Innovation ambidexterity of open firms. The role of internal relational social capital

The success of the open innovation (OI) paradigm is still debated and literature is searching for its determinants. Although firms’ internal social context is crucial to explain the success or failure of OI practices, such context is still poorly investigated. The aim of the paper is to analyse whether internal social capital (SC), intended as employees’ propensity to interact and work in groups in order to solve innovation issues, mediates the relationship between OI practices and innovation ambidexterity (IA). Results, based on a survey research developed in Finland, Italy and Sweden, suggest that collaborations with different typologies of partners (scientific and business) achieve good results in terms of IA, through the partial mediation of the internal SC.     

Financial development and governance relationships

In any country, financial development has a huge influence on country’s economic developments. Financial development strengthens financial stability of countries and enhances deep and broad access to capital and financial services by improving efficiency of financial markets and effectiveness of financial intermediation. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationships between various aspects (pillars) of financial development and dimensions of governance for countries listed in the Financial Development Index of the World Economic Forum. The Index provides a score for the breadth, depth and efficiency of 62 of the world’s leading financial markets. The study utilized the data from the World Economic Forum presented in the financial development report (2012) and attempted to model the relationships between various pillars of financial development and dimensions of governance by structural equation modelling (SEM) methodology. The study used the Worldwide Governance Indicators for year 2012 of the World Bank as the measure of governance. According to the SEM results, there seems to be a significant positive relationship between governance and financial development. Thus, as governance is enhanced, we may expect financial development to strengthen as well.     

提升东北亚城市科技创新能力的因素探讨———基于结构化方程模型的路径分析

选取2009—2010年东北亚155个城市作为研究样本,构造了东北亚城市科技创新能力评估指标体系;基于聚类分析、判别分析方法,将东北亚155个城市划分为四大类,在此基础上,通过结构化方程模型(SEM),对影响东北亚城市科技创新能力的政府管理、文化环境和经济环境三大要素进行了探讨,并对路径传导及要素间的相互作用进行了研究,最后提出了计算科技创新能力的两种方法。研究结果显示,经济环境是影响科技创新能力最主要的直接因素(0.666),并且对科技创新能力存在直接和间接两条作用路径,而政府管理通过经济环境和文化环境的间接传导来影响科技创新能力;相对而言,文化环境对科技创新能力的影响较弱,仅为0.07。最后,提出了几点政策建议。     

What drives compliance? An application of the theory of planned behaviour to urban water restrictions using structural equation modelling

This article presents analysis of households’ intentions to comply with government constraints on the use of urban water, or so-called water restrictions. The data are drawn from Australian cities and was collected during a severe drought. Structural equation modelling is employed to operationalize constructs taken from the theory of planned behaviour and to answer important policy questions related to compliance. The modelled data support the view that attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioural control (PBC) have a positive and significant influence on intentions to comply. PBC has the strongest influence on intentions, suggesting policy directed at assisting households to meet regulatory criteria might be at least as effective as advertising expenditures aimed at shaping attitudes and norms. Importantly, intentions to comply are also shown to have a positive and significant influence on reported compliance behaviour.     

Channels of interaction and past collaborative experience as imperatives in academia–industry collaboration

The present study deals with the engagement of academics with the industry using different channels for the transfer of knowledge and technology. The study provides empirical evidence substantiating the effect of the frequency of use of the different channels of interaction in explaining the relationship between past collaborative experience of the academic and the outcomes of academia–industry collaboration. The results indicate that past collaborative experience develops strong insights into industrial problems, opens up avenues for research projects, leads to industrial funding and builds research networks. The prospects of commercialisation of research of the academic are also rooted in past collaborative experience. The results also reveal that the frequency of use of the traditional and bi-directional channels partially mediate the relationship between the collaborative experience and the outcomes of collaboration, validating that higher collaborative experience leads to increased frequency of use of channels that results in improved outcomes of academia–industry collaboration.     

