|
on Small Business Management |
| By: | Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Tavassoli, Sam (Deakin University); Obschonka, Martin (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Firms in peripheral and less knowledge endowed regions often struggle with innovation, as it is deeply rooted in and influenced by local characteristics. Although recent research highlights the significant, yet complex and hard-to-quantify role of local 'soft factors' such as culture and macro-psychology (e.g., local psychological openness) for firm innovation, we know relatively little about its specific role for firms located in the knowledge periphery. This study examines the hypothesis that favorable local soft factors, such as psychological openness, can compensate for unfavorable local hard factors for innovation of firms located in the knowledge periphery. Drawing upon Schmookler's scissor metaphor, we theoretically elaborate how local psychological openness impacts firm innovation by shaping both the demand and supply sides of the innovation process. In our arguments, we also incorporated the contingent impact of both regional (external) and firm (internal) factors on the relationship between local psychological openness and firm innovation. Our empirical investigation of a large and longitudinal sample of Swedish firms across 2004 to 2018 revealed a compensatory effect of local psychological openness for local 'structural knowledge gaps' in less endowed peripheral regions. Implications for research and policymaking addressing innovation in firms and regions are discussed. |
| Keywords: | firm innovation; local psychological openness; knowledge spillovers; peripheral regions |
| JEL: | O31 O33 R11 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_007 |
| By: | Michel Beine; Giovanni Peri; Morgan Raux; Lilie Timricht |
| Abstract: | We provide the first global empirical evidence on the relationship between international master’s education and entrepreneurship. Using large-scale longitudinal data from LinkedIn/Revelio, we document that international master’s graduates are systematically more likely than domestic graduates to create firms across the world’s leading destinations for international students. We further show how this entrepreneurial advantage varies across fields of study, gender, origin and destination countries. In addition, we document the geography of post-graduation firm creation, highlighting the international mobility of entrepreneurial activity among former international students. Taken together, the results offer a new global perspective on the economic impact of international student mobility and the contribution of international master’s graduates to entrepreneurship, innovation, and business dynamism worldwide. |
| Keywords: | foreign students, entrepreneurship, master’s programs, STEM |
| JEL: | F22 I23 M13 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_13014 |
| By: | Corbett-Lagos, Karen (Institute for the Management and Innovation of Knowledge - INGENIO (CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València)); Muraro, Vinicius (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This study explores how Chilean university students perceive entrepreneurship, exploring whether they see it as an opportunity to address societal challenges or primarily as an enterprise creation. The research focuses on how these perceptions vary by gender in front of sociodemographic, academic, and institutional influential factors. Using a quantitative approach, we collected data from a sample of 973 students from different fields of study and conducted statistical analyses to determine the importance of factors that determine entrepreneurial attitudes. The results reveal that the majority of students see entrepreneurship as an opportunity to influence society and address social issues. Sociodemographic factors do not show statistical significance, suggesting that, within this specific population, they do not substantially alter the motivations for entrepreneurship. Although students may share similar views on the opportunity or business nature of entrepreneurship, the factors shaping this perception differ by gender. Among these factors, the value of active and engaged university support, especially in the form of experiential learning methodologies, in fostering opportunitydriven entrepreneurship is highlighted. In contrast, resources such as infrastructure and institutional culture, while important, appear to play a more limited role. This research underscores the need for a holistic approach to entrepreneurship education, but with special attention to particular differences between the segments being served, integrating institutional support with hands-on learning methods to better cultivate an entrepreneurial culture to economic growth and mindset geared towards addressing societal problems. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Higher education; Opportunity-driven entrepreneurship; Gender disparities; Chile |
| JEL: | I23 L26 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_002 |
