Product innovation,process innovation and export propensity: persistence,complementarities and feedback effects in Spanish firms

Drawing on a longitudinal data of Spanish manufacturing firms, this study explores the persistence of technological innovation and exports, their potential complementary relations and feedback effects. Empirical results suggest the presence of both true and spurious state dependence in all three activities. True state dependence in technical innovation and exports implies intertemporal spillovers relevant to the evaluation of innovation and export policy measures. However, given that results also suggest spurious state dependence, firm-specific characteristics should be taken into account in promoting technological innovations and exports. In addition, we find a strong complementarity between product and process innovation both through a contemporaneous effect and via unobserved firm characteristics. However, concerning complementarity between innovation and exports, results suggests complementarity only through contemporaneous effects. Finally, we find no support for the causal link from past product and process innovations to current export activities.     

Endogenous product versus process innovation and a firm’s propensity to export

This article provides an empirical analysis of the effects of new product versus process innovations on export propensity at the firm level. Product innovation is a key factor for successful market entry in models of creative destruction and Schumpeterian growth. Process innovation helps securing a firm’s market position given the characteristics of its product supply. Both modes of innovation are expected to raise a firm’s propensity to export. According to new trade theory, we conjecture that product innovation is relatively more important in that regard. We investigate these hypotheses in a rich survey panel data set with information about new innovations of either type. With a set of indicators regarding innovation motives and impediments and continuous variables at the firm and industry level at hand, we may determine the probability of launching new innovations and their impact on export propensity at the firm level through a double treatment approach.     

Does input sector liberalization promote quality innovation and exports?

This paper examines the relationship between input sector liberalization and product quality innovation and export orientation by a LDC firm given the complementarity between high input quality and high product quality. We show that input sector liberalization per se may not induce quality innovation and outward orientation. In fact, in some situations, ceteris paribus input sector liberalization may increase the odds in favour of low-quality production. We show that total output sector liberalization, or surprisingly, a suitable degree of output sector protection is needed to be combined with input sector liberalization so that quality innovation is induced.     

创新与出口间因果关系分析——基于中国高技术产业企业数据的实证研究

使用1999—2009年我国18万家规模以上高技术产业微观企业数据,采用倾向得分匹配方法控制内生性问题,分析了企业创新与出口之间的因果关系。以产品创新衡量企业创新的估计结果表明,企业创新与出口间存在明显的因果关系:企业创新使其出口概率平均增加14%以上,企业出口使企业创新概率平均提升超过8%,从创新到出口、从出口到创新的因果关系方向均显著。区分出口强度和企业类型的估计结果显示:这种因果关系随着出口强度的增大而减弱;内资企业的创新对其出口的影响要大于外资企业;外资企业的出口对其创新的影响要大于内资企业。以研发衡量企业创新后也得到了类似结果。     

The use and impact of business advice by SMEs in Britain: an empirical assessment using logit and ordered logit models

This study assesses the effect of differences in types of client on the use and impact of business advice by SMEs in Britain using new survey evidence from the Cambridge ESRC Centre for Business Research Survey of 1997. The survey, covering over 2500 respondents, is the largest and most definitive assessment available in Britain. Moreover, the survey allows an assessment of the full range of providers of external advice, the private sector, business associations and various public sector bodies, as well as the fields of advice. Using multivariate logit models it is found that size of firm, rate of growth and innovation appear to be the main variables influencing the likelihood of firms seeking external advice, both from different sources and from different fields. Other variables which are investigated include, age, profitability, skill levels, manufacturer/services, and exporter/nonexporter. Ordered logit models of the impact of the advice demonstrate that there are significant differences between clients' perceived impact of advice and the sources of advice they use, chiefly as a result of firm size, and to a lesser extent for growth, innovation and export levels.     

