful has this new unit been in achieving its mission? In this article, we provide the first causal evaluation of the DIU’s effects on defence procurement. Using administrative procurement data and a firmlevel panel covering 2017-2025, and employing propensity score matching, additional firmlevel covariates and a staggered difference-in-differences design, we find that the DIU has expanded both the extensive and intensive margins of defence contracting. We find not only a significant increase in the likelihood of receiving a DoD contract because of DIU treatment, but also in the size of the contract. Our findings show that defence innovation organisations can broaden and deepen the defence-supplier base. Governments updating their defence acquisition strategies in response to the lessons from recent wars can benefit from reforms that facilitate firm entry into procurement, overcoming the transaction cost and information asymmetry problems typical in defence markets. |
| Date: | 2026–05–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/407485 |
| By: | Hanna Onyshchenko (Bank of England); Andriy Tsapin (National Bank of Ukraine); Vitaliia Yaremko (Trinity College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of military occupation on firm performance during Russia's full‐scale invasion of Ukraine. Combining official data on territorial control with firm‐level balance‐sheet data from Orbis, we exploit quasi‐random variation in occupation status across postal areas in 2022‐2023 using an event‐study design. We document strongly asymmetric effects by occupation duration: firms in short‐term occupied areas experienced a temporary and largely insignificant decline in sales and employment followed by recovery after liberation, whereas firms under prolonged occupation suffered large, persistent losses in sales and employment. Capital dynamics do not differ significantly between occupied and never‐occupied firms, suggesting that occupation operates primarily through channels other than direct capital destruction. Heterogeneity across sectors and firm characteristics is consistent with local demand shortages, supply‐chain disruptions, and institutional uncertainty as the main transmission channels. Overall, these findings highlight that prolonged military occupation entails lasting and sizable economic losses that compound over time, with little evidence of recovery until liberation. |
| Keywords: | military occupation, firm performance, local economic activity, event study, war, Ukraine |
| JEL: | D22 F51 L25 P48 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcd:tcduee:tep1126 |
| By: | Kuosmanen, Natalia; Kuosmanen, Timo; Maczulskij, Terhi |
| Abstract: | Abstract A substantial share of firm entries and exits observed in administrative data occur through mergers, acquisitions, and other forms of corporate restructuring rather than genuine market entry or exit. This report examines the association of labor productivity and corporate restructuring. We utilize register-based data of worker flows to develop a more granular distinction of genuine entries and exits from restructuring-related events. Our results demonstrate that the average labor productivity of acquiring firms drops on average 23 percent immediately after the acquisition, or even 30 percent in the manufacturing industries. In addition, we find that restructuring entry and exit of firms does not follow the conventional pattern of creative destruction. To support productivity enhancing structural change, it is essential to distinguish between genuinely new economic activity and the reorganization of existing activity. |
| Keywords: | Corporate restructuring, Firm dynamics, Labor productivity, Mergers and acquisitions, Worker flows |
| JEL: | D24 L25 L60 O47 |
| Date: | 2026–05–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:177 |
| By: | Luigi Pascali; Andrea Melillo; Mounu Prem; Francesca Asja Trento |
| Abstract: | What role did the Republic of Letters play in Europe’s transition to sustained innovation? We combine a corpus of digitized correspondence within the Republic of Letters with European aristocratic genealogies, historical postal routes, and a database of notable individuals to trace the diffusion and consequences of Enlightenment correspondence between 1600 and 1850. We first show that the Republic spread, in part, through aristocratic kinship networks: aristocrats connected to already participating peers entered earlier, and their probability of entry declined sharply with network distance. To isolate a causal channel, we exploit changes in postal distances along pre-existing kinship paths to already-inoculated aristocrats, while controlling directly for local postal access. We then aggregate this variation to European grid cells and estimate the effect of exposure to the Republic on the rise of applied science, innovation, and economic activity. Cells instrumented into the Republic experienced a near- doubling in applied scientists and inventors roughly three decades after first contact, with no pretrends and effects concentrated in scientific and technical correspondence rather than religion or philosophy. These findings suggest that the Republic of Letters helped reshape the geography of innovation before industrialization. |
