UNDERSTANDING INNOVATION AS A COMPLEX ADAPTIVE SYSTEM: CASE STUDIES FROM SHIMADZU AND NEC

Abstract. This paper describes innovation from the viewpoint of biologic evolution, a complex adaptive system. First, three characteristics of complex adaptive systems – variation, interaction and selection – are explained. Second, we propose that variation in R&D activities is brought about by innovation seeds, which can be subdivided into reproduction and mutation types. Third, taking into account the concept of an innovation seed, we propose our innovation creation process model. Finally, our proposed concept is validated through case studies of (i) a mass analyser business by Shimadzu and (ii) a carbon nanotube business by NEC.     

Internationalization of Chinese and Korean firms

This article compares and contrasts the growth of Chinese and Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs). The article identifies the similarities and differences between Chinese and Korean MNEs in terms of motivations for internationalization, expansion strategies, and paths. The goal of this article is to contribute to the literature by shifting focus on host‐country conditions to home‐country conditions in explaining the drivers for firms' internationalization. We conclude that firms are motivated to expand abroad when faced with domestic competitive disadvantages resulting from absence or deficiency of one or more of Porter's Diamond attributes in their domestic market. Implications for further studies are also explored. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

On the transferability of the Asian rice green revolution to rainfed areas in sub‐Saharan Africa: an assessment of technology intervention in Northern Ghana

This article investigates the impact of technical intervention on the adoption of a set of improved rice production technologies, as well as on productivity and profit for smallholders in rainfed lowland areas in Northern Ghana. The key finding is that productivity and profit are significantly enhanced when modern varieties (MVs) and chemical fertilizer are adopted, coupled with water control techniques. This is essentially the transfer of the Asian Green Revolution to sub‐Saharan Africa. Such transfer, however, is not truly successful unless information about the use of MVs and fertilizer is directly disseminated by extension activities.     

Impact of R&D and Technology Diffusion on Productivity Growth: Empirical Evidence for 10 OECD Countries

This paper examines the empirical evidence on the impact of performed R&D and of R&D embodied in intermediate and capital goods on productivity performance in 10 major OECD countries over the last two decades. To quantify intersectoral and international technology flows, industry-level embodied R&D variables were constructed from an input–output (IO) R&D embodiment model. The productivity variables used are discrete Divisia growth indexes of total factor productivity (TFP), which were estimated from an IO growth accounting model. The results from pooled regressions indicate that the rates of return of the R&D variables were positively significant and increasing in the 1980s. In particular, embodied R&D is an important source for TFP growth in services, indicating very high social returns of the flows of capital-embodied technology into this sector. Moreover, the information and communi-cation technology (ICT) cluster of industries played a major role in the generation and cquisition of new technologies at the international level.     

Satiation and existence of competitive equilibrium

In this paper, we introduce a new assumption concerning the (non)satiation property of preferences and establish the existence of a competitive equilibrium under it. The assumption is weaker than the standard nonsatiation assumption and “weak nonsatiation” introduced by Allouch and Le Van (2008). In particular, it allows preferences to be satiated only inside the set of individually rational feasible consumptions, while the two nonsatiation assumptions do not. It is also worth noting that just like the two nonsatiation assumptions, our new assumption depends solely on the characteristics of consumers.     

Wheat demand in Japanese flour milling industry: a production theory approach

A production approach based on the translog cost function is used to analyze import demand for wheat differentiated by class and country of origin in the Japanese wheat flour milling industry. Results indicate that US wheat faces strong competition in the Japanese wheat market, but its multiple classes and end‐use characteristics enable the US to preserve the largest market share in Japan.     

When and how US dollar shortages evolved into the full crisis? Evidence from the cross-currency swap market

This paper investigates when and how the US dollar shortages evolved into the full crisis in the cross-currency swap market between major European currencies and the US dollar during the turmoil of 2007-2009, using the dynamic factor model with regime-switching β coefficients of each swap price with respect to the latent common factor. The 1-year market entered the high-β crisis regime soon after the onset of the subprime problem in August 2007. The 10-year market entered that regime following the collapse of Bear Sterns in mid-March 2008. Financial credit spreads have significant predictive power for switches between high and low-β regimes.     

Effects on poverty and equity of the decline in collective tank irrigation management in Tamil Nadu, India

This paper investigates the factors influencing the decline in collective management of local commons and the impact of this decline on agricultural production and household consumption. The analysis is based on a village and household data set collected in 1999 in Tamil Nadu, India, where tank irrigation systems are managed collectively for rice cultivation by informal water users' organizations. Our statistical analyses find that one major reason for the decline in collective tank irrigation management is the dissemination of private well irrigation systems. Once the decline has occurred, our analyses predict that the gap in rice yields between farmers who have access to private wells and those who must rely solely on tanks will widen, with only the latter group suffering lower yields. Our analyses also find that the same pattern holds for levels of income and consumption because the affected farmers cannot sufficiently compensate for the loss of their rice income by diversifying their income sources to agricultural labor or nonagricultural work. In this way, the decline in collective management results in greater inequality and poverty.     

Internet resources and capabilities: Japanese SME risk-taking,industry and performance

This study investigates how Internet-related resources and capabilities are influencing performance in Japanese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We use a structural equation modelling approach to test these relationships between Internet readiness, Internet capability, risk-taking perceptions and performance within Japanese SMEs (350 SMEs). Unlike other counterpart countries, such as South Korea, Japanese SMEs have been relatively slow in implementing Internet technologies into business practice. However, the results indicate that if Japanese SMEs allocate appropriate resources and deploy Internet capabilities these firms will benefit with performance gains. Further, we find that both the perception of risk-taking and the industry in which the firm operates are key factors in either inhibiting or enhancing the firm’s ability to leverage Internet-related capabilities for firm performance.     

Taxpayers' Perceptions of Practitioners: Finding One Who is Effective and Does the Right Thing?

This paper examines Australian taxpayers' perceptions of their idealized tax practitioner as well as their perceptions of their current tax preparer. The analysis was based on survey responses from 2,040 randomly selected Australian taxpayers who completed the "Community Hopes, Fears and Actions Survey" (author, 2000). Three dimensions were identified as underlying taxpayer judgements of their idealized practitioner. A minority of the sample indicated that their ideal was a creative, aggressive tax planning type, a person who was well networked and familiar with tax office intelligence and enforcement priorities. A second type of idealized practitioner engaged in the cautious minimisation of tax. Unlike creative accountants, practitioners of this type avoided conflict, while being sophisticated about identifying opportunities to minimise tax. The most popular idealized type was the low risk, no fuss practitioner who was honest and risk averse. The data revealed that taxpayers are likely to find tax practitioners who have the attributes that they value most highly, but that when taxpayers' perceptions of their tax practitioner are combined with their ideals, only two substantive dimensions emerge, tax avoidance and doing the right thing. Our inability to distinguish tax practitioners who are seen to provide cautious and aggressive advice in practice has important implications for the growth of aggressive tax planning markets in the community.