Declared essential patents and average total R&D expenditures per patent family

The sharp increase in SEP declarations and declaring firms emphasizes the necessity for understanding firms’ innovation investment behavior in standardization. This paper empirically investigates whether declared standard-essential patents (SEPs) and the declaring firm’s business model (operationalized as a firm’s location in the value chain) are associated with a firm’s innovation investment behavior. To this end, we measure firms’ innovation investment behavior through average total research and development (R&D) expenditures per filed patent family for publicly listed firms from 1999 to 2018. Our sample mainly includes major SEP family declarants. We rely on a binary business model taxonomy differentiating upstream and downstream firms. Within that setting, total R&D expenditures rise with increasing fragmentation of declared SEP families, suggesting that firms adjust their R&D investments to declaration developments in standard-setting organizations (SSOs). We also show that upstream firms have significantly lower total R&D expenditures than downstream firms, which could indicate structural differences in their intellectual property (IP) and R&D management processes. Our results can help SSOs and regulators better understand firms’ innovation investment behavior.     

Riskiness of Real Estate Development: A Perspective from Urban Economics and Option Value Theory

In this article, we define a new construct for urban economic and investment analysis, which revisits the conventional wisdom that investment in real estate development is riskier than investment in stabilized property assets. This new construct, referred as a “development asset value index” (DAVI), is a value index for newly developed properties (only) in a given geographical property market. It tracks longitudinal changes in the highest and best use (HBU) value of locations, and it reveals developer and landowner behavior taking advantage of the optionality inherent in land ownership. In particular, the DAVI reflects developers' use of flexibility in the exercise of the call option to (re)develop the property to any legal use and density. We empirically estimate a DAVI for commercial property (i.e., central locations) and compare it with a corresponding traditional transaction‐price‐based property asset price index (PAPI) corrected for depreciation. We believe that the difference primarily reflects the realized value of flexibility in land development. We find that the DAVIs display greater value growth and are smoother over time and less cyclical than their corresponding PAPIs for the same locations. This suggests that developers successfully use flexibility, and that development may be riskier than stabilized property investment due primarily only to leverage effects (construction costs). Practical implications are also discussed.     

Modeling the firm's response to research & development tax credit policies

In this article, we develop a microeconomic model of normative firm behavior under the incentive of a research and development (R&D) tax credit. The model is based on the well-known concept of a two-factor learning model in which R&D expenditures and manufacturing capacity expansion are the principle determinants of cost reduction in a new technology product. We distinguish between the behavior of start-up firms and ongoing firms and study the potential impacts of progressively larger R&D tax credits. We find highly significant differences in the potential impact of the credit on start-up firms versus ongoing firms. We also find that the credit can significantly impact optimal product pricing of the technology when introduced into the marketplace. We examine the implications of this latter fact on the overall social cost of the R&D tax credit.     

The Economics of Maintenance for Real Estate Investments

We propose a theory of urban decay. Following a negative real estate demand shock, property managers optimally suspend maintenance and the probability that they ever restart can be modest. Because maintenance expenditures are proportionately less risky than are the incremental building profits they generate, managers impose a more demanding profit standard on maintenance than on the initial investment. This differential in profit standards means that rather than maintain existing investments, property managers favor new investments, which, if marginally acceptable, they also leave unmaintained. Contractually required maintenance ( e.g ., for publicly subsidized real estate investments), increases the minimum profit for the initial investment acceptance and discourages subsidized real estate investments in favor of unsubsidized investments. However, the required profit for acceptance of a permanently maintained investment is below the profit boundary for maintenance if maintenance is not contractually required. Consequently, the subsidy that induces the investment is least expensive if maintenance is not required, more expensive if maintenance is permanently required and most expensive if maintenance is induced immediately after initial construction but thereafter is at the discretion of the manager. All of our findings are strongest for poorer quality properties.     

