Learning in strategic technology alliances

In this paper we examine the influence of strategic technology alliances on organisational learning. From an empirical perspective we examine the pre- and post-alliance knowledge bases of allying firms. We find that the pre-alliance knowledge base overlap of the allying firms has an inverted U-shaped relationship with the degree of learning taking place in the alliance. Alliances established for the purpose of learning also show a significantly greater increase in knowledge base overlap for the allying firms than for non-learning alliance or non-allying firms. This shows the particular importance of learning alliances as a vehicle for organisational learning and competence development. Contrary to what we expected we found that weak ties are more important than strong ties in organisational learning within strategic alliances.     

The degree of integration in strategic alliances in biotechnology

This paper looks at the spection of strategic alliances in biotechnoloy in the late 1980s from the point of view of whether the alliance was of a contractual type or, at the other end of the spectrum, have integrated the two companies of the alliance were. It uses an ordered probit model to test for any systemalic association between alliances within indeustrial sectors and of different size types, and the type of alhance that occurred. The paper find that more contractual, less integrated types of alliance were concentrated in the healtheare secters of thenapeutics and diagnostics and where at least one of the firms was small in size. More integrated types of alliance revailed in the agriculature and cheicals sectors and between two lage companies. It relates these results to conditions of appropriability, the impact of the new lechnologies on existing compelencies and absorptwe capacity within the different industrial sectors at that time. It compares the situation of the late 1980s with more recnt developments in corporate strategy lowards allliance formation.     

The degree of integration in strategic alliances in biotechnology

This paper looks at the spection of strategic alliances in biotechnoloy in the late 1980s from the point of view of whether the alliance was of a contractual type or, at the other end of the spectrum, have integrated the two companies of the alliance were. It uses an ordered probit model to test for any systemalic association between alliances within indeustrial sectors and of different size types, and the type of alhance that occurred. The paper find that more contractual, less integrated types of alliance were concentrated in the healtheare secters of thenapeutics and diagnostics and where at least one of the firms was small in size. More integrated types of alliance revailed in the agriculature and cheicals sectors and between two lage companies. It relates these results to conditions of appropriability, the impact of the new lechnologies on existing compelencies and absorptwe capacity within the different industrial sectors at that time. It compares the situation of the late 1980s with more recnt developments in corporate strategy lowards allliance formation.     

Co-evolution of firms and strategic alliances: Theory and empirical evidence

This paper reviews the analogies of evolution and co-evolution within a business context. Specifically it examines some of the essential underlying assumptions of these theories including the unit of change, the unit of selection; the mechanism of selection, and the ability to change an organisational form. The usefulness of the application of theories of both evolution and co-evolution to explain firm behaviour is examined. Empirical evidence from the UK fresh produce industry is presented to illustrate that both firms and strategic alliances evolve, co-evolve and are subject to selection at individual, dyadic and group levels simultaneously.     

Strategic alliances and internationalisation in the aircraft manufacturing industry

Based on an indicator measuring the technological level of aircraft, this paper shows that in the aircraft industry, firms are obliged to deal not only with high technological barriers, but growing financial and market barriers, too. In order to reduce these, a complex network of relationships has developed over time. This network involves both main firms belonging to the world oligopoly and firms capable of offering specialised technology and/or a potential broadening of the market. The result is a worldwide production organisation. This paper highlights the fact that the aircraft industry is undergoing a global reorganisation featuring an integration process where six groups (two in Europe and four in the United States) have come to the fore. In the future, it will be possible to imagine new forms of co-operation between the emerging European and American groups.     

战略性新兴产业的推进策略

战略性新兴产业发展应建立在充分论证和科学规划的基础之上,并遵循基础优先、创新驱动和循序渐进的推进策略。战略性新兴产业的成长建立在科技研发能力和掌握核心技术的基础之上,绝不可通过低水平规模扩张来实现,在推进过程中要注意防范可能出现的风险。     

Cutting-sdge technologies computer software: strategic industry

US- owned firms account for more than 60% of worldwide computer software sales, and US capability in software tachnology is widely viewed as well ahead of that in other countries. However, the US lead cannot be expected to last. Nor are policies yet in place intended to protect exisitng advantages. Japanese firms have demonstrated their capabilities in hardware. Japanese firms have demonstrated their capabilities in hardware. Japanses exxecutives know they must develop better software in order (1) to use their own computer systems to best advantge, and (2) to sell more hardware in export markets. The next several devades will see a gradual slippage in the US position, particularly as foreign software suppliers move away from custom programming an realted services, their present focuse. A narrowing gap between US and foreign industries could prefigure a competitive challenge in software, development not unlike earlier challenges in microelectronics. Better software,. in addition, will have impacts elsewhere.In Japan's case, for example, improvements in softwarte should lead to productivity enhancements throughout the economy, improving Japan's ability to tmpete internationally.     

