114085747
Bibliometric analysis of international researches on innovation metrics
This bibliometric study aims to identify the state of art of international bibliography related to innovation metrics theme. This paper discusses several intents in measuring innovation through metrics and models due to the fact that innovation occurs in a more contextual way and formed by multi-faceted indicators that go beyond a rigid measure modelling. Using the period of the last ten years and Boolean searches for key terms in Web of Science databases, we selected 136 papers that were captured by EndNote Web. Results were analysed through two phases: the quantitative results were sorted in descending order and we noticed a publication increase during the studied period. The journals that gather the bigger number of selected publications were Research Policy and Technovation. The second qualitative analysis categorised selected papers after reading all abstracts and we found that the metrics that appeared the most are number of patents, performance, innovations in product and process, inputs and outputs, innovative activities and capabilities, R&D, and firms' structure and interactions.
167934531
Momentum and serendipity: how acquired leaders create value in the integration of technology firms
Merger and acquisition activity is a critical means by which technology firms obtain the resources needed to compete in global markets. Effective implementation is essential to making these acquisitions successful, yet prior research on the implementation process has yielded paradoxical findings. I argue that a closer examination of the role of the acquired managers helps to resolve the implementation dilemmas found in prior research, which has focused on the role of the acquiring firm. I use grounded theory-building techniques to examine the integration of eight technology acquisitions, and find that acquired managers play a key role in achieving two types of value: expected and serendipitous. In promoting the realization of these two types of value, acquired leaders maintain the advantages of both integration and autonomy. Moreover, these leaders enable their organizations to simultaneously experience two often-conflicting forms of change: exploration and exploitation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
106610171
The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth
An innovation classic. From Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, Clay Christensen's work continues to underpin today's most innovative leaders and organizations. A seminal work on disruption--for everyone confronting the growth paradox. For readers of the bestselling The Innovator's Dilemma--and beyond--this definitive work will help anyone trying to transform their business right now. In The Innovator's Solution, Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor expand on the idea of disruption, explaining how companies can and should become disruptors themselves. This classic work shows just how timely and relevant these ideas continue to be in today's hyper-accelerated business environment. Christensen and Raynor give advice on the business decisions crucial to achieving truly disruptive growth and propose guidelines for developing your own disruptive growth engine. The authors identify the forces that cause managers to make bad decisions as they package and shape new ideas--and offer new frameworks to help create the right conditions, at the right time, for a disruption to succeed. This is a must-read for all senior managers and business leaders responsible for innovation and growth, as well as members of their teams. Based on in-depth research and theories tested in hundreds of companies across many industries, The Innovator's Solution is a necessary addition to any innovation library--and an essential read for entrepreneurs and business builders worldwide.
154795247
DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES: AN EXPANDED VIEW
The term "disruptive technology" as coined by Christensen (1997, The Innovator's Dilemma; How New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business School Press) refers to a new technology having lower cost and performance measured by traditional criteria, but having higher ancillary performance. Christensen finds that disruptive technologies may enter and expand emerging market niches, improving with time and ultimately attacking established products in their traditional markets. This conception, while useful, is also limiting in several important ways.By emphasising only "attack from below" Christensen ignores other discontinuous patterns of change, which may be of equal or greater importance (Utterback, 1994, Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation. Harvard Business School Press; Acee, 2001, SM Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Further, the true importance of disruptive technology, even in Christensen's conception of it is not that it may displace established products. Rather, it is a powerful means for enlarging and broadening markets and providing new functionality.In Christensen's theory of disruptive technology, the establishment of a new market segment acts to channel the new product to the leading edge of the market or the early adopters. Once the innovation reaches the early to late majority of users it begins to compete with the established product in its traditional market. Here we present an alternative scenario in which a higher performing and higher priced innovation is introduced into the most demanding established market segments and later moves towards the mass market.
154889464
Patents, Innovation and Growth
New growth theories emphasize the role played by innovation in promoting economic growth. Since it is difficult to quantify the amount of innovation undertaken in an economy, there is little available empirical evidence assessing the contribution made by innovation to growth, in contrast to abundant evidence on the role of physical capital accumulation in the growth process. In this paper patent data are used to proxy the amount of innovation undertaken in an economy. The patent data are used to explore two questions. First, how important is innovation to economic growth in Australia, and second, are reductions in innovations sourced in Australia offset by increases in foreign sourced innovations in Australia? Copyright 2000 by The Economic Society of Australia.
154687955
The Non-Trivial Choice between Innovation Indicators
We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of five alternative innovation indicators: R&D, patent applications, total innovation expenditure and shares in sales taken by imitative and by innovative products as they were measured in the 1992 Community Innovation Survey (CIS) in the Netherlands. We conclude that the two most commonly used indicators (R&D and patent applications) have more (and more severe) weaknesses than is often assumed. Moreover, our factor analysis suggests that there is little correlation between the various indicators. This underlines the empirical relevance of various sources of bias of innovation indicators as discussed in this paper.
154270543
How to measure innovation? New evidence of the technology–growth linkage ☆
It is an undoubtful fact that economic growth depends, ultima ratio, on the production of new ideas. This article aims to contribute to the long-standing debate on the choice of the best proxy to measure innovation and technological diffusion, by offering alternative variables which are tested empirically by means of a panel dataset of 73 countries between 1980 and 2005. Two different proxies of technological progress (patents and a Intellectual Property Rights Index) are used to explain different growth rates of income per capita and, after controlling for endogeneity, our results suggest that both have a positive effect on innovation (and economic growth).
154916739
Using patent data to measure innovation performance
Technologically radical innovations are a key success factor in many high technology industries. This study examines how firms can measure performance on this key dimension. I ask two questions; 1, how can patent data be used to measure innovation and its radicalism, and 2, what are some of the empirical shortcomings with the current methods using patent data? These research questions are examined through a longitudinal data of 100 biopharmaceutical companies. Two main conclusions are drawn. First, patents and the subsequent patents that cite them provide a useful way to measure innovation performance. Patent data can be used to monitor activities of competitors, form a performance evaluation system in R&D organisations, and identify a specific technological trend. Second, in prior research, patent citation lags used to distinguish between innovations of different quality have been too short to distinguish between incremental and radical innovations. Lags of ten years and longer are recommended. Short lags may obscure patent-based comparisons of firm innovativeness.
59047072
R&D cooperation and innovation activities of firms—evidence for the German manufacturing industry
The aim of the paper is to investigate in a simultaneous equation framework the role of R&D cooperation in the innovation process under two specific aspects. First, the analysis is concentrated on the impact of R&D cooperation - in line with other factors - on firm's innovation input and output. Second, it will be analyzed how the number of cooperation partners affects the development of new products. Starting with the discussion of theoretically expected effects of successfully R&D cooperation on the innovation activities of firms, the importance of inter-organizational arrangements in R&D is empirically investigated for firms in the German manufacturing industry. The estimation results can be summarized as follows: In the German manufacturing industry, R&D cooperations are used complementary in the innovation process, enhancing the innovation input and output of firms measured by the intensity of inhouse R&D respectively the realization of product innovations. On the input side, the intensity of inhouse R&D also stimulates the probability and the number of R&D cooperations with other firms and institutions.
145712573
Accelerating Adaptive Processes: Product Innovation in the Global Computer Industry
The research was very generously supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and was conducted while the first author was the Finmeccanica Faculty Scholar. We appreciate the many contributions made by members of the Stanford-McKinsey-Augsburg research team. We also benefitted immensely from the very helpful advice of Shona Brown, Lee Fleming, Charlie Galunic, Andy Hargadon, Jim Jucker, Bob Keeley, Neil Kane, Laura Kopczak, Garry Marchant, Anne Miner, Christine Oliver, Bob Sutton, Marcie Tyre, Mark Zbaracki, Harvard and Stanford seminar participants, and our three anonymous reviewers. This paper contrasts two theoretical models for firms' achieving fast adaptation through product innovation. The compression model assumes a well-known, rational process and relies on squeezing together or compressing the sequential steps of such a process. The experiential model assumes an uncertain process and relies on improvisation, real-time experience, and flexibility. The two models are tested using data from 72 product development projects drawn from European, Asian, and U.S. computer firms. The results indicate that using an experiential strategy of multiple design iterations, extensive testing, frequent project milestones, a powerful project leader, and a multifunctional team accelerates product development. In contrast, the compression strategy of supplier involvement, use of computer-aided design, and overlapping development steps describes fast pace only for mature industry segments. The results also show that planning and rewarding for schedule attainment are ineffective ways of accelerating pace. We conclude with linkages to punctuated equilibrium and selection models of adaptation, fast organizational processes, organic versus improvisational structures, and complexity theory.'
6613530
Interorganizational alliances and the performance of firms: A study of growth and innovation rates i
This paper investigates the relationship between intercorporate technology alliances and firm performance. It argues that alliances are access relationships, and therefore that the advantages which a focal firm derives from a portfolio of strategic coalitions depend upon the resource profiles of its alliance partners. In particular, large firms and those that possess leading-edge technological resources are posited to be the most valuable associates. The paper also argues that alliances are both pathways for the exchange of resources and signals that convey social status and recognition. Particularly when one of the firms in an alliance is a young or small organization or, more generally, an organization of equivocal quality, alliances can act as endorsements: they build public confidence in the value of an organization's products and services and thereby facilitate the firm's efforts to attract customers and other corporate partners. The findings from models of sales growth and innovation rates in a large sample of semiconductor producers confirm that organizations with large and innovative alliance partners perform better than otherwise comparable firms that lack such partners. Consistent with the status-transfer arguments, the findings also demonstrate that young and small firms benefit more from large and innovative strategic alliance partners than do old and large organizations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
153500432
Determinants of innovation in small food firms
This paper focuses on innovation in small food‐ and drink‐manufacturing enterprises in two Belgian regions. The aim of the research was to identify patterns of innovative activities. Based on both literature and empirical analyses, a framework was developed to help in understanding some aspects of the determinants of innovation in small food firms. Two conclusions can be drawn from the research. On the one hand, it is clear that innovation was regarded as essential by most small food firms. Such firms tended to continuously introduce new products, develop new processes, make changes in the organisational structure and explore new markets. On the other hand, the research demonstrated that some aspects of innovation depend on the age of the company, company size and regional economic performance.
150411940
Measuring R&D Performance-State of the Art
OVERVIEW:Many R&D performance measurement techniques have been developed in response to the unique needs of various organizations. An extensive search of the literature from 1956 to 1995 identified over 90 articles, 12 books and two research reports describing various techniques. Integrated metrics that combine several types of quantitative and qualitative measures were found to be the most effective, but also the most complex and costly to develop and use. The choice of an appropriate R&D measurement metric depends on the user's needs for comprehensiveness of measurement, the type of R&D being measured, the available data, and the amount of effort the user can afford to allocate to it. Guidelines are provided for selecting an appropriate measurement method within these parameters.
152358274
The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle
Schumpeter first reviews the basic economic concepts that describe the recurring economic processes of a commercially organized state in which private property, division of labor, and free competition prevail. These constitute what Schumpeter calls "the circular flow of economic life," such as consumption, factors and means of production, labor, value, prices, cost, exchange, money as a circulating medium, and exchange value of money. The principal focus of the book is advancing the idea that change (economic development) is the key to explaining the features of a modern economy. Schumpeter emphasizes that his work deals with economic dynamics or economic development, not with theories of equilibrium or "circular flow" of a static economy, which have formed the basis of traditional economics. Interest, profit, productive interest, and business fluctuations, capital, credit, and entrepreneurs can better be explained by reference to processes of development. A static economy would know no productive interest, which has its source in the profits that arise from the process of development (successful execution of new combinations). The principal changes in a dynamic economy are due to technical innovations in the production process. Schumpeter elaborates on the role of credit in economic development; credit expansion affects the distribution of income and capital formation. Bank credit detaches productive resources from their place in circular flow to new productive combinations and innovations. Capitalism inherently depends upon economic progress, development, innovation, and expansive activity, which would be suppressed by inflexible monetary policy. The essence of development consists in the introduction of innovations into the system of production. This period of incorporation or adsorption is a period of readjustment, which is the essence of depression. Both profits of booms and losses from depression are part of the process of development. There is a distinction between the processes of creating a new productive apparatus and the process of merely operating it once it is created. Development is effected by the entrepreneur, who guides the diversion of the factors of production into new combinations for better use; by recasting the productive process, including the introduction of new machinery, and producing products at less expense, the entrepreneur creates a surplus, which he claims as profit. The entrepreneur requires capital, which is found in the money market, and for which the entrepreneur pays interest. The entrepreneur creates a model for others to follow, and the appearance of numerous new entrepreneurs causes depressions as the system struggles to achieve a new equilibrium. The entrepreneurial profit then vanishes in the vortex of competition; the stage is set for new combinations. Risk is not part of the entrepreneurial function; risk falls on the provider of capital. (TNM)
144413989
The use of bibliometric data for the measurement of university research performance
Abstract In this paper we present the results of a study on the potentialities of “bibliometric” (publication and citation) data as tools for university research policy. In this study bibliometric indicators were calculated for all research groups in the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Leiden. Bibliometric results were discussed with a number of researchers from the two faculties involved. Our main conclusion is that the use of bibliometric data for evaluation purposes carries a number of problems, both with respect to data collection and handling, and with respect to the interpretation of bibliometric results. However, most of these problems can be overcome. When used properly, bibliometric indicators can provide a “monitoring device” for university research-management and science policy. They enable research policy-makers to ask relevant questions of researchers on their scientific performance, in order to find explanations of the bibliometric results in terms of factors relevant to policy.