Within‐firm wage inequality and firm‐level exports

This paper analyzes changes in within‐firm inequality of hourly wages arising from export shocks to exporting firms in Denmark. We provide causal evidence that export demand shocks increase within‐firm inequality. Decomposing overall inequality into within and between components for occupational and educational groups, the results show that exports lead to a significant increase in within‐group wage inequality but do not affect the between‐group component. We develop a partial equilibrium model, featuring heterogeneous workers, which rationalizes these observations and shows how export demand shocks induce a complementarity effect, leading to increases in wage inequality within firms.     

Complementarity between product and process innovation in a monopoly setting

In this article we study complementarity between market-enhancing product innovation and cost-reducing process innovation in a monopoly setting. First, we consider the possibility for a firm to alternatively invest only along one of the two directions and compare the incentives of process vs. product innovation. Then, we allow the firm to invest simultaneously in both activities, showing that both investment levels and profit are higher than in the case of individual investment. Thus, product and process innovations are complementary, and the firm always prefers the simultaneous adoption of both activities.     

Research,Innovation And Productivi[Ty: An Econometric Analysis At The Firm Level

This paper studies the links between productivity, innovation and research at the firm level. We introduce three new features: (i) A structural model that explains productivity by innovation output, and innovation output by research investment: (ii) New data on French manufacturing firms, including the number of European patents and the percentage share of innovative sales, as well as firm-level demand pull and technology push indicators; (iii) Econometric methods which correct for selectivity and simultaneity biases and take into account the statistical features of the available data: only a small proportion of firms engage in research activities and/or apply for patents; productivity, innovation and research are endogenously determined; research investment and capital are truncated variables, patents are count data and innovative sales are interval data.

We find that using the more widespread methods, and the more usual data and model specification, may lead to sensibly different estimates. We find in particular that simultaneity tends to interact with selectivity, and that both sources of biases must be taken into account together. However our main results are consistent with many of the stylized facts of the empirical literature. The probability of engaging in research (R&D) for a firm increases with its size (number of employees), its market share and diversification, and with the demand pull and technology push indicators. The research effort (R&D capital intensity) of a firm engaged in research increases with the same variables, except for size (its research capital being strictly proportional to size). The firm innovation output, as measured by patent numbers or innovative sales, rises with its research effort and with the demand pull and technology indicators, either directly or indirectly through their effects on research. Finally, firm productivity correlates positively with a higher innovation output, even when controlling for the skill composition of labor as well as for physical capital intensity.     

Employer-provided training,innovation and skills in post-Soviet countries

This paper analyzes the extent of employer-provided training in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine and investigates its relationship with innovation, having international business contacts, use of computers at work, reported skills shortages and other firm characteristics. It contributes to the literature by examining different types of training – initial on-the-job learning, more formal in-house training and external training, which is provided by firms to two categories of workers – white- and blue-collar workers. After controlling for a range of firm characteristics, we find a positive link between technological innovation and intensity of training of all types provided to white-collar workers that points to the technology-skills complementarity. Furthermore, the level of computer use at work is a significant determinant of the incidence and intensity of external training provided to white-collar and blue-collar workers.     

Export tightening,competition, and firm innovation: Evidence from the renminbi appreciation

This paper investigates how firm innovation reacts to changes in competitive pressure in the export market. We use the exchange rate appreciation of the renminbi during 2005–2007 as a natural experiment and exploit its differential impact on Chinese manufacturing firms with different export exposure. The appreciation reduced exports and imposed greater competitive pressure on exporters relative to non‐exporters. In response, exporters increased innovation activities more than non‐exporters. Using a difference‐in‐difference approach, we find that the research and development expenditure of exporters increased by 11% more than that of non‐exporters during the appreciation period, and the new product development of exporters increased by nearly 1.5 times more than that of non‐exporters. These results highlight the important role of competition in providing incentives for firm innovation.     