| By: | Korneliusz Pylak (Lublin University of Technology, Lublin, Poland); Michael Fritsch (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany); Michael Wyrwich (University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the dynamics of regional innovation activity in Europe from 2000 to 2020 using patent applications. Standard convergence measures indicate that regional disparities are narrowing, with initially lagging regions catching up to the leading ones. Our analysis reveals two persistent ‘clubs’: the ‘lagging’ and the ‘advanced’ regions. Although these groups are becoming increasingly similar, the differences between them remain largely unchanged. Despite two decades of growth, the disparity between the two clubs still accounts for a great deal of the total variation in regional patenting. These patterns suggest a convergence illusion that is overlooked in the current scholarly debate. |
| Keywords: | regional innovation, convergence, convergence clubs, European regions |
| JEL: | O31 R11 O47 |
| Date: | 2026–09–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2026-011 |
| By: | Anabela Santos; Andrea Conte |
| Abstract: | Using a newly compiled dataset at NUTS2 level, this working paper provides a mid-term analysis ofthe territorial and sectoral distribution of the two main EU R&I funding instruments, HorizonEurope and Cohesion Policy, over the first five years of implementation of the 2021-2027programming period. The two instruments follow distinct but complementary logics: excellencebasedand territorial convergence, respectively. The findings show substantial territorial differencesin the importance of EU R&I funding. In many Central, Eastern and Southern European regions, the combined contribution of Cohesion Policy and Horizon Europe exceeds 20% of total R&Dexpenditure, making EU funding a major source of R&D financing, particularly in less developedand innovative regions. Horizon Europe is highly concentrated among innovation-leading regions, while less innovative regions rely more on R&I Cohesion Policy funding. The sectoral analysis showsthat Horizon Europe is predominantly oriented towards the higher education sector, whereasCohesion Policy has a stronger contribution to the business sector, which becomes relatively moreimportant as regional innovation performance declines. The differentiated territorial and sectoralroles of Horizon Europe and Cohesion Policy observed in previous programming periods tend topersist during the first five years of the current EU funding architecture, highlighting the importanceof maintaining their complementary roles while strengthening links between competitive and placebasedR&I support. |
| Keywords: | R&I funding; Horizon Europe; Cohesion Policy; EU regions |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ict:wpaper:2013/414367 |
| By: | Francesca Pascale; Saverio Barabuffi; Giulio Ferrigno |
| Abstract: | The role of women on corporate boards and its impact on innovation remains heavily debated. While existing literature offers conflicting perspectives on whether female board representation spurs or hinders innovaiton, most research has focused exlusively on large firms. This studt adresses this gap by investigating the causal impact of women on boards on both "hard" (technological) and "soft" (non-technological) innovation within SMEs. Using a longitudinal dataset f 2762 Italian innovative SMEs from 2015 to 2024 and a 2SLS identification strategy, we find highly nuanced patterns. For hard innovation, the instrumented model reveals a robust positive causal impacr, reversing a negative baseline coefficient and exposing a severe negative selection bias. For soft innovation, a stable positive impact is confirmed. Our findings provide crucial causal evidence for SMEs' governance, while offering tailored insights for policymakers and practitioners to incentivize women' management roles in SMES. |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2610.03250 |
| By: | Silvia Iossa; Saverio Barabuffi |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether universities shape the regional innovation effects of public R&D expenditure and whether this role varies across regional development trajectories. We analyse a panel of 1166 EU NUTS 3 regions over the period 2007-2020, combining data on European public R&D funding, patenting performance, university presence and regional development traps. Toa ddress the endogeneity of public R&D expenditure, we employ a control function aproach. The results show that public r&D expendirue positively affects patenting performance in both university and non-university, but the difference between them is not statistically significant. University presence therefore does not sistematically amplify the returns to public R&D. However, its moderating role becomes more pronounced in regions exposed to development trap risk and in regions experiencing persistent stagnation, while evidence is weaker for trap intensity. These fundings suggest that universities act as contingent rather than unviersal catalyst of public R&D. Their contribution appears particularly relevant in vulnerable and persistently stagnant regional trajectories, but less able to offset sever structural constraints. The study contributes to debates on the geography of public R&D and regional development traps by showing that the effectiveness of research funding depends not only on institutional presence, bu also on the development rajectory in which that institutional capacity is embedded. |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2610.08004 |