| Keywords: | social networks, economic growth, innovation, Enlightenment, Republic of Letters, The Great Divergence, useful knowledge |
| JEL: | N13 O31 O33 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1945 |
| By: | Massab, Khizra; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the study is to better understand the relationship between accounting systems and innovation in the banking industry by investigating how MAIS affects the impact of different innovation methods on financial results. The research explores looks at how the Management Accounting Information System (MAIS) affects the link between financial performance (FP) and innovation strategy (IS) in Pakistani banks. Six innovation strategies were included namely 1. Aggressiveness, 2. Analysis, 3. Defensiveness, 4. Futurity, 5. Pro-activeness, and 6. Riskiness and their effect on banks' financial performance are accessed. Performance dimensions included 1. Financial Performance, 2. Customer Performance, 3. Internal Business Processes Performance, and 4. Learning and Growth Performance. We also contend that a better Management Accounting Information System (MAIS) would make the impact of innovation strategies on performance more pronounced. The quality of MAIS is measured by 1. Integration management, 2. Sales Management System, 3. Management Reporting System, 4. Budget Management System, and 5. Timeliness. Purposive sampling was used to choose key personnel from the top ten banks in Pakistan, with an emphasis on those in charge of strategic and financial decision-making. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data, and Smart PLS software was used to evaluate the survey using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM). Cross-loadings, reliability, and discriminant validity tests were used to thoroughly verify the IS, MAIS, and FP constructs. The results suggested that the association between innovation strategies and financial performance is considerably moderated by MAIS. In particular, MAIS has a negative moderating effect in riskiness and futurity situations, but it increases the influence of aggressive and proactive innovation tactics on financial results. These findings imply that while MAIS may be helpful in some situations, excessive dependence on analytical or forward-looking approaches may impede flexible decision-making in quickly changing financial environments. Hence, the findings suggested that to promote sustainable development and a competitive edge in the market, banks must strike a balance between strategic innovation and strong accounting processes, as shown by the complex function of MAIS. |
| Keywords: | Management Accounting Information System (MAIS), Innovation Strategy (IS), Financial Performance (FP), Banking Sector, Pakistani Banks, Strategic Moderation |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341014 |
| By: | Alfaro, Laura; Chen, Maggie; Javorcik, Beata S. |
| Abstract: | Multinational corporations (MNCs) are the dominant institutions for creating and distributing knowledge across borders. Their activities generate geopolitical externalities when cross-border knowledge spillovers enhance a rival states strategic capabilities in ways neither internalized by firms nor priced by markets. This review examines MNC-mediated knowledge creation and diffusion and the governance regime that has emerged in response. We distinguish three types of knowledge codified, tacit, and organizational that differ in their transmission channels and governability, and trace how each is created within MNC networks, diffused within and across firm boundaries, and targeted by policy instruments. Evidence shows that controls induce compensating responses, including redirected innovation, supply-chain reconfiguration, and organizational restructuring, with uncertain net effects. Linking the theory of the multinational firm to the economics of geopolitical rivalry, the review highlights the trade-offs that knowledge governance imposes on the global economy. |
| Keywords: | Multinational;Diffusion;Geopolitical externality |
| JEL: | F20 F52 O30 L23 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14608 |
| By: | Irfan, Sharjeel; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | This research investigates the role of Procurement 4.0 (P4.0) in enhancing productivity in remanufacturing operations and advancing circular economy (CE) performance within Pakistan's manufacturing sector, drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory to frame the analysis. This study examines how P4.0 which is measured by procurement strategies, planning, and performance review can enhance circular economy. We proposed P4.0 factors increase Productivity in remanufacturing operations, thereby enhancing circular economy. We also contend that these relationships are moderated by organizational resources, namely talent, managerial capability, and technological infrastructure. Meaning that the successful deployment of these digital tools can enhance the effect of P4.0 on remanufacturing