‘Do versus Buy’ Decisions in the Demand for Knowledge Intensive Business Services

The search for the maximum use of scale and agglomeration economies and the need to operate firms in the most flexible way have provided a strong impulse for companies to increase their use of external intermediate services. Because of their strategic role, the use of business services that are intensive both in labour qualification and in technological requirements is key for these policies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the patterns followed by companies in the two relevant decisions on this issue: firstly, whether to use knowledge intensive business services or not and, secondly, whether (and to what extent) to buy these services from another firm or to provide them inside the organisation. In both cases, we intend to identify the factors that affect the ‘do versus buy’ decision with respect to total KIBS as well as particular categories. A specific feature in our study is that it focuses on the behaviour of firms working in a region without a well-developed supply of KIBS. Applying discrete response models to the data obtained in a survey elaborated by the authors, the most relevant variables for the use of KIBS are satisfaction with previous outsourcing experiences and location of the firm in a large urban centre, but they do not affect their external provision. The size of the firm, its export orientation and its technological complexity have opposite effects on use and outsourcing.     

Dynamics of Firm Profitability and Growth: Do Knowledge-Intensive (Business) Services Persistently Outperform?

This paper explores the persistence of profitability and growth for firms operating in the Greek service sector, paying special attention to knowledge-intensive services (KIS) and knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). The generalized method of moments is used on a rich panel of firms over a recent nine-year period. Quantile regressions are complementarily applied for KIS and KIBS industries. The key results from both growth and profit dynamics suggest that firms in KIS and KIBS industries persistently outperform firms in less knowledge-intensive service industries, pointing to strategic advantages of the former. Importantly, KIS and KIBS seem to be able to sustain their growth and profitability persistent trends even in times of crisis. Further insight into these issues is provided by the quantile analysis, the exploration of the profitability and growth inter-linkages, and the investigation of differences among various size groups in KIS and KIBS.     

Knowledge intensive business services and their impact on innovation in China

This study investigates the impact of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) on innovation in China. First, we review the development of KIBS in China by analyzing the agglomeration, utilization, and quality of KIBS. Second, regression techniques are employed to investigate the impact of KIBS on innovation in the Chinese economy. We found that KIBS are becoming a major force in promoting innovation, especially in eastern China. Furthermore, we also found that the effect of KIBS on innovation is highly related to the average level of human capital. Given the findings in this study, we provided some policy suggestions.     

Natural Environment,Market Orientation,and Firm Innovativeness: An Organizational Life Cycle Perspective

Drawing upon the corporate social responsibility literature, we investigate the moderating effects of the natural environment and the stage of an organization's life cycle on the market orientation to firm innovativeness relationship. Through 229 owners or chief executive officer respondents, our results establish evidence of (1) a positive linkage between market orientation and firm innovativeness; (2) natural environmental policy positively moderating the market orientation to firm innovativeness relationship; and (3) organizational life cycle negatively moderating market orientation to innovativeness. Our findings suggest ventures characterized as being early in the organizational life cycle are more likely to have a positive environmental policy toward the natural environment leading to a competitive advantage through firm innovativeness.     

知识密集型服务企业的知识创新体系

文章指出,基于专业知识储备提供满足客户需求的解决方案,是知识密集型服务企业(KIBS)的一大特征,而知识的储备与恰当运用是KIBS固本强基的两个重要方面。文章提出了一个以KIBS为主角,以客户群组为协作方,以外部知识源为参与方,以联系这三大要素的知识反馈与升华机制为保障的KIBS知识创新体系模型,为知识密集型服务企业做好固本强基工作提供参考。     

Growth of KIBS and non-KIBS firms: evidences from university spin-offs

Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) firms are emerging into a knowledge-processing and knowledge-producing industry. Universities contribute to the creation of KIBS firms through university spin-offs (USOs), which represent an opportunity to boost knowledge spillovers from university to industry thanks to their cutting-edge research knowledge, consolidated research experience and well-developed interactive learning processes. The study of the growth of the KIBS USOs is needed to better understand whether these entrepreneurial ventures represent strategic elements of regional innovation systems and economic growth, distinguishing them from the other USOs in terms of growth. The paper explores whether KIBS firms grow more than non-KIBS firms. Using a sample of 1394 Italian and Spanish USOs over the period 2005–2013, the results show that being a KIBS firm has a positive effect on the growth of Spanish USOs, whereas the same does not hold for Italian USOs. Some relevant policies and practical implications are provided.     