| By: | Nicolás Caso; Jason Gagnon; Jessica Hagen-Zanker |
| Abstract: | Remittances and social protection programmes have become two of the most important sources of financial support for households across low- and middle-income countries. While both have been linked to household investment and livelihood diversification, little is known about how they jointly influence entrepreneurship. This paper examines whether public transfers, in the form of cash transfers and school feeding support, crowd out or in household entrepreneurship and whether private transfers, in the form of remittances, complement or substitute for public transfers in shaping entrepreneurship. Using household survey data from eight communities in West Africa, we analyse the relationship between social protection, remittances and a range of entrepreneurial outcomes. The results provide little evidence that social protection systematically influences household entrepreneurship or alters the relationship between remittances and business activity. In contrast, remittances remain consistently associated with business creation and entrepreneurial intentions across multiple contexts. These findings suggest that expanding social protection does not diminish the productive role of remittances and highlight the importance of considering public and private sources of household support jointly when assessing policies aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and inclusive economic development. |
| JEL: | F24 L26 I38 O12 H53 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:26/1152 |
| By: | Wise, Emily (CIRCLE, Lund University); Wilson, James (Orkestra, Deusto Foundation); Schwaag Serger, Sylvia (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the evolving role of universities in transferring and developing knowledge to foster transformative Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) policy amid significant shifts in economic development landscapes. With a rising focus on geopolitics, defense, resilience, and disruptive technologies, universities are increasingly expected to engage and act as catalysts for sustainable development. The research explores how academic institutions interact with policymakers by analyzing "knowledge for policy" relationships, emphasising structural, operational, and practice-oriented factors. Building on a peer-learning exercise hosted by the Governing Resilience and Transformation (GReaTr) initiative in Sweden, the study draws insights from a comparative analysis of five cases of academic institutions, representing diverse contexts and experiences. Findings reveal the challenges universities face in aligning with transformative innovation policies, particularly given the multidisciplinary expertise and agile operational capacities required. Despite evolving practices such as action research and co-created knowledge products, the complexities of addressing urgent and multifaceted policy issues persist. The study concludes by calling for more dynamic and interactive approaches to knowledge creation, stressing the need for universities to adapt their strategies to better engage with policymakers' evolving contexts and demands. |
| Keywords: | Transformative universities; Transformative innovation policies; Knowledge transfer for policy; Science policy interface |
| JEL: | I23 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_012 |
| By: | Rouvinen, Petri |
| Abstract: | Abstract This review synthesizes the latest scholarly evidence on intangible capital. Drawing on 60 recent studies across macro, meso, and micro levels (anchored by firm-level data from Finland, broader Europe, the US, and Asia) it demonstrates that intangible investments have emerged as the preeminent engine of economic growth, competitiveness, and productivity. The literature yields three critical imperatives for public policy. First, the measurement and statistical tracking of intangibles require a fundamental overhaul; at present, a swath of these investments remains invisible in official data and absent from corporate balance sheets. Second, policymakers must broaden their horizons beyond narrow research and development (R&D) subsidies. Modern innovation policy must embrace the full spectrum of intangible assets – spanning software, data, organizational capital, management capabilities, and brand equity –, while capitalizing on the vital synergies between them. Third, the scalable nature of intangible capital demands a synchronized approach to competition policy, innovation strategy, and corporate finance. Authorities must strike a delicate balance: cultivating the incentives and finance necessary to fuel intangible investments, while simultaneously preventing harmful market concentration and fostering broad diffusion of knowledge. |
| Keywords: | Intangible investments, Productivity, Innovation policy |
| JEL: | E22 O34 O47 D24 G32 |
| Date: | 2026–10–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:148 |
