Innovation centres and their importance for the growth of new technology-based firms: experience gained from the Federal Republic of Germany

The following study is based on three countrywide surveys aimed at investigating the effect of innovation centres as an instrument of local economic development and innovation policy in the Federal Republic of Germany (F.R.G.). The conceptual bases of 31 centres, the situation of 177 resident entrepreneurs and the characteristics of 29 site managers are investigated by means of written inquiries, structured interviews and oral inquiries. The representative nature of the data gathered allows a first cautious stocktaking of this still unequivocal instrument of economic development policy after 5 years' experience of innovation centres in the F.R.G. The main emphasis of the present investigation is on the implication that services rendered by the centres have for the growth and innovation opportunities of young companies that predominantly stem from the pool of new technology-based firms.     

Incubator,technology, and innovation centres in Switzerland: features and policy implications

Only since the early 1990s, when unemployment rates in Switzerland soared to unprecedented levels, has federal technology and innovation policy begun to design their activities with regard to employment and the establishment of new firms. Now, all across the country, private as well as public incubator facilities, technology and innovation centres have begun to spring up. This paper starts by describing the theoretical and methodological background of a survey of incubator, technology and innovation (ITI) centres. In a first step, all cantonal offices for economic promotion were asked to report and to describe incubator facilities, technology and innovation centres within their realm. In a second step a selection of centres were analysed in depth. The key findings are that: (1) ITI centres are most commonly established by a combination of public and private initiatives; (2) the main motive for the creation of ITI centres is to promote startups and the innovative potential; (3) most ITI centres offer space to rent and make available joint amenities; (4) ITI centres are predominantly in manufacturing, services, and development activities; their level of technology input is high or very high; and (5) the spatial reach of most of the ITI centre is on the region. Together with selected foreign experiences, some conclusions and recommendations for the operation of such centres are formulated.     

The Potential Environmental Benefits of Co‐Operative Businesses Within the Climate Change Agenda

The economic benefits of agricultural co‐operatives are well rehearsed and have received significant attention in the literature, especially in regard to the resource efficiencies flowing from collective action that might be absent from investor‐owned firms. This article provides evidence to show how these resource efficiencies might also manifest themselves as environmental advantages, which may not be available through investor‐owned firms due to the different purpose of, and motivation for, business activity. Specifically, the article explores how co‐operative businesses may deliver climate change benefits by examining case studies of alternative co‐operative functions that provide a mix of qualitative and quantitative evidence. Results show that, where co‐operative businesses achieve efficiencies through economies of scale, knowledge and skills transfer, sharing of risks and other means, this can also lead to coincidental reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that may not be achieved if investor‐owned activity prevails. Whilst coincidental at present, the future exploitation of this phenomenon could lead to valuable market advantage or aid sustainable development policy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Engineering the Financialization of Urban Entrpreneurialism: The JESSICA Urban Development Initiative in the European Union

Urban entrepreneurialism and neoliberal urban governance are assuming new forms under finance‐dominated accumulation. We examine and contribute to theorizing the mechanisms through which urban governance is financialized, taking as a case study JESSICA, one of the European Union's initiatives to implement an ‘urban sensitive’ policy for sustainable and integrated development. Like other initiatives promoting financialization, JESSICA deploys the logic of finance to select and fund urban social initiatives and development projects on the basis of their potential return on investment (ROI). Understanding this process requires placing questions of political economy—how urban governance is shaped by the broader political‐economic context—with questions of governmentality—how stakeholders are enrolled in and come to take for granted new governance initiatives. Following the multi‐scalar institutional infrastructure is crucial to understanding how this works. Taking a relational multi‐scalar approach, we trace how changes at the supranational scale filter down to shape urban policy selection and performance in Sofia, Bulgaria, where we document how ROI calculations conflict with social welfare priorities. Contrasts between the trajectory of financialization of urban governance in the European Union and the United States demonstrate how this is geographically variegated, shaped by the broader context/conjuncture within which such financialization is embedded.     

