Capturing the real value of patent analysis for R&D strategies

Patent information can be used for strategic planning purposes. Conventional patent analysis has commonly focused on factual information and, in particular, on information extraction, visualisation and interpretation. Less scholarly attention has been devoted to the strategic role of an integrated system of patent intelligence in supporting decision-making in R&D investments. Our paper addresses this gap and explores how patent analysis may benefit those firms that intend capturing the beneficial effects of Open Innovation. We also critically discuss the intrinsic limits of both patent information and patent analysis, which should be taken into account by systems of patent intelligence.     

The effect of organizational culture on deviant behaviors in the workplace

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of organizational culture (OC) on deviant behaviors in the workplace (workplace deviant behaviors: WDB). We tested the hypothesis that different types of OC (according to the Competing Values Framework model) had an impact on WDB, in addition to the effect of Big Five personality traits. Survey research was undertaken with 954 employees of 30 enterprises in the public and private field, using a hierarchical model approach (HLM) to test the effects of four types of OC (Clan; Adhocracy; Market, Hierarchy) on WDB, over and above the effect of Five Personality traits. The HLM results partially supported our hypotheses, showing that the OC had a significant effect on WDB, with the adhocracy and clan cultures characterized by lower levels of WDB. Managerial implications about the importance of managing the OC are discussed.     

Does the nano-patent ‘Gold rush’ lead to entrepreneurial-driven growth? Some policy lessons from China and Japan

In this study we compare the nano-patent landscapes of China and Japan in order to assess how their structures (type, fragmentation and concentration of patent ownership) affect the organization of the nanotechnology industry. We also analyze technology policy in order to assess how these interventions support technology transfer and nano-exploitation through university–industry collaboration and technology entrepreneurship. Drawing upon 20,365 patent families related to carbon nanotubes from 1994 to present, we found that two dissimilar technology policies boosting national innovation system emerged: China is more focused on forging an anchor-tenant model, while Japan exhibits a more industry-oriented model through demand-side policy intervention. Implications for firms? strategies and policy makers are discussed.     

Beta-product dependent Pitman–Yor processes for Bayesian inference

Multiple time series data may exhibit clustering over time and the clustering effect may change across different series. This paper is motivated by the Bayesian non-parametric modelling of the dependence between clustering effects in multiple time series analysis. We follow a Dirichlet process mixture approach and define a new class of multivariate dependent Pitman–Yor processes (DPY). The proposed DPY are represented in terms of vectors of stick-breaking processes which determine dependent clustering structures in the time series. We follow a hierarchical specification of the DPY base measure to account for various degrees of information pooling across the series. We discuss some theoretical properties of the DPY and use them to define Bayesian non-parametric repeated measurement and vector autoregressive models. We provide efficient Monte Carlo Markov Chain algorithms for posterior computation of the proposed models and illustrate the effectiveness of the method with a simulation study and an application to the United States and the European Union business cycle.     

Management by decree. Paradoxes in the reform of the Italian public sector

A call for “better” governance of the public sphere informed by reliance on management and accounting expertise has recently arisen in connection with a variety of legislative initiatives enacted in Italy. This paper looks at the nature and role of this “reform”, and in particular the call for the introduction of managerial accounting. It is argued that far from facilitating a comprehensive introduction of managerial vocabulary and knowledge into the public domain, the Italian legislative mechanism tends to hamper the expression of management and accounting as technically autonomous and coherent systems, while at the same time allowing more established audiences to deliberate on their nature and role. Although the reform was devised in terms of introducing the economic and the measurable into the domains of bureaucracy and formal compliance, its legal articulation seems to be informed by the very logic and ethos it is called upon to change.     

Combining Opinions for Use in Bayesian Networks: A Measurement Error Approach

Bayesian networks (BNs) are graphical probabilistic models used for reasoning under uncertainty. These models are becoming increasingly popular in a range of fields including engineering, ecology, computational biology, medical diagnosis and forensics. In most of these cases, the BNs are quantified using information from experts or from users' opinions. While this quantification is straightforward for one expert, there is still debate about how to represent opinions from multiple experts in a BN. This paper proposes the use of a measurement error model to achieve this. The proposed model addresses the issues associated with current methods of combining opinions such as the absence of a coherent probability model, the loss of the conditional independence structure of the BN and the provision of only a point estimate for the consensus. The proposed model is applied to a subnetwork (the three final nodes) of a larger BN about wayfinding in airports. It is shown that the approach performs well than do existing methods of combining opinions.     

More distance,more remittance? Remitting behavior,travel cost,and the size of the informal channel

The rising number of foreign workers in Italy during the last 15 years has led to a conspicuous increase in the amount of remittances sent abroad. In this paper, we examine the determinants of remittance outflows originated in Italy and transferred abroad through registered financial intermediaries. After controlling for a wide set of socioeconomic regressors, we document a strong positive relation between remittances and the cost of travel between Italy and the migrants' respective home countries. We interpret this result as indirect evidence of unrecorded flows, since the relation between remittances and travel cost should be non‐significant unless geographical proximity permits remitters to switch to informal (non‐observable) transmission mechanisms. Moreover, using data on temporal and monetary costs for a subset of bilateral corridors, we also find remittances to be negatively correlated with high transaction costs and low speed of transfer. We rely on this empirical evidence and on a model of migrants' remitting behavior to present new strategies for estimating the size of the informal outflow.