Combining the technological innovation systems framework with the entrepreneurs’ perspective on innovation

For their technological sustainability innovations to become successful, entrepreneurs can strategically shape the technological field in which they are involved. The technological innovation systems (TISs) literature has generated valuable insights into the processes which need to be stimulated for the successful development and implementation of innovative sustainability technologies. To explore the applicability of the TIS framework from the perspective of entrepreneurs, we conducted a case study in the Dutch smart grids sector. We found that the TIS framework generally matches the perspectives of entrepreneurs. For its use by entrepreneurs, we suggest a slight adaptation of this framework. The process ‘Market formation’ needs to be divided into processes that are driven by the government and processes that are driven by entrepreneurs. There should be a greater emphasis on collaborative marketing, on changing user behaviour and preferences and on the development of fair and feasible business models.     

How can transportation policies affect growth? A theoretical analysis of the long-term effects of alternative mobility systems

We present an example of how public policies affect the evolution of the economy by influencing consumption habits, life styles and work attitudes. In particular, we show that governments can boost long-run growth by moving public investment away from collective transportation systems and towards infrastructures necessary for using private vehicles. Indeed, by augmenting the relative convenience of using private mobility systems, which are those more costly for the households, the government induces them to increase their labour supply so as to afford larger expenditures in transportation. This has long-term welfare implications depending also on the negative externalities associated with transport.     

The impact of innovation on companies’ performance: an entropy-based analysis of the STAR market segment of the Italian Stock Exchange

This paper proposes the use of a class of concentration-based entropy measures as a new instrument to quantify business performances through an analysis of growth, profitability and productivity. Such measures are tested against a complex analysis of the link between innovation and performance for firms listed in the STAR market segment of the Italian Stock Exchange. In so doing, two targets are achieved: (1) the identification of parameters that are relevant for explaining the relationship between innovation and performance for the considered sample, with special focus on innovation type, innovation level and business size; (2) the elaboration of a new methodology – based on information theory – for the analysis of the impact of innovation on performance. The study shows that type of innovation and size play a key role in determining company performance.     

Modelling the effect of national culture on countries’ innovation performances: A conditional full frontier approach

This paper provides empirical evidence of the link between countries’ cultural factors and innovation performance. By defining innovation process in a knowledge production framework it uses conditional and unconditional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models together with data from the European Innovation Scoreboard for the year 2007 and Hofstede’s cultural indexes. In this way it models and measures the effect of cultural values on 25 European countries’ innovation efficiency levels. The empirical results reveal that national culture can impact countries’ innovation performance. Specifically, we find significant negative effects on countries’ innovation efficiency levels for countries with higher power distance and uncertainty avoidance values.     

Conceptual confusion – an analysis of the meaning of concepts in technological innovation systems and sociological functionalism

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how conceptual confusion may be a significant obstacle to cross-disciplinary dialogue. We focus on the relationship between the framework of technological innovation systems (TIS) and sociological functionalism (SF). The paper argues that while there are similarities between the two schools of thought, in particular in the use of the terms ‘structure’ and ‘function’, these are more linguistic than substantive. We demonstrate this by assessing the validity of the spillover to TIS of four main points of critique raised against SF. We conclude by stating some lessons for improving cross-disciplinary communication.     

Does the analysis of innovation barriers perceived by high growth firms provide information on innovation policy priorities?

High growth firms and reducing innovation barriers figure high in the European innovation policy debate. Do high growth firms face specific innovation barriers which are relevant for innovation policy? In this paper we study the robustness of the perception of innovation barriers when alternative definitions of high growth firms are used. Using data from two waves of the European Innovation survey (CIS 4 and CIS 2006) we show not only that different definitions of high growth firms lead to quite different results across country groups, but also that the results are quite different for the CIS 4 and CIS 2006 samples. We argue that in the light of the available empirical evidence this non-robustness should not come as a surprise and that this negative result makes it difficult to specifically target high growth firms with public policies. Fostering the emergence of high growth innovative firms in Europe may not be feasible with targeted funding policies only but needs a systemic approach.     

Which factors hinder the adoption of open innovation in SMEs?