The role of university-based industrial extension services in the business performance of small manufacturing firms: case-study evidence from Western New York

This paper investigates the role of university-based industrial extension services in the business performance of small manufacturing firms in an economically declining region of the United States (Western New York). The outreach initiatives of a specific University at Buffalo (UB) programme are described. Particular attention is given to the activities of UB's Centre for Industrial Effectiveness (CIE), an outreach unit with a mandate to improve the product and/or process development efforts of local manufacturing firms. Our data suggest positive returns on investment for firms that have sought technical support under CIE programmes. A key finding is that CIE's services typically entail the transmission of well-established procedures rather than radically new ways of doing things. A further finding is that firms that have used CIE to develop improved products have experienced stronger investment returns than their counterparts that have focused upon process development (although the returns are positive in both instances). More broadly, our data suggest positive correlations between levels of project investment and a variety of commercial outcomes, including sales growth, job-retention, and unit-cost reduction. The implications of these results for regional economic development policy are discussed. The paper also reviews some of the weaknesses that curtail the effectiveness of university-based centres such as CIE.     

Regional patterns and determinants of birth and survival of new firms in Western Germany

This paper documents and assesses the economic performance of metropolitan technology centres in the USA during the business downturn of the early 2000s. We find that many of the USA's leading high-technology centres have performed at or near the national average, but that some of the nation's most prominent technology centres have fared poorly during the downturn, including Silicon Valley. The main factors that accentuated economic decline in technology centres during the recent recession include: a poorly diversified overall economic base; limited diversity within high-technology industries; relatively high (all industry) wages; and high levels of venture capital funding during the end of the ‘boom’ period of the late 1990s. We find that counter to some of the recent literature on regional development and knowledge-based industry clustering and networking, the rules of regional economic development have not changed dramatically with the so-called ‘new economy’. High-technology regions, just as ‘traditional’ industry regions over the past century, are vulnerable to pronounced economic cycles of growth and decline. The cycles can be particularly pronounced if regional economies are not well diversified and labour costs are not moderated during economic downturns. We also find that venture capital can exaggerate rather than moderate regional economic cycles, such as economic growth years in the USA from the late 1990s to the recession of 2001. The model suggests that free-flowing venture capital dollars may result in an over reliance on these funds, at the expense of a sound business model with sustainable growth and reasonable cash flow. Also, business networks associated with venture capital fund flow might be detrimental at critical economic turning points, often resulting in a rush of dollars in a limited business sector, rather than a diversified set of entrepreneurial ventures.     

Does Monetary Aid Catalyse New Business Creation? Analysing the Impact of Global Aid Flows on Formal and Informal Entrepreneurship

Official development aid – monetary transfers to developing countries to promote social and economic development – reached more than $140 billion in 2016. However, traditional forms of government bilateral aid continue to decline, while private aid is rising. Nevertheless, the impact of this aid, including its potential to stimulate economic development through new business formation, remains uncertain. In this study, we examine the impact of three sources of monetary aid flows on formal and informal entrepreneurship. Drawing from the international political economy literature we argue that bilateral aid and private aid are associated with higher levels of informal entrepreneurship, while multilateral aid is accompanied by lower levels. Moreover, we show that bilateral and private aid are linked with lower levels of formal entrepreneurship, while multilateral aid has no impact. The analyses of a panel of 313 observations from 49 countries provide robust support for these arguments.     