operations, and the onward effect on circular economy. The study employs a quantitative approach, applying Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse survey data from manufacturing firms, thereby validating the above-mentioned relationships. The results of the structural model assessment confirmed that all hypothesized relationships (H1-H8) were statistically significant. For the direct effects, Procurement 4.0 (P4.0) Strategy has a positive impact on productivity, suggesting that adopting digital procurement strategies enhances remanufacturing performance. P4.0 Planning exerts the strongest effect among others. Similarly, P4.0 Review positively influences productivity. Finally, H8 demonstrated a very strong effect of Productivity on Circular Economy (CE) Performance. With regard to moderating effects, the results also provide strong support for the role of Talent, Technological Capability, and Management Support as amplifiers of the direct relationships. For Talent, H4a-H4c demonstrated significant moderation between P4.0 Strategy, Planning, and Review on productivity, while H7a confirmed that Talent strengthens the link between productivity and CE performance. For Technological Capability, H5a-H5c indicated significant moderating roles across strategy, planning, and review on productivity, while H7b showed a positive moderation between productivity and CE performance. Finally, for Management Support, H6a-H6c reported significant moderating effects on the relationships between P4.0 practices and productivity (β = 0.074-0.089, p |
| Keywords: | Procurement 4.0, Industry 4.0, Remanufacturing Operations, Circular Economy (CE), Resource Based View (RBV), Sustainable Supply Chain, Technological Resources, Digital Procurement Strategy |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341053 |
| By: | Guy Lalanne (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Science, Technology, and Innovation); Antoine Dechezlepretre (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Science, Technology, and Innovation); Won Hee Cho (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Science, Technology, and Innovation) |
| Abstract: | Industrial policy has returned to the forefront of economic policy discussions, driven by the green and digital transitions, supply-chain resilience, and concerns about market concentration and strategic dependencies. This paper argues that the recent surge in industrial-policy discourse and announcements exceeds the expansion of measurable support. Semantic analyses of the Global Trade Alert database indicate a steep increase in announced measures (from 42 in 2010 to 1, 483 in 2022).<p> Using the OECD Quantifying Industrial Strategies (QuIS) database for 17 OECD economies from 2019 to 2023, the paper documents three stylized facts. First, spending through grants and tax expenditures rose by about 10 percent on average (from 1.39 percent to 1.59 percent of GDP), whereas support delivered via financial instruments declined slightly (from 0.97 percent to 0.87 percent of GDP). Second, industrial policy instruments are highly persistent, with limited entry and exit. Third, the observed targets of support have shifted, with expanded schemes related to fixed-capital investment, the green transition, R&D activities, energy costs, and SMEs, alongside reduced sectoral support.<p> The paper then sets out how to design and govern industrial policy using an OECD policy-cycle lens: a clear conceptual framework and objectives, coordination across policy actors and instruments, robust measurement and benchmarking, implementation capacity, and rigorous ex post evaluation. It concludes by emphasizing the need to strengthen evidence on beneficiaries, large-firm subsidies, and cross-border spillovers to ensure industrial policy supports productivity, resilience, and sustainable growth. |
| Keywords: | industrial policy; economic security; OECD; Quantifying Industrial Strategies; QuIS |
| JEL: | L52 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kieter:022555 |
| By: | Banri ITO; Naoto JINJI; Megumi NAOI |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how rising economic-security concerns shape firms’ global operations—imports, exports, and foreign direct investment. We combine an original survey targeting Japanese manufacturing firms with firm-level data to identify correlates of three responses: (i) supplier switching in foreign sourcing, (ii) export-control adjustments (tightened compliance, destination changes, or suspension), and (iii) revisions to outward and inward investment (cancellation, equity reduction, or withdrawal/divestment). Research and development-intensive firms, firms handling export-controlled products, and firms with greater dependence on China were more likely to engage in these responses. Yet determinants differ across domains. Supplier switching is more likely for upstream firms with higher North American export exposure, suggesting demand-side pressures propagate upstream. Export-control responses depend strongly on implementation capacity, proxied by the scale of international business functions and use of government information support. Investment-related revisions are rare but appear when technological/regulatory risks overlap with geopolitical risks in today’s policy environment. |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:26026 |
