Chief technology officer roles and performance

This paper assesses the impact of Chief Technology Officers (CTO) on firm performance using upper-echelon theory, human capital theory and social capital theory. The upper-echelon theory is used to investigate how CTO roles are realised within a company regardless of the individual who carries them out, i.e. through a formal CTO position or not. Human and social capital theories are employed to assess how certain features of CTO influences his/her effect on company performance. Thus, this explorative study investigates two questions: (1) do CTO roles affect a firm's performance?, and (2) which features of the senior manager in charge of technology influence performance? To answer these questions the study first develops a conceptual model and subsequently tests the model based on a survey of 49 firms in electronics and machinery industries in Turkey. Two findings emerge: (1) the fulfilment of CTO roles increases a firm's profitability and (2) the existence of a distinct managerial technology position further improves profitability. Moreover, the study clearly shows the role of social capital theory in explaining how the company performance is likely to increase when the CTO/CTO-proxy manager is placed on a higher rung on the organisational ladder.     

External knowledge sourcing for R&D activities: antecedents and implications of governance mode choice

This paper investigates how internal and external factors affect the choice between alliances and joint ventures (A&;JVs) and mergers and acquisitions (M&;As) for the external sourcing of research and development (R&;D) activities, and whether or not such a choice is really contingent, that is, is it the best choice in terms of its impact on firms' innovative performance under those circumstances? We build a set of hypotheses based on both the transaction-cost theory and the resource-based view, and test them through a secondary data source analysis. We found that companies adopt either R&;D M&;A or A&;JV depending on internal (e.g. resources and capabilities, innovation experience) and external (e.g. degree of industry specialisation) factors. Surprisingly, this contingent choice turns to be effective on innovative performance only for the internal factors, rather than the external. This paper contributes to inter-firm relationships literature by presenting the real advantages of using integrated and contingency theoretical models to understand contingent decisions.     

“双碳”新格局下企业绿色技术创新对其ESG绩效的影响及其路径研究

2030年前实现“碳达峰”，2060年前实现“碳中和”是中国对世界的郑重承诺，表现出了中国的担当精神。在“双碳”新格局下，局限于企业的经济表现的传统绩效衡量办法不足以满足现代化投资的需要，综合评价企业环境、社会和管理三个方面的ESG绩效体现出巨大优势。各类绿色政策的出台引导企业走向绿色技术创新，那么绿色技术创新会对企业ESG绩效产生什么影响？本文基于2011—2020年的A股上市公司数据，采用固定效应模型进行实证检验。研究表明，企业绿色技术创新会对企业ESG绩效产生促进作用；实用新型绿色技术创新对ESG的促进作用大于发明型绿色技术创新的促进作用；并深入研究发现，先通过绿色技术创新再提升市场竞争力最后实现企业ESG绩效的优化是最重要的影响路径。     

基于企业不同生命周期的研发投资绩效研究——来自深圳中小板高新技术企业的证据

笔者以深圳中小板高新技术企业为样本,研究了企业不同生命周期阶段研发投资3个维度的绩效及其相互关系。研究结果表明:研发投资与研发投资技术绩效在企业生命周期3个阶段均为正相关关系,成熟期更显著;研发投资与研发投资财务绩效在成熟期是正相关关系,在衰退期是负相关关系;研发投资技术绩效与研发投资财务绩效以及研发投资技术绩效与研发投资价值绩效在企业生命周期3个阶段均为正相关关系,衰退期表现最弱;研发投资财务绩效和研发投资价值绩效在成长期和成熟期为正相关关系,在衰退期却没有显著相关关系。     

Internal R&D effort,external imported technology and economic value added: empirical study of Taiwan's electronic industry

Technology innovation is a significant resource in the contemporary knowledge-based economy. The main sources of technology innovation are internal R&D effort and external imported technology. Two primary traditional production factors are physical capital and labour. The theoretical basis for this study is an evolutionary Cobb–Douglas production function explaining the effects of four resources (internal R&D effort, imported technology, physical capital and labour) on a firm's sales and economic value added (EVA). Time-series cross-section panel data from 219 Taiwan electronic manufacturers between 1990 and 2003 were employed for fixed effect model. Major empirical findings were observed in this study: first, Internal R&D effort can positively affect a firm's sales and EVA. Conversely, imported technology is found to have had no significant effect on sales and EVA. Second, although both physical capital and labour affect a firm's sales more than the effects of internal R&D and external imported technology, internal R&D effort contributes to a firm's EVA beyond the effects of imported technology, physical capital and labour. Third, External imported technology has neither a complementary nor a substitutive relationship with internal R&D effort.     

