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on Technology and Industrial Dynamics |
| By: | Bronwyn H. Hall; Francesca Lotti; Jacques Mairesse |
| Abstract: | Both Research and Development (R&D) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) investment have been identified as sources of relative innovation underperformance in Europe vis-à-vis the United States. In this paper we investigate R&D and ICT investment at the firm level in an effort to assess their relative importance and to what extent they are complements or substitutes. We use data on a large unbalanced panel data sample of Italian manufacturing firms constructed from four consecutive waves of a survey of manufacturing firms, together with a version of the CDM model (Crepon et al., 1998) that has been modified to include ICT investment and R&D as the two main inputs into innovation and productivity. We find that R&D and ICT are both strongly associated with innovation and productivity, with R&D being more important for innovation, and ICT investment being more important for productivity. For the median firm, rates of return to both investments are so high that they suggest considerably underinvestment in both these activities. |
| JEL: | L60 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18053&r=tid |
| By: | Horácio C. Faustino; Joana C. Lima; Pedro Verga Matos |
| Abstract: | This study examines the evolution of Portuguese exports to Spain and its determinants in the period 2004-2008, based on a sample of the 97 largest exporters to Spain. The econometric study, using panel data and a static and dynamic analysis, considers as theoretically relevant explanatory variables productivity, equity capital, remuneration and innovation measured by the expenditure on research and development (R&D). The static results of the estimated models confirm the positive influence of productivity and equity capital on the variation of exports, and the negative effect of the labour costs. The variable R&D is statistically significant, with a positive effect on Portuguese exports in the dynamic model. The dynamic estimations also suggest that the exports in the previous period have a positive effect on contemporaneous exports. |
| Keywords: | Exports. Innovation. Panel data. Productivity. Portugal. Spain JEL Classification: C33. F14. L25 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:isegwp:wp132012&r=tid |
| By: | Czarnitzki, Dirk; Thorwarth, Susanne |
| Abstract: | R&D encompasses plenty of activities which are usually summarized under the terms of basic research, applied research and development. Although basic research is often associated with low appropriability it provides the fundamental basis for subsequent applied research and development. Especially in the high-tech sector basic research capabilities are an essential component for a firm's success. We use firm-level panel data stemming from Belgian R&D surveys and apply a production function approach which shows that basic research exhibits a premium on a firm's output when compared to applied research and development. When we split the sample into high-tech and low-tech companies, we find a large premium of basic research for firms in high-tech industries, but no premium in low-tech sectors. -- |
| Keywords: | Basic Research,R&D,Production Function Estimation |
| JEL: | L23 O30 O33 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:12027&r=tid |
| By: | Ben Ferrett (School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University; GEP, University of Nottingham); Joanna Poyago-Theotoky (School of Economics, La Trobe University; CRIEFF, University of St Andrews; Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis (RCEA); SIERC, Massey University) |
| Abstract: | We study the decision of two firms within an oligopoly concerning whether to enter into a horizontal agreement to exploit complementarities between their R&D activities and, if so, whether to merge or form a research joint venture (RJV). In contrast to horizontal merger, there is a probability that an RJV contract will fail to enforce R&D sharing. We find that a horizontal agreement always arises. The insiders' merger/RJV choice involves a trade-off: While merger offers certainty that R&D complementarities will be exploited, it leads to a profit-reducing reaction by outsiders on the product market, where competition is Cournot. Greater brand similarity and contract enforceability ("quality") both favour RJV, while greater R&D complementarity favours merger. Interestingly, the insiders may choose to merge even when RJV contracts are always enforceable, and they may opt to form an RJV even when the likelihood of enforceability is negligible. |
| Keywords: | horizontal merger, research joint venture (RJV), contract enforceability, process R&D, R&D complementarity |
| JEL: | O30 L13 D43 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:13_12&r=tid |
| By: | Mas, Nuria (IESE Business School); Valentini, Giovanni (Bocconi University) |
| Abstract: | Over the last years, technology has become a key element of competition in the hospital market. At the same time, this market in the US has experienced an enormous merger activity. In this study, we analyze the role that technology can play in this consolidation wave by focusing on how it can affect a hospital´s selection of a particular target. We analyze the selection of targets in mergers that took place in the US hospital market between 1985 and 2000. Our results show that technology is an important element for the competition in the hospital market and, as such, it plays a relevant role also in M&A strategies. We find that hospitals are more likely to choose targets that complement their technological holding, specifically when these are complex technologies and with favorable cost/benefits ratios. With this, the merged entity tends to become closer to a one-stop-shop hospital. |
| Keywords: | hospital; technology; merger; acquisition; complexity; |
| Date: | 2012–03–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:iesewp:d-0953&r=tid |