Finnish polytechnics as providers of knowledge-intensive services

Polytechnics are newcomers in companies' regional innovation environments in Finland. Particularly in regions with no university of their own or with only few knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) providers, they may become, and in some cases already are, important providers of science-and-technology-related services. The aim of this article is to analyse the roles, possibilities and challenges of polytechnics as public KIBS providers. Also, the position of polytechnics as a tool of Finnish innovation policy will be discussed.     

The moderating effects of service solution characteristics on competitive advantage

The objective of this study is to improve the understanding of the moderating effects of service solution characteristics on competitive advantage of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). This study is among the first to systematically operationalize the contingents in the absorptive capacity construct as service solution characteristics, that is, intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability, and perishability, and tested them in the KIBS sector. Using a sample of 327 new technology-based KIBS firms in Finland, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis is applied to test the hypothesized moderator effects. The results suggest that service solution characteristics moderate the effects of the antecedents on absorptive capacity and the effect of absorptive capacity on competitive advantage. Guidelines are provided to practitioners to deal with projects with different service solution characteristics.     

Does innovativeness of knowledge-intensive business services differ from other industries?

This article seeks to determine whether the innovative capabilities of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) do actually differ from other industries through comparing the innovation capacities and financial performance of KIBS with firms operating in other sectors (non-KIBS). Based upon a 1000-firm sample, the results of our estimated econometric model demonstrate that non-KIBS firms are in possession of significantly greater innovation capacities than KIBS firms. These differences were observed across factors such as organisational process innovation, the launch of already existing products in new markets, branding and new product designs. Nevertheless, as regards the actual importance attributed to product/service innovation, KIBS firms place a greater comparative importance on innovation in comparison with their non-KIBS peers. In addition, the empirical evidences display a significantly different range of effects of innovation capacities on financial performance and concludes that non-KIBS firms turn in better comparative performances than specialist KIBS firms.     

新冠肺炎疫情对我国中小微企业的影响及应对

新冠肺炎疫情爆发对我国经济社会及人民生活等各方面均造成了不容忽视的影响,特别是抗风险能力较低的中小微企业所受冲击巨大,生存危机加剧。以116家中小微企业所有者及实际负责人为调研对象,以损失评估、可维持时间、行业影响程度、企业所面临困难类型、自身对策及政策诉求等11个问题为调研内容,对我国中小微企业受新冠肺炎疫情影响情况及政策诉求进行调研发现,中小微企业受新冠肺炎疫情冲击严重,影响面广,但不同类型企业受影响程度不尽相同,其经营计划和政策诉求也存在差异。为应对新冠肺炎疫情对中小微企业的影响,应综合考虑企业实际情况以及疫情持续时间和影响程度,一方面,从政策层面着手,聚焦政策创新,在针对紧急而重要问题出台帮扶政策、纠正政策制定与执行中过激过度过当行为的同时,着力打通不同部门之间的政策屏障,推动跨部门协同,针对不同主体提供差异化策略;另一方面,从企业自身发展层面着手,关注现金流、供应链与扶持政策,积极开拓市场,加快企业转型,关注企业所有者与员工心理健康,确保企业运行和复工复产需要,弥补停工期订单损失。     

Does inter-firm learning and trust promote firm innovativeness?