| By: | Etienne Capron (DRM - MLAB - Dauphine Recherches en Management - MLAB - DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Raphaël Suire (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université, Nantes Univ - IAE Nantes - Nantes Université - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - Nantes - Nantes Université - pôle Sociétés - Nantes Univ - Nantes Université, MARSOUIN - Môle Armoricain de Recherche sur la SOciété de l'information et des usages d'INternet - UR - Université de Rennes - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz] - Groupe ENSAE-ENSAI - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - UR2 - Université de Rennes 2 - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]) |
| Abstract: | While the geography of innovation is often studied at the level of city-regions, main conclusions provide only a partial account of the dynamics unfolding within cities. In this article, we examine how a set of proximate organizational sites located within a city comes to foster innovation. Specifically, we study how the placemaking practices of the entrepreneurs who originate these sites shape the localized landscape of resources that innovators mobilize to innovate. Drawing on the historical case of the Off-Off-Broadway theater (1958-1976), we show that these distributed, independent practices embedded an array of non-redundant resources within a small geographical area and, by fostering the patterning of innovators' attendance across proximate venues, cohered into an innovative micro-cluster. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurs who originate such organizational sites play an active role in infrastructuring innovation within cities, with implications for how we understand the spatial organization of innovation. |
| Keywords: | place, innovation, entrepreneurship, placemaking, Off-Off-Broadway |
| Date: | 2026–09–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05772720 |
| By: | Coyle, Diane; Nguyen, Nghi; Poquiz, John Lourenze; Riley, Rebecca |
| Abstract: | This paper provides early evidence that AI adoption by firms is linked to management practices in unique ways. Using panel data from the UK Management and Expectations Survey (MES), we find that firms with higher baseline management scores are significantly more likely to adopt AI. This relationship is specific to AI: the same management practices show no relationship with the adoption of other technologies such as robotics, specialized equipment, or specialized software. We also find that management capabilities related to performance measurement appear strongly related to AI adoption. These results suggest that organisational complementarities are specific to different technologies, with implications for policies to encourage AI adoption by firms. |
| Keywords: | AI; technology adoption; management practices; technology diffusion; organisational capital; decentralisation; ICT |
| JEL: | D24 L23 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2026–09–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eoe:escoed:escoe-dp-2026-13 |
| By: | Mazzoni Leonardo; Rossi Maria Alessandra; Fabbri Emanuele (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | Over the past decade, the Western Balkans have been gradually aligning their research and innovation systems with the European Research Area and adopted Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) as relevant framework for place-based innovation policies. Despite recent improvements in innovation performance, the region continues to face structural constraints that hinder convergence with the European Union, making it crucial to understand regional capabilities to close innovation gaps, and Economic Complexity approach can provide a robust framework by inferring productive capabilities, assessing technological sophistication, and identifying feasible diversification pathways. In such a context, this study applies the Economic Complexity framework to Western Balkans granular export data over the past decade to assess patterns of structural transformation and convergence. The findings indicate that the region has made notable progress in narrowing the gap in export volumes relative to Europe, particularly in comparison with the European Balkans. Notwithstanding these improvements, the average level of sophistication of the Western Balkans’ sectoral specialisation remains significantly below the European benchmark and continues to be concentrated in low-complexity activities, with only a limited number of emerging higher-value niches. Evidence from global complexity rankings further suggests that, although the Western Balkans have modestly improved their relative positions - primarily through advances in trade and research-related indicators - the technological gap with Europe has, in fact, widened. These quantitative results are complemented by qualitative insights derived from interviews with key stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies across the Western Balkans. |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc146646 |
| By: | HARA, Yasushi |
