Europe's R&;D: Missing the Wrong Targets?

Europe is not delivering on its commitment under the Lisbon agenda to increase its R&;D-to-GDP ratio to 3% by 2010. But does the European Commission's practice of benchmarking each and every member state against the headline 3% figure make sense? R&;D intensity is influenced by industrial specialisation, but also by other factors such as a large integrated market for technology and a favourable environment for academic research. What can be done by the EU and by the governments of the member states to improve the situation?     

Explaining the formation of international new ventures: The limits of theories from international business research

International new ventures (INVs) represent a growing and important type of start-up. An INV is defined as a business organization that, from inception, seeks to derive significant competitive advantage from the use of resources and the sale of outputs in multiple countries (Oviatt and McDougall 1994). Their increasing prevalence and important role in international competition indicates a need for greater understanding of these new ventures (Oviatt and McDougall 1994).Logitech, as described in a case study by Alahuhta (1990), is a vivid example of an INV. Its founders were from two different countries and had a global vision for the company from its inception. The venture, which produces peripheral devices for personal computers, established headquarters in both Switzerland and the U.S. Manufacturing and R&D were split between the U.S. and Switzerland, and then quickly spread to Taiwan and Ireland. The venture's first commercial contract was with a Japanese company.Using 24 case studies of INVs, we found that their formation process is not explained by existing theories from the field of international business. Specifically, neither monopolistic advantage theory, product cycle theory, stage theory of internationalization, oligopolistic reaction theory, nor internalization theory can explain the formation process of INVs. These theories fail because they assume that firms become international long after they have been formed, and they therefore highlight large, mature firms. They also focus too much on the firm level and largely ignore the individual and small group level of analysis (i.e., the entrepreneur and his or her network of business alliances).We propose that an explanation for the formation process of INVs must answer three questions: (1) who are the founders of INVs? (2) why do these entrepreneurs choose to compete internationally rather than just in their home countries? and (3) what form do their international business activities take?Who are the founders of INVs? We argue that founders of INVs are individuals who see opportunities from establishing ventures that operate across national borders. They are “alert” to the possibilities of combining resources from different national markets because of the competencies (networks, knowledge, and background) that they have developed from their earlier activities. Following the logic of the resource-based view of the firm, we argue that the possession of these competencies is not matched by other entrepreneurs. Only the entrepreneur possessing these competencies is able to combine a particular set of resources across national borders and form a given INV.Why do these entrepreneurs choose to compete internationally rather than just in their home countries? The founders of INVs recognize they must create international business competencies from the time of venture formation. Otherwise, the venture may become path-dependent on the development of domestic competencies and the entrepreneur will find it difficult to change strategic direction when international expansion eventually becomes necessary. As the founder of one INV explained, “The advantage of starting internationally is that you establish an international spirit from the very beginning” (Mamis 1989:38).What form do their international business activities take? Founders of INVs prefer to use hybrid structures (i.e., strategic alliances and networks) for their international activities as a way to overcome the usual poverty of resources at the time of start-up.This study has important implications for the practice of management. In financing decisions relating to INVs, venture capitalists and other venture financiers should look for entrepreneurs who have a global vision, international business competence, and an established international network. When entrepreneurs start INVs they should create hybrid structures to preserve scarce resources. Finally, given the path-dependence of competence development, founders of new ventures should consider whether establishing a domestic new venture with plans to later internationalize will be as successful a strategy as establishing a new venture that is international from inception.     

Industrial policy in an interdependent world

In Europe and North America there are increasing calls for an industrial policy that would foster innovation and technological development. The advocates of industrial policy warn that without active government support national firms will succumb to unfair foreign competition and that there will be an irreversible weakening of their technological capacity. OECD countries already spend 2–3% of their GDP on direct subsidies to industrial production, investment and R&;D. Is more public spending justified especially now that capital is needed for the reconstruction of Eastern Europe?     

Understanding and managing international growth of new products

Growth is one of the most compelling goals of managers today. This paper addresses the following questions about the international growth of new products in Europe: Does the pattern of growth differ across countries? If so, does culture or economics explain the differences? What are the implications of these results for new product strategy?The results show that the pattern of growth differs substantially across European countries. These differences are explained mostly by economic wealth and not by culture. The study addresses the implications of these results for: (a) the choice of a waterfall versus sprinkler strategy for the introduction of a new product; (b) the global versus local marketing of a new product; and (c) managing a firm's expectations about new product growth.     

US trade policy in an unbalanced world economy

Both the national as well as the international debate on US trade policy are overshadowed, and strongly influenced, by the large external inbalances of major trading nations. What do these disequilibria mean for US trade policy? Moreover, is the USA losing comparative advantage in agriculture and high-technology manufacturing? Do industrial policies in other countries distort American trade?     

Strategies for rural development

The “World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development” (WCARRD), which was held from July 12–20 at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome, tried to set up new targets for urgent national and international efforts to overcome the obviously desperate situation of the rural poor in the developing countries. What were the results of the conference?     

Absorptive capacity and R&;D tax policy: Are in-house and external contract R&;D substitutes or complements?

Firms fund research and development (R&;D) to generate commercializable innovations and to increase their ability to understand and absorb knowledge from elsewhere. This dual role and opposed incentive structure of internal R&;D create a significant question for both theory and R&;D policy: Is internal R&;D a complement or substitute for external R&;D? We develop a model and novel technique for empirically estimating R&;D substitution elasticities. We focus on bio-pharmaceutical and software industries in California and Massachusetts, where tax credit rates changed differently over time for the two types of R&;D, creating a natural experiment. The effective tax prices for the two R&;D types differ from type to type, firm to firm, state to state, and year to year. This allows us to examine changes in the composition of firms’ R&;D budgets between in-house R&;D and external basic research when the relative tax prices of each category of research change. We find evidence of a substitute relationship both for a sample comprising exclusively small firms as well as for a more general distribution of firm sizes.     

The international debt problem: An analysis of the Brady plan

Recently the American Treasury Secretary, Nicholas Brady, launched a new initiative in which he proposed reducing the developing countries’ bank debt. What are the elements of the plan, and which countries would benefit? What problems does it entail? Can it bring about a decisive improvement in the international debt situation of the developing countries? The following two articles attempt to answer these questions.     

Is the R&;D behaviour of fast-growing SMEs different? Evidence from CIS III data for 16 countries

This paper studies the R&;D behaviour of fast growing SMEs using CIS III data for 16 countries. We group the countries into three categories of countries having roughly the same stage of technological development. Our first finding is that R&;D is more important to high-growth SMEs in countries that are closer to the technological frontier. The second finding is that high-growth SMEs are only more innovative than non-high-growth SMEs in countries close to the technological frontier. This suggests that gazelles derive much of their drive from the exploitation of comparative advantages. From a policy perspective, this indicates that there are important limits to centralising policies that aim to foster high-growth SMEs.     

The non-oil developing countries and OPEC: Coalition or conflict?

For a time in the mid-1970s, “Third World solidarity” was at its zenith and the prospect of a new international economic order appeared to be within reach. But by the Cancun Summit in 1981 the schism between the oil exporting developing countries and the non-oil exporting developing countries had become apparent. What are the determinants of relationships between these two groups of countries? What are the prospects for the second half of the 1980s?     

How to improve the performance of R&;D alliance? An empirical analysis based on China’s pharmaceutical industry

The separation of science resources and the manufacturing industry in China has given rise to R&;D alliances between R&;D institutes and sponsoring enterprises. As a result, R&;D alliance of various types has become a main route of technology innovation in China. Drawing upon relevant literature on R&;D alliance management, this research empirically explores the impacts of relationship pattern, control strategy chosen by sponsoring enterprises, and alliance members’ continuity expectation on alliance performance. Results show that motivation-based alliance control approaches, including proper allocation of alliance control rights, sustained strengthening of alliance members’ continuity expectation, and enhancement of mutual relationship and friendship among alliance members, are more effective than process or outcome control approaches for improving alliance performance.     

“Good governance”, democracy and development paradigms

“Good governance” has become a central term in the international discussion on development co-operation. What is actually meant by “good governance”? By which yardstick can it be measured? How is governance related to development, political participation and democracy? What implications does this have for bilateral and multilateral donors?     

The interplay of entrepreneurship education and national cultures in entrepreneurial activity: a social cognitive perspective

Does entrepreneurship education result in entrepreneurial activities across national cultures? For the most part, prior research has examined the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial activity, using country-specific samples. However, many of these results are inconsistent. One reason for such inconsistent results may be a limitation of country-specific samples, given that they are valid in a domestic context but not generalizable. Our study addresses this limitation by using a cross-national sample of 24,457 respondents from 38 countries to examine the role of diverse national cultures. Building on the social cognitive theory, our results show that entrepreneurship education is more seminal for entrepreneurial activities that take place in countries with greater individualism, less uncertainty avoidance, and a high level of masculinity. This research presents a more complete picture of how entrepreneurship education may affect international entrepreneurship contingent upon national culture, and has implications for researchers, educators, and policy makers.     

Convergence and divergence in consumer behavior: implications for international retailing

Converging technology and disappearing income differences across countries will not lead to homogenization of consumer behavior. Rather, consumer behavior will become more heterogeneous because of cultural differences. As consumer incomes converge across countries, the manifestation of value differences will become stronger. This phenomenon makes it increasingly important to understand values of national cultures and their impact on consumer behavior. Retailing strategies for one country cannot be extended to other countries without adaptation. Hofstede’s model of national culture is applied to understand differences in consumer behavior across countries. Examples are provided of consumption differences, their relationships with culture discussed, and selected implications for international retailing management detailed.     

Creating sustainable international social ventures

International social ventures are now an increasingly common feature of the international business and social landscape in many countries worldwide. However, despite the increase in the number of social ventures and widespread interest that has resulted, theoretical development that deals specifically with international social ventures, or social ventures that operate across borders, has lagged behind, and there is little to guide potential social entrepreneurs thinking of setting up an international social venture. The aim of this article is to show how combining concepts from social exchange theory with international new venture theory can provide a useful conceptual framework that helps answer the central questions: What are the conditions for sustainable international social ventures? What difficulties are likely to arise in establishing such ventures? © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The grain trade and the failure of international control

In common with international agricultural trade in general the grain trade has remained immune to pressure for liberalization, and equally immune to suggestions of international management in the form of reserve stock holding, price floors and ceilings, or a full scale commodity agreement. What are the reasons for failure of such attempts in the past? Is there still a chance for GATT at least to minimize the adverse effects, especially on developing countries, of the present inefficient trading system?     

Firms size and R&D spillovers: Evidence from Italy

The recent emergence in the industrial organization literature of a wave of studies identifying small firms as more innovative than their larger counterparts poses something of a paradox? Where do small firms get their knowledge generating inputs? The purpose of this paper is to link innovative inputs to innovative outputs. This enables the identification of the extent to which spillovers exist from major sources generating new economic knowledge, such as the research and development (R&;D) laboratories of private and public firms, as well as universities, to the innovative activity of large and small enterprises. Based on twenty Italian regions over a period of nine years, the emprical evidence suggests that, while firm R&;D expenditures contribute to the generation of innovative output for all firms, as well as for large and small firms, the spillovers from university research are apparently more important for small-firm innovation than for large-firm innovation.     

The Brave New World of International Education

An emerging international market for education is exploding through the confluence of both new demand and supply factors. The demand factors include important and reciprocal demographic changes in both the developed and the developing world, and a new emphasis on improving ‘human capital’ as a source of national competitiveness and equity. The supply factors include the adoption of new competitive trading strategies by countries competing for students with the United States; changes in the need for ‘lifelong learning’ and the information technology revolution. This article analyses these dynamic factors and discusses remaining bottlenecks to the expansion of international trade in education. The article concludes by laying out some of the implications for the future of the national and international education markets.     

The nature of urbanisation in LDCs

The urbanisation experience of the less developed countries shows distinct differences to that of the industrialised countries. What are the reasons for this and what are the implications for development policy?     

贸易战还是货币战:论跨境贸易人民币结算

从2009年7月1日,将上海、广州、深圳、珠海和东莞作为跨境贸易人民币结算的境内试点区.港澳地区和东盟国家作为境外试点区到2010年6月以来,境内试点地区已扩大至全国20个省,境外地城扩展到所有国家和地区,跨境交易人民币结算试点业务扩大至所有经常项下.至此,中国也迈上了主权货币国际化之路.那么为什么国家都热衷于推动本国货币成为世界结算货币,进而取得国际货币发行权呢?中国选择的这条路又有着怎样的前景呢?我将从贸易战与货币战的角度来解答.