119445504
An index to quantify an individual's scientific research output
I propose the index h, defined as the number of papers with citation number ≥h, as a useful index to characterize the scientific output of a researcher.
26331056
Does the h index have predictive power?
Bibliometric measures of individual scientific achievement are of particular interest if they can be used to predict future achievement. Here we report results of an empirical study of the predictive power of the h index compared with other indicators. Our findings indicate that the h index is better than other indicators considered (total citation count, citations per paper, and total paper count) in predicting future scientific achievement. We discuss reasons for the superiority of the h index.
108823386
Challenges facing food engineering
Abstract Food engineering (FE) was identified as a promising field in the mid-20th century. In the succeeding years, demand for food engineers in industry has continued unabated, but the field, in an academic sense, has not quite lived up to its potential. Yet, the coming challenges of the 21st century offer many opportunities for persons with FE training. This article is based on a plenary session held during the Conference of Food Engineering 2012, in Leesburg, Virginia, USA, and consists of a compilation of opinions of the authors. In order to develop further, FE needs to shed its historical mindset, and embrace a broader vision of its scope to include product, internal human and industrial processes, equipment, package and sensor/automation engineering. Training in FE could be vital to helping address issues such as water availability and quality, health and wellness, food safety, energy and sustainability. A number of 21st century developments will drive this change, including world population growth and aging; the digital universe, “big data” and informatics; personalization, food, health and wellness; food security, environment, sustainability and social responsibility; and the innovation ecosystem (open innovation and partnerships). Food engineering education will also have to change to keep pace with the extraordinary expansion of knowledge, the availability of virtual tools, diminishing funding and laboratory resources, and the possibility of creating partnerships between industry and academia. Studying inner transport phenomena, utilization of new techniques, such as micro processing for modeling and simulation of the digestion system, bioavailability, satiety, DNA predisposition, and nutrigenomics offer unique opportunities. The case of FE in UK and Europe are addressed, where consortia involving different industries have been able to partner to focus on problems with a common scientific theme to leverage their efforts. Finally, the experience of one food company in hiring food engineers as well as chemical engineers is highlighted, together with their interview processes and criteria. While this represents a collection of the opinions of the individual authors, it is hoped that the discussion stimulates a more wide-ranging conversation about FE to enable it to develop further into the 21st century.
8058664
Universality of citation distributions: Toward an objective measure of scientific impact
We study the distributions of citations received by a single publication within several disciplines, spanning broad areas of science. We show that the probability that an article is cited c times has large variations between different disciplines, but all distributions are rescaled on a universal curve when the relative indicator cf = c/c0 is considered, where c0 is the average number of citations per article for the discipline. In addition we show that the same universal behavior occurs when citation distributions of articles published in the same field, but in different years, are compared. These findings provide a strong validation of cf as an unbiased indicator for citation performance across disciplines and years. Based on this indicator, we introduce a generalization of the h index suitable for comparing scientists working in different fields.
22727280
The 50 most cited manuscripts by Indian periodontists: a citation analysis of PubMed database.
BACKGROUND
Personality of a scientific publication enhances after receiving citations which in turn reflect its recognition and impact on science. There are no reported citation analyses of publications in Indian context.


OBJECTIVES
Analyze citations received by publications of Indian periodontists available with Pubmed database which were published till 1st March, 2012 and to select top-50-cited articles based on Pubmed citations till 15th May, 2012.


METHODS
Studies were identified by running select search-phrases on Pubmed search. Search inputs included, 'dental', 'oral', etc. A parallel search with above phrases including 'India' was also done for India-specific publications. All publications with available abstracts were analyzed for selected parameters and their citability. The citable articles were then individually searched for citations using various databases, and citations were analyzed.


RESULTS
The total number of articles published was 764 out of that citable articles were 585. The total number of Pubmed citations was 1033 for 248 cited articles. The citations received to articles in International journals (2.72 citations/article) were significantly more than National journals (0.67 citations/article). Out of top 50 most cited articles, 38 (76%) were published in journals with impact factors.


CONCLUSION
Although articles without citations outnumbered articles with citations, the articles published by Indian periodontists in international journals were moderately acknowledged by non-Indian authors. The articles published in national journals, to the most part were barely noticed. The articles published in journals with impact factors tend to receive maximum citations and these articles have high probability to top the list of most cited articles.


IMPLICATIONS
Developing nations are also progressing in right directions and are catching up with developed nations, albeit to smaller scales. There is a need to publish more and more cutting edge research manuscripts in national and international reputed journals.
54668905
Average-Based Versus High- and Low-Impact Indicators for the Evaluation of Scientific Distributions
Albarran et al. (2009a) introduced a novel methodology for the evaluation of citation distributions
consisting of a pair of high- and a low-impact measures defined over the set of articles with citations
below or above a critical citation level CCL. Albarran et al. (2009b) presented the first empirical
applications to a situation in which the world citation distribution in 22 scientific fields is partitioned
into three geographical areas: the U.S., the European Union, and the rest of the world. In this paper,
we compare our results with those obtained with average-based indicators. For reasonable CCLs, such
as the 80th percentile of the world citation distribution in each field, the cardinal differences between
the results obtained with our high-impact index and the mean citation rate are of a large order of
magnitude. When, in addition, the percentage in the top 5% of most cited articles or the percentage of
uncited articles are used, there are still important quantitative differences with respect to the high- and
low-impact indicators advocated in our approach when the CCL is fixed at the 80th or the 95th
percentile.
167544977
Innovation's Effect on Firm Value and Risk: Insights from Consumer Packaged Goods
What is the relationship between innovation and firm value? Does the type of innovation make a difference? To answer these questions, the authors examine how breakthrough and incremental innovations affect three different facets of firm performance: normal profits, economic rents, and total firm risk. They argue that each of these metrics is of independent interest to shareholders and managers and that examining one without the others results in an incomplete picture of the true financial value of innovation. Using data on more than 20,000 new products from consumer packaged goods industries, the authors find that breakthrough innovation is associated with increases in both normal profits and economic rents and that, on average, each breakthrough innovation in the sample is associated with an increase in firm value of $4.2 million. Breakthrough innovation is also associated with increases in the risk of the innovating firm, but this higher risk is offset by above-normal stock returns. In contrast, incremental innovation is associated with increases in normal profits only and has no impact on economic rents or firm risk.
153435935
Using Social Network Analysis to Improve Communities of Practice
Although many organizations initiate communities of practice to drive performance and innovation, managers typically have little insight into their internal effectiveness and business impact. This article offers network analytics, interventions, and metrics (both in terms of network connectivity and business outcomes) to improve and track the success of such community initiatives. Specifically, it shows how social network analysis can help move a community from an ad hoc, informal group to a value-producing network by focusing on five critical levers: improving information flow and knowledge reuse; developing an ability to sense and respond to key problems or opportunities; driving planned and emergent innovation; nurturing value-creating interactions; and engaging employees through community efforts.
153866815
Indicators for national science and technology policy: how robust are composite indicators?
Abstract This article addresses a set of issues that were central to Keith Pavitt's research, that is, the construction and use of tools to measure national innovative performance and to design national policies relating to innovation. It presents an overview of the development of science and technology (S&T) indicators and their use in national policy making and provides evidence of the vulnerability of composite S&T indicators to manipulation. A brief history of the development of S&T indicators begins with the role of the United States followed by their worldwide diffusion with particular emphasis on Europe. Newer developments towards composite indicators, benchmarking and scoreboarding are discussed. To investigate the robustness of innovation scoreboards empirically, a sensitivity analysis of one selected case is presented. It is shown that composite scores and country rank positions can vary considerably depending on the selection process. Thus, the use of scoreboards leaves room for manipulation in the policymaking system. Further research is needed on alternative methods of calculation to prevent their misuse and abuse.
55953204
Innovation, productivity and growth in US business services: a firm-level analysis
This paper examines the impact of innovation on the performance of US business service firms. We distinguish between different levels of innovation (new-to-market and new-to-firm) in our analysis, and allow explicitly for sample selection issues. Reflecting the literature, which highlights the importance of external interaction in service innovation, we pay particular attention to the role of external innovation linkages and their effect on business performance. We find that the presence of service innovation and its extent has a consistently positive effect on growth, but no effect on productivity. There is evidence that the growth effect of innovation can be attributed, at least in part, to the external linkages maintained by innovators in the process of innovation. External linkages have an overwhelmingly positive effect on (innovator) firm performance, regardless of whether innovation is measured as a discrete or continuous variable, and regardless of the level of innovation considered.
154636317
Heterogeneous Firm‐Level Effects of Knowledge Exchanges on Product Innovation: Differences between Dynamic and Lagging Product Innovators*
Product innovation is the result of a constant interaction between the in-house research and development (RD (2) the share of revenue realized through innovative product sales (a measure of innovative output); and (3) their impact on the growth in total revenue. The bulk of the econometric literature looking into these matters only allows general statistical statements on the behavior of an "average" firm. This paper takes on another view by using the quantile regression method to stress the heterogeneity of innovative firms in their dealing with knowledge exchange and the effect this has on their performance. A first key finding is that research intensity is positively influenced by knowledge externalities, research cooperation, and appropriability, and it is through this that these variables affect innovative revenue and also the growth in total revenue. By using quantile regression these relationships are further refined to screen for differences in behavior between dynamic and lagging innovators. This refinement indicates that, in the case of research intensity, the knowledge externalities gain in importance in the higher quantiles and are insignificant in the lower ones. Next, research cooperation remains important in all quantiles, but a higher significance is observed in the higher quantiles as well. Finally, appropriability is extremely important for the lower quantiles, but it becomes insignificant in the highest. These findings corroborate the assumptions made in the literature on open innovation: knowledge externalities and research collaboration are vital for those opening up their firm for new ideas and who are, at the same time, reluctant to protect their findings through specific appropriation measures. In the case of innovative revenue all variables on knowledge exchange operate through the research intensity irrespective of the quantile, although the impact of research intensity on this type of revenue is higher in the upper quantiles. As for the growth in revenue, the effect of the innovative revenue is, again, higher in the higher quantiles. This suggests that dynamic product innovators have the most efficient R&D process and the strongest growers are so, especially, because they are successful product innovators.
154689602
Small Firm Innovation, Growth and Performance
This article uses Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation techniques of a large-scale survey to examine the effect of firms’ innovation activities on their growth performance. The survey, covering 1347 respondents, is the largest and most definitive assessment of enterprise in Scotland and Northern England. In this article we employ four measures of growth: growth in employment; growth in turnover; growth in productivity; change in the profit margin. These measures of growth are analysed separately for manufacturing and service firms. The models are re-estimated with the current sales and profit levels adjusted for the number of employees. The most emphatic findings highlight a positive relationship between novel product innovation and employment growth and, for manufacturing firms, at least in the short term, a negative relationship between product innovation (both incremental and novel) and growth in sales or productivity. By contrast, growing sales and productivity appear positively associated with incremental process introductions in service firms.
154775870
Political institutional structure influences on innovative activity
This study draws upon previous research on political institutions to examine country-level measures of innovative activity over a ten-year period within 24 developed nations. Investigating the relationship between political institutional structures and two types of innovative activity (i.e., basic and applied) reveals that political institutions have an important role in determining the number and nature of innovative opportunities for firms and entrepreneurs. Findings suggest that countries with political institutional structures characterized by weak state authority and corporatist societies generate greater levels of basic innovative activity. Further, national political institutions typified by strong state authority and corporatist societies were found to create higher levels of applied innovative activity.
154992644
Firms' Innovation Activity and Numerical Flexibility
This study investigates the relationship between manufacturing firms' innovation activity (measured by product innovation, process innovation, and R&D activities) and their numerical flexibility (proxied by the rate of fixed-term contracts). Estimates using data from Spain's Survey on Firms' Strategies (EESE) for the years 2000–2002 reveal a non-monotonic relationship: a firm's probability of innovating and carrying out R&D increased as the rate of use of temporary and other non-core workers increased, but only up to a threshold, beyond which this probability decreased.