| Abstract: | This paper examines M&A, representative changes, and business activity changes among Japanese firms in construction, manufacturing, retail, and agriculture using corporate data-based panel summaries and regression results. Firms with M&A experience are larger on average in the pooled descriptive data, but these differences are not exclusively pre-treatment comparisons. Descriptive Kaplan–Meier curves show no uniform M&A survival advantage: company-disappearance profiles differ in manufacturing and retail, while the displayed bankruptcy log-rank tests do not reject equality at the 5% level in any sector. Event-study regressions report cohort-specific coefficients for sales, employment, and customer counts in levels, with firm and year fixed effects and two-way clustered standard errors. The estimated trajectories vary across cohorts and outcomes, and some pre-event differences call for caution in causal interpretation. Conditional Cox models associate M&A with lower exit hazards across all four sectors. The separate counterparty turnover analysis demonstrates qualitative network upgrading rather than mere link-count contraction: in construction, newly added customers exhibit significantly higher capital scale and sales than discontinued partners. Pair regressions identify sector-specific distance and capital associations, and the executive-age analysis finds an M&A-probability discontinuity at absolute age 70 in retail, which disappears when centered around industry retirement peaks. These results distinguish conditional hazards and counterparty restructuring from unadjusted survival comparisons and gross customer counts. |
| Keywords: | Business succession, Mergers and acquisitions, Small and medium-sized enterprises, Firm survival, Firm performance, Interfirm transaction networks, Japan |
| JEL: | G34 L25 L14 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:tdbcdp:e-2026-03 |
| By: | Diego R. Känzig; Maximilian Konradt; Lixing Wang; Donghai Zhang |
| Abstract: | We study how business cycle fluctuations shape the pace and direction of innovation. Non-green innovation is procyclical, while green innovation is countercyclical, both over the cycle and in response to economic shocks. We explain this divergence in a dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous green and non-green innovation. Green patents derive more value from distant profits, making green innovation less sensitive to short-run fluctuations. Endogenous innovation costs reinforce this mechanism, making green and non-green innovation effective substitutes. Evidence from market-implied patent valuations and scientist earnings supports the mechanism. The model implies larger and greener effects of innovation subsidies during downturns. |
| JEL: | E32 O31 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35795 |
| By: | Krieger, Bastian (ZEW – Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung; TUM – Technische Universität München); Kroll, Henning (Fraunhofer ISI; Leibniz Universität Hannover); Schubert, Torben (Fraunhofer ISI; CIRCLE, Lund University); Strecke, Linus (ZEW – Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung; TU Berlin); Garcia Chavez, Cecilia (Fraunhofer ISI; CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether the local economic effects of niche university actors depend on regional context. Focusing on private university campuses in Germany, we exploit their staggered foundation between 1990 and 2020 and estimate their effects using a conditional staggered difference-in-differences design at the postal-code level. Campus foundations raise local economic activity, but only gradually, with effects becoming statistically significant after about ten years. The effects are strongest in rural and intermediate regions, while urban regions show no significant effects. This pattern supports our argument that niche universities have greater potential to become significant actors in institutionally thinner rural regions. |
| Keywords: | Regional growth; Private universities; Place-based leadership; Urban-rural |
| JEL: | O12 O18 O38 O47 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2026_005 |
| By: | Marcut Mirela (European Commission - JRC); Rodriguez Müller Paula (European Commission - JRC); Reimeris Ramojus (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | Experimental governance helps administrations manage uncertainty and complexity by mobilising actors, experimenting in safe spaces, coordinating across boundaries, balancing competing interests, and institutionalising lessons learned. Strong governance and innovation performance are closely linked. Regions with higher quality of government attract more innovation funding and produce better outcomes, underscoring the role that public sector capacity plays in innovation ecosystems. Case studies show experimental governance in practice, revealing how different policy contexts shape which functions are prioritised and how they interact. Recommendations include developing tools to empower public administrations to engage in experimental governance: support for experimental clauses, developing sharing repositories, developing internal staff capacity to engage in innovation |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc147951 |
| By: | Seungmin Baek (Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade) |