The effects of transformational leadership,competitive intensity and technological innovation on performance

This study aims to determine the three-way interaction effects of transformational leadership, technological innovation (i.e. product and process innovation) and competitive intensity on firm performance by detecting three-way interactions involving slope differences in moderated multiple regression. Based on a sample of 182 manufacturing enterprises in China, this paper finds that firms under transformational leadership are more likely to conduct process innovation, that the joint effect of the interaction between process innovation and competitive intensity is negatively related to firm performance and that the joint effect of the interaction between transformational leadership and competitive intensity is positively related to firm performance. Accordingly, this paper concludes that a firm should conduct more process innovation in a moderately competitive environment, but it should conduct less process innovation in a fiercely competitive environment, where in stronger transformational leadership should be adopted.     

Computerization,workplace organization,skilled labour and firm productivity: Evidence for the Swiss business sector

The present study explores empirically the hypothesis that information and communication technologies, new organizational practices and human capital are important determinants of firm efficiency and performance, further that the combined use of these three factors leads to a mutual strengthening of their impact on firm performance. The analytical framework is that of a production function at firm level. The new contribution of this study to the empirical literature is that it is the first empirical study of this type for the Swiss business sector, using a rich data set at firm level for the year 1999 which were collected by means of a postal survey, and giving particular attention to the complementarity issue (several approaches) and to the endogenization of the technology and organization variables.     

异质性、出口与中国企业技术创新

本文使用来自中国企业的大样本微观数据,运用Probit模型对影响企业创新的异质性特征从全要素生产率（TFP）因素进行了拓展,同时将所有制异质性作为“基础因子”,综合考察了多维度异质性特征、出口等对中国企业技术创新的影响。结果发现：(1)TFP因素对所有类型企业的创新倾向均具有显著的正向影响,即表现出明显的“创新自选择”效应;(2)出口参与因素显著提高了各类型企业的创新倾向,但出口密度因素对国有和民营企业的技术创新影响存在显著的倒U型关系,而对外资企业技术创新影响的非线性关系并不明显;(3)其他影响因素如企业规模、人力资本等异质性特征在不同类型企业的创新决策中表现各异。     

Innovation,productivity and exports: the case of Hungary

This paper estimates the relationship between innovation and firm performance by using Community Innovation Survey data for Hungary. It exploits the possibility of linking the innovation data to ownership and disaggregated trade data. Innovative firms are more productive, more likely to trade and export more products to more countries. We also test for differences in innovative behaviour in high- and low-tech industries, and study whether domestic and foreign firms differ in this respect.     

Innovation,trade and multi‐product firms

This paper contributes to the literature on the relationship between innovation and exports by developing a model that emphasizes the role of product innovation in explaining heterogeneity in export behaviour both across and within firms. The dynamic model assumes that firms invest to maintain and increase the portfolio of products they sell: innovation is a stochastic process whereby the probability to capture new business opportunities is a function of the number of goods already sold. Crucially, the model assumes two independent mechanisms to drive the extensive and the intensive margins of a firm's export. The resulting lack of (built‐in) correlation between the two margins is well reflected in the data and represents the main contribution of our theoretical framework. The model is consistent with several other empirical regularities that characterize multi‐product firms, such as the heavy tail in the distribution of the number of products exported by each firm, the strict hierarchy in the sales of products across markets, the substantial degree of product churning and the highly skewed distributions of export sales.     

Evidence on the impact of R&D and ICT investments on innovation and productivity in Italian firms

Both research and development (R&D) and information and communication technology (ICT) investment have been identified as sources of relative innovation underperformance in Europe vis-à-vis the USA. In this article, we investigate the R&D and ICT investment at the firm level in an effort to assess their relative importance and to what extent they are complements or substitutes. We use data on a large unbalanced panel data sample of Italian manufacturing firms constructed from four consecutive waves of a survey of manufacturing firms, to estimate a version of the CDM model of R&D, innovation, and productivity [Crépon–Duguet–Mairesse 1998. Research, innovation and productivity: An econometric analysis at the firm level. Economics of Innovation and New Technology 7, no. 2: 115–58] that has been modified to include ICT investment and R&D as the two main inputs into innovation and productivity. We find that R&D and ICT are both strongly associated with innovation and productivity, with R&D being more important for innovation, and ICT investment being more important for productivity. For the median firm, rates of return to both investments are so high that they suggest considerably underinvestment in both these activities. We explore the possible complementarity between R&D and ICT in innovation and production, but find none, although we do find complementarity between R&D and worker skill in innovation.     