The relationship between business diversification and productivity: considering the impact of process innovation at different corporate life cycles

This paper investigates the link between a firm's process innovation (PI) and its segment productivity at different life cycles. The results show that business diversification is negatively associated with a firm's productivity, and further reveal that a firm's PI moderates the above relationship. In addition, the corporate life cycle literature builds blocks for this study to explain that the involvement of administrative costs varies across life cycles when diversified firms get mature and bigger. Our empirical evidence indicates that the potential costs of a complex organisational structure contingent on business diversification at a firm's mature life cycle could be alleviated by the conduct of process innovation. As process innovation at different life cycles may alter managerial incentive that leads to different firm performance, the managerial implication is that diversified firms should appropriately engage in process innovation to prevent unfavourable liability from the development of their businesses.     

Business cycles and research investment

This paper examines the impact of uncertainty and the business cycle on US high-tech manufacturing firms’ research investment. Although the reliance on internal financing suggests firms will consider uncertainty and the business cycle when determining their research budget, little is known about how the business cycle and uncertainty influence research investment. Using firm-level data on sales, cash flow, and industry-level indicators of the business cycle, this paper finds that the firm's response to the business depends on the firm's industry and the industry's current location in the business cycle. The data also shows that the business cycle also depresses the firm's reaction to changes in sales and cash flow. Uncertainty clearly reduces research efforts, although non-linearly.     

The moderating role of power asymmetry on the relationships between alliance and innovative performance in the high-tech industry

This study outlines a model of why and how the respective influence of alliance learning and alliance experience on innovative performance is likely to be moderated by the level of power asymmetry. The results are based on a sample of 316 high technology firms' alliances. By testing our model using hierarchical regression, the results generally support the proposed hypotheses, in that power asymmetry has a significant negative moderating effect on the impact of alliance learning on innovative performance. In contrast, we find that power asymmetry has a significant positive moderating effect on the impact of alliance experience on innovative performance. Implications for management theory and practice are discussed.     

Knowledge diversity as a moderator: inter-firm relationships,R&D investment and absorptive capacity

The study examines how knowledge diversity moderates the effects of R&;D investment, strategic alliances, and acquisitions on firm performance using a sample of 2404 firm-year data from US technology firms. Results confirm that the main effect of knowledge diversity on firm growth is not significant and it indeed plays a role of a moderator. The theory of absorptive capacity provides a good explanation that for firms with high knowledge diversity, strategic alliances and acquisitions are more effective while for firms with low knowledge diversity, internal R&;D investment is more effective. These findings point to an important research direct that the characteristics of a firm's knowledge portfolio play a critical role in determining the effectiveness of knowledge sourcing as well as interfirm partnership strategies.     

FDI双重溢出效应对创新追赶绩效的影响机制——基于高技术产业的实证分析

将FDI的溢出效应分为市场竞争效应和技术溢出效应,利用1995—2012年中国5大高技术产业相关数据,建立回归模型实证检验了两者对创新追赶绩效中的产品创新绩效和知识创新绩效的影响机制,并考察知识创新绩效作为内生变量对产品创新绩效的影响机制。结果表明:FDI的市场竞争效应对本土企业的产品创新绩效的提高不存在促进作用;FDI的技术溢出效应对本土企业的知识创新绩效的提高具有促进作用,并且通过作用于吸收能力而间接促进本土企业知识创新绩效的提升;FDI技术溢出效应产生的知识创新绩效对产品创新绩效具有正向影响;FDI的双重溢出效应对创新追赶绩效的影响机制存在产业差异。     

Vertical integration,escalating commitment and technological performance: evidence from firms in the US computer industry

We set out in this study to analyse the impact on the technological performance of firms arising from their vertical integration, along with their escalating commitment to capital investment. Our findings reveal a positive relationship between vertical integration and the technological performance of such firms. A positive correlation is also found to exist between vertical integration and escalating commitment to capital investment; in other words, a firm's rising commitment to its capital investment may well strengthen the positive effects of vertical integration on the technological performance of the firm. More importantly, the interactive effects on technological performance will tend to differ, largely dependent on the type of vertical integration. The findings of this study also indicate that vertical integration can effectively neutralise the threat to exit barriers resulting from a firm's escalating commitment to its prior investment.     

产业政策对企业跨界经营行为的影响

基于2006—2015年中国A股上市公司的数据,研究了产业政策对企业跨界经营行为的影响。结果表明:产业政策会引导企业通过跨界经营进入政策支持行业;通过有关联跨界进入政策支持行业的企业的经营绩效会显著提高,而无关联跨界反而会降低企业价值;在产业政策的引导作用下,企业为了政策寻租而采取的无关联跨界行为,既不利于自身的长远发展,又会降低产业政策的效果。     

Real option as strategic technology uncertainty reduction mechanism: inter-firm investment strategy by pharmaceuticals

