Influence of open innovation strategies on employment dynamics: evidence for Spanish manufacturing firms

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore the influence of different modes of openness of innovative firms on employment growth. Using a panel database of Spanish manufacturing firms during the period 1998–2015, we analyze the influence open innovation (OI) strategies on employment distinguishing by type of external partner. The main objective of the research is to know whether opening innovation strategy contributes to employment taken into account another firm capabilities and sectorial technological opportunities. For this purpose, a two-step procedure is specified. Firstly, a random-effect computes the effects of OI on the innovation probability. In the second step, the variation of innovativeness due to openness on GMM-system estimation controlling by potential endogeneity and unobserved firm heterogeneity is used. The results support that the influence of open strategy on employment growth is positive. Moreover, the employment depends on the breadth of OI measured by the number of out-inbound relationships. Finally, the employment consequences are different for each mode of open strategy.     

The multichannel customer’s service experience: building satisfaction and trust

Multichannel retailers dominate today’s retail landscape. Practitioners and researchers are particularly interested in understanding how the multichannel strategy helps establishing and developing relationships with customers. Our findings, from 302 customers of multichannel financial services firms, show that frontline employees’ customer facilitation behaviors (traditional channel) have a stronger impact on satisfaction than e-psychological benefits (derived from the company’s Web site), while their positive influence on trust is not significantly different. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Social influence on software piracy

In this paper, we extend the basic principles of Michel's model to a dynamical setting that allows us to study the effect of social influence on software piracy. We consider that social dynamics affect the decision-making process in two different ways: producing a positive network externality on individual consumers' preferences for the product but at the same time providing the knowledge and ability to pirate. We obtain that, on one hand, permeability of society accepting piracy culture has no significant effects on sales. On the other, scenarios with a positive ‘optimal’ value of piracy exist when there is a slight quality differential between originals and pirate copies. This can explain some interesting cases present in the real-world software industry.     

Productivity and unemployment: an ABM approach

Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination - We investigate the relationship between productivity and unemployment with an ABM approach. In particular, we use the framework of Riccetti et al....     

Making e-government attractive

E-government has now become a reality for the vast majority of developed countries and, as confirmed by recent EU studies, is also beginning to take root among the developing nations. The challenge that the majority of governments now must take up is not only to introduce a system of e-administration (the traditionally accepted definition of e-government), but also to work towards a system that will hail an era of e-governance or good government. For this to occur, public administrations must make a greater effort to implement e-government systems that allow fluid communication with the general public, thereby achieving a greater degree of participation; the key to success for e-government. This article looks at some of the major government portals to services for citizens in countries across five continents from the point of view of creativity. The analysis of how governments are using creativity to attract public attention to their sites is then compared to recent EU results on participation and depth of services.     

The effect of science and technology parks on a firm’s performance: a dynamic approach over time

We argue that the benefits provided by locations inside science and technology parks evolve over time. Firms inside parks can improve performance due to certain advantages related to knowledge spillovers and shared resources that can be particularly useful in earlier stages of the industry life cycle. In these industries, local knowledge sharing is particularly useful because no standards are clearly established, as we have confirmed in a sample of 12,800 firms from the PITEC database, located either on- or off-park. We also find that young firms can benefit more from the park than more established businesses in terms of both business growth and innovative capacity. Although older firms have greater experience and investments that would increase their capacity to absorb external knowledge, their associated rigidities prevent them from incorporating changes into their structures.     

The effect of science and technology parks on firms’ performance: how can firms benefit most under economic downturns?

The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of the economic recession on the performance of firms located in science or technological parks. Compared to off-park firms, we propose that under an economic crisis park benefits are more noticeable, since firms located inside parks have less resource restraints and access to external sources of information and knowledge. Moreover, we observe that as firms invest on internal R&D, they tend to reinforce these park benefits. Empirical evidence gathered data on employment and sales from 2007 to 2012 for the group of firms which participated in the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel. The results confirm the positive role played by science and technology park locations under economic downturn environments, especially when firms investing in internal R&D.     

Product quality or market regulation? Explaining the slow growth of Europe's wine cooperatives, 1880–1980

Wine cooperatives were relatively scarce in Europe before the Second World War, but by the 1980s accounted for more than half of all wines made in France, Italy, and Spain, the three major producer countries. Unlike Danish dairy cooperatives, whose success before the First World War was linked to their ability to improve product quality and compete in high‐value niche markets, wine cooperatives are often associated with the production of large volumes of low‐quality products. This article argues that the initial slow diffusion of wine cooperatives was caused by the difficulties of improving quality due to environmental conditions in European vineyards (‘terroir’) and measurement problems, rather than institutional shortcomings. Cooperatives only became widespread when the state found them a useful instrument to regulate markets, especially after 1950. The problems associated with poor wine quality were never resolved, and cooperatives have become increasingly uncompetitive in the market place, especially following the major decline in per capita consumption and shift towards premium wines from the 1980s.