153351630
The effect of R&D tax credit on innovation: A life cycle analysis
Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore how tax credits for research and development influence innovative activity (as measured by investment in R&D) with emphasis on the moderating role of the firms stage in its respective life cycle. Our sample comprised all electronics firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Taiwan’s Over-the-Counter Market fom 2002–2007. Our final sample comprised 943 firm-year observations. We ran regressions and our findings indicate that the R&D tax credit has the greatest impact on innovative activity when the firm is in the stagnant stage and the least impact when the firm is in the growth stage. Our contribution to the extant literature in innovation is severalfold. First, in prior studies, the R&D tax credit is measured as a dummy variable. In this study we use actual R&D tax credit data. Second, prior research examining the association between the R&D tax credit and innovative activity has shown mixed results. We provide an explanation for the inconclusive results by showing that the association is contingent on the stage of the firm in its life cycle. This was not addressed in prior studies. From the public policy standpoint, our findings imply that governments should provide companies with increased tax incentives to stimulate innovative activity, especially when companies are in the stagnant stage in their respective life cycle.
38153353
Knowledge resources and innovation performance: the mediation of innovation capability moderated by management commitment
This paper examines the process that links knowledge resources to innovation performance. We propose that this relationship is mediated by innovation capability and that management commitment moderates this mediation effect. To measure innovation performance, we create an indicator that summarises the impact of innovation activities on products, processes and sustainability. The sample comprises 9432 firms in different sectors included in the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The results confirm that knowledge resources not only have a direct positive effect on innovation performance but also an indirect effect by improving the firm's innovation capability. We also confirm the moderating role of management commitment, but with limitations. This research, therefore, throws light on how firms can leverage their knowledge resources to gain a competitive advantage based on innovation.
155041766
Does Internal Finance Matter for R&D? New Evidence from a Panel of Italian Firms
This paper investigates the relationship between finance and R&D for a panel of more than 1000 Italian manufacturing firms. While Italian firms obtain a significant share of their financing from debt, the results from a unique survey show that firms use virtually no debt to finance R&D. Because Italian firms typically do not receive external equity, the obvious source of innovation financing is internal cash flow. The sensitivity of capital investment to cash flow for small and medium-large firms is estimated, testing for the presence of informational frictions in the credit market for companies performing R&D activities. A GMM method that controls for unobserved firm-specific effects and endogenous explanatory variables is used. Cash flow plays an important role in explaining capital investment, especially for small firms. Interestingly, when the measure of firms' innovative activities is considered, significant differences are found between the sub-samples of small and medium-large firms. While small innovative firms are subject to relevant financing constraints, larger companies investing in R&D have easier access to external financing.
54495150
Patent Quality and Research Productivity: Measuring Innovation with Multiple Indicators
We analyse the determinants of the decline in research productivity using panel data on manufacturing firms in the US for the period 1980-93. We focus on three factors: the level of demand, the quality of patents and technological exhaustion. We develop an index of patent 'quality' using detailed patent information and show that using multiple indicators substantially reduces the measured variance in quality. Research productivity at the firm level is inversely related to patent quality and the level of demand, as predicted by theory and patent quality is positively associated with the stock market value of firms. Copyright 2004 Royal Economic Society.
55196775
National innovative capacity in East Asia
Abstract The innovative capacity of a country is the basic driving force behind its economic performance; it provides a measure of the institutional structures and support systems that sustain innovative activity. Recent work, such as that by Furman, Porter and Stern (FP&S) frames a concept of national innovation capacity measured by patenting rates, and estimates its institutional sources for a group of 17 OECD countries. In this present paper, we extend and modify the FP&S approach by applying it to five “latecomer” countries from East Asia, none of which was included in the FP&S study. First, we reproduce the FP&S methodology in relation to the five East Asian countries, gathering comparable data over a comparable (but truncated) time period. While our results are in broad agreement with the findings of FP&S, we document some important differences for latecomer East Asian economies: a smaller number of national factors matter, and there seems to be an important (though subtle) role for public R&D expenditure. These findings have important implications for successful catch-up strategies. We supplement these aggregate findings with firm- and institution-level data from Taiwan, where the breakthrough to innovation has arguably proceeded farther than in any other East Asian country. In these ways, we shed light on the process through which a latecomer country is able to close the gap with the more developed countries, by channeling resources towards the raising of its innovative capacity.
154103329
Knowledge Dynamics in a Network Industry
In this paper, we model the impact of networks on knowledge growth in an innovating industry. Specifically, we compare two mediums of knowledge exchange: random interaction, and the case in which interaction occurs on a fixed architecture. In a simulation study, we investigate how the medium of knowledge exchange contributes to knowledge growth under different scenarios related to the industry's innovative potential. We measure innovative potential by considering the extent to which knowledge can be codified, and the available technological opportunities. Our results tend to support the conjecture that spatial clustering generates higher long-run knowledge growth rates in industries characterized by highly tacit knowledge, while the opposite is true when the degree of codification is important.
153734119
Measuring innovation in tourism from the Schumpeterian and the dynamic-capabilities perspectives
This paper offers a diagnosis of the “state of the issue” regarding the measurement of innovation in the tourism industry at the company level, and some recommendations for overcoming identified problems. The study addresses two central issues: how existing secondary databases of innovative activity define the boundaries of the tourism industry, and the degree to which these databases reflect the particular characteristics of this economic activity. It is concluded that these analyses present serious biases and anomalies hindering the understanding of the situation at the micro level and complicating the issue of international comparability, and the analyses do not capture the internal heterogeneity of innovative behavior of tourism companies from specific, intra-sectoral activities. The problems concern inappropriate indicators and the need for survey methods to complement the development of innovation scoreboards in secondary sources. The study concludes by detailing a set of proposals that should be considered in the context of a scoreboard to provide a comprehensive view of a tourism firm’s technological and organizational innovations, as well as its innovative capabilities, combining Schumpeterian theory and the dynamic-capabilities-based approach, and also making cross-national comparisons feasible.
153483774
Developing Historical 50-State Indices of Innovation Capacity and Commercialization Capacity
Recent attention to innovation as the core of a knowledge-based economy has resulted in an array of studies and reports that seek to measure states' relative ranks as they advance their economic agendas. This study improves on state performance measurement by distinguishing innovation capacity from innovation outcomes by examining change over a 20-year period with consistent measures and by empirically grouping measures into core resource categories using factor analysis. Factor analysis is used to generate new measures of innovation capacity, and the efficacy of these new measures is tested using pooled cross-sectional time-series analysis to examine their effects on state patent generation. The findings indicate moderate to strong impacts of the innovation capacity variables on patent generation; the results provide a new grounded metric for examining state capacity for innovation and state financial capacity for commercialization over time.
154952866
The dynamics of national innovation systems: A panel cointegration analysis of the coevolution between innovative capability and absorptive capacity
This paper investigates the idea that the dynamics of national innovation systems is driven by the coevolution of two main dimensions: innovative capability and absorptive capacity. The empirical analysis employs a broad set of indicators measuring national innovative capabilities and absorptive capacity for a panel of 87 countries in the period 1980–2007, and makes use of panel cointegration analysis to investigate long-run relationships and coevolution patterns among these variables. The results indicate that the dynamics of national systems of innovation is driven by the coevolution of three innovative capability variables (innovative input, scientific output and technological output), on the one hand, and three absorptive capacity factors (infrastructures, international trade and human capital), on the other. This general result does however differ and take specific patterns in national systems characterized by different levels of development.
154558456
Measuring U.S. innovative activity: business data at the U.S. Census Bureau
Innovation is seen as a source of strength and vitality in the U.S. economy. Better measures of innovative activity—including but not limited to innovation alone—could improve what we know about the sources of productivity and economic growth. The U.S. Census Bureau collects data on some measures of innovative activity that research shows affect economic performance. But understanding how the effects work requires more than just measures of innovative activity. It also requires solid statistical information about core measures of the economy so we can rule out the possibility that a measure of innovative activity merely proxies for something omitted from or measured poorly in the core data. Gaps in core measures can be filled by better integrating existing data and by more structured collections of new data.
1769173
Towards innovation measurement in the software industry
In today's highly competitive business environments with shortened product and technology life cycle, it is critical for software industry to continuously innovate. This goal can be achieved by developing a better understanding and control of the activities and determinants of innovation. Innovation measurement initiatives assess innovation capability, output and performance to help develop such an understanding. This study explores various aspects relevant to innovation measurement ranging from definitions, measurement frameworks and metrics that have been proposed in literature and used in practice. A systematic literature review followed by an online questionnaire and interviews with practitioners and academics were employed to identify a comprehensive definition of innovation that can be used in software industry. The metrics for the evaluation of determinants, inputs, outputs and performance were also aggregated and categorised. Based on these findings, a conceptual model of the key measurable elements of innovation was constructed from the findings of the systematic review. The model was further refined after feedback from academia and industry through interviews.
154426703
A conceptual framework for the measurement of innovation capability and its effects
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the concept of innovation capability and to show how the linkage between innovation capability and performance measurement can be formed.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on current literature of innovation capability and performance measurement and matching these two to find out how the measurement of innovation capability should be organized.Findings – The paper describes the concept of innovation capability and presents a performance measurement framework for the measurement of innovation capability and its effects. As a result, a conceptual framework with five perspectives for measuring the relationship between innovation capability and business performance is presented. Also, the link between innovation capability and an organization's business performance is disclosed.Originality/value – The paper shows a way forward of how to define measures of business performance in such a way that they are led from the development of innovation cap...
14977932
Organizational innovation: The challenge of measuring non-technical innovation in large-scale surveys
Abstract Although the implementation of innovative organizational concepts is considered to be highly important for a company's competitiveness, so far there has been little research on possible approaches to measure and monitor organizational innovations in large-scale surveys. Based on an item-oriented typology of organizational innovations which serves as the precondition for a common understanding, we describe and compare how organizational innovations have been measured through existing surveys in Europe. Using a large-scale survey comprising data of 1450 German manufacturing companies, we show how these different approaches lead to significantly different results regarding the organizational innovativeness of companies within one and the same sample. We derive four implications for the future measurement and monitoring of organizational innovations. Our findings contribute to the further development of an adequate methodology for an organizational innovation monitoring system.
20062151
Understanding the Role of Individual Innovativeness in the Acceptance of IT-Based Innovations: Comparative Analyses of Models and Measures
As new technological innovations are rapidly introduced and changed, identifying an individual characteristic that has a persistent effect on the acceptance decisions across multiple technologies is of substantial value for the successful implementation of information systems. Augmenting prior work on individual innovativeness within the context of information technology, we developed a new measure of adopter category innovativeness (ACI) and compared its effectiveness with the existing measure of personal innovativeness in IT (PIIT). Further, we examined two alternative models in which the role of individual innovativeness was theorized differently—either as a moderator of the effects the perceived innovation characteristics of usefulness, ease of use, and compatibility have on future use intention (moderator model) or as a direct determinant of the innovation characteristics (direct determinant model). To ensure the generalizability of the study findings, two field studies (N= 634) were conducted, each of which examined the two models (moderator and direct determinant) and measured individual innovativeness using the two measures (ACI and PIIT). Study 1 surveyed the online buying practices of 412 individuals, and Study 2 surveyed personal digital assistant adoption of 222 healthcare professionals. Across the markedly different adoption contexts, the study results consistently show that individual innovativeness is a direct determinant of the innovation characteristics, and the two measures share many commonalities. The new measure offers some additional utilities not found in the PIIT measure by allowing individuals to be directly classified and mapped into adopter categories. Implications are drawn for future research and practice.
7690136
Private Equity and Long-Run Investment: The Case of Innovation
A long-standing controversy is whether LBOs relieve managers from short-term pressures from public shareholders, or whether LBO funds themselves are driven by short-term profit motives and sacrifice long-term growth to boost short-term performance. We investigate 495 transactions with a focus on one form of long-term activities, namely investments in innovation as measured by patenting activity. We find no evidence that LBOs are associated with a decrease in these activities. Relying on standard measures of patent quality, we find that patents granted to firms involved in private equity trans actions are more cited (a proxy for economic importance), show no significant shifts in the fundamental nature of the research, and are more concentrated in the most important and prominent areas of companies' innovative portfolios.
154194081
The Association between Technological Conditions and the Market Value of Equity
The objective of this study is to provide evidence on how technological innovation conditions underlying the firm's investments drive earnings growth and, hence, market value of equity. Technologies develop and flourish or die out through the combined investment decisions of those firms doing the inventing, and those firms that adopt those inventions, and thereby help to spread (or diffuse) the innovations into wider use. Hence, technology is important for the investment decisions of all firms, regardless of whether they patent. We focus on three aggregate measures of technological innovation conditions: the success rate of past technological investments, technology complexity, and the technology development period. We use the interactions between each of these three conditions with earnings to capture the combined effect on market value of a firm's technological innovation environment. Our sample comprises 12,594 U.S. firm years for the period 1990–2000 including firms actively producing new technologies...