| By: | Kaitila, Ville; Kuosmanen, Natalia; Maczulskij, Terhi |
| Abstract: | Abstract This brief examines the links between research and development (R&D), innovation, international trade, and the green transition in Finland. The findings are based on a Business Finland-funded research project analyzing export demand shocks, firms’ innovation activities, and the effects of environmental policies on Finnish companies. The studies focusing on international trade show that Finland’s global export market share has declined over recent decades due to weak performance and an unfavorable export product structure. At the same time, positive export demand shocks increase firms’ patenting activity and product innovation, whereas negative shocks reduce innovation activity and exports. These findings underline the importance of international trade for firms’ innovation incentives and long-term economic growth. The studies related to the green transition and climate change objectives demonstrate that firms’ own R&D investments, together with R&D spillover effects within industries, are associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) has not significantly weakened firms’ competitiveness; instead, it has increased process and product innovation while improving energy efficiency. The results suggest that well-designed environmental policies can simultaneously support emission reductions and innovation. |
| Keywords: | Innovations, R&D, International trade, Green transition |
| JEL: | F10 F14 O31 Q50 |
| Date: | 2026–05–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:180 |
| By: | Filip Premik; Paul Thambar; Chengsi Wang; Frank Yao; Dan Yu |
| Abstract: | Co-operatives are different from standard profit-maximizing firms. They instead maximize their members’ benefits. In this report, we examine their role across three key sectors in Australia: Retail, Care, and Farming. We lay out new economic theories about this less common type of firm organization. We discuss the implications of the existence and development of co-operatives on entry, competition, inclusion, and consumer welfare. Further discussion is devoted to evaluating policies regarding co-operatives. |
| Keywords: | Co-operatives, Ownership structure, Market entry, Regional and remote markets, Competition policy |
| JEL: | L31 L13 D21 |
| Date: | 2026–02–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:paper_1773636919735_919 |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | Diversifying the industrial base of the Autonomous Province of Trento (Trentino, Italy) is an important policy priority for strengthening productivity growth, given the region’s comparatively smaller manufacturing and knowledge-intensive service sectors relative to peer regions. Drawing on sector-level employment data for 107 Italian regions and 611 local labour market systems, this paper maps the relatedness between economic activities in Italy to identify Trentino’s existing clusters of strength and realistic pathways for industrial upgrading. The analysis underscores that diversification opportunities are shaped by capabilities embedded in current specialisation patterns, reflecting the path-dependent nature of industrial development. The paper proposes a tailored industrial strategy that matches sector-specific interventions to local conditions: supporting competitiveness in established clusters, scaling up related emerging industries and fostering experimental diversification into strategic fields. |
| Keywords: | cluster development, economic complexity, industrial upgrading, relatedness, subnational productivity |
| JEL: | O14 O25 R11 R12 |
| Date: | 2026–06–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2026/09-en |
| By: | Myeongju Kim (Yonsei University); Eunseong Ma (Yonsei University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how the macroeconomic effects of tax cuts depend on occupational targeting—toward entrepreneurs versus wageworkers. Using a new state-level panel of occupation specific federal tax shocks for the United States from 1981 to 2017, we find that entrepreneur targeted tax cuts generate substantially larger increases in output, consumption, and employment than revenue-equivalent worker-targeted cuts. These effects coincide with increases in both entrepreneurship and wage employment, pointing to business formation and firm expansion as key transmission channels. An incomplete-markets model with occupational choice attributes these findings to earnings-based borrowing constraints and demand-driven amplification that jointly produce large entrepreneur multipliers. |
| Keywords: | Tax policy, Entrepreneurship, Earnings-based constraints, Occupational choice |
| JEL: | E62 H25 J23 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yon:wpaper:2026rwp-291 |
| By: | Latif, Samuel; Siddiqui, Danish Ahmed |