Why Do REIT Returns Poorly Reflect Property Returns? Unrealizable Appreciation Gains due to Trading Constraints as the Solution to the Short‐Term Disparity

This study addresses the short‐term disparity between REIT returns and direct property returns, and argues that this phenomenon is due to the trading constraints in the direct property market imposed on REITs (the dealer rule). This renders REITs unable to time markets in order to realize short‐term property appreciation profits, making REITs primarily a property income investment rather than a full property investment, and explains the observed disparity. Empirically, I find that REIT returns consistently reflect property income returns, but not property appreciation returns. This makes this study the first in the literature to find a consistent link between REIT returns and any portion of direct property returns at short time horizons, in the context of a linear factor model. I then set up a natural laboratory to test the trading‐constraints explanation by examining the appreciation dependence of different types of REITs, which should be differently affected by the trading constraints. I find that returns to UPREITs, which are less affected by the constraints, have a stronger appreciation dependence than returns to regular REITs. I also perform a size test and find that large REITs, which are less affected by the constraints, have a stronger appreciation dependence than small REITs. When testing the effects of UPREIT and size characteristics simultaneously, I find a consistent UPREIT effect. I further find that Real Estate Operating Companies (REOCs), which are not subject to trading constraints, show short‐term property appreciation dependence. These findings offer strong support for the trading‐restrictions explanation.     

Financial resource availability and corporate social responsibility expenditures in a sub‐Saharan economy: The institutional difference hypothesis

Studies done in developed economies have demonstrated a positive relationship between financial resource availability and CSR. Arguments that we term the Institutional Difference Hypothesis (IDH) drawn from the institutional literature, however, suggest that institutional differences between developed and developing economies are likely to result in different CSR implications. Integrating the logic of IDH with insights from slack resources theory, we argue that there exists a negative relationship between financial resource availability and CSR expenditures for firms in Ghana, a sub‐Saharan African emerging economy. We use lagged data from the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and find that Return on Sales, Return on Equity, and Net Profitability were consistently associated with lower CSR expenditures. We highlight the implications of our findings for research and managers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

物流产业集聚对制造业劳动生产率的影响机理研究——基于空间杜宾模型

本文利用2006~2015年我国30个省份（西藏除外）的面板数据，基于空间杜宾模型分析物流产业集聚对我国制造业劳动生产率的作用及空间溢出效应。结果表明，物流产业集聚、物流劳动生产率、外商直接投资、交通基础设施、地方政府投资等影响因素的直接效应与间接效应的方向与显著性均存在差异性。从总效应来看，物流产业集聚与地方财政支出均显著为正，是制造业劳动生产率提升的重要源泉。外商直接投资显著为负，一定程度上抑制我国制造业劳动生产率的提高。     

Property Investment and Rental Rate under Housing Price Uncertainty: A Real Options Approach

The conventional wisdom that housing prices are the present value of future rents ignores the fact that unlike dividends on stocks, rent is not discretionary. Housing price uncertainty can affect household property investments, which in turn affect rent. By extending the theory of investment under uncertainty, we model the renter's decision to buy a house and the landlord's decision to sell as the exercising of real options of waiting and examine real options effects on rent. Using data from Hong Kong and mainland China, we find a significant effect of housing price on rent and draw important policy implications.     

Personnel Decisions,Wage Profiles and Investment in Firms

An investment model where firms mitigate adverse hold‐up effects using hiring and personnel policies is theoretically investigated and empirically scrutinized. While no evidence for the prediction of differing worker characteristics, other than gender, across firms is found, demand (firm) side factors are evident in the hiring process. Evidence on other personnel policies is consistent with theory, which predicts firms with high‐investment expenditures resist unions, utilize more temporary and shift‐time workers and conduct more multitask training. Wages in high‐investment firms are higher, more sensitive to unemployment and experience variables that exhibit greater effects than in low‐investment firms.     