55465348
Fueling Innovation through Information Technology in SMEs*
This paper describes a study that investigates the mediating effects of information technology (IT) on the relationships among product and process innovations and firm performance (measured in multiple profitability and growth rate metrics). Using structural equation modeling on a sample of 397 small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), we find evidence that (1) increases on the strategic emphasis placed on innovation, both product and process, positively impact the prominence managers place on IT; (2) the impact of innovation (both product and process) on performance (both profitability and growth) is primarily indirect, felt via the mechanism of the importance managers place on IT; and (3) an increased emphasis on IT abets managers' perception of their firms' performance, as compared with that observed among peer firms (other SMEs).
154529419
Innovation and Spatial Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from Brazilian Patent Data
Gonçalves E. and Almeida E. Innovation and spatial knowledge spillovers: evidence from Brazilian patent data, Regional Studies. The aim of this paper is to analyse the determinants of regional innovative capacity, measured by patents per capita, for Brazil. This purpose is achieved by means of a comprehensive empirical model based upon the knowledge production function, which comprises the characteristics of the Brazilian microregions such as their industrial basis, urban environment, scientific and technological infrastructure, and also their neighbourhood's innovative activities. The results show that all these factors have a distinctive role in providing local technological change. The hypothesis concerning the existence of technological knowledge spillovers in Brazil is corroborated by the empirical model, suggesting that the industrial and regional policies should be integrated to tackle Brazilian regional disparity problems. Gonçalves E. et Almeida E. Innovation et retombées de la connaissance spatiale: preuves de données de brevets au Brésil, Regional Studies. Le sujet de cet article est l'analyse des déterminants de la capacité novatrice régionale mesurée par le nombre de brevets par habitant au Brésil On atteint cet objectif en utilisant un modèle empirique complet basé sur la fonction de production de connaissances, qui comprend les caractéristiques des micro régions brésiliennes comme leurs bases industrielles, l'environnement urbain, l'infrastructure scientifique et technologique ainsi que les activités novatrices du voisinage. Les résultats montrent que tous ces facteurs ont un rôle distinct dans les changements technologiques locaux. L'hypothèse concernant l'existence de retombées de la connaissance spatiale au Brésil est corroborée par le modèle empirique suggérant que les politiques industrielles et régionales devraient être intégrées pour s'attaquer aux problèmes des disparités régionales au Brésil. Changement technologique régional Brevets Retombées de la connaissance spatiale Brésil Gonçalves E. und Almeida E. Innovation und räumliche Wissensübertragungen: Belege anhand der Daten von brasilianischen Patenten, Regional Studies. Mit diesem Beitrag sollen die Determinanten der regionalen innovativen Kapazität analysiert und anhand der Patente pro Kopf für Brasilien gemessen werden. Zu diesem Zweck setzen wir ein umfassendes empirisches Modell ein, das auf der Wissensproduktionsfunktion basiert und die Merkmale der brasilianischen Mikroregionen umfasst, wie z. B. ihre Industriebasis, ihre Stadtumgebung, die wissenschaftliche und technologische Infrastruktur und die innovativen Aktivitäten der Nachbarschaft. Aus den Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass sämtliche dieser Faktoren bei der Herbeiführung von lokalen technologischen Änderungen eine charakteristische Rolle spielen. Die Hypothese der Existenz von technologischen Wissensübertragungen in Brasilien deckt sich mit dem empirischen Modell, was nahelegt, dass die Industrie- mit der Regionalpolitik integriert werden sollte, um die Probleme regionaler Disparität in Brasilien zu lösen. Regionale technologische Änderungen Patente Räumliche Wissensübertragungen Brasilien Gonçalves E. y Almeida E. Innovación y desbordamientos de conocimiento espacial: ejemplo de los datos de patentes en Brasil, Regional Studies. La finalidad de este artículo es analizar los determinantes de la capacidad innovadora regional medida en función de las patentes per cápita en Brasil. Este objetivo se logra mediante un modelo empírico global basado en la función de la producción de conocimiento que abarca las características de las micro-regiones de Brasil, tales como su base industrial, el entorno urbano, la infraestructura científica y tecnológica y también sus actividades innovadoras en el área local. Los resultados indican que estos factores tienen una función distintiva a la hora de ofrecer un cambio tecnológico local. La hipótesis con respecto a la existencia de los desbordamientos de conocimiento tecnológico en Brasil se corrobora mediante el modelo empírico, lo que indica que las políticas industriales y regionales deberían estar integradas para poder solucionar los problemas de las desigualdades regionales en Brasil. Cambio tecnológico regional Patentes Desbordamientos de conocimiento espacial Brasil
153659935
Evaluating innovation capabilities for science parks: A system model
Abstract Science parks have played an important role in promoting innovation, entrepreneur‐ship, growth of knowledge‐based companies and in turn economic growth within their regions. In this paper, an evaluation system for measuring innovation capability for science parks has been developed, including Innovation Organization Sub‐System (IOSS, mainly for high‐tech firms), Innovation Support Sub‐System (ISSS, e.g., technology intermediaries) and Innovation Environmental Sub‐Systems (IESS). Based on the empirical study on Qingdao Science Park (1994–2008), this paper has demonstrated the use of the system for evaluation and measurement of innovation capabilities for a science park. The findings reveal that the evolution law explained by the evaluation system fitted with three components is consistent with the actual evolution process of the Qingdao Science Park. It confirms that this evaluation system bears a good explanatory power for the development of Science Park. In addition, recommendations to improve t...
146821266
Estimating the innovation effects of university–industry–government linkages: The case of Taiwan
This study focuses on universityâ€”industryâ€”government (UIG) linkages and their influence on innovation in Taiwan. The innovation effects are estimated using a quartet of measures â€” technology transfers, technology licensing, firms incubated and patents granted â€” while the UIG influence is estimated via its differential impact according to the size of the firms involved, the type of innovation (process or product-oriented), the stage of the technology cycle, and the role of government. Using a Structural Equation Model (SEM) method to examine these interactions, the study reveals that UIG linkage effects vary with the size of company, in that the major incentive for UIG linkages for large companies is an attempt to acquire a skilled and qualified workforce, while SMEs (small and medium enterprises) tend to use them to gain marketing advantage, particularly for those SMEs or start-ups in emerging industries. The study concludes that Taiwan's innovation capacity is heavily reliant on building the capability of SMEs and continues to depend greatly on government leadership through technology-capability-enhancing institutions such as ITRI.
154500012
The evolution of innovation capability in multinational enterprise subsidiaries: Dual network embeddedness and the divergence of subsidiary specialisation in Taiwan
This paper examines how innovation-related capabilities for production, design and marketing develop at the subsidiary level within multinational enterprises (MNEs). We focus on how subsidiary autonomy and changing opportunities to access external (host country) sources of capability contribute to the accumulation of specialist capabilities in five Taiwan-based MNE subsidiaries in the semiconductor industry. Longitudinal analysis shows how the accumulation process is subject to discontinuities, as functional divisions are (re)opened and closed during the lifetime of the subsidiary. A composite set of innovation output measures also shows significant variations in within-function levels of capability across our sample. We conclude that subsidiary specialisation and unique subsidiary-specific advantages have evolved in a way that is strongly influenced by the above factors.
56406443
Effects of Innovation on Employment: A Dynamic Panel Analysis
This paper estimates the effect of innovation on employment at the firm level. Our uniquely long innovation panel data set of German manufacturing firms covers more than 20 years and allows us to use various innovation measures. We can distinguish between product and process innovations as well as between innovation inputs and innovation outputs. Using dynamic panel GMM system estimation we find positive effects of innovation on employment. This result is robust to the use of product and process innovations as well as for innovation input and output.
14371345
Open innovation in SMEs : trends, motives and management challenges
Open innovation has so far been studied mainly in high-tech, multinational enterprises. This exploratory paper investigates if open innovation practices are also applied by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing on a database collected from 605 innovative SMEs in the Netherlands, we explore the incidence of and apparent trend towards open innovation. The survey furthermore focuses on the motives and perceived challenges when SMEs adopt open innovation practices. Within the survey, open innovation is measured with eight innovation practices reflecting technology exploration and exploitation in SMEs. We find that the responding SMEs engage in many open innovation practices and have increasingly adopted such practices during the past 7 years. In addition, we find no major differences between manufacturing and services industries, but medium-sized firms are on average more heavily involved in open innovation than their smaller counterparts. We furthermore find that SMEs pursue open innovation primarily for market-related motives such as meeting customer demands, or keeping up with competitors. Their most important challenges relate to organizational and cultural issues as a consequence of dealing with increased external contacts.
154095506
Globalization and upgrading: what can (and cannot) be learnt from international trade statistics in the wood furniture sector?
The measurement of innovation is a complex and ambiguous challenge. Two broad families of measures have been used: those focusing on inputs and those focusing on outputs. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, but neither is able to capture the growing importance of product innovation adequately. In this paper we attempt to throw more light on the measurement of product innovation through the complementary use of data on unit-price and market-share. The analysis is distinctive through its exclusive use of trade data. These measures are applied to the global furniture industry through an analysis of imports into the EU between 1989 and 2001.
153779867
The impact of FDI through mergers and acquisitions on innovation in target firms
This paper analyzes the effects of cross-border mergers and acquisitions on innovation activities in target firms. The empirical analysis is based on survey and ownership data for a large sample of small- and medium-sized German firms. After controlling for endogeneity and selection bias, we find that foreign acquisitions have a large negative impact on the propensity to perform innovation activities and a negative impact on average R&D expenditures in innovative firms. Furthermore, innovation output, measured as product and process innovations, and the share of sales from product innovations, is not significantly affected by a foreign acquisition for a given amount of innovation efforts. Hence, the estimation results do not provide any evidence of significant technology transfer through foreign acquisitions in form of a higher innovation success.
153976036
Explaining the Variation in the Empirical Estimates of Academic Knowledge Spillovers
This paper presents a meta‐regression analysis of the empirical studies exploring the relationship between academic knowledge spillovers and regional innovation. The results of the literature are found to depend on country effects, the level of geographical aggregation employed, the method of measuring innovative output, the use of industry‐level data, and on the sectoral composition of the sample. Endogeneity, sample selection, and agglomeration forces are further elements that explain the findings on this issue but only weak evidence, after controlling for publication bias, supports the existence of a genuine spillover effect of university research on regional innovation.
154074524
Measuring the innovation production process: A cross-region empirical study of China’s high-tech innovations
Abstract Analyzing and measuring the innovation process from a quantitative perspective is needed for policy making, which can help in grasping and controlling the performance of innovations. There has been little literature to deal with it from a systemic perspective. In this study, a novel measurement framework for the typical innovation production process (IPP) is constructed from the system perspective associated with a relational network data envelopment analysis. It provides systematic and simultaneous efficiency measures for the overall process and internal sub-processes, i.e., upstream R&D process and downstream commercialization process. For confirming our measurement framework, we apply it to a cross-region empirical study of China’s high-tech innovations. The empirical innovation measurement provides in-depth evidences of China’s high-tech innovations inefficiency, and some policy recommendations are developed.
189912640
Empirical Evidence on the Success of R&D Cooperation—Happy Together?
In this paper we analyse the effect of past R&D cooperation on current firms’ innovation performance. Success measures are: sales of innovative products, distinguishing between products new to the firm and new to the market, and cost reductions due to innovative processes. Particular attention is paid to the impact of different cooperation partners. The analysis rests on firm-level data of the annual German innovation survey. We find that R&D cooperation with competitors leads to greater cost reductions that are attributable to innovative processes. R&D cooperation with research institutes has a positive influence on a firm’s economic success with market novelties.
153330977
Crafting organizational innovation processes
Abstract Innovation is a crucial component of business strategy, but the process of innovation may seem dif ficult to manage. To plan organizational initiatives around innovation or to bolster innovation requires a firm grasp of the innovation process. Few organizations have transparently defined such a process. Based on the findings of an exploratory study of over 30 US and European companies that have robust innovation processes, this paper breaks down the innovation process into discrete stages: idea generation and mobilization, screening and advocacy, experimentation, commercialization, and diffusion and implementation. For each stage, context, outputs and critical ingredients are discussed. There are several common tensions and concerns at each stage, which are enumerated; industry examples are also given. Finally, strategies for and indicators of organizational success around innovation are discussed for each stage. Successful organizations will use an outlined innovation process to create a common framework for discussion and initiatives around the innovation process, and to establish metrics and goals for each stage of the innovation process.