| Abstract: | This paper warns that building innovation cities and relocating public institutions risk delivering no more than a temporary boost to regional economies. In the mid-2010s, when relocations were at their peak, growth in the share of the population living in the Seoul Capital Area (SCA) slowed temporarily, but population inflows from the SCA to the innovation cities have effectively vanished after 2017.<p> The innovation cities began losing population on net in 2023, and from 2025 even inflows from within their own regions turned into net outflows. The first phase of public institution relocation did increase population and employment in the innovation cities, but its spillover effects were limited in both size and reach. Relocation mainly raised service-sector employment in the host areas, and its effects fell short of expectations, with spillovers concentrated within about ten kilometers (km) of the innovation cities.<p> In particular, the persistent net outflow of people moving for work after relocation was completed points to a shortage of firms offering good jobs in the innovation cities. The paper argues that developing the innovation cities requires a selective, concentrated approach to relocating public institutions, together with an effective long-term hub strategy that turns the cities’ existing assets into agglomeration economies.<p> Relocations should be concentrated in areas with good access to the infrastructure of metropolitan and other large cities, so as to magnify the spillovers and build hub cities capable of drawing population away from the SCA. Because lasting productivity gains depend on creating agglomeration economies, industrial policy tied to the physical and human infrastructure of the innovation cities should be used to stimulate production in the cities and their surrounding areas. Finally, making innovation city policy more effective and sustainable calls for a governance framework that encourages cooperation among ministries and between the central and local governments. |
| Keywords: | innovation cities; public institution relocation; hub cities; agglomeration economies; spillover effects; Seoul Capital Area; SCA; balanced regional development |
| JEL: | R11 R12 R23 R58 |
| Date: | 2026–08–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kietia:023666 |
| By: | Cuong Le Van (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, TIMAS, Thang Long University, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Tin Nguyen-Trong (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Ngoc-Sang Pham (BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, UL - Université de Lorraine, Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School, EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Thi Kim Cuong Pham (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We develop a growth model with an R&D sector in which the elasticity of innovation with respect to existing knowledge can be negative. We investigate the existence and uniqueness of a balanced growth path (BGP) and derive closed-form growth factors, showing that productivity and output growth are semi-endogenous and population-driven. We also establish the global stability under a general production function. Under testable parameter restrictions, the economy converges to the BGP. However, when the knowledge elasticity is sufficiently low, a Jacobian-based condition implies instability, and an N-period innovation cycle can emerge. Comparative statics are conducted to explore the impact of several factors, including research efficiency, input elasticity, and population growth. Numerical simulations map out transitions and mark the points at which stability is lost. They make clear when innovation frictions endanger balanced growth and provide practical guidance for R&D and demographic policy. |
| Keywords: | Population-driven growth, Balanced growth path, Stability, Instability, Innovation, Monotone dynamical system, Knowledge, Semi-endogenous growth |
| Date: | 2026–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-05770311 |
| By: | Christophe Storaï (LISA - Laboratoire « Lieux, Identités, eSpaces, Activités » (UMR CNRS 6240 LISA) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli [Université de Corse Pascal Paoli]) |
| Abstract: | Corsica's economic structure is characterized by a weak industrial base, the absence of large multinational corporations, and a limited presence of intermediate-sized firms typically associated with regional economic dynamism. Instead, the island economy relies predominantly on micro- enterprises, small-scale agricultural activities, artisans, and local service providers. Within this context—combined with a structurally dominant public sector—the emergence of a sustainable development trajectory depends largely on the capacity of territorial actors to mobilize endogenous resources. This chapter argues that the articulation between human capital formation, technological research, and territorial governance constitutes a fundamental lever for the emergence of a localized skills-based economy. Drawing on theoretical contributions from territorial economics and the knowledge economy, it highlights how the Corsican case illustrates the relevance of a "territorial specification" strategy based on the valorization of localized resources and collective learning processes. By emphasizing the role of higher education institutions, innovation infrastructures, and governance mechanisms, the study contributes to the understanding of how peripheral territories can build resilience and attractiveness in a context of intensified global competition. |