The literature on open innovation (OI) is characterised by studies based both on large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Among all, one of the less explored issues in SMEs is what impedes them to adopt OI. Thus, this paper has the threefold objective to identify which factors hinder the adoption of OI in SMEs, to investigate if different behaviours exist among SMEs in relation to these factors, and to understand if the same factors effectively influence the level of adoption of OI. Based on a survey on 157 Italian SMEs, we identified four main barriers (namely, ‘knowledge’, ‘collaboration’, ‘organisational’, and ‘financial and strategic’) and three profiles of firms, different in terms of innovativeness of the industries they belong to (knowledge intensive, medium-innovative, and less innovative) and hampering factors perceived (‘knowledge’, ‘financial and strategic’, and ‘collaboration’ and ‘organisational’ barriers). Moreover, we found that some of these factors effectively impede the adoption of the paradigm.     

Do national soccer results really impact on the stock market?

This study is a response to Klein et al. (2008), which was highly critical of earlier work by Ashton et al. (2003). This work considering the link between international soccer results and stock market returns was challenged by Klein et al. (2008), who reject the presence and importance of this link. In response, this work provides a reassessment of the link between international soccer results and stock market returns within Ashton et al. (2003). This new analysis extends the original work by using a larger dataset, employing an extended range of tests and allowing for outliers. It is reported that, contrary to the findings of Klein et al. (2008), the link between international soccer results and stock market prices does indeed exist particularly within the sample period 1984–2002 used by Ashton et al. (2003). After extending the dataset to include observations from 2002 until 2009, it is reported that the effect on stock market returns has declined in importance over this period, particularly the impact of wins.     

Study on the modes of metropolitan innovation system

Building regional innovation system has become the important means to upgrade competence of both country and region. Based on comparatively analysis of the metropolitan innovation systems of major innovation centers in the world, this paper concludes four modes of metropolitan innovation system, which are comprehensive knowledge innovation, venture entrepreneurship, learning and overtaking, and Science Park as a carder. According to the four modes and tri-spiral theory of RIS, this paper designs the mode of Shanghai innovation system of overtaking by learning, emphasizing composite innovation player combined firm, university and government, and the strategic aim to build regional and even international innovation center through knowledge innovation, systemic innovation, organizational innovation, cultural innovation and effective control.     

Import-push or export-pull? An industry-level analysis of the impact of trade on firm exit

Does the selection effect of trade work solely through competition from imports, or does the export market further contribute to firm selection? This paper provides a re-interpretation of the different mechanisms in terms of selection on profitability—rather than productivity—and derives novel predictions regarding the export market and the role of product differentiation. Empirical results for a sample of Danish manufacturing industries confirm the import-“push” hypothesis as well as the export-“pull” hypothesis, but also reveal differences across industries. The selection effect of trade is mainly driven by the “import-push” if product differentiation is high, whereas it is driven by the “export-pull” if goods are homogeneous.     

A new insight into environmental innovation: Does the maturity of environmental management systems matter?

Technological innovation has recently become more essential than ever. To examine the factors that might induce environmental technological innovation, we focus on ISO 14001, a voluntary approach to environmental management, and scrutinise how the proficiency or maturity level of ISO 14001 in facilities influences environment-related research and development (R&D) expenditures that promote environmental technological innovation. We measure the maturity level based on the length of time since a given facility adopted ISO 14001. Using Japanese facility-level data from “Environmental Policy Tools and Firm-Level Management and Practices: An International Survey” (OECD Survey), we estimate two Tobit models by addressing an endogeneity issue in ISO 14001. The estimation results provide empirical evidence that as the ISO 14001 is improved in facilities, those facilities are likely to spend more on environmental R&D. The facility age and market concentration also positively affect environmental R&D. These findings suggest that the maturity level of ISO 14001 is an important factor influencing the investment in environmental R&D.     

A hard landing for the ‘New Economy’? Information technology and the United States national system of innovation

This paper discusses the probability of a hard landing for the US economy. It argues that information and communication technology (ICT) has not changed the fundamental nature of the business-cycle and the instability of investment behaviour. It analyses some of the strengths of ICT in the United States, but suggests a resemblance between ICT and previous waves of diffusion of new technologies, notably the boom of the 1920s.     