463385
The challenge of adaptation through innovation based on the quality of the innovation process
For most firms competing in the global economy, the urgent message in our time is to innovate and adapt or face the prospect of extinction. To respond to this challenge, their management is called upon to evaluate the quality of each firm's innovation process. This can be measured by the amount of new revenues and profits it generates, by the speed of introducing new innovations to the marketplace and by well-planned initiatives to reduce their ecological footprint. In recent years we have witnessed a dramatic decline in a business firm's expected lifetime. A dramatic drop from 40–45 years in 1990 to 18 years in 2008 has been attributed to the continually increasing rate of change in the business environment. More recently, the significant pressures for firms to adapt have been reinforced by the impact of the 2008–2009 global economic crisis causing even role model firms such as General Motors, Sony and Toyota to sustain huge financial losses. In this new setting with ongoing shifts in customer preferences in developed and developing economies, innovation has been replacing quality as the main source of competitive advantage. The needed adaptation to a changing business landscape can occur only through successful innovations for new products or processes, innovations for more effective business models and innovations for new leadership styles and organisational structures. Despite a widespread acceptance of innovation's importance by the leadership of most companies, as recorded in recent executive surveys, there is a general dissatisfaction with the results realised from their innovation investments. Managing the quality of the innovation process for survival and excellence in adaptation requires a systemic view of the innovation process, using a balanced set of innovation metrics which inform and enable managers to make desirable interventions on the stages of the innovation value-chain.
154492423
Software Innovativeness: A Comparison between Proprietary and Free/Open Source Solutions Offered by Italian SMEs
Innovation processes taking place in the software sector are already widely debated. The widespread success of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) raises new research issues, dealing with whether and how the free circulation of ideas championed by the movement and its collective management of intellectual property rights fosters innovation. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the literature by addressing the following research questions: are programs based on FOSS solutions more innovative than proprietary ones, and, if so, which innovation dimensions are typical of the FOSS production mode? Based on a sample of 134 software solutions produced by Italian Small and Medium Enterprises and using a methodology frequently applied in technology management to evaluate innovativeness of products and services, this exploratory study provides initial insights into what happens when alternative metrics are used to observe complex innovation processes in the software market.
154094572
Another Look at the Relationship between Innovation Proxies
Shortcomings in the treatment of intangible investment in company accounts imply that there is no statistical collection for innovative activity which abides by the logic used for other economic activity data. As a consequence, analysts rely on innovation proxies derived from administrative and survey data. However, it is still unclear exactly how the different proxies are correlated, and whether the choice amongst different proxies matters. In the light of the innovation measurement, this paper takes another look at the relationship between different proxies of firm innovation. The results show that firm-level correlations between survey-based indicators and other proxies for innovation are highest for manufacturing firms and for product innovations.
154213999
FDI, Trade, and Product Innovation: Theory and Evidence
This article investigates the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI, including outward FDI and inward FDI), imports and exports, and product innovation. Our theoretical model predicts that inward FDI, outward FDI, imports, and exports have positive influences on firm innovative activities, which would evaluate the effects of the relative magnitude of different sources on innovation. The empirical results based on the 2003 First Taiwan Technological Innovation Survey confirm three of the proposed hypotheses for the entire sample. However, when focusing on the manufacturing sector, outward FDI, inward FDI, imports, and exports all exhibit strongly positive effects on the determination of conducting product innovation (i.e., the four hypotheses are verified). A consistent trend is that outward FDI has the largest effect on innovation, regardless of the measurement of product innovation and the division of the entire sample, which may imply that in Taiwan a positive effect of "deindustrialization" is to innovate more.
153327930
Innovative Output, Productivity and Profitability. A Test Comparing USPTO and EPO Data
The aim of this paper is to test whether patent‐based indicators are still reliable measures of innovativeness in light of organizational changes in the field of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection and the regulatory reforms already occurred and under way, respectively, at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). For most high‐tech industries, patents represent an outcome of the production process and their number can be taken as a proxy for a firm's ability to improve its productivity growth and profitability. The case study reported here concerns the biotechnology industry in Italy, whose firms, by definition, have Intellectual Property (IP) activities in their portfolios. For this purpose, we use a unique dataset which collects balance sheet items and patent information from EPO and USPTO. After linking firms' financial and production data with the patent information, we estimate a modified knowledge production function in which the dependent variable is alternatively (labor) productivity growth and profitability. Although based on a quite small sample, our findings provide some indication of a statistically significant relationship between patents with the EPO and both productivity growth and, in particular, profitability. This suggests that firms might pursue different strategies when patenting with the USPTO and the EPO.
153760047
Policies to enhance the ‘hidden innovation’ in services: evidence and lessons from the UK
More than 75% of the UK economy is based on services. Knowledge-based services generate more than five times as much value added for the UK economy as advanced manufacturing. Yet, there are persistent gaps in understanding the innovative performance of services. Using Fourth UK Community Innovation Survey (CIS4) data and the results of a detailed case study analysis, this article helps to fill this gap by analysing what innovation in services means and how it can be measured. The traditional indicators of innovation inputs (such as levels of R&D expenditures) and innovation outputs (such as the number of patents) suggest that services are less innovative than other branches of the economy. We take into account a larger spectrum of innovation indicators, both in terms of innovation inputs and outputs, to analyse whether the intensity, nature and economic impact of innovation significantly varies between the manufacturing and service sectors in UK, and between different parts of the services sector such as knowledge-intensive business services and traditional services. The results of the empirical analysis identify the ‘hidden parts’ of innovation in services, that is, the innovative activities and successful innovative outputs that are traditionally underestimated by the use of metrics based on R&D and patents. We suggest a wide range of policy measures specifically targeted at enhancing innovation in services; the UK service economy needs more focus on learning and the training of personnel, and a new balance of policy to support both R&D and non-R&D innovation activities.
8066566
Measuring innovation in long product development cycle industries: an insight in biotechnology
This paper examines and measures innovation in the context of biotechnology firms by analysing the link between R&D, innovation performance and organisational growth. We conceptualise innovation performance as a latent construct with two dimensions: innovation efficacy and innovation efficiency. We use structural equations modelling to test the hypotheses on a data set from the biotechnology industry. Results support our innovation performance conceptualisation which is found to be especially useful to measure innovation in industries with long product development cycles. Findings also underline the importance of R&D knowledge creation for biotechnology firms.
73649577
Managerial Incentives, CEO Characteristics and Corporate Innovation in China’s Private Sector
We use a unique World Bank survey of 1,088 private manufacturing firms from 18 Chinese cities over the period 2000 to 2002 to empirically examine the roles of managerial incentives and CEO characteristics in a firm’s innovation activities. We look at both innovation effort (RD (2) sales-based performance measures in the incentive scheme, as compared with profit-based performance measure, are more conducive to firm innovation; and (3) CEO education level, professional background and political connection are positively associated with firm’s innovation efforts. The main results are robust to endogeneity tests with instrumental variables. We also discuss some important policy implications.
154763735
Firm-specific advantages, inward FDI origins, and performance of multinational enterprises
Using original data on large Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs), this paper examines the impact that their firm-specific advantages (FSAs) have on performance as and when they receive inward direct investment from foreign countries. Two types of FSAs are examined: innovation capabilities measured by research and development (R&D) intensity and marketing capabilities measured by selling, general, and administrative (SGA) intensity. It is found that both FSAs affect diverse MNE performance in a non-linear U-shaped fashion, and that the home region origin of the inward foreign direct investment (FDI) moderates the curvilinear relationship between the two constructs into an inverted U-shaped one.
29315639
The effect of intellectual capital on product innovativeness in SMEs
This paper examines the relationship between intellectual capital and different product innovation strategies based on a longitudinal study of Austrian firms assuming that intellectual capital is an important complementary asset for innovation activities. The data was collected in 1995 and 2003 using the same questionnaire among a firm sample of 91 small and medium-sized firms in manufacturing industries. The study delivers evidence for a positive association between human capital and product innovativeness. Moreover, firms, which have strength in both human and structural capital have a higher likelihood to be highly innovative. In addition, the research reveals that intellectual capital discriminates more strongly between highly and less innovative firms while the traditional measure of R&D expenditure has a stronger explanatory power in differentiating between not innovative and less innovative firms.
153484941
DEVELOPING EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF INNOVATIONS: MICROECONOMETRIC EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN
This paper aims to identify the effects of innovation on employment and labor composition in Taiwan. Using a new and detailed firm-level data set, the empirical results determine that innovations, measured by R&D investments or patent counts, have a positive impact on employment. Both of the estimated employment effects of product and process innovations are overall significantly positive. Although the effects of process innovations differ between high and low R&D-intensive industries, the process innovation tends to expand the firms’ output and then increase employment for high R&D-intensive industries. However, it frequently results in laborsavings in terms of production work and reduces jobs in low R&D-intensive industries. Moreover, technological innovations are found to be non-neutral, leading to a shift in labor composition in favor of skilled and more educated workers.
17893099
The Effect of Innovation on Agricultural and Agri-food Exports in OECD Countries
This paper investigates the effect of innovation on primary agricultural and processed food product exports among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. A theoretical gravity equation that accounts for innovation is derived. The empirical exercise uses panel data sets covering 21 OECD countries for the period 1990-2003. The R&D capital stock is employed as a tangible way of measuring innovation. Empirical results show that R&D has enhanced exports in the primary agricultural sector. Meanwhile, the market expansion effect of R&D appears to be more than offset by the market power effect in the food processing sector, resulting in a decrease in exports. Also, evidence was found of a positive vertical channeling effect through which R&D in the primary agricultural sector increases exports of processed food products.
2989054
Trade and product innovations as sources for productivity increases: an empirical analysis
Increases in total factor productivity (TFP) are commonly associated with technological innovations measured by the stock of R&D. Empirical evidence seems to corroborate this relationship. However, in trading countries like The Netherlands, productivity increases, even in industry, can also be the result of innovations in the way transactions are managed. These innovations reduce transaction costs and exploit the welfare gains from (further) international division of labour. Such innovations are only partly included in R&D data. Consequently there is not much attention for these ‘trade innovations’—as we label them—in policy. In an empirical analysis this paper compares the influence of trade innovations with the influence of the stock of R&D on TFP in The Netherlands. The regression results show that in this country trade innovations are as important for TFP as technological innovations which directly affect the efficiency of production, which we label ‘product innovations’.
107383873
University and innovation systems: the case of India in Saad M. and Zawdie G. (eds) The new role of universities in the creation and exchange of knowledge as a basis for innovation – the case of developing countries, Special Issue
This paper looks into the evolution of the innovation system in India and the role of the universities in the light of various system theories of innovation. Its passive role in the Indian innovation system notwithstanding, there is evidence to show that the university system has contributed to the innovative capacity of India over the years, albeit in ways that are not reflected through conventional measures of innovation. There are many hurdles that constrain the university system in India from playing a more effective role in the national innovation system. This paper points to the path-dependent issues that have arisen during the evolution of the university system over 150 years as the major factors which prevent the sector from being actively involved in the innovation processes within the country. The paper concludes with some suggestions as to how these problems could be mitigated and the active role of the university system in innovation restored. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.
168003041
Disruptiveness of innovations: measurement and an assessment of reliability and validity
Strategic management scholars have long explored the broad topic of innovation, a cornerstone in creating competitive advantage. Any attempt at theory construction in this area must encompass reliable and valid measures for key innovation characteristics. Yet, with respect to an important construct, i.e., disruptiveness of innovations, there has been relatively little academic research. Without formalizing the disruptiveness concept with a reliable and valid measure, it is difficult to conduct rigorous research to uncover the causes of the innovator's dilemma and identify mechanisms to help incumbents develop such innovations. In this paper, we develop a scale for the disruptiveness of innovations. We collected data from senior executives (vice president or general manager level) at 199 strategic business units (SBUs) in 38 Fortune 500 corporations and performed a series of analyses to establish the reliability and validity of the disruptiveness scale. The reliability measures, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and subsequent statistical tests strongly support our measure. Further, we also present nomological validity of the disruptiveness construct, thus establishing its predictive validity. Thus, this paper distinguishes the disruptiveness concept from other established innovation constructs, such as radicalness and competency destroying. Finally, we discuss the significance of our results and how this study might be useful to other researchers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
154242286
Re-innovation: The construct, measurement, and validation
Abstract There has been substantial research in the area of innovation, which is widely regarded as a powerful weapon to create competitive advantage. One important reason of the substantial research in innovation is the presence of valid and reliable measures of key innovation characteristics, such as radical, incremental, or disruptiveness innovation. Re-innovation, an extension of innovation, is renowned for its potential in creating competitive advantage with reduced cost and time implications. Unfortunately, very little research in re-innovation has been conducted, possibly because to date it still lacks a psychometrically valid measure. There is also a lack of research on convergent and discriminant validities of the re-innovation construct, resulting in the impossibility to discriminate re-innovation characteristics from radical or incremental innovation characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to develop a valid and reliable scale for measuring the construct of re-innovation. To test its reliability and discriminant and convergent validities, we used data collected from 294 general managers of SBUs in 89 electronics-related companies in Taiwan and performed a series of analyses. The reliability measures, exploratory factor analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and convergent and discriminant validity tests strongly support our scale. In addition, nomological validity is demonstrated. Hence, this study distinguishes the re-innovation from radical and incremental innovation constructs. Finally, discussion, limitations, and future research are presented.