Whether pharmaceutical firms use the real option (RO) mechanism for strategic technology uncertainty reduction and whether the role of RO decreases when industrial technology progresses from research and development (R&D) to commercial activities in a product life cycle is discussed. The evidence confirms that pharmaceutical firms enter different in the external technology sourcing. Moreover, RO-based entry coefficients differ in sizes at different levels in the industrial value chain. The R&D entry stage is relatively greater than the clinical trials entry stage. However, contrary to the proposition that the commercial entry coefficient will be relatively lower; the results indicate that the commercial RO-entry stage appears to be relatively greater than both the R&D entry stage and the clinical trials entry stage. The overall RO-based entry in external technology sourcing appears to be a U-shaped curve along the product life cycle. The article highlights some theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Absorptive capacity and firm performance: an integrative framework of benefits and downsides

Research underscores the important role a firm's absorptive capacity plays in developing knowledge, promoting open innovation, managing alliances, facilitating organisational learning, creating strategic variety, and enhancing financial performance. However, prior research often overlooks how absorptive capacity could increase a firm's costs associated with building this capacity, perpetuate and even increase inertia because of reduced variety and limited organisational search, handicap internal knowledge development, and complicate knowledge sharing. Research also ignores the growing complexity of absorptive capacity, a factor that could reduce a firm's gains from exploiting external knowledge. Our discussion builds on the knowledge-based view to provide an integrative framework for the performance effects of absorptive capacity. Based on different benefits and downsides of absorptive capacity at multiple levels of analysis, it points to an inverted U-shaped relationship between absorptive capacity and a firm's financial performance, highlighting several promising avenues for future research.     

内外部知识源化、非研发对创新绩效影响的空间计量研究

封闭式创新向开放式创新转型过程中,正确选择技术创新路径对创新转型至关重要。在考察高技术产业开展内、外部知识源化和非研发创新路径发展特征的基础上,运用空间计量经济学方法,探讨2008-2014年高技术产业内外部知识源化、非研发和创新绩效的空间相关性及分布结构,并将地理空间因素纳入多种创新路径驱动创新绩效机理框架下进行比较分析,实证考察其对创新绩效的影响机理。结果表明,高技术产业外部知识源化与非研发投入所占比重远远小于内部知识源化,技术创新路径非均衡性发展特点显著;高技术产业内外部知识源化、非研发与创新绩效存在较为显著的空间自相关性,内外部知识源化、非研发与创新绩效一定程度上呈现为相似值在空间上趋于集聚的分化态势,相邻地区空间溢出效应显著;高技术产业外部知识源化对创新绩效起到显著正向促进作用,而现阶段内部知识源化和非研发规模对创新绩效分别呈现微弱的正向和负向影响,没有充分发挥促进效应。     

Intellectual property rights,technology transfer and exports in developing countries

We develop a model to analyze one mechanism under which stronger intellectual property rights (IPR) protection may improve the ability of firms in developing countries to break into export markets. A Northern firm with a superior process technology chooses either exports or technology transfer through licensing as its mode of supplying the Southern market, based on local IPR policy. Given this decision, the North and South firms engage in Cournot competition in both markets. We find that stronger IPR would enhance technology transfer through licensing and reduce the South firm's marginal production cost, thereby increasing its exports. Welfare in the South would rise (fall) if that country has high (low) absorptive capacity. Excessively strong IPR diminish competition and welfare, however. Adding foreign direct investment as an additional channel of technology transfer sustains these basic messages.     

Impact of coopetition in the alliance portfolio and coopetition experience on firm innovation

This paper examines two interrelated questions: to what extent does coopetition in a firm's alliance portfolio impact the firm's innovation performance? And to what extent does a firm's coopetition experience influence the relationship between coopetition in the alliance portfolio and innovation performance? Conceptually, we advance the concepts of balanced coopetition in a firm's alliance portfolio and coopetition experience and suggest that both balanced coopetition and coopetition experience contribute to firm's innovation outcomes. Results based on a longitudinal data of firms from the semiconductor industry show that moderate to high levels of balanced-strong coopetition in a firm's alliance portfolio positively impact the firm's coopetition-based innovation performance. Further, coopetition experience contributes to innovation performance and positively moderates the relationship between balanced-strong coopetition and innovation performance.     

Enterprise life cycle,financial technology and digital transformation of banks—Evidence from China

Financial technology formed by the combination of digital technology and traditional finance is gradually changing the financial services model. The development of financial technology has influenced the behaviour of commercial banks. It has promoted the innovation of commercial banks. And it has promoted the digital transformation of commercial banks. In this paper, it is intended to explore the relationship between financial technology and digital transformation of banks through positive analysis. As well as to explore how the age of enterprises listed and enterprise life cycle affect the relationship between financial technology and digital transformation of banks. This paper conducts an empirical research on the data of China's A-share listed banks from 2011 to 2021 using a two-way fixed effects regression method. The results of the research indicate that financial technology promotes banks' digital transformation. Meanwhile, the age of enterprise listing and enterprise life cycle play a positive moderating role in financial technology promoting banks' digital transformation. In this paper, it is the first time to conduct an empirical research with the number of monthly active users of mobile banking as a proxy variable for digital transformation of banks, which enriches the study of financial technology. It has certain reference value for promoting digital transformation of banks.