| Keywords: | territorial governance, skills economy, regional development, Human capital, Human capital regional development skills economy territorial governance |
| Date: | 2026–08–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05729253 |
| By: | Albrecht Glitz; Adrian Lerche; Lukas Mergele |
| Abstract: | Economic espionage is a pervasive global phenomenon. We study how knowledge acquired through this clandestine activity affects firms' economic performance. Exploiting historical data from East Germany that trace the flow of scientific-technical information from its sources in the West to its recipients in the East, we show that economic espionage increased firms' productivity and reshaped their production structure and input choices. We further find that the resulting technical change was labor-augmenting and that the associated productivity gains propagated through the production network via input-output linkages. In the long run, firms receiving larger inflows of espionage information were significantly more likely to survive the transition to a market economy following German reunification. |
| Keywords: | Espionage, Knowledge Flows, Firm Adjustments, Productivity |
| JEL: | L2 N4 O3 P2 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26255 |
| By: | Pablo D. Azar |
| Abstract: | Economic growth depends on combining existing inputs into new inventions. However, these combinations are not always physically feasible. One important example is dark silicon, where power and cooling limits prevent all the transistors on a chip from operating at once. I develop a growth model motivated by these limitations and establish conditions for a unique balanced growth path where electronic miniaturization and power efficiency grow at the same rate. When power-efficiency research becomes harder, both total research employment and productivity growth fall on the new balanced growth path. With gradual adjustment of research employment, I construct a local equilibrium transition in which more researchers temporarily coexist with slower productivity growth. This Eroom’s law result holds for small shocks in a two-dimensional design space with sufficiently similar industry constraints. |
| Keywords: | miniaturization; power efficiency; directed innovation; economic growth |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O41 |
| Date: | 2026–10–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsr:103886 |
| By: | Baghdadi, Leila; Gatti, Roberta V.; Islam, Asif M.; Coronado, Jesica Torres; Zaveri, Esha Dilip |
| Abstract: | Tunisia is among the Mediterranean’s most climate-exposed countries facing acute water scarcity. Although a growing literature has documented the effects of extreme weather on firms, few studies have used longitudinal administrative data to track how business performance evolves over time. This paper draws on about two decades of firm-level records from Tunisia’s formal business registry (Répertoire National des Entreprises), linking firm locations to satellite-based precipitation measures at the delegation level, which is Tunisia’s second-level administrative unit. Using more than 1 million firm-year observations, the study finds that droughts—defined as negative precipitation shocks—reduce total revenues and revenues per worker by approximately 12 and 11 percent, respectively. Large formal firms, non-exporting firms, and domestic firms are disproportionately vulnerable. The results are robust across a range of sensitivity analyses. |
| Date: | 2026–09–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11472 |
| By: | Ludovic Dibiaggio (SKEMA Business School, France); Lionel Nesta (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France; SKEMA Business School, France; OFCE, Sciences Po Paris, France) |
| Abstract: | Research on national innovation systems emphasizes linkages among distributed capabilities but offers limited means of observing whether they are technologically connected. We conceptualize domestic integration as the system-level capacity to connect complementary capabilities across techniques, functions, and applications. Using 1.4 million AI-related patents and 330, 000 scientific publications from 1990 to 2021, we operationalize integration through cross-layer alignment and distinguish it from downstream application specialization. Integration is positively associated with quality-weighted inventive performance, but its contribution changes over technological development. Before 2012, it supports inventive performance across levels of specialization, consistent with footloose integration under uncertainty. After 2012, its returns increasingly depend on strong downstream specialization, indicating grounded integration. Cross-layer alignment is also associated with higher patent quality and the reuse and deepening of existing AI combinations rather than radical combinatorial novelty. These findings identify domestic integration as a distinct dimension of national innovative capacity and suggest that technological sovereignty depends less on self-sufficiency than on the capacity to connect and reconfigure complementary capabilities. |