167684511
Reconceptualizing professional service firm innovation capability: Scale development
Building on capability theory, this paper presents a reconceptualization of the innovation capability construct within a knowledge-intensive service context, specifically, professional service firms (PSFs). Employing a rigorous multi-stage scale development process we interviewed 37 participants and surveyed 463 respondents across a wide range of PSFs including lawyers, accountants, consulting engineers and management consultants. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses highlight the multi-dimensional nature of innovation capability within this context. Three dimensions were identified: client-focused, marketing focused, and technology-focused innovation capability. We provide evidence of face validity, content validity, convergent and discriminant validity, nomological validity and reliability of our scale. Our scale offers a new way to measure innovation capability within PSFs and highlights the need to move beyond the narrow manufacturing mind-set focus of prior innovation research. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
153687680
Are Small Innovators Credit Rationed?
Drawing upon a sample of 256 small firms who applied for bank loans, the current paper is concerned with the extent to which ‘innovativeness’ is associated with a lower level of loan application success. The paper records the proportion of loan successfully applied for and estimates a series of tobit models utilising a number of proxy measures for innovation (in terms of inputs, outputs, and commercial significance to the firm) and incorporating standard controls. In general, the models suggest (as anticipated) that the most innovative firms are less successful in loan markets than their less innovative peers – though there is some variation by proxy. Moreover, there is tentative evidence that ‘a little innovation may be a good thing’.
154459452
Mapping innovative activity using microdata
I discuss the determinants of three alternative measures of innovative output among firms of different size. Moreover, I provide an econometric procedure for testing a Tobit model (Tobin, 1958) against a two-part model. This procedure is alternative to Cragg's (1971) test and feasible for weighted survey data.
155029352
International Linkages and National Innovation Rates: An Exploratory Probe1
The conventional wisdom among political economists holds that domestic institutions determine national innovation rates. However, after decades of research, there is still no agreement on precisely which domestic institutions matter or exactly how they affect innovation rates. Anecdotal observations within the research on institutions suggest that international linkages may be the missing piece to the national innovation rate puzzle. An exploratory probe is therefore performed here using regression analysis of various measures of innovation, domestic institutions, and international linkages. The results suggest that countries' relationships with the lead innovator strongly affect their innovation rates. The probe further suggests that research should move beyond institutions and linkages, and should focus instead on their political origins. That is, the current focus on institutions or linkages studies effects, not causes. It fails to get at the politics of technological change: the fundamental choices which nations must make in order to innovate successfully in the long run. Copyright 2009 by The Policy Studies Organization.
205852628
Productive innovations in hospitals: an empirical research on the relation between technology and productivity in the Dutch hospital industry.
This paper studies the relationship between technology and productivity in Dutch hospitals. In most studies technical change is measured by a proxy, namely a time trend. In practice however, innovations slowly spread over all hospitals and so different hospitals are operating under different technologies at the same point in time. In this study we explicitly inventory specific and well-known innovations in the Dutch hospital industry in the past ten years. These innovations are aggregated into a limited number of homogenous innovation clusters, which are measured by a set of technology index numbers. The index numbers are included in the cost function specification and estimation. The results indicate that technical change is non-neutral and output- biased and that some technologies affect cost in beneficial ways.
153371246
The generation and exploitation of technological change: market value and total factor productivity
In this paper we articulate and test the hypothesis that TFP is a reliable and relevant measure of firm’s innovation capabilities, and, as such, accounts for Tobin’s q indicator. With this aim, we investigate empirically the relationship between firm level total factor productivity and the Tobin’s q. Measuring Tobin’s q allows inferring the actual value of knowledge capital from stock market valuation. We use a panel of companies listed on UK and the main continental Europe financial markets (Germany, France and Italy) for the period 1995–2005. Our results confirm that TFP is a reliable indicator of firm’s innovative capabilities. When we control for firm’s R&D investments and intangible assets, the effects of TFP on market value remain highly significant. This suggests that TFP is a broader measure of innovation capability than R&D is. The validation of the Tobin’s q and TFP relationship has important implications concerning firm’s technological innovation measurement.
42074308
On the Creative Climate and Innovativeness at the Country Level
The paper presents an explorative study on creative climate and innovativeness at the county level in the EU27. We explored a possibility to extend the Ekvall's concept of creative climate for innovativeness from the level of individual organization to the national level. The main research goal was to identify fragments of national creative climate and to prove its relation to innovativeness. As the measurement for national innovativeness we took the Summary Innovation Index. The fragments of national creative climate were identified by 25 questions and answers selected from different public opinion polls published in the Eurobarometers. Using hierarchical clustering we clustered all EU member states and compared them with the clusters that identify Innovation Leaders, Innovation Followers, Moderate Innovators, and Catching-up countries. We found membership of both sets of clusters similar, which means that two essentially different sets of variables arriving from two completely different sources led to comparable result. We also identify top ten variables that contributed the most to distinguishing between Creative climate clusters. Finally, we argued that understanding creative or innovative climate in the EU countries is an important national policy-making tool that could complement hard macro-economic indicators that are focused on innovative performance only, and not also on innovative socio-cultural environment. We wished-for a unified approach in the EU to develop an objective measurement for creative climate at country level. We also discussed some research challenges linked to this idea.
1737735
Knowledge, Capabilities and Manufacturing Innovation: A USA–Europe Comparison
Roper S., Youtie J., Shapira P. and Fernández-Ribas A. Knowledge, capabilities and manufacturing innovation: a USA–Europe comparison, Regional Studies. This paper presents a comparative analysis of factors contributing to the innovation performance of manufacturing firms in Georgia (USA), Wales (UK), the West Midlands (UK), and Catalonia (Spain). Enabled by comparable survey data, multivariate probit models are developed to estimate how various types of firms' innovative activities are influenced by links to external knowledge sources, internal resources, absorptive capacity, and public innovation support. The results suggest the potential for mutual learning. For the European study regions there are insights about how universities in Georgia support innovation. For Georgia and Catalonia there are lessons from UK firms about better capturing potential complementarities between innovation activities. Additional implications for innovation measurement and knowledge base development are discussed. Roper S., Youtie J., Shapira P. et Fernández-Ribas A. Les capacités intellectuelles et l'innovation industrielle: une comparaison des E-U avec l'Europe, Regional Studies. Cet article cherche à présenter une analyse comparative des facteurs qui contribuent à la performance de l'innovation des entreprises industrielles en Géorgie (aux E-U), aux Pays de Galles (au R-U), dans les West Midlands (au R-U), et en Catalogne (en Espagne). A partir des enquêtes qui fournissent des données comparables, on construit des modèles du type probit à plusieurs variables afin d'estimer comment les activités innovatrices des diverses types d'entreprises se voient influencer par des liens avec des sources de connaissance externes, des ressources internes, la capacité d'absorption et le soutien publique en faveur de l'innovation. Les résultats laissent supposer un potentiel d'apprentissage commun. Pour les régions européennes qui figurent dans l'étude, il y a des aperçus sur la façon dont les universités situées en Géorgie soutiennent l'innovation. Pour la Géorgie et la Catalogne, il y a des leçons à tirer des entreprises situées au R-U quant à la saisie efficace des complémentarités potentielles des activités innovatrices. On discute des retombées supplémentaires concernant la mesure de l'innovation et le développement d'une base de connaissance. Capacités intellectuelles Industrie Innovation Politique régionale en faveur de l'innovation Roper S., Youtie J., Shapira P. und Fernández-Ribas A. Wissen, Kapazitäten und Produktionsinnovation: ein Vergleich zwischen den USA und Europa, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag stellen wir eine vergleichende Analyse der Faktoren vor, die zur Innovationsleistung produzierender Firmen in Georgia (USA), Wales (GB), den West Midlands (GB) und Katalonien (Spanien) beitragen. Mit Hilfe von vergleichbaren Erhebungsdaten entwickeln wir multivariate Probit-Modelle, um abzuschätzen, wie die innovativen Aktivitäten verschiedener Arten von Firmen durch die Verknüpfungen zu externen Wissensquellen, internen Ressourcen, absorptiver Kapazität und öffentlicher Innovationsunterstützung beeinflusst werden. Unsere Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass die Regionen voneinander lernen können. Für die europäischen Regionen der Studie gibt es Einblicke, wie die Universitäten in Georgia die Innovation unterstützen. In Georgia und Katalonien kann vom Beispiel der britischen Firmen gelernt werden, wie sich potenzielle Komplementaritäten innerhalb der Innovationsaktivitäten besser nutzen lassen. Es werden zusätzliche Implikationen zur Messung von Innovation und zur Entwicklung einer Wissensbasis erörtert. Wissenskapazität Produktion Innovation Regionale Innovationspolitik Roper S., Youtie J., Shapira P. y Fernández-Ribas A. Conocimiento, capacidades e innovación manufacturera: comparación entre EE.UU. y Europa, Regional Studies. En este artículo presentamos un análisis comparativo de los factores que contribuyen al rendimiento de innovación de empresas manufactureras en Georgia (EE.UU.), Gales (RU), West Midlands (RU), y Cataluña (España). Con ayuda de datos de estudios comparables, desarrollamos modelos probit de multivarianza para calcular de qué modo los diferentes tipos de actividades innovadoras de las empresas están influenciadas por los vínculos con fuentes externas de conocimiento, fuentes internas, capacidad absorbente y soporte público de innovación. Nuestros resultados indican que existe la posibilidad de un aprendizaje mutuo. Para las regiones europeas del estudio se puede aprender de qué modo las universidades en Georgia fomentan la innovación. Georgia y Cataluña podrían aprender de las empresas británicas a captar mejor las posibles complementariedades entre las actividades de innovación. Analizamos también las implicaciones adicionales para la medición de la innovación y el desarrollo de bases de conocimiento. Capacidades de conocimiento Fabricación Innovación Política de innovación regional
56277364
Innovation outcomes of South African new technology-based firms : a contribution to the debate on the performance of science park firms
Science parks are often established to drive regional economic growth, especially in countries with emerging economies. However, mixed findings on the innovation outcomes of science park firms are reported in the literature. This study systematically identifies innovation outputs used in the science park literature and argues: (a) that firms generate different outcomes at various stages of the innovation process; and (b) that their use is a possible explanation for the mixed findings reported in the field. This paper combines a knowledge production function approach, modeling knowledge transfers and spillover flowing to new technology-based firms (NTBFs) in the emerging South African economy with innovation outcomes, which are measured by using a multi-dimensional construct. The estimations produce non-consistent and non-systematic results across different dimensions of innovation outcomes, implying that results are outcome indicator specific and that it makes sense to distinguish multiple indicators of innovation outcomes referring to different phases in a firm’s innovation process.
153381774
Measuring innovation best practices: Improvement of an innovation index integrating threshold and synergy effects
Abstract Innovation, as a competitive economic factor, is a process that requires a continuous, evolving and mastered management. Therefore innovative companies need to measure their innovation capacity. Literature attests of research in the field of innovation measurement or the innovation abilities evaluation. One major theoretical problem consists in elaborating mathematical models that consider the threshold effect and synergy between innovation practices and verify their validity. In this article, mathematical approaches supplementing multi-criteria models are suggested.
2170105
Informing public policy on science and innovation: the Advanced Technology Program’s experience
The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) collected a unique source of data from highly innovative firms beginning in 1993. These data follow the OECD’s guidelines for collecting innovation data and provide important insights for understanding the innovation process within firms. Although the data are not representative of the population of firms, there is sufficient number of firms in the dataset to test hypotheses and to provide a starting point for calls for innovation metrics. Because of the confidential nature of the data, ATP worked with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) to create a Data Enclave so that researchers could remotely access the ATP data in a secure environment. To initiate the use of ATP data in the Data Enclave, the ATP program funded researchers to undertake research projects that use ATP data. Other organizations have joined the Data Enclave, including the Department of Agriculture and the Kauffman Foundation.
54681460
A Metrics-based Diagnosis Tool for Enhancing Innovation Capabilities in SMEs
Innovation doubtless represents a main strategic lever for the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in many industrial sectors and it comprises new techniques, new products and new processes, as well as new services which lead to better customer service and revenue. However, the basic question of how well the company is equipped with the necessary practices, methodologies, people, and beliefs, is far from being completely answered yet. In this paper, a metrics-based diagnosis tool for measuring and enhancing the innovation capabilities in SMEs is presented along with a set of preliminary results from case-based studies at the local industry. In this paper we propose a new method by studying the competences of SMEs in concepts tied to innovation and by using a specified framework. As a first step, all of the necessary information by using questionnaires with verbal-scales evaluations is compiled. Second, we use a non-compensatory flow-based sorting method with central profiles to identify the current level and to classify the company into predefined levels. Third, a detailed analysis of the obtained values is performed in order to make a personalized recommendation.