对外贸易与中国制造业发展：基于可计算一般均衡（CGE）模型的模拟分析

运用CGE模型模拟分析了对外贸易对我国制造业主要行业的产出、收益及投资水平的作用效果。分析结果显示,制造业产出、收益和投资变化率与对外贸易变化率呈正相关;除了金属行业的收益增长率在贸易小幅增长时,其行业的收益率高于贸易的增长率以外,其余行业的贸易的增长率均大于各行业收益增长率,低于投资增长率;而贸易的小幅增长对于纺织业、金属行业、炼焦、煤气和石油加工业的收益水平的提升更有利;贸易的高度增长对于具有增长潜力的机械行业更有利;对于食品制造业、化学行业、非金属矿物制品业来讲贸易的适度增长对行业发展更有利。由此提出在大力发展制造业贸易的同时,要针对各行业对贸易的不同敏感程度,合理的调整产业政策,发挥技术创新能力,以此提升制造业的贸易利得。     

Property rights and international investment in information technology services

Many modern information technology services are increasingly being produced in a host country to serve clients in an offshore location. As a result, the internationalization of service functions is beginning to resemble that of their more traditional manufacturing counterparts. This paper examines the role of formal and de facto property rights protection in the offshore location choice of information technology services. I also explore the role of a firm's global subsidiary network and its experience with similar property rights regimes. Using investment data based on 152 firms and their international information service investments between 2002–2006, the empirical results highlight the role of de facto property rights protection and related experience in location choice.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

大寒时刻

蔓延全球的金融危机正一层一层波及中国的制造业。明年的主题是求生存。"我最近差点被一个客户给吓死!"10天前,芋头的一位委内瑞拉客户没跟她打招呼就提走了2个高柜的货,价值约为20万美元。现在,她刚收到那位客户支付的货款,但这次有惊无险的经历却让她心有余悸。     

基于成长性差异的上市公司投资支出与现金流量的实证研究

公司处于不同的成长阶段,其面临的投资机会与现金流量的需求不同。为减少财务困境成本、避免投资不足,需要充足的现金流量才能支撑公司的健康成长。如果违背公司成长性规律,可能造成投资失误,甚至威胁公司的生存。因此,文章在建构上市公司成长性评价模型的基础上,从成长性视角出发,研究上市公司成长性与投资支出、成长性与现金流量、投资支出与现金流量间的关系,并对不同成长性公司的投资支出与现金流量进行了实证研究。主要研究发现,我国上市公司无论成长性高低,其投资支出与现金流量间呈显著正相关,而且低成长性公司的投资支出与现金流量的敏感性要高于高成长性的公司。     

Network positioning and R&D activity: a study of Italian groups

Traditionally, R&D studies focus on organisational characteristics and internal context factor effects on a firm's R&D activities. This paper extends previous research by analysing firm–level R&D expenditures in the wider context of inter–organisational networks. Using sample of 2002 manufacturing firms in Italy, it provides evidence that R&D intensity is linked to a firm's positioning within an industrial group's hierarchy. Further tests on the antecedents of R&D expenditures are carried out in relation to the effects of firm characteristics and industry factors. Important findings include a significant and positive association between R&D intensity and the firm's size, performance, intangible assets and industry concentration. These findings suggest that, in addition to firm–level factors and its market environment, network resources and organisation may play an important role in driving the intensity of the firm's R&D expenditures.     

Entrepreneurship,innovation, and political competition: How the public sector helps the sharing economy create value

Research Summary: With the recent growth of the sharing economy, regulators must frequently strike the right balance between private and public interests to maximize value creation. In this article, we argue that political competition is a critical ingredient that explains whether cities accommodate or ban ridesharing platforms and that this relationship is moderated in more populous cities and in cities with higher unemployment rates. We test our arguments using archival data covering ridesharing bans in various U.S. cities during the 2011–2015 period. We supplement these data with semistructured interviews. We find broad support for our arguments while mitigating potential endogeneity concerns. Our study has important implications for nonmarket strategy, entrepreneurship and innovation, and public-private partnership literatures. In addition, our findings inform policy debates on the sharing economy. Managerial Summary: Entrepreneurs and businesses oftentimes face severe regulatory barriers when commercializing innovative products and services even if the innovations are generally beneficial for consumers and the broader society. This research focuses on the political determinants of regulation to provide a better understanding of why some markets are more receptive to innovative products while other markets are more hostile to them. Using the banning of ridesharing companies (e.g., Uber and Lyft) in various U.S. cities during the 2011–2015 period, we find that elected politicians facing less political competition (i.e., not easily replaceable, serving multiple terms, longer tenure in office) were more likely to ban ridesharing companies and favor, potentially displaceable, local taxicab companies. Our research has implications for navigating the political barriers to entry.     