The healthy development of economies: A strategic framework for competitiveness in the health industry

Applying a strategic decision-making perspective on the economics of business, we suggest that a competitive locality in the health industry is one that, relative to other localities, is effective in: (1) providing the healthcare that enables everyone to participate fully in the democratic development of the locality; (2) providing the healthcare that is democratically identified as a direct objective of this development; (3) contributing through the health industry to any other democratically determined objectives of the locality's development. The paper hypothesizes that strategic decision-making in organizations is an especially significant determinant of the impacts of the health industry. We conclude that: (i) a locality that suffers concentration in the power to determine the objectives of its health industry could not be strictly competitive in that industry; (ii) the first best way to achieve competitiveness in the health industry would be to democratize its strategic decision-making. What this would entail in practice is discussed in some detail.     

入世对中国奶业的影响及对策研究

入世为中国经济的发展带来许多机遇,但同时也会产生相当大的冲击,本文分析了我国奶业生产现状,指出加入世贸组织后中国奶业面临的挑战和机遇,并针对目前存在的问题,提出对策。     

Cyclical industrial dynamics: The case of the global semiconductor industry

In this paper, we focus on firms' cyclical behavior in the global semiconductor industry. We demonstrate that these cyclical dynamics at the industry level differ from both the business cycles at the macro-economic level and the lengthy industrial technology life cycle. We discuss a range of possible causes of those cyclical industrial dynamics, including the general business cycles as well as industry-specific factors. Our study reports three stylized facts in relation to the cyclical industrial dynamics in the global semiconductor industry: first, the industry is more concentrated during the industry cycle downturns; second, the capital investment of the industry as a whole follows a ‘pro-cyclical’ pattern; and third, firms that pursued a ‘counter-cyclical’ capital investment strategy during the industry cycle downturn have reaped rewards during the subsequent cycle period. These facts suggest that cyclical industrial dynamics, especially the industry cycle downturns, play an important role in firm rivalry, strategic positioning and industrial growth.     

The interaction effect of strategic orientations on new product performance in the high-tech industry: A nonlinear model

Innovation and market orientation are two strategic orientations or business philosophies that can guide a company in its business activities. Although the interaction effect of these two strategic orientations is conceptually recognized as a critical factor for new product's success, empirical results are mixed. This paper examines this issue in terms of innovation orientation, two types of market orientations (responsive and proactive), and new product performance. Based on a sample of 107 high-tech firms, the results of this study show that the interaction between innovation orientation and two types of market orientation yields different patterns of nonlinear responses for new product performance. Specifically, new product performance, when derived from the interaction between innovation orientation and responsive market orientation, is in the form of an inverted U, i.e., the interaction effect is contributory to firm performance until an optimal level is reached, and then the effect becomes detrimental thereafter. However, new product performance derived from innovation orientation and proactive market orientation is in the form of a U, i.e., the interaction effect is detrimental to firm performance until a threshold level is reached and then the effect becomes contributory thereafter. The different patterns of new product performance indicate that the costs and organizational learning effects of these two strategic orientation interactions are dissimilar. The paper concludes with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Knowledge characteristics and the dynamics of technological alliances in pharmaceuticals: empirical evidence from Europe,US and Japan

The paper investigates the co-evolutionary patterns of the dynamics of technological alliances and of the structure of the knowledge base in the pharmaceutical sector. The main hypothesis under scrutiny is that technological alliances represent a key resource for firms in knowledge intensive sectors to cope with dramatic changes in the knowledge base, marked by the introduction of discontinuities opening up new technological trajectories. Using patent information and data on technological alliances drawn from the CATI-MERIT database, we compare the evidence concerning the so-called triad regions, i.e. United States, Europe and Japan. The empirical results support the existence of a life cycle in biotechnology affecting the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, the dynamics of alliances is found to depend on (i) the phase of the biotechnology life cycle, (ii) the strength of the region in biotechnology and (iii) the general features of the economic environment of the region.     

The evolution of wages over the lifecycle: insights from intergenerational connections

This article uses intergenerational information to improve our understanding of lifecycle wage dynamics. I present a simple statistical model that relates the wages of workers at different points in their lifecycle to the earnings of their parents. I decompose cross-sectional variance of wages into a permanent component related to parental background, a permanent component unrelated to parental background, and a transitory component. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) suggests that intergenerational relationships are stronger when measured later in the lifecycle of the son. This implies that the permanent parent-related component is increasingly important for wage determination as workers grow older. This is not consistent with wage evolution through persistent random shocks. Rather, it is consistent with human capital models and learning models of wage evolution.     

The dynamics of inter-firm networks in the course of the industry life cycle: the role of appropriability

This paper examines the dynamics of inter-firm networks and introduces a conceptual framework for explaining why inter-firm networks change over time. The framework is based on the idea that patterns of inter-firm linkages are linked to the life cycle development of an industry. Special emphasis is placed on the role of appropriabiliy, i.e. a firm's ability to capture the profits generated by its innovations. The (trans)formation of inter-firm networks in three industries is examined and used to illustrate the relevance of the framwork. One important inference from our study is that public policy makers and manageers should take into account the phase of industry development before implementing policies to create and/or change inter-firm networks.     

Knowledge dynamics in a network industry

In this paper, we model the impact of networks on knowledge growth in an innovating industry. Specifically, we compare two mediums of knowledge exchange: random interaction, and the case in which interaction occurs on a fixed architecture. In a simulation study, we investigate how the medium of knowledge exchange contributes to knowledge growth under different scenarios related to the industry's innovative potential. We measure innovative potential by considering the extent to which knowledge can be codified, and the available technological opportunities. Our results tend to support the conjecture that spatial clustering generates higher long-run knowledge growth rates in industries characterized by highly tacit knowledge, while the opposite is true when the degree of codification is important.     

产业创新系统中的协同演化理论研究

创新是一个学习过程的结果,学习又可能产生其他的结果,包括形成新的知识、新的思想、变化了的信仰、新的制度环境、变化的网络结构、适应的协同机制等。该文研究了这些变化与学习机制相互作用的动力形式,阐述了它们的协同演化过程。     

The interactions between natural and physical capitals in the tourist lifecycle model

This paper presents a model of the interactions between natural resources and physical capital in the evolution of a tourist destination. The projected trajectory of the number of tourists approaches the classical lifecycle pattern. The post-stagnation phase is analyzed within the model, obtaining different patterns which depend on the impacts of physical capital on both demand and environmental degradation. The magnitudes of these impacts are determined by the type of tourism. An empirical application to the case of the tourist industry in the Canary Islands (Spain) is presented, showing that the model can represent the general characteristics of the post-stagnation phase of a tourist destination.     

Licensing technology to shape standards: Examining the influence of the industry context

Technology standards refer to particular technological solutions, which emerge as the accepted approach to fulfill a particular function. In light of the growing importance of technology standards and network externalities, industrial firms may not only adopt emerging standards, but they can actively shape the standardization processes based on their forecasting activities. One important means to influence standard setting towards a firm's own technology is to foster the technology's adoption by actively licensing it to other organizations. Thus, industrial firms may license technology in order to enhance their future new product performance based on a standard related to their technology. To shed light on these dynamics of standardization processes, we draw on contingency theory and conceptually examine the role of licensing in the emergence of technology standards. We further use new data from two surveys of 79 industrial firms with a three-year lag to analyze how environmental contingency factors related to appropriability, i.e., patent protection and technological turbulence, moderate the relationship between licensing to shape technology standards and a firm's subsequent innovation performance. The data provide strong support for the importance of shaping standards by licensing technology, and the findings have important implications for research into standards, licensing, and appropriability.     

论西部地区发展特色农产品加工业的战略意义

民以食为天,农产品加工业是我国的支柱产业之一,农产品加工业的发展水平直接关系我国的产业安全和食品安全。基于此,结合中央会议精神和西部地区特色农产品加工业发展的现状,从破解西部地区“三农”问题,推进西部地区工业化、信息化、城镇化和农业现代化“四化”同步发展,加快新一轮西部大开发,促进西部地区城乡统筹发展,促进工业反哺农业等五个方面分析了西部地区特色农产品加工业发展的战略意义。     

The semiconductor silicon industry roadmap: Epochs driven by the dynamics between disruptive technologies and core competencies

The resource-based perspective has done much to identify idiosyncratic firm attributes that may be a principal source of competitive advantages. Unfortunately, there has been little systematic industry evidence to support the strategic importance of core competence, nor has there been much work on the temporal or cumulative nature of core capabilities within an industrial setting. Further, little or no research has been performed demonstrating how the advent of technological discontinuities or disruptive technologies plays a part in creating epochs in technology competency development and the roadmap of an industry. In this study, we analyze the evolutionary and cumulative nature of core capabilities and their interactions with technological discontinuities from a market-driven perspective. We have studied the evolution of 167 firms through the 50-year history of the semiconductor silicon industry. Over time, there were several structural shifts in the necessary competencies through the advent of disruptive technologies. In the last 30 years, however, the change in the required competencies has been more cumulative in nature. We summarize this in a roadmap detailing the epochs in the semiconductor silicon industry.