167442517
Enhancing Synergistic Innovative Capability in Multinational Corporations: An Empirical Investigation
A substantial amount of research has focused on determining and classifying the structures of the global research and development (R&D) organization of multinational corporations (MNCs). However, little research has been undertaken to show how the various R&D structures adopted by MNCs affect their abilities to generate and deploy innovations globally. This study initiates analysis and discussion of this latter dimension, providing empirical evidence of the relationship between the coordination structures and innovative capabilities. Specifically, this study investigates how intrafirm collaborative relationships among globally dispersed R&D units of MNCs enhance the synergistic innovative capabilities of the MNC group. The nature of the collaborative relationships among globally dispersed R&D units is evaluated in the context of four well-established structural constructs: autonomy, formalization, socialization, and communication. Synergistic innovative capability is defined as a higher-order ability to accumulate and deploy new knowledge or to recombine existing knowledge to create new innovations more effectively and efficiently due to collaboration among globally dispersed R&D units. It is measured using 10 items commonly used in innovation management research to measure the innovativeness of firms. The analysis is based on survey data collected from 79 R&D units belonging to North American, Japanese, and European MNCs in the telecommunications, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical, and automotive industries. In addition to the survey data, seven highly experienced R&D executives who have worked for several companies were interviewed by telephone in order to obtain a richer perspective of issues and a better context from which to interpret the statistical results. Respondents included personnel from the levels of director, managing director, and vice president who were directly responsible for participating R&D units. The data were analyzed using partial least squares, a structural equation modeling technique that works well with small datasets. The results indicate that synergistic innovative capability has four distinct dimensions uniquely related to the structural variables defining the nature of collaborative relationships among globally dispersed R&D units. The four dimensions of synergistic innovative capabilities are labeled strategic R&D synergy, managerial and operational synergy, knowledge management synergy, and innovative proficiency synergy. The research and managerial implications of the findings are discussed in this article.
154325946
How Does Adaptability Drive Firm Innovativeness
Abstract In recent years, increasing environmental dynamism and the adaptability of the firm have attracted new academic interest in how manufacturing firms adapt to their environments and create superior business performance. However, the discussion has been somewhat hampered by the lack of research incorporating the context, content, and outcome perspectives of adaptability. In this article, we will develop a conceptual framework of the adaptability construct and explore relationships between dimensions of adaptability and innovativeness. The results of our empirical study indicate that several components of adaptability are significantly different between low- and high-performing firms, as measured by their innovativeness. The type of business logic and the nature of environmental dynamism strongly influence the adaptability–innovativeness relationship among the firms examined. In view of the positive and sustainable adaptability–innovativeness linkages, managers should simultaneously address the technology, market, and organization-related issues in line with the dominant contextual factors involved.
54967184
Determinants of the Efficiency of Regional Innovation Systems
Fritsch M. and Slavtchev V. Determinants of the efficiency of regional innovation systems, Regional Studies. This paper analyses differences in the efficiency of regional innovation systems. Alternative measures for the efficiency of regional innovation systems based on the concept of a knowledge production function are discussed. The empirical findings suggest that spillovers from within the private sector as well as from universities and other public research institutions have a positive effect on the efficiency of private sector research and development. It is particularly the intensity of interactions between private and public sector research and development that increases the efficiency. It is found that regions dominated by large establishments tend to be less efficient than regions with a lower average establishment size. Fritsch M. et Slavtchev V. Les déterminants de l'efficience des systèmes d'innovation régionaux, Regional Studies. Cet article cherche à analyser les écarts d'efficience des systèmes d'innovation régionaux (SIR). On discute des autres mesures de l'efficience des SIR fondées sur la notion d'une fonction de production de la connaissance. Les résultats empiriques laissent supposer que les retombées provenant de l'intérieur du secteur privé aussi bien que des universités et des autres établissements publics de recherche ont un effet positif sur l'efficience de la R et D du secteur privé. C'est notamment l'intensité de l'interaction entre la R et D du secteur privé et celle du secteur public qui augmente l'efficience. Il s'avère que les régions où prédominent les grands établissements ont tendance à être moins efficients que ne le sont les régions où la taille des établissements est inférieure à la moyenne. Systèmes d'innovation régionaux Efficience technique Brevets Fritsch M. und Slavtchev V. Determinanten der technischen Effizienz von regionalen Innovationssystemen, Regional Studies. Wir analysieren Unterschiede in der Effizienz regionaler Innovationssysteme (RIS). Zunächst werden alternative Maße für die Effizienz von RIS diskutiert, die auf dem Konzept der Wissensproduktionsfunktion aufbauen. Die empirischen Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass sowohl Spillover aus dem privaten Sektor als auch von Hochschulen und anderen öffentlichen Forschungseinrichtungen die Effizienz privater F&E-Aktivitäten positiv beeinflussen. Insbesondere die Intensität der Interaktion zwischen öffentlichen Einrichtungen und dem Privatsektor führt zu hoher Effizienz. Regionen, die durch Großbetriebe dominiert sind, weisen tendenziell eine geringere Effizienz der Innovationsaktivitäten auf als Regionen mit einer geringeren durchschnittlichen Betriebsgröße. Regionales Innovationssystem Technische Effizienz Patente Fritsch M. y Slavtchev V. Determinantes de la eficiencia de los sistemas de innovación regional, Regional Studies. En este artículo analizamos las diferencias en la eficiencia de los sistemas regionales de innovación (SRI). Asimismo estudiamos medidas alternativas para la eficiencia de los SRI en función del concepto de una función de producción del conocimiento. Los resultados empíricos indican que los desbordamientos desde dentro del sector privado así como de las universidades y otras instituciones de investigación públicas tienen un efecto positivo en la eficiencia de I + D del sector privado. Es especialmente la intensidad de las interacciones entre la I + D del sector privado y público la que aumenta la eficiencia. Observamos que las regiones dominadas por grandes establecimientos tienden a ser menos eficientes que las regiones con un tamaño medio más bajo de establecimientos. Sistema de innovación regional Eficacia técnica Patentes
154993593
Innovation strategies as a source of persistent innovation
An important topic in the recent literature on firms’ innovation is the question of whether, and to what extent, firms which innovate once have a higher probability of innovating again in subsequent periods. This phenomenon is called the “persistence of innovation.” Although the literature has established that innovation persistence is indeed important from an empirical point of view, relatively little attention has been paid to identifying the reasons why this is the case. In this article, we contribute to the literature by proposing that differences in innovation strategies across firms are an important driving force behind innovation persistence. We analyses this issue using a panel database constructed from R&D and Community Innovation Surveys in Norway. Empirical measures of five innovation strategies are identified by means of an inductive method: ad hoc, supplier based, market driven, R&D intensive and science based. A dynamic random effects probit model is used to estimate whether and to what extent these innovation strategies are a source of persistent innovation. The results support the idea that the differences in innovation strategies across firms are an important determinant of the firms’ probability to repeatedly innovate. More concretely, we found that firms pursuing the strategies “market driven, ”“ R&D intensive,” and “science based” were more likely to be persistent innovators. We also distinguish the effects of strategy differences on the persistence of product and process innovation in all firms, and within high-tech versus low-tech firms.
53350990
The Geography of Innovation Commercialization in the United States During the 1990s
This article analyzes the geographic distribution and interrelationship of three measures of innovation commercialization across the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States and estimates a model of the factors explaining variations in the location of innovation commercialization. Innovation commercialization tends to be highly concentrated geographically, suggesting the presence of substantial external economies in these functions. Beyond these scale effects, however, the author finds that university science and engineering capacity and local patenting activity both help to account for intercity differences in the level of innovation commercialization activity.
166450459
Championship Behaviors and Innovations Success: An Empirical Investigation of University Spin‐Offs*
Despite the flurry of scholarly research on champions, no prior article has explicitly addressed how different dimensions of championship behavior actually contribute to innovation success. In this article, based on an extensive literature review, the authors argue that champions display four behaviors, namely (1) pursuing innovative ideas, (2) network building, (3) persisting under adversity, and (4) taking responsibility for the idea. 
 
 
 
The authors use data from 123 university spin-offs to test proposed linear and curvilinear relationships between the four behaviors and an objective measure of innovation success, namely a longitudinal measure of sales growth. The results indicate that network building has the desired positive relationship with sales performance. Surprisingly, pursuing the innovative idea is not related to sales growth. Furthermore, the present study also reveals some dysfunctional effects of champion behaviors. Persisting under adversity and taking responsibility have the hypothesized inverted-U relationship with sales growth. 
 
 
 
The present study provides a more refined discussion of the benefits and dangers of championing behaviors. Our results show that linking technology to markets can be planned and controlled only to a very limited extent even if champions are working hard to sell the idea to potential customers. Moreover, any new idea is often competing with existing products and pursuing such ideas may result in opposition to the idea. 
 
 
 
In contrast, network building has the desired positive relationship with innovation success. Effective championing behavior keeps an innovative idea alive by mobilizing support and building coalitions around the idea with critical individuals or important third parties. 
 
 
 
Moreover, this study challenges the widespread “heroic” discussion of championing as fundamentally positive “across the board.” The results show that persisting under adversity and taking responsibility are desirable up to some levels. Beyond such critical levels, these two champion behaviors may actually become detrimental to the innovation process. Being too persistent in the face of adversity or taking too much responsibility for the innovative idea might undermine the power of the champion's justifications for an innovation and thereby increase resistance to change. An “over-performing” champion may interpret opposing communications as an unwarranted and injurious response. By taking overmuch responsibility for the innovative undertaking, the champion is likely to discourage contributions from other team members who see no valuable opportunity to bring their expertise and knowledge to the idea.
23956595
Evaluation of Potential of Innovations: A DEA-Based Application to U.S. Photovoltaic Industry
We present a model-based approach for evaluating the potential of innovations occurring in various stages of the industry value chain. The realization of the innovation's potential is conceptualized as the ability of the de novo firm to achieve the maximum possible efficiency in translating inputs into cost-reducing output. We apply recent developments from data envelopment analysis to measure the innovation's potential in terms of its relative efficiency with respect to a best practices frontier. We then present a conceptual framework to classify and identify the determinants related to technological and organizational variables in realizing the potential of innovations. Finally, we demonstrate the application of this model-based approach to conduct analysis of the potential of innovations in the U.S. photovoltaic and related systems manufacturing industry.
153360454
A neo-Schumpeterian model of health services innovation
The paper presents and empirically applies a neo-Schumpeterian model of innovation capable of studying interactions between service providers, patients and policy makers, and how these complex interactions determine the timing, direction, and success of innovations in the public sector. The model is tested using a case study that traces the introduction and development of ambulatory surgery in a Spanish hospital. The multi-agent model applies the ideas of Schumpeter to services, encompassing Schumpeter's five types of innovation, and re-introducing the policy-maker as a key agent in the innovation process. The model has a number of advantages over previous, reduced form models. First, it can analyse the interactions between the economic, social and political spheres that make up the complex selection environment of innovations. Second, it captures the recursive impact of radical innovations on agents' competences and preferences, and their relative power. This brings politics, power, and rhetorical persuasion to the fore. Third, it provides an improved set of definitions for radical and incremental innovation. These are not only important for understanding the sources and drivers of innovation, but also for the accurate measurement of innovation.
154093625
APPLYING SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS TO INPUT–OUTPUT BASED INNOVATION MATRICES: AN ILLUSTRATIVE APPLICATION TO SIX OECD TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS FOR THE MIDDLE 1990s
The paper discusses, illustrates and possibly contributes to overcoming two methodological problems that emerge in applying Social Network Analysis (SNA) to the study of IO-based innovation flows matrices. The first has to do with the scale-effects these matrices suffer from. The second refers to the need of dichotomising the matrices. Through an illustrative application to six OECD countries in the mid-1990s, the paper shows that, as for the former problem, different relativisation procedures can be, and have been, used, which either tend to alter the actual meaning of standard SNA indicators, or do not properly take into account the actual composition of countries' final demand. As for the latter problem, the paper shows that the choice of discrete cut-offs is extremely sensitive, as comparative results actually change along the continuum of the matrices values. In order to overcome the scale problem, a new relativisation procedure is put forward that measures innovation flows embodied in a unit value basket of final demand and thus properly retains all the information provided by the original matrix of intersectoral innovation (embodied) flows. In addressing the problem of dichotomisation, the paper suggests, as a second best, to work with density distributions that can make the choice of discrete cut-off values less arbitrary.