This paper elaborates on a theoretical framework that assesses the effects of inter-firm trust and learning on firm’s subsequent innovation output. We argue that joint problem solving arrangements play an intermediate role in firm innovativeness by promoting the sharing of complex and difficult-to-codify knowledge and information. Using survey data from a sample of 194 firms from the mainland of China, we find that inter-firm trust and learning have positive impacts on both buyer innovativeness and seller innovativeness. It is also found that there is a positive interactive relationship between trust and learning. Furthermore, their inter-effect and complementarity facilitate innovativeness by promoting joint problem solving at the firm level. Based on these findings, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

The role of intermediate demand and technology for international competitiveness of the KIBS sector: evidence from European Union countries

In this paper, it is tested whether intermediate consumption of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in the economy and technology advancement in the KIBS sector (measured by R&D expenditures) affect the international competitiveness of a country's KIBS sector. First, the definition of KIBS trade, in light of the available data from the balance of payments statistics, is presented. Then, using a panel data set from the EU countries over the period 2000–2009, a panel cointegration approach to estimating the model is adopted. The empirical study shows that among the old EU countries only those with high income are competitive in KIBS exports. Estimation results demonstrate that their competitiveness in KIBS exports is positively determined by domestic and imported KIBS intensity in the economy, as well as by the KIBS sector's technology advancement. The new EU countries usually were not competitive in KIBS exports, and those which were successful in this field seem to have derived their success mainly from international outsourcing rather than from building their own capacities. Their competitiveness in KIBS exports was positively determined by the KIBS sector's endowment in human capital, or via domestic KIBS intensity in the economy together with lower labour costs.     

KIBS 嵌入对中国制造业贸易竞争优势的促动效应

随着产业的不断分化和价值链的延长,知识密集型服务业(KIBS)嵌入对制造业的贸易竞争优势产生了至关重要的作用。本文通过面板矫正标准误差(PCSE)模型实证中国KIBS对制造业贸易竞争优势带来的复杂效应。从整体KIBS对中国制造业贸易竞争优势的促动效应看,KIBS只对技术密集型制造业具有较大的正面促动效应,对资本密集型制造业几乎没有影响,而对于劳动密集型制造业反而具有明显的负作用。从具体KIBS看,科学研究服务和信息通讯服务业对制造业贸易竞争优势具有明显的正向带动作用,金融服务业的发展对不同要素密集度制造业的贸易竞争优势具有非对称性的影响,而商务服务则对各种要素密集度制造业的贸易竞争优势都具有明显的负面影响。     

The internationalization of knowledge-intensive business services: the effect of collaboration and the mediating role of innovation

This study theoretically and empirically analyzes the mediating role of innovation on the relation between collaboration and internationalization strategies in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). The work also considers the impact of foreign-based partners and examines the potential direct and indirect effects via innovation of cross-border collaboration on the internationalization of KIBS. The empirical analysis uses a wide sample of Spanish KIBS for the period 2003–2005. The study finds that collaboration positively affects the internationalization of KIBS via innovation. The results related to cross-border collaboration indicate the existence of direct and indirect effects via innovation on internationalization.     

零利率下限约束、宏观经济波动与混合型货币政策框架

宏观经济持续低迷引发学界关于货币政策有效性的广泛讨论。本文构建包含名义利率零下限约束的混合型货币政策框架,据以系统比较存在和不存在零利率下限约束两种情形下宏观经济波动异质性以及货币政策有效性的差异。研究发现,总需求下降时零利率下限约束情形下产出下降和通缩程度更为严重;总供给下降不会引致名义利率触及零利率下限以致宏观经济波动演变无明显差异;零利率下限约束情形下央行数量型调控的有效性显著降低,价格型调控则完全失效。本文认为考虑零利率下限约束的建模更宜刻画现实经济周期和宏观调控效力,忽视零利率下限约束会对宏观经济预判和政策调控有效性的认识产生偏误;需求低迷环境下“数量型调控为主、价格型调控为辅”的政策组合仍为央行合意的货币调控范式,央行须更加关注降低实际资金利率;政府应注重宏观政策协调配合,实施更加积极的财政政策以与货币政策发挥有效政策合力,促使实体经济趋稳高质发展以摆脱利率下限约束困境。     

