nep-tid New Economics Papers
on Technology and Industrial Dynamics
Issue of 2013‒06‒09
four papers chosen by
Rui Baptista
Technical University of Lisbon

  1. Innovative start-up patenting: a new approach towards identification and determinants By Tina Wolf
  2. Technological Diversification and Innovation Performance By Thomas Bolli; Martin Wörter
  3. Industry - and firm-specific factors of innovation novelty By Natália Barbosa; Ana Paula Faria; Vasco Eiriz
  4. R&D, Patenting and Growth: The Role of Public Policy By Ben Westmore

  1. By: Tina Wolf (Friedrich Schiller University Jena, DFG RTG 1411 The Economics of Innovative Change)
    Abstract: There already exists broad literature investigating small and innovative firms in many respects. However, there have been few attempts to assess this group of firms' propensity to patent or its patenting activities. This paper intends to fill that gap. By applying a new approach to account for young and innovative companies' patents, this paper avoids an undercounting of small firm patenting, which has been a feature of most of the earlier studies. A data set is used that comprises information on R&D, capital stock, state promotion etc for 534 Thuringian firms in their first three business years. The results of the zero-inflated negative binomial regression analysis suggest that patenting is an activity of science-oriented, cooperative young firms that are conducting R&D even before the firm has been launched.
    Keywords: entrepreneurship, technological innovation, patenting, firm performance, research and development
    JEL: L25 L26 Q55
    Date: 2013–05–27
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2013-023&r=tid
  2. By: Thomas Bolli (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Martin Wörter (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
    Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of technological diversity on innovation inputs and success using Swiss firm-level panel data. While we do not find any impact of diversity on R&D intensity, we confirm a positive impact of diversity on patent applications as suggested by the literature. However, since patent applications reflect an intermediate innovation input rather than output, we extend the analysis to the share of sales generated by new products. We find a significant negative effect of diversity on the sales share of new products. Hence, technologically more specialized firms have a lower propensity to patent and greater shares of new products. We find neither a direct nor indirect effect of diversity on the sales share generated by improved products. These results suggest that specialization pays-off through more drastic innovations that yield greater market success through a passing monopoly status.
    Keywords: patent applications, innovative sales share, new products, improved products, technological diversity
    JEL: O3
    Date: 2013–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:13-336&r=tid
  3. By: Natália Barbosa (Universidade do Minho - NIPE); Ana Paula Faria (Universidade do Minho - NIPE); Vasco Eiriz (Universidade do Minho - Departamento de Gestão)
    Abstract: This paper investigates the underlying factors that might shape the firm’s choices with respect to degrees of innovation novelty. Using a sample of 2983 firms observed under the Portuguese Community Innovation Survey, we assess the relative relevance of a set of firm- and industry-specific factors in explaining firms’ choices about incremental or radical innovation. The results indicate that both the firm’s idiosyncratic historical factors giving rise to heterogeneous R&D capabilities and the industry context have power to shape the firm’s innovation choices, even though firm-specific factors appear to be more powerful. The estimated impacts on firm’s innovation novelty are, nonetheless, significantly moderated by the type of firm and industry.
    Keywords: Radical and incremental innovation, competitive environment, R&D capabilities.
    JEL: L21 L10
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nip:nipewp:10/2013&r=tid
  4. By: Ben Westmore
    Abstract: This paper uses panel regression techniques to assess the policy determinants of private sector innovative activity – proxied by R&D expenditure and the number of new patents – across 19 OECD countries. The relationship between innovation indicators and multifactor productivity (MFP) growth is also examined with a particular focus on the role of public policies in influencing the returns to new knowledge. The results establish an empirical link between R&D and patenting, as well as between these measures of innovation intensity and MFP growth. Innovation-specific policies such as R&D tax incentives, direct government support and patent rights are found to be successful in encouraging the innovative activities associated with higher productivity growth. However, direct empirical evidence of the positive effects of these policies on productivity is less forthcoming. A pervasive theme from the analysis is the importance of coupling policies aimed at encouraging innovation or technological adoption with well designed framework policies that allow knowledge spillovers to proliferate. In particular, the settings of framework policies relating to product market regulation, openness to trade and debtor protection in bankruptcy provisions are found to be important for the diffusion of new technologies.<P>R&D, brevets et croissance : le rôle des politiques publiques<BR>Ce document utilise des techniques de régression en panel pour évaluer les déterminants politiques de l'activité d'innovation du secteur privé – représentée par les dépenses de R & D et le nombre de brevet - à travers 19 pays de l'OCDE. La relation entre les indicateurs de l'innovation et la croissance de la productivité multifactorielle (PMF) est également analysée avec une attention particulière sur le rôle des politiques publiques pour influencer les rendements de nouvelles connaissances. Les résultats établissent un lien empirique entre la R & D et les brevets, ainsi qu'entre ces mesures de l'intensité de l'innovation et la croissance de la PMF. Des politiques spécifiques d'innovation telles que des incitations fiscales pour la R & D, le soutien direct de l'État et les droits de brevet sont avérées efficaces pour encourager les activités innovantes associées à une plus forte croissance de la productivité. Toutefois, les preuves empiriques directes des effets positifs de ces politiques sur la productivité sont plus rares. Un thème récurrent de l'analyse est l'importance du couplage des politiques visant à encourager l'innovation ou l'adoption technologique avec des politiques-cadres bien conçues qui permettent une plus large diffusion des connaissances. En particulier, les paramètres des politiques-cadres relatives à la réglementation des marchés de produits, l'ouverture au commerce et à la protection du débiteur dans les dispositions de la faillite sont jugés importants pour la diffusion des nouvelles technologies.
    Keywords: productivity growth, innovation, public policy, intangible assets, politiques publiques, croissance de la productivité multifactorielle (PMF), innovations, immobilisations incorporelles
    JEL: L20 O30 O40
    Date: 2013–05–22
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1047-en&r=tid

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