The environmental challenge

We now come to the ultimate question of whether we should be optimistic or pessimistic about our environmental future, and indeed our survival. If we believe human beings to be rational and thus ultimately acting in their own self-interest, there is no reason to believe that the environmental challenges confronting us as individuals and as a society are not resolvable in a manner that allows both economic development and a reasonable quality of life for human beings. Indeed, we see, at least in the developed world, recognition of the magnitude of the problems that we face and movements toward solutions. Yet our nemesis is time. Irretrievable seconds are ticking away as we struggle against ignorance and economic self-interest. Our concern must be not whether we will act, but whether we will act in time to forestall environmental catastrophe for our civilization. The ultimate solution to our environmental problems must come from a fundamental change in the self-serving psychology that produced the tragedy of the commons. Self-interest must be sublimated not only to the greater needs of society, but to the needs of our posterity. The tragedy of the commons can only be avoided if our time horizon shifts from the short- to long-term. In addition, there must be a shift in values from obsession with economic development to concern for the quality of human life. These shifts dictate that in the future our economic, political, and social system must be built upon a foundation of "sustainable" growth. This means that "industries (and nations, for that matter) cannot thrive if they sacrifice future quality of life for present economic gain. In the long run, the principles of economic growth and environmental quality reinforce each other." How do we make this esoteric speculation relevant to our job each day as materiel managers in health care delivery organizations? We can do this by first understanding the problems that we confront and how we are a part of these problems. Next, we must assume a leadership role in confronting and resolving these problems. This means being an advocate for the environment and championing initiatives within the institution to resolve problems and advance environmental responsibility. Finally, we must remember that every day, with each purchase order we issue, we vote for or against the environment.     

湘鄂渝黔边区中小企业竞争力提升的研究

湘鄂渝黔边区中小企业是该地区经济的基础,对国民经济和社会发展起到不可替代的作用,但总量大、规模小,普遍竞争实力不强。文章在全面分析边区中小企业现状和特点的基础上,对如何提升边区中小企业的竞争力进行研究,进而从改善企业发展环境、寻找竞争优势、培育核心竞争力、形成产业集群等方面提出竞争力提升的对策。     

Environmental management in Devon and Cornwall's small and medium sized enterprise sector

This paper suggests that environmental impacts can be reduced in the SME sector through more detailed, less generic model developments for each industrial sector based on best practices and not on strategic management systems. It also suggests simplification of environmental support organisations and advocates the development of the concept of Energy Performance Contracting to Environmental Performance Contracting. There are undoubtedly many ways in which SMEs can improve their environmental performance but it is questionable that within the present economic system environmental sustainability will ever be achieved. Increased environmental regulation would certainly level the playing field but would not change the fundamental attitudes towards the environment as a generator of maximum wealth for the sole purpose of short term consumption. Self regulation is certainly the ultimate goal, where individuals and businesses recognise and respect the environment on more of an holistic level and where other individual utilities are gained from work aside from financial gain. The argument is that this radical (used here in its true sense to mean from the root) change of economic priorities could be achieved through a fair trading system run on a bioregional level. However at the moment self regulation within the present economic system seems ineffective as the environment is simply not a priority for SMEs. Small scale environmental improvements may occur but results from this research suggest that commitment to the environment on a practical rather than theoretical level needs to exist for substantial change to take place. This commitment is unlikely to increase substantially within an economic system that does not attach higher value to the environment. The attainment of environmental sustainability would require a fresh analysis of the economic system and our own individual consciousness.     

COMPETITION BETWEEN EQUITY MARKETS: A REVIEW OF THE CONSOLIDATION VERSUS FRAGMENTATION DEBATE

Technological advances and regulatory initiatives have led to the emergence of a competitive, but fragmented, equity trading landscape in several markets around the world. While these changes have coincided with benefits like reduced transaction costs, advancements in trading technology, and access to a diverse array of execution venues, regulators and market participants have also raised concerns about the welfare implications of innovations like dark pools as well as the resulting increase in execution complexity. Exchanges are often viewed as natural monopolies due to the presence of network externalities and economies of scale. However, heterogeneity in traders' preferences means that no single venue can serve the interests of all investors. Fragmentation of the marketplace can be seen as a direct outcome of this heterogeneity. In this paper, we review the theoretical and empirical literature examining the economic arguments and motivations underlying market fragmentation, the resulting implications for liquidity and price efficiency, and the role for public policy. Beyond the concerns for equity markets, the lessons from this literature are relevant for other asset classes experiencing an increase in competition between trading venues.     