On the relationship between intermediate input imports and export quality in China

This paper studies the connection between intermediate input imports and firms’ export quality using firm‐level data from 2000 to 2007. Our regression results show that intermediate input imports promote manufacturing firms’ export quality through ‘variety effects’ and ‘innovation effects’, though the effects are significantly different among firms with different characteristics, and the magnitude of these effects differs across import sources and the quality of imported intermediate inputs themselves. Moreover, we find that a good institutional environment is conducive to the strengthening of the positive influence of intermediate input imports on export quality. Furthermore, the dynamic decomposition demonstrates that the reallocation effect is the key force through which imported inputs boost industrial aggregate quality growth. Taken together, these results suggest that product upgrading facilitated by quality embedded in imported intermediate inputs, a good institutional environment and market share reallocation help Chinese firms to improve the quality of their export products.     

Sunk Costs,Firm Heterogeneity,Export Market Entry and Exit: Evidence from India

This paper analyses the role of sunk costs and firm heterogeneity in firm decision to enter and exit export markets. Employing rich firm-level data on Indian manufacturing firms, the study points out that sunk costs in terms of previous export experience significantly explain entry and exit decisions of firms in the export market. The first set of analysis involves estimation of dynamic discrete choice model using random effects probit correcting for initial conditions problem. We find evidence that previous export experience (sunk costs) matters for export decision. However, importance of sunk costs is found to depreciate rapidly. Further, analysis across sub-sample of firms accounting for firm heterogeneity factors like size and product level information supports the hypothesis of sunk costs. Second set of analysis involving firm survival in export markets using discrete-time hazard models shows evidence of negative duration dependence. We observe that those firms which continue to export for few years are less likely to exit from export markets.

     

平台企业主导的创新生态系统稳定性研究：基于企业间网络关系视角

平台企业主导的创新生态系统作为一种特殊类型生态系统，是由平台主导企业提供基本创新架构并与其它相关企业及关联机构组成的网络组织，企业间网络关系是创新生态系统的本质特征。基于企业间网络关系分析平台企业主导的创新生态系统网络的成员、联系、结构及功能特征,讨论网络结构变量对平台企业主导的创新生态系统稳定性的影响，以山东省30个平台企业主导的创新生态系统为调研样本，通过问卷调查方式，对所提出的假设进行检验。数据相关分析和回归分析结果表明：强有力的创新生态系统主导企业、系统内伙伴企业密度、企业本地化以及企业异质性4个因素对创新生态系统稳定性具有显著正向影响；系统内伙伴企业互惠性和居间性与创新生态系统稳定性之间关系不显著。最后，基于研究结论，提出保持平台企业主导的创新生态系统网络稳定性的政策建议。     

Simultaneity between strategic variables: Production,innovation, and product differentiation

This paper aims to analyze the existence of simultaneous effects among the variables production, product differentiation, and innovation. Microeconomic data from a sample of 2,160 firms are used as a base. Empirical results show that a positive correlation exists from innovation to product differentiation, thus showing that it is in the process of production itself, through technical improvements, where product differentiation is determined. On the other hand, no positive effect exists from product differentiation to innovation, i.e., once technical improvements have been established, firms exchange the barriers to entry created by brand image for the real barriers established by innovation itself. Lastly, the importance of the firm size in explaining the other endogenous variables analyzed is confirmed. This paper has received financial support from the Valencian Institut of Economic Research (IVIE). The study was carried out within the framework of research program SEC94-1357 of the Comisón Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT).