Assessing participation in voluntary environmental programmes in the developing world: the role of FDI and export orientation on ISO14001 adoption in Thailand

Empirical assessments of the determinants of firm participation in Voluntary Environmental Programmes (VEPs) in the developing world are largely absent from the environmental regulation literature, leaving a number of important factors unique to such countries unexplored. This article examines these factors, namely the roles played by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and export orientation, in addition to factors deemed important in the industrialized world context to the problem of ISO14001 adoption in one developing nation, Thailand. We make use of unique primary data from 494 firms, and focus on three important industries, the resource-based food and beverages industry, the labour-intensive textiles and wearing apparel industry, and the more high-technology electronics and electrical appliances industry. We find that FDI plays a role in ISO14001 adoption, especially FDI from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and ISO14001-rich countries. Other important determinants include firm size, experience with ISO9000, and production of intermediate products. Firms faced with fewer obstacles to environmental improvements such as those facing lower costs, having more understanding of the procedure, and with greater access to the appropriate technology are also more likely to adopt ISO14001.     

A Spatial Econometric Analysis of Cultural Dimensions,Technology Knowledge and Economic Growth

Using data from 65 countries over the period 1980–2003, this paper investigates the role that cultural dimensions play in the process of technological change, innovation and adoption and consequently on the steady state level of output per worker and its growth, using spatial econometrics techniques to account for spatial dependence between countries. Initial findings indicate that differences across cultural dimensions act as a leveling effect but not as long run growth determinants. In addition, when controlling for physical and human capital accumulation, culture plays a much smaller role in explaining differences in income per capita than initially thought, with little effect on output per worker growth along the transitional dynamics path. Spatial econometric considerations are relevant in explaining differences across rates of growth of per worker output, but not in terms of steady‐state levels of income.     

技术学习文献综述

结合技术学习的内涵,梳理总结了国内外研究者提出的技术学习模式及相关研究成果,认为目前研究者多数关注发展中国家的技术学习及其引起的技术能力提升,而对在发达国家向发展中国家输出技术的过程中是否也发生"技术学习"以及发展中国家形成的技术能力是否能实现质的跨越则缺乏研究,并认为发展中国家在开展技术学习的过程中更应加强内部学习。     

Environmental Policy and the International Diffusion of Cleaner Energy Technologies

Technology transfer is an important channel of technological change and sustainable development for countries with less innovative ability than technological leaders. This paper studies whether domestic environmental policies affect the inward technology transfer of cleaner innovation from abroad. We focus specifically on the power sector, for its important role in the decarbonization process, by looking at zero-carbon (renewable) and carbon-saving (efficient fossil) technologies for energy production. Using data on cross-country patent applications, we provide evidence that environmental policy contributes to attracting foreign cleaner technology options to OECD markets but not to non-OECD markets. We show that this is due to the nature of the implemented policy instruments. Market-based approaches positively impact technology transfer to both OECD and non-OECD economies, while non-market based approaches have at best only a weak effect in OECD countries. Domestic environmental policies may provide too weak a signal for foreign innovators in countries off the technological frontier. This calls for a strengthening of policy incentives for technology transfer in light of pressing climate change objectives.     

实现技术进步型经济增长的条件、路径和策略研究——基于人力资本投资的视角

提高创新效率和人力资本投资效率,采取渐进式技术进步以及经济危机的爆发和环保要求的提高等等,都可以激励企业家创新和劳动者的人力资本投资,使人力资本与技术进步形成一个良性循环,这决定了技术进步型经济增长的实现。随着创新和人力资本投资的不断进行,生产模式将不断更新,那么前后相继新旧生产模式的生产曲线的包络线就构成了经济增长的路径。发展中国家依靠技术模仿,可以发挥"后发优势"而实现短期高速增长,但是这种增长模式很难持续。采用技术模仿与技术创新相结合的技术进步方式,才是发展中国家实现长期增长和经济赶超的最佳策略。     

XBRL财务呈报创新扩散的关键因素研究

XBRL是财务呈报领域内的一项重要技术创新,其采纳和扩散受多方面因素的影响。本文以创新扩散理论、组织学习理论和制度理论为基础来深入分析技术、组织和环境中各因素对XBRL采纳及扩散的影响。研究结果表明：复杂性、兼容性、相对优势、对技术的认知以及企业环境的模仿性压力是影响XBRL进一步扩散的决定性因素;而技术的学习资源和培训以及环境的规范性压力目前对XBRL扩散并没有显著影响。在此基础上提出有利于XBRL进一步扩散的相关建议。     

技术动态性、组织学习与技术追赶: 基于技术生命周期的分析

组织学习的研究说明，环境动态性越强，组织学习越重要。从技术动态性和组织学习角度出发．根据技术生命周期(TLC)，对发展中国家的技术追赶战略进行了研究。结果表明，在TLC的不同阶段，技术动态性强弱存在差异，相应地，对于处于不同发展阶段的技术实施技术追赶，追赶者应该具备的组织学习能力也不相同。成熟期和导入期技术是追赶者进行技术追赶的两个机会窗口，这两个机会窗口之间存在着逻辑递进关系，当组织学习能力较弱时，应优先选择成熟期技术进行追赶，当组织学习能力得到提升后，再选择导入期技术进行追赶，直至实现技术追赶的目标。     

Technological complexity and economic development

Although technological complexity seems to be a crucial determinant of economic development, it remains insufficiently explored. Relying on microinformation stored in individual patent applications and by applying the network view of countries linked to the technologies they develop, we create a global technology space and derive complexity measures that position countries in this space. We use then the measures of technological diversification and the ubiquity of technologies present in a country’s technology portfolio as an input to explain the role of technological complexity in countries’ income and economic development. We show that a country’s position in the global technology space affects its level of income and growth. The main channel through which it happens is the exclusiveness and uniqueness of the technological portfolio a country has, as compared to the remaining countries.     

Technology policies and strategies for developing countries: lessons from the Korean experience

Industrial developement is a process of acquiring technological capabilities in the course of continuous technological change. Korea has made phenomenal growth in accumulating technological capabilities in the past 30 years. Despite is current financial crisis, it has a strong technological base to expand the modern sectors efficiently. This paper presents two analytical frameworks-technology trajectory framework and technology policy/strategy framework-which may be used as tools to analyze technology policies and strategies in developing countries. It then discusses implications of the Korean experience for other developing countires.     

Adoption and disadoption of electric cookstoves in urban Ethiopia: Evidence from panel data

Previous studies on improved cookstove adoption in developing countries use cross-sectional data, which make it difficult to control for unobserved heterogeneity and investigate what happens to adoption over time. We use robust non-linear panel data and hazard models on three rounds of panel data from urban Ethiopia to investigate the determinants of adoption and disadoption of electric cookstoves over time. We find that the prices of electricity and firewood and access to credit are major determinants of adoption and transition. Our findings have important implications for policies aiming at promotion of energy transition and reduction of the pressure on forest resources in developing countries.     

供应商整合能力对渐进式创新与突破式创新的影响

整合供应商以获取外部资源、技术与能力是制造企业实现创新的重要途径。研究供应商整合能力对创新类型的影响及环境动态性的调节作用,通过对以往相关研究进行简要梳理和评述,建立结构方程模型并运用多元回归方法进行假设检验。结果表明,供应商整合能力对渐进式创新、突破式创新有正向影响,且更利于促进突破式创新;技术动态性负向调节供应商整合能力与渐进式创新间的关系,正向调节供应商整合能力与突破式创新间的关系;市场动态性的调节作用与技术动态性正好相反;供应基复杂性对供应商整合能力与渐进式创新间关系的调节作用不显著,但其正向调节供应商整合能力与突破式创新间的关系。     

Does foreign technology transfer spur domestic innovation? Evidence from the high-speed rail sector in China

This paper investigates the introduction of high-speed railway (HSR) technology into China to study the local impacts of foreign technology transfer. The large-scale technology transfer project, covering specific technological categories and directly benefiting railway-related firms in various cities, enables us to describe how foreign technology is digested and spurs follow-up innovation in firms apart from directly receiving ones. We find that technology transfer generates significant localized spillovers to nearby firms not only in terms of more patents, but also as higher productivity and revenue growth. Moreover, technological similarity, rather than input-output linkages, plays a dominant role in explaining the knowledge spillover both at the firm level and the aggregate level, which indicates the importance of absorptive capacity in digesting foreign technologies. Overall, our paper sheds new light on the innovation policy of developing countries as well as the global business strategy of multinational corporations (MNCs).     

Models for innovation diffusion: Vijay Mahajan and Robert A. Peterson; A Sage University Series on “Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences,” No. 07-048, Sage, Beverly Hills, 1985.

Developing countries wish to achieve in a few decades what the developed countries accomplished in many centuries under conditions of relatively lesser resource constraints. Therefore, the developing countries cannot emulate the evolutionary experiences of the developed countries; they need a revolutionary approach in their development strategies. One plausible option for this revolutionary orientation could be the utilization of a technology-based strategy for national development planning. This article proposes undertaking certain measurement activities with respect to the technological system of a country, which would enable national decision makers to use technology as a strategic variable for socioeconomic development. The article briefly describes the role of technology as the master key for sustainable development, discusses the current activities related to the measurement of technology, presents a few conceptual schemes, and a framework for the assessment of national technological capabilities and needs.     

Understanding the determinants of RFID adoption in the manufacturing industry

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of the most promising technological innovations, with the potential to increase supply chain visibility and improve process efficiency. It allows remote identification of an object using a radio link. However, it has yet to see high rates of adoption in the manufacturing industry. Thus, effort is required to identify determinants affecting RFID adoption in the manufacturing industry. Based on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework of Tornatzky and Fleischer (L.G. Tornatzky, M. Fleischer, The processes of technological innovation, Lexington Books, 1990), nine variables (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, top management support, firm size, technology competence, information intensity, competitive pressure, and trading partner pressure) are proposed to help predict RFID adoption. Data collected from 133 manufacturers in Taiwan is tested against the proposed research model using logistic regression. The results and implications included in our study contribute to an expanded understanding of the determinants that affect RFID adoption in the manufacturing industry.     

International technological knowledge differences and economic growth comparisons: USA versus West Germany and Sweden versus Norway, 1963–1988

The main interest in this paper is governed by the methodology for making evolutive growth comparisons in the international context. The paper analysis differences in levels, and changes of these levels of aggregate output between the above mentioned countries, in terms of differences in factors input and levels of technological knowledge, for the period 1963–1988. Sources of economic growth in each country are also examined on an annual and average annual basis. Th conclusion is that technological knowledge differences between countries hold a central role in explaining output differences between them. A slight overtake of the technological lead is observed in comparing Sweden and Norway between 1977 and 1985 when a recovery by Sweden begining in 1986 is detected. A certain part of the output differences between the US and West Germany is explaining by the differences in technology between these two countries. However, capital intensity in the US is found to be almost double in 1988, and this accounts for a great part of the differences in output per unit of labour input between the two countries in that year. It is suggested that while technological knowledge or total factor productivity seems to hold the stage in explaining output differences over time and among the countries here analysed, technological developmment is itself a phenomenon to be explained, this being a part of a long intellectual ‘walk’ by the author.     

Adoption of organic farming: Are there differences between early and late adoption?

Based on the fact that not all farmers adopt a technology at the same time, it is argued in this paper that the distinction between groups is important because early, medium and late adopters respond differently to economic and non-economic factors when they consider whether to take up organic farming or not. The individual effects on adoption between the groups are identified by the use of multinomial logit analysis. The results provide evidence that there are significant differences in the characteristics between the adopter groups. The findings also reveal that the factors that affect adoption play a different role for early, medium and late adopters, particularly with regard to farming intensity, age, information gathering as well as attitudes of the farmer. More specifically, early adopters were the youngest to adopt organic farming and their decisions were found to be less profit related compared to other groups. Late adoption is constrained by risk considerations, while environmental attitudes and social learning were identified to be important determinants for all adopter groups. Overall, the findings strongly suggest, that for policy measures to be effective, the current state of diffusion has to be taken into account.     

Adoption and use of mobile banking by low‐income individuals in Senegal

The wide use of mobile phones increases low‐income individuals’ access to a large range of services. One of these services is mobile banking (m‐banking). Today, m‐banking represents a key vector of financial inclusion in many countries in sub‐Saharan Africa, especially Senegal. Based on technology adoption theories applied to households in developing countries, this paper studies the determinants of the adoption and use of m‐banking. We distinguish between possession or adoption and actual use of m‐banking and examine the interdependence between these two decisions by using the Heckman sample selection model, through a sample of 1,052 individuals in the suburbs of Dakar. Our main results are that the two decisions (adoption and use) are not independent of each other. Individual characteristics, such as education, possession of a bank account, and family network effects, are determinants of the adoption, and age, gender, and being a member of a tontine are determinants of the use. A major result of this study concerns women’s low propensity to adopt m‐banking because of their low levels of education. However, compared with men, when women adopt m‐banking, they have a stronger propensity to use it.     

Policy choice for end-of-pipe abatement technology adoption under technological uncertainty

Regulators have increasingly become concerned about end-of-pipe abatement technologies because they not only play a crucial role in air pollution control but also ensure the achievement of the deep carbon emissions reduction target. This paper investigates the effect of emission taxes and standards on the adoption of end-of-pipe abatement technology when the arrival time and degree of improvement of the new emissions abatement technology are uncertain. We find that the ranking of emission taxes and standards in terms of motivating early adoption depends on the policy stringency. More specifically, for high levels of environmental stringency, standards induce an earlier technology adoption than taxes, while the opposite conclusion holds for low levels of environmental stringency. The sensitivity analysis shows that these findings are robust to various relevant crucial parameters. Finally, the implications for the choice of environmental policy have been provided.     

基于TOE框架的企业采纳RFID决定性因素研究

RFID即无线射频识别技术,是一种发展迅速的物联网技术。近年来,不少企业开始尝试采纳RFID以提高绩效和竞争优势。为了解释企业采纳RFID的决定性因素,研究者借助TOE框架开展了较多的实证研究,从技术背景、组织特征和外部环境的三大维度分析了影响企业采纳RFID的决定性因素。文献分析发现,技术复杂性、技术兼容性、成本、标准不统一、组织准备、高管支持、IT能力、环境不确定性、交易伙伴命令、竞争压力、政府支持和变革推动者是企业采纳RFID的主要决定性因素。研究结论既为RFID应用的相关者提供了管理启示,也指引了未来的研究方向。     

Product Space,Potential Comparative Advantages and Export Technological Complexity

To investigate the evolution process of comparative advantage and the factors affect this process is an important topic, and for developing exporting countries, it is even more important to see what factors will promote them to export more technological complex products. In this paper, we utilise the theory of product space raised by Hausmann and others and modify the indicators of product proximity, product path and product density in this theory. We also utilise the method raised by Rodrick to calculate the product and country‐level export technological complexity. Based on a multinational panel data set, we show that if a country's exported products with higher product density or higher product path also have higher technological complexity, then in the short term, the country's overall export technological complexity tend to be increased, and in the long term, the effect of distribution of the path of technological complexity of exports is more significant.