Internationalization of cluster initiatives in Russia: empirical evidence

In the last few years, Russia has supported the establishment of cluster initiatives to strengthen economic development, open channels for knowledge transfer, raise the national technology base, and integrate domestic manufacturing more prominently into global value chains. This paper studies 25 pilot cluster initiatives which received financial support within the national programme. The analysis shows that privately funded initiatives tend to use the cluster format as an efficient way to organize economic activities. Publicly funded cluster initiatives, in contrast, are more likely to engage in R&D partnerships with institutes in technologically advanced regions, such as Western Europe or South-East Asia, and thereby act as transfer channels to strengthen the region’s technology base. Also, industries that build on analytical knowledge are more likely to engage in partnerships than industries that use local and tacit knowledge. Still, the cluster management organizations struggle greatly to appoint adequately skilled staff and to cope with limited financial resources, as these are the biggest barriers for cluster internationalization, while cultural differences and geographical distance were of much less importance.     

浅论并用区域化经济发展和产业结构调整手段发展天津经济

本文旨在通过对天津区域禀赋性特征定性和定量的分析,探讨如何运用区域经济发展规律,科学有效地规划产业结构调整,从而达到持续健康发展的路径。文中比较了全国其他主要城市对应周期内经济发展水平,深入分析了发达国家工业化历程中蕴含的阶段性和结构性规律特征,力求揭示其对天津乃至我国整体经济获得均衡性内生动力的借鉴意义。本文分析认为三种产业分别占经济总体的比重和各自形成的规模之间的变动依赖关系,对经济体的长期发展具有极其重要的影响,其程度远远超出了单一产业在特定周期的绝对值。三种产业间存在着强烈的互为依托,交替发展的周期特征。     

黄河流域高质量发展:比较优势发挥与路径重塑

黄河流域拥有相对显著的地域、能源资源、人口与经济等规模优势以及产业基础、中心城市、经济地理区位等方面优势。黄河流域经济高质量发展必须高度关注流域的特殊性,高度重视流域发展的整体性,高度审视流域经济比较优势的尺度特征,高度注重流域经济的发展基础,高度聚焦流域经济发展的创新驱动。黄河流域经济发展路径重塑可重点从以流通和开放为导向强化黄河流域内外经济联系、打造黄河流域经济多层级增长极、构建以中心城市为极核面向周边的放射状开发开放新模式、以区域功能差异化为引领构建黄河流域现代产业体系、探索黄河流域内部多元化区域合作等五个方面展开。     

Environmental performance evaluation: A state-level DEA analysis

In recent years, the continuous development of every country's economic activities has generated undesirable impacts on the environment. Common problems are high water and energy consumption rates, jointly with harmful pollution levels. This situation has gained the research community's interest in exploring and analyzing the extent to which initiatives to reduce such environmental problems have succeeded. Therefore, it is relevant to have measures that encompass information on the results obtained by such initiatives. Using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology, it is possible to measure the efficiency of an entity under evaluation, such as an industry, state, or country. DEA also allows one to compare the performance measures of entities operating in similar circumstances and identify which entities are performing best, given the inputs they use and the outputs they produce. This study evaluates different states in Mexico in terms of their environmental performance and provides a perspective on how environmental initiatives can contribute to protecting and preserving the environment. By addressing this problem, best-performers and practices are identified, and valuable insights are gained regarding how each state carries out such initiatives.     

Land Rent Flows In Economic,Political And Environmental Transitions:

Abstract Previous work (Smiley, 1995) attributed failure of development efforts to the injection of aid into societies where landed institutions may absorb this aid, block growth and maintain inequality. An interactive simulation model was built (Smiley, 1996) to explore the effects of land rent flows under alternative transition strategies. In these simulations, the public collection of land rent was found to be superior to all other third world development and reformist strategies in achieving growth with equity. The underlying ethical and economic arguments are here examined in more general classes of transitions: economic transitions involving industrial and post-industrial societies, political transitions involving territorial conflict, and environmental transitions involving adverse externalities. Recommendations are made for collective action to improve both efficiency and equity outcomes from these transitions.     