The impact of monetary and tax policy on income inequality in Japan

This paper assesses the effects of the most recent monetary policy behaviour of the Bank of Japan (in particular, zero interest rate policy and negative interest rate policy) and Japanese tax policy on income inequality in this country during the period of 2002Q1 to 2017Q3. The vector error correction model (VECM) that develops in this research shows that increase in money stock (m1) through Quantitative Easing (QE) and Quantitative and Qualitative Easing (QQE) policies of the BOJ significantly increases the income inequality. On the contrary, Japanese tax policy was effective in reducing the income inequality. Variance decomposition results show that increasing of income inequality by monetary policy is larger when comparing to decreasing effects of tax policy on income inequality. Cointegration and VECM results show that monetary policy has both short-run and long-run impacts but for tax policy paper could not find any significant short-run impact on income inequality. In addition, paper found that technological progress only in long-run can reduce the income inequality by increasing the marginal productivity of labour with positive impacts on employment and wages.     

Services policy reform and manufacturing employment: Evidence from transition economies

Policy reforms targeting the services sectors are a neglected dimension of the process of structural transformation and economic development. The effects of such reforms on employment across industries as a function of their use of services as intermediate inputs are theoretically ambiguous and remain largely understudied. This paper uses sector‐level data for 24 transition economies for the 1990–2012 period to assess the impacts of services policy reforms on downstream manufacturing employment. We find a negative effect of services reforms on manufacturing sector employment. This is mostly associated with the process of transition to a market‐based economy. Controlling for transition‐specific dynamics, the data suggest a neutral effect of progress towards adopting “best practice” policies for upstream services on employment in downstream manufacturing. Furthermore, in line with the extant literature, we confirm that services policy reforms enhance productivity of downstream manufacturing industries. Finally, we find that the negative effects on downstream employment are mitigated in countries with better economic governance and human capital.     

The Impact of Environmental Turbulence on the Perceived Importance of Innovation and Innovativeness in SMEs

This study investigates how market turbulence, technological turbulence, and competitive intensity affect the perceived importance of innovation and innovativeness, and thus SMEs’ business performance. Structural equation modeling is conducted on a sample of 373 SMEs. Our findings show that both market and technological turbulence increase the perceived importance of innovation, but only market turbulence impacts SMEs’ innovativeness directly. The perceived importance of innovation mediates environmental turbulence’s influence on a firm’s innovativeness. Competitive intensity has no significant effect on the perceived importance of innovation and innovativeness. Finally, innovativeness enhances business performance when using both perceptual and lagged objective performance data.     

Universal basic income: A viable policy alternative?

Although the need for an efficient Roma integration policy is growing in Europe, surprisingly little robust scientific evidence regarding potential policy costs and expected benefits of alternative policy options has supported the policy design and implementation so far. The present study attempts to narrow this evidence gap and aims to shed light on long‐run economic, budgetary and fiscal effects of selected education and employment policies for the inclusion of the marginalised Roma in the EU. We employ a general equilibrium approach that allows us to assess not only the direct impact of alternative Roma integration policies but also to capture all induced feedback effects. Our simulation results suggest that although Roma integration policies would be costly for the public budget, in the medium‐to‐long run, economic, budgetary and fiscal benefits may significantly outweigh short‐ to medium‐run Roma integration costs. Depending on the integration policy scenario and the analysed country, the full repayment of the integration policy investment (positive net present value) may be achieved after 7 to 9 years. In terms of the GDP, employment and earnings, the universal basic income scenario may have the highest potential impacts, particularly in the medium‐to‐long run.     

Innovation and Trade Policy Coordination: The Role of Firm Heterogeneity

Recent studies have concluded that R&D grants can induce firms to export and that exporting and innovating can be complementary activities at the firm level. Yet the trade literature has paid little attention to the scope of innovation policy as a stimulus to both trade and innovation. To investigate this question, we rely on a general workhorse model of trade and firm heterogeneity with firm investments in R&D activities. The interplay of innovation and trade policies uncover novel results. In particular, we show that the effects of either policy depend on the degree of protectionism in a country. Therefore, countries can respond differently to the same policy, and similarly to different policies. In such a context, different governments may face different trade‐offs in achieving a given target.