Technical Note: New Depreciation Rules from the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 and their Impact on Capital Investment

United States President George W. Bush recently signed an economic stimulus bill into law entitled the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act. The law issues a number of directives aimed at increasing corporate capital expenditures in hopes of revitalizing a sagging economy. In this article, we focus on the increased amount of depreciation allowed in the first year following a qualifying capital investment. Specifically, an “additional” 30% of depreciation is allowed in the first year for ail personal property assets (20-year asset classes or less). This is clearly a significant change. Here, we derive “new” depreciation tables for personal property classes with the adjusted rule, both for MACRS and AMACRS, and illustrate the impact on capital investment decisions.     

我国东部沿海地区装备制造业生产效率研究——基于三阶段DEA模型

装备制造业是一国制造能力和经济实力的综合体现，我国东部沿海地区装备制造业生产效率的提升，事关我国制造大国向制造强国转变。本文运用三阶段DEA模型，对东部沿海地区装备制造业生产效率进行了实证研究，通过比较分析以揭示其区域效率变化特点，结果表明：我国东部沿海地区装备制造业生产效率保持在较高的水平，但在剥离环境因素和随机因素影响后，东部沿海地区装备制造业生产效率发生显著性变化；社会投入水平、政府支持力度、对外开放水平和居民消费水平对装备制造业投入有显著影响；东部沿海地区区域内纯技术效率差异较小，规模效率差异较大；规模效率较低是制约我国东部沿海装备制造业生产效率提高的瓶颈。提出坚持以“创新驱动、质量为先、绿色发展、结构优化、人才为本”为核心的对策建议。     

MODELLING REGULATORY DISTORTIONS WITH REAL OPTIONS

The introduction of uncertainty can make a significant difference in the valuation of a project. This manifests itself, inter alia, in the regulatory constraints that can affect the valuations of the firm's investment which, in turn has an adverse impact on consumers' welfare. In particular, the inability to exercise any or all of the delay, abandon, start/stop, and time-to-build options has an economic and social cost. With this view in mind, we specify and estimate a model where regulatory constraints impact on the firm's cash flow and on investment valuation with real options methods.

This paper uses real options analysis to address issues of regulation that have not been previously quantified. We show that regulatory constraints on cash flow have an impact on investment valuations in the telecommunications industry. Specifically, a model is developed to estimate the cost of regulation for broadband services. We show that the cash flow constraints and the inability to delay and abandon has a significant cost. Because some costs are not recognized in a static view of the world, this failure to recognize the operation and implications of non-flexibility by regulators (which can be modeled by real options methods) will lead to a reduction in company valuations which in turn will lead to a reduction in economics welfare.     

The effect of supplier's market orientation on manufacturer's trust

Recent studies show that manufacturing firms can select suppliers according to suppliers' market-oriented behaviors. Based on market orientation literature and research on inter-firm relationships, a model is developed to examine the impact of supplier's market orientation on manufacturer's trust. The framework is tested using Structural Equation Modeling and the data are from dyadic manufacturer and supplier relationships in U.S. firms. The results show that supplier's market orientation is significantly related to manufacturer's trust, which affects the manufacturer's long-term orientation toward the supplier. Discussions and implications for managers are presented at the end of the article.     

中国制造业企业对“一带一路”国家OFDI模式选择的实证分析

本文以东道国的视角分析中国制造业企业对外直接投资（OFDI）模式选择的影响因素,并采用二元Logit模型进行实证分析。结果表明：“一带一路”国家的市场潜力越大、基础设施情况越好、自然资源禀赋越丰裕,中国制造业企业越倾向于选择绿地投资模式;而“一带一路”国家的技术水平越高,中国制造业企业越倾向于选择跨国并购模式。政府应提高海外投资信息服务水平,为企业深入了解东道国环境从而做出正确的投资模式提供便利。