Large firms' changing purchasing requirements and local suppliers: toward a new initiative in northeast England

Northeast England, an old industrial region with higher than average unemployment, also contains state-of-the-art manufacturing plants, many owned by multinational companies. A recent project undertaken for the Northern Development Corporation by Segal Quince Wicksteed, found a very high level of interest among these firms in increasing local purchasing. For many, this was linked to the greater autonomy they had recently gained. Adaptation to competitive pressures and the need to control costs had led to much greater emphasis being placed on quality. This could be achieved only by working with a small number of key suppliers. Much local collaboration was already evident, and there was considerable interest in increasing this if suppliers could be found with the right capabilities and attitudes. In economic development terms, scope was found for new initiatives that could provide highly selective information on possible collaborators and support the development of these large firm: supplier relationships by publicizing the opportunities available and encouraging changes in expectation and attitude.

This article describes the outcome from a project commissioned by the Northern Development Company with funding from the Department of Employment's Regional Enterprise Unit. The project identified current purchasing practices within the northeast of England, in order to identify the scope for new initiatives that would increase the likelihood of large firms buying from locally based suppliers. It was undertaken during the first half of 1988 by Segal Quince Wicksteed, economic and management consultants, with the support of Durham University's Small Business Center.     

Effects of foreign aid on the recipient country’s economic growth

We introduce an infinite-horizon endogenous growth framework for studying the effects of foreign aid on the economic growth in a recipient country. Aid is used to partially finance the recipient’s public investment. We point out that the same rule of aid may have very different outcomes, depending on the recipient’s circumstances in terms of development level, domestic investment, efficiency in the use of aid and in public investment, etc. Foreign aid may promote growth in the recipient country, but the global dynamics of equilibrium are complex (because of the non-monotonicity and steady state multiplicity). The economy may converge to a steady state or grow without bounds. Moreover, there are rooms for the divergence and a two-period cycle. We characterize conditions under which each scenario takes place. Our analysis contributes to the debate on the nexus between aid and economic growth and in particular on the conditionality of aid effects.     

中国生态城建设的现状特征与发展态势——中国百个生态城调查分析

我国近些年生态城建设呈现出数量多、规模大、发展速度快的特征,目前全国已出现一百多个大小不等的新建生态城项目。但这些生态城是否都是真正意义上的生态城受到学者和公众的质疑,因此迫切需要全面了解当前我国生态城建设的基本情况和特点,总结其发展态势。本研究针对我国生态城市建设实践,分析其类型、分布特征、产业特征和存在的问题,以期为制定生态城市发展政策提供依据。     

Understanding the adoption of socially responsible supplier development practices using institutional theory: Dairy supply chains in India

Supplier development (SD) initiatives play an important role in building buyer-supplier capacities to deal with social and economic performance. The aim of this paper is to explain the motivations behind the adoption of similar SD strategies to address sustainability (particularly social issues) occurring in local supply chains of a developing country. We compare the economic and social variants of institutional theory to investigate whether efficiency or legitimacy seeking drives the adoption (and copying) of SD practices. Twelve case studies involving private and cooperative dairies were conducted in India via semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that both private and cooperative dairies adopt similar SD practices to build supplier capabilities and improve social and economic performance of buyers and suppliers. Private dairies imitate SD practices of the cooperatives to survive the competition; i.e., economic performance is the main reason behind their isomorphism. Cooperatives, on the other hand, take up SD practices more for legitimacy and even philanthropic reasons; though also partly note the long-term economic benefits from developing the supplier community. These findings can be used both by practitioners and researchers to gain valuable insights into the reasons driving organisational isomorphism in social sustainability practices from a developing country perspective, something rarely done so far in the literature.