The fourfold relation between the essence of money,inflation, bubbles and debt—A theoretical macrofounded analysis

The paper makes an unprecedented claim by identifying a significant relationship between money's (immaterial and intrinsic-worth-detached) essence and the measurement of inflation rates, on the one hand, and bubbles and private/public indebtedness, on the other hand. The inflationary potential of cryptocurrencies—among others: xenocurrencies and special drawing rights—is also analysed. Another added value is the consistently macroeconomic approach, which starts from the structural and interconnected mechanisms and then explains economic-financial crises and their increasingly common features.     

Financial conditions and the well-being of the real estate sector—A bottom-up default analysis on five ASEAN economies

This paper investigates the impact of financial conditions, for example, cross-border capital flows, interest rates and foreign exchange rates, on the well-being of the real estate developers in five Association of Southeast Asian Nations economies. The study uses a Bottom-up Default Analysis model to stress test their creditworthiness by reproducing the financial shocks during the global financial crisis, taper tantrum, and the U.S.-China trade war and COVID-19 pandemic. The median developers remain sound under the prescribed adversities. The performance is underpinned by their strong fundamentals and a conducive mix of monetary, foreign exchange, and open capital account policies by national authorities.     

Reappraisal of outbound open innovation under the policy of China’s ‘Market for Technology’

China’s ‘Market for Technology’ policy has attracted much interest over the past decade. In light of a relative emphasis on the spillover effects of joint ventures, this study examines the transferring effects of Multinationals’ (MNCs) outbound open innovation in such a context. A survey of 2071 research and development (R&D) contract transactions between Chinese entities and MNCs indicates both internal factors (e.g. organisational capabilities) and external factors (e.g. the role of Intellectual Property protection) affect the transferring effects, which reformulate the focus of the Policy from the relational dimension of ‘Government vs. MNCs’ to the transactional dimension of ‘Domestic entities vs. MNCs’. We thus conclude that MNCs’ active initiative in the involvement of technology transfer and the success of domestic transaction partners combine to contribute to the technology progress within China’s ‘Market for Technology’ policy.     

Is an unfunded social security system good or bad for growth? A theoretical analysis of social security systems financed by VAT

This study investigates how unfunded public pensions financed by value added tax (VAT), as discussed in Japan, affect economic growth and whether payroll tax (PT) or VAT is the more growth‐friendly tax structure for financing public pensions. We examine these issues using overlapping generations models with parental altruism and find that a public pension system financed by VAT may increase economic growth when bequests are operative. By contrast, when bequests are inoperative, public pensions hinder growth unless agents are sufficiently patient. Finally, public pensions financed by VAT are more growth‐friendly than those financed by PT.     

The evolution of competition in innovation resource: a theoretical study based on Lotka–Volterra model

This research uses the Lotka–Volterra model to analyse the competition of innovation resource between two enterprises and studies the dynamic effects of environmental changes through the change of model parameters. The research finds that there are three possible results of the competition in innovation resource. That comprises ‘crowding out effect’, ‘unstable equilibrium’ and ‘stable equilibrium’. The results of competitive evolution are determined by enterprises’ interaction parameters. However, the natural growth rates, the initial resource possessions of both enterprises and the amount of regional innovation resource have a significant impact on the evolution of competition.     

Can open innovation improve firm performance? An investigation of financial information in the biopharmaceutical industry

Over the past decade, open innovation has seemingly become the dominant approach for revitalising a company’s innovation process. Can open innovation improve firm performance? This study optimises the measures for open innovation based on existing literature and by considering the actual situation in China. We draw conclusions from an analysis of 516 annual reports and data from Wind of 172 biopharmaceutical companies from 2013 to 2015. Result indicates that open innovation strategies have different effects at different times: (1) Inbound open innovation has a negative impact on short-term (1–2 years) firm performance, but an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship will develop after about 3 years. (2) Outbound open innovation has a negative impact on short-term firm performance, but leaves a positive effect in the long run. Therefore, enterprises should maintain a moderate inbound open innovation level and improve the degree of outbound open innovation to improve long-term performance.