168467019
Determinants of Alliance Portfolio Complexity and Its Effect on Innovative Performance of Companies
Alliance formation is often described as a mechanism used by firms to increase voluntary knowledge transfers. Access to external knowledge has been increasingly recognized as a main source of a firm's innovativeness. In this paper we examine decisions to form alliance portfolios of foreign and domestic partners by three groups of firms: innovators (firms that are successful in introducing new products to the market), imitators (firms that are successful at introducing new products, which are not new to the market) and product non-innovators. We consider an alliance portfolio that includes different partnership types (competitor, customer, supplier, university/research center). We develop a measure of portfolio complexity which we define as the number and diversity of elements of the alliance portfolio with which a firm must interact. We then estimate models that explain portfolio complexity and its impact on firm's innovative performance. Using panel data on more than 1800 firms in the Netherlands we find that foremost innovators have a strong propensity to form portfolios consisting of international alliances. Being an innovator or imitator also increases the propensity to form a portfolio of domestic alliances, relative to non-innovators; but this propensity is not stronger for innovators. Innovators appear to derive benefit from both intensive (exploitative) and broad (explorative) use of external information sources. The former sourcing is more important for innovators, while the latter for imitators. Finally, alliance complexity is found to have an inverse U-shape relationship to innovative performance.
154686577
Market novelty, competence-seeking and innovation networking
Studies of innovation networking have frequently been concerned with the occurrence of dyadic relationships and with their apparent impact on simple measures of firm-level innovation outputs. This paper takes a more detailed look by analyzing the connection between different types of innovation and forms of networking. Based on the market novelty of innovation outcomes and the extent to which innovation activities require new competences, four types of innovation are identified. It is proposed that these types correlate with various innovation network dimensions, including the volume of networks, the strength and content of ties, and the specificity of ties. Drawing on survey data of 594 innovations realized by Dutch small firms, it is observed that the requirement to access new competences for innovation correlates positively with the number of network partners involved. We also note more subtle connections between types of innovation and networking, including that novel innovation outputs correlate with using network partners as a source of inspiration, whilst new competences associate with networking for knowledge capital. In the latter case, these activities also draw on new and intended ties relatively often, i.e. network partners which are actively sought out for the specific contributions they may make to the innovation process. Finally, innovation which is simultaneously new-to-the market and requires new competences uses strong ties relatively often. Implications for innovation policy and practice are discussed.
153496863
Which is better for a firm's financial performance: An externally oriented or inwardly oriented innovation strategy? An empirical study on Korean SMEs
Summary Research in the field of innovation shows that companies today often rely on interactions with users, suppliers, and other external sources when it comes to seeking innovative practices. Many studies find that this “open” innovation search model contrasts favorably with the inward‐oriented model of the past, although many of these studies still rely on the traditional measures of output such as patent applications. The authors further this research by examining how a concrete measure of financial performance (operating profit) is related to the variables of openness and closedness in innovation strategy. Our approach is unique in the sense that we examine a sample comprising only of small and medium‐sized enterprises, categorize firms according to industry, and look at such unique variables as family control of the SME (whether the CEO and/or stockholders are family members) and the SME's exposure in an online financial newspaper. We gather data on 215 Korean SMEs from Korea's Data Analysis, Retrieval, and Transfer System, Worldwide Intellectual Property Search, and the online newspaper Money Today. Findings include the rather surprising result that a closed innovation strategy as represented by family control of the SME relates positively to financial performance.
154500123
Venture Capital and Innovation: Which is First?
Policy‐makers typically interpret positive relations between venture capital (VC) investments and innovations as evidence that VC investments stimulate innovation (VC‐first hypothesis). This interpretation is, however, one‐sided because there may be a reverse causality that innovations induce VC investments (innovation‐first hypothesis): an arrival of new technology increases demand for VC. We analyze this causality issue of VC and innovation in the US manufacturing industry using both total factor productivity growth and patent counts as measures of innovation. We find that, consistent with the innovation‐first hypothesis, total factor productivity growth is often positively and significantly related with future VC investment. We find little evidence that supports the VC‐first hypothesis.
37551309
Measurement of innovation activities in the knowledge-intensive services industry: a trademark approach
Innovation measurement in the knowledge-intensive services (KIS) industry is very complex, due to a lack of adequate innovation indicators. A rather new empirical approach involves the analysis of trademarks for the measurement. This paper aims to explore the use and relevance of trademarks for service firms. Data from the German section of the ‘Community Innovation Survey’ are used, and a survey with 278 participating firms is conducted. The results of the two independent empirical studies demonstrate that a trademark can be used as an innovation indicator, at least for knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) and product innovations. The results also illustrate which firm-inside and environmental features explain the use of trademarks as an intellectual property protection measure.
154807673
Environmental regulation and the productivity of Japanese manufacturing industries
This paper attempts to provide empirical evidence on issues concerning: (a) the effect of the stringency of environmental regulations (as measured by pollution control expenditures) on innovative activity (as measured by R&D expenditures) and on the average age of capital stock and (b) the productivity enhancement effect of environmental regulations in Japanese manufacturing industries. The empirical findings in the paper show that the pollution control expenditures have a positive relationship with the R&D expenditures and have a negative relationship with the average age of capital stock. It is also shown that increases in R&D investment stimulated by the regulatory stringency have a significant positive effect on the growth rate of total factor productivity.
96440447
Effects of different dimensions of social capital on innovative activity : Evidence from Europe at the regional level
This exploratory study investigates how different dimensions of social capital influence a region’s innovative activity measured by patent applications. Human capital and R&D are also included in the analysis as factors of innovative activity. The novelty of the paper lies in the fact that for measuring social capital, instead of one overall index, six factors are constructed of 20 indicators using principal components analysis. Unlike many previous studies, this one uses the structural equation modelling approach instead of regression analysis in order to take into account the relationships between the factors of innovative activity. Regional-level data from Eurostat Regio and the European Social Survey are analysed. The findings provide strong support for the argument that social capital indeed influences innovative activity and furthermore, that different dimensions of social capital have dissimilar effects on innovative activity. r 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
153602073
Interrelationships between human capital, HRM and innovation in Belgian start-ups aiming at an innovation strategy
Research on the impact of human resource management (HRM) on firm performance has increased since the end of the nineties. Despite the pile of studies and results, critical assessments of this literature stream point to several empirical and theoretical gaps. We focus on two empirical gaps. First, there is a lack of attention to innovation as a measure of firm performance outcome. Most articles use financial (e.g., return on assets (ROA)), organisational (e.g., productivity) and employee related (e.g., commitment) performance measures. Yet, Western knowledge economies consider innovation to be a driving force of economic growth, and international competitive advantage. Moreover, innovation is a function of a firm's ability to create, manage and maintain knowledge. Because knowledge is created by and stored within individuals, human resources as well as HRM may play an important role as drivers of innovation. Second, HRM is considered to be a large company phenomenon. Yet, small businesses provide a great environment to study the HRM-performance relationship because of their transparent nature and the small distance between an individual's and a company's performance. Next, human resources and HRM are crucial to small businesses because they have less tolerance for inefficiency. We examine a sample of small start-ups that aim for an innovation strategy, but are not necessarily successful in terms of innovative output. We expect start-ups with superior human resources and HRM to produce more innovative output. The results show that both human capital (of owners/managers and employees) and HRM are important determinants of innovation in start-ups.
55506147
Employment, skill structure and international trade: Firm-level evidence for France☆
Abstract We use the French Customs files, an exhaustive account of the international trade transactions carried out by firms across the period 1986–1992, to analyze the link between imports, exports, employment, and skill structure of French manufacturing firms. Our data allow us to distinguish between imports of finished goods and imports of intermediate inputs. Our results show that there is a strong correlation between increasing imports, in particular imports of finished goods, and job destruction, most notably destruction of production jobs. Interestingly, the strength of the relation between job destruction and imports is stronger for larger firms. For example, within production jobs, the association between increasing imports of finished goods and destruction of unskilled jobs is only found in large firms. These findings are robust to the introduction of firm-level measures of innovation.
154446195
Are Innovative Regions More Unequal? Evidence from Europe
Studies of the United States have suggested that the most innovative areas are also the most unequal. There are a number of potential processes that might lead to this. Innovation may raise the return of human capital in ways which can lead to localised inequality. Innovative industries may be subject to greater wage polarisation or offer more erratic returns than other industries. Moreover, the affluent may hire others to work in poorly paid personal service employment nearby. However, while there is some evidence for these processes in the US, whether this applies in the European case is less certain. I use the European Community Household Panel and the Eurostat Regio database to test the link between innovation and wage inequality in a panel of European regions for the period 1996–2001. Two measures of innovation are used: employment in knowledge-based industries and the level of patenting in a region. The results are indicative of a positive link between regional innovation, as measured by patenting, and inequality. In contrast, there is little evidence of a link between knowledge-based industries and inequality, with the exception of a positive relationship between employment in knowledge-intensive financial services and inequality.
154661942
Innovation by Teams in Shanghai, China: Cooperative Goals for Group Confidence and Persistence
Organizations increasingly ask teams to stimulate innovation but research is needed to identify the conditions when teams have the confidence and persistence to innovate successfully. Using the concepts of cooperation, competition, group potency and initiative, this study proposes that relationships where team members believe that their goals are cooperative in that one person's goal attainment helps others reach their goals lay the foundation for innovation. Specifically, cooperative goals convince team members that they have the group potency to complete a range of tasks and the initiative to persist to overcome obstacles and innovate. In contrast, competitive, negatively related goals and independent, unrelated goals are hypothesized to undermine confidence, persistence and innovation. Group members from 101 teams from various organizations in Shanghai, China, completed a survey with measures of cooperative, competitive and independent goals, group potency, and initiative; their project leader completed the measure of innovation. Structural equation analysis supports the theoretical framework that cooperative goals help group members develop the confidence of group potency and the initiative to persist to accomplish tasks and innovate. These results suggest that cooperative goals and group potency and initiative are important conditions that help teams innovate for organizations and thereby specify conditions that can help groups realize their potential to achieve innovation for organizations.
55305687
Industrial innovation: Direct evidence from a cluster-oriented policy
Can local industrial policies increase local firm competitiveness? Cluster-oriented policies targeted at selected industries have just such a goal and are very popular among politicians, despite the controversy surrounding these policies in academia. Thus, it would appear useful to discover if cluster-oriented policies are effective. This paper evaluates the cluster-oriented policy introduced in Bavaria, Germany, in 1999. The policy’s goal was to foster innovation and regional competitiveness by stimulating cooperation. Using difference-in-difference-in-differences estimates, we find for different innovation measures that the cluster-oriented policy increased the likelihood of becoming an innovator in the target industries by 4.6 to 5.7 percentage points. At the same time, R\&D expenditures decreased by 19.4\% on average for firms in target industries, while access to external know-how, cooperation with public scientific institutes, and the availability of suitable R\&D personnel increased.
9940733
Credit Supply and Corporate Innovation
We present evidence that banking development plays a key role in technological progress. We focus on manufacturing firms' innovative performance, measured by patent-based metrics, and employ exogenous variations in banking development arising from the staggered deregulation of banking activities across US states during the 1980s and 1990s. We find that interstate banking deregulation had significant beneficial effects on the quantity and quality of innovation activities, especially for firms highly dependent on external capital and located closer to entering banks. Furthermore, we find that these results are strongly driven by a greater ability of deregulated banks to geographically diversify credit risk.
1142194
Determinants of the Pace of Global Innovation in Energy Technologies
Understanding the factors driving innovation in energy technologies is of critical importance to mitigating climate change and addressing other energy-related global challenges. Low levels of innovation, measured in terms of energy patent filings, were noted in the 1980s and 90s as an issue of concern and were attributed to limited investment in public and private research and development (R&D). Here we build a comprehensive global database of energy patents covering the period 1970–2009, which is unique in its temporal and geographical scope. Analysis of the data reveals a recent, marked departure from historical trends. A sharp increase in rates of patenting has occurred over the last decade, particularly in renewable technologies, despite continued low levels of R&D funding. To solve the puzzle of fast innovation despite modest R&D increases, we develop a model that explains the nonlinear response observed in the empirical data of technological innovation to various types of investment. The model reveals a regular relationship between patents, R&D funding, and growing markets across technologies, and accurately predicts patenting rates at different stages of technological maturity and market development. We show quantitatively how growing markets have formed a vital complement to public R&D in driving innovative activity. These two forms of investment have each leveraged the effect of the other in driving patenting trends over long periods of time.
53556071
Methodological Issues in Measuring Innovation Performance of Spatial Units
The innovation performance of regions or nations has been repeatedly measured in the literature. What is missing, however, is a discussion of what innovation performance of a region or nation means. How do regions or nations exactly contribute to the innovation output of firms? And how can this contribution be investigated in an empirically sound way? We argue that while the literature offers many suggestions, their theoretical foundation is often weak and the underlying assumptions are rarely discussed. In this paper, we systematize various mechanisms by which spatial units influence firms' innovation activities. On the basis of this, common innovation performance measures and analyses are discussed and evaluated. It is concluded that there is no general best way of measuring the innovation performance of spatial units. In fact, the most interesting insights can be obtained using a multitude of different approaches at the same time.