| Keywords: | domestic integration; national innovation systems; artificial intelligence; technological evolution; technological sovereignty |
| JEL: | O31 O33 O34 D80 L86 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2026-24 |
| By: | Xuelin Wang (Central China Normal University [Wuhan, China]); Xiaofeng Qin (EM - EMLyon Business School); Yeming Gong (EM - EMLyon Business School); Ajay Kumar (EM - EMLyon Business School); Xinyuan Lu (Central China Normal University [Wuhan, China]) |
| Abstract: | Incubators play a vital role in entrepreneurial ecosystems by providing start-ups with resources such as funding, mentorship, and access to networks. Incubator systems differ from traditional organizations because start-ups remain legally and strategically independent, which limits hierarchical control and makes coordination inherently relational. However, existing research tends to emphasize the effects of individual resources, paying less attention to how incubators orchestrate resources through ongoing interaction with ventures, leaving unresolved why incubators with similar resource bases often produce markedly different outcomes. Thus, drawing on Resource Orchestration Theory, this study examines how incubators structure, bundle, and leverage resources, and how orchestration operates across multiple levels to shape start-up growth and incubator performance. Based on a qualitative multi-case study, we identify a four-stage cyclical orchestration process in which incubators (1) structure a foundational resource base, (2) provide tailored initial resource packages, (3) dynamically reconfigure bundled resources as ventures evolve, and (4) activate start-up feedback. Feedback takes concrete forms such as alumni mentoring, network bridging, investment connections, and reputational endorsements, which replenish the incubator's resource base and enable subsequent rounds of support. We further theorize a multi-level mechanism comprising incubator orchestration, start-up orchestration, and joint orchestration; joint orchestration operates through coordinated resource acquisition, bundling, and leveraging, helping explain outcome heterogeneity beyond resource stock differences. |
| Keywords: | Start up, Resource orchestration theory, Multi-level, Incubator, Feedback loop |
| Date: | 2026–12–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05748343 |
| By: | Głodek Paweł; Dadas Grzegorz; Compano Ramon (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This report proposes a consistent and robust methodology for identifying and comparing university spin-offs across European countries. The conceptual framework relies on observable ownership links, notably equity-based, between universities and spin-offs. The methodology was tested in Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia, countries with diverse legal and organisational contexts. The methodology has proven to compare university spin-off across the European Union irrespective of the national laws for academia to spin-off their ventures. A comparison the three case studies reveal that the number of spinoffs created is lower than expected with regard to the country’s R&D capacity and scientific output, manifesting a considerable untaped potential for innovative startups in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc147605 |
| By: | Acevedo, Carlos (Universidad Mayor de San Simón); Trojer, Lena (CIRCLE, Lund University); Vogelmann, Helene (Region Dalarna) |
| Abstract: | Interactive learning is essential for fostering effective innovation processes that contribute to inclusive and sustainable development. The institution at the core of this study is Universidad Mayor de San Simón (UMSS) in Cochabamba, with its Technology Transfer Unit (UTT) serving as the primary promoter and facilitator of SME clusters, which function as interactive learning spaces. These initiatives are inspired by the concept of Developmental University, aimed at producing alternatives for knowledge democratization in the Global South. Scholars argue in low-income countries the intellectual property rights (IPR) system promoted by the Global North hinders their innovation capacities, not only by restricting access to knowledge, but also by failing to adequately protect their own intellectual assets, including traditional knowledge and biodiversity-related innovations. One significant challenge in the multi-actor processes of innovation for inclusive and sustainable development is the issue of ownership, which may not initially appear to be the most pressing concern when establishing effective conditions for co-development. What forms of more open and effective intellectual property sharing can support knowledge democratization and inclusive innovation? In this paper, we present a specific case that allows us to recognize questions and draw insights to explore new IPR alternatives pertinent to environments characterised by developmental university ideals, distributed agency and inclusive innovation approaches in the Global South. |
| Keywords: | Inclusive innovation; Developmental university; (post)IPR; Commons; Bolivia |
| JEL: | I23 O19 O34 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_013 |