| Abstract: | Purpose: This study investigates the role of green supply chain practices (GSCP), green training, collaboration, and innovation in driving sustainable performance within Pakistan's manufacturing sector. The research was undertaken to address a key gap in emerging economies, where sustainability strategies often remain compliance driven and their contribution to innovation and performance is underexplored. A theoretical framework was proposed contending that Internal (IGSCP) and external Green Supply Chain (GSC) Practices (EGSCP), as well as Green Training (GT) would enable GSC Collaboration (GSCC), enhance Sustainable Manufacturing (SM), and Environmental Process Integration (EPI). These will in turn increase Green Innovation (GI) ultimately leading towards a better triple bottom line i.e. Environmental (EP), Economic (ECOP), and Social Performance (SP). We also infer that the effect of GSCC, SM, EPI on GI is moderated by Green Self-Efficacy (GSE) in a way that higher level GSE will strengthen the above mentioned effect. Design/methodology/approach: Using a quantitative, cross-sectional design, data were collected from 385 supply chain professionals across multiple industries. The research employed a structured questionnaire adapted from prior validated scales, and SmartPLS 4 was used for analysis. Measurement model assessment confirmed reliability and validity, while structural equation modeling (SEM) tested direct, indirect, and moderating effects. Findings: Results reveal that external GSCP, green training, and collaboration significantly influence sustainable manufacturing. Green innovation emerged as the strongest mediator, positively driving environmental (β = 0.826), economic (β = 0.848), and social (β = 0.785) performance outcomes. Conversely, environmental process integration and internal GSCP showed weaker or non-significant effects, underscoring contextual barriers. Results indicate that external GSCP significantly improved environmental process integration and collaboration, while internal GSCP strongly enhanced process integration and sustainable manufacturing. Green training positively influenced collaboration and manufacturing, though it had a negative effect on process integration. Green innovation emerged as the strongest mediator, driving environmental (β = 0.826), economic (β = 0.848), and social (β = 0.785) outcomes. Collaboration and self-efficacy significantly supported innovation, but moderation effects of self-efficacy were non-significant. Sustainable manufacturing showed no direct effect on innovation. Overall, the model highlights innovation and collaboration as key pathways to sustainability. Originality/value: This study contributes by integrating NRBV and DCT to explain sustainability pathways in an underexplored context. It offers theoretical insights, empirical evidence, and practical recommendations for managers and policymakers to strengthen sustainability strategies in emerging economies. |
| Keywords: | Green supply chain practices, green training, green innovation, sustainable performance, PLS-SEM, Pakistan manufacturing |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:341051 |
| By: | Rymuza, Katarzyna; Bombik, Antoni; Kacprzak, Tomasz |
| Abstract: | Farmers' entrepreneurship in Poland has both a historical and economic basis and stems from personality traits. It is supported by national and EU projects and funding. Legal conditions also favor farmers' entrepreneurial activity. The aim of the article was to analyze the influence of selected factors on the development of entrepreneurship among farmers in Siedlce County (with a high percentage of employment in the agricultural sector), measured by the entrepreneurship index in 2012 and 2022, and to find out which factors had the greatest impact on its development over the course of ten years. The research material consisted of data from thirteen municipalities of Siedlce County as at the end of 2012 and 2022, from Statistics Poland, and municipal offices, as well as the results of surveys in which respondents assessed the change in entrepreneurship development conditions in 2022 compared to 2012. The dependence of the entrepreneurship index on selected variables was assessed using the simple correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression equations. The econometric analysis showed that the entrepreneurship index in both 2012 and 2022 in the municipalities of Siedlce County was shaped by: the number of national economy entities, the share of annual own income per capita, and the share of agricultural tax in the municipalities' own income. The respondents assessed that during the period under study, the share of non-agricultural income in total income increased, while the income situation worsened in relation to 2012 and there was a decrease in income from non-agricultural activities against the income of other occupational groups. Factors that significantly affected the entrepreneurship rate were shown to have changed in the decade under analysis. The overall situation shaping entrepreneurial development has also deteriorated. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance |
| Date: | 2024–09–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iafepa:401277 |