How open search strategies align with firms’ radical and incremental innovation: evidence from China

The purpose of this paper is to describe the ways in which open search strategies (i.e. open search breadth and open search depth) align with firms’ radical and incremental innovation. By analysing survey data collected from 162 firms in Chinese high-tech markets, we found that a firm pursuing radical innovation benefits more from open search breadth than open search depth to achieve its performance goals; in contrast, a firm processing incremental innovation benefits more from open search depth than open search breadth to improve its performance. Based on these results, managers should pay attention to the fit between open search strategies and radical/incremental innovation. This study not only contributes to the studies of search strategies by identifying the parallel relationship of open search strategies and two types of innovation, but also enriches the theory of open innovation with an empirical analysis.     

A new approach to estimation of the R&D–innovation–productivity relationship

ABSTRACT

We apply a generalized structural equation model approach to the estimation of the relationship between R&D, innovation and productivity that focuses on the potentially crucial heterogeneity across sectors. The model accounts for selectivity and handles the endogeneity of this relationship in a recursive framework which allows for feedback effects from productivity to future R&D investment. Our approach enables the estimation of the different equations as one system, allowing the coefficients to differ across sectors, and also permits us to take cross-equation correlation of the errors into account. Employing a panel of Swedish manufacturing and service firms observed in three consecutive Community Innovation Surveys in the period 2008–2012, our full-information maximum likelihood estimates show that many key channels of influence among the model's components vary meaningfully in their statistical significance and magnitude across six different sectors based on the OECD classification on technological and knowledge intensity. These results cast doubt on earlier research which does not allow for sectoral heterogeneity.     

Validity of sustainability framework for China’s mining cities – a structural equation modelling approach

Many studies developed their framework for sustainability through indicator systems, but the interactions and relationships within these indicators have not been studied yet. In this article, based on indicator systems, we use a sample of 78 mining cities in China and employ structural equation modelling (SEM) method to explore the validity of sustainability framework. Our empirical results show that resources abundance positively affects urbanization level significantly but negatively affects cleaner production level and environmental protection level significantly; economic strength positively affects urbanization level significantly; cleaner production level has a significant effect on economic strength and non-mineral resources conversion efficiency. We also find that when economic strength is low, resources abundance might weaken the positive effect of economy on urbanization.     

企业社会资本影响技术创新的实证分析

基于社会资本理论,本文构建了企业社会资本影响技术创新的概念模型,并结合大量的调查问卷数据,采用结构方程模型对我国企业社会资本如何影响技术创新进行了实证研究。研究结论验证了本文所提出的企业社会资本构成假设,并发现,各类企业社会资本与企业技术创新的关联度由大到小排名依次是企业内部社会资本、企业横向社会资本、研究与开发、供应链上的社会资本及企业与政府和大学之间的社会资本。     

高等学校在创新搜索中重要程度的影响因素——研发强度、创新开放程度与自主创新意愿

选取"2008年中国创新调查问卷"中基于科学的创新企业作为研究样本,探讨研发强度、创新开放程度与自主创新意愿3个企业特性对高等学校在创新搜索中重要性的影响。研究发现:高等学校对于创新开放程度较高的企业具有更高的重要性,而企业研发强度并不会显著影响高等学校的重要性;企业的自主创新意愿对创新开放程度与高等学校重要性的关系具有正向调节作用。最后提出:在基于科学的创新产业中,既自主又开放的企业更重视高等学校在创新搜索中的作用。     

Organizational ambidexterity: Integrating deliberate and emergent strategy with scenario planning

In this article we propose scenario planning as a tool for fostering organizational ambidexterity. The concept of organizational ambidexterity continues to gain attention, however, clear methods for developing this organizational ability are generally not offered. We therefore describe organizational ambidexterity and situate it in the general strategy literature. Key characteristics of organizational ambidexterity are provided, and the logical link to scenario planning is made. As the concept of organizational ambidexterity is relatively novel, our proposal highlights the use of scenario planning as a potential tool for developing this organizational “skill”, and clear next steps are described to examine our proposal as well as leverage the concept of organizational ambidexterity beyond that of a simple metaphor.     

Hedonic和结构方程模型下的北京别墅价格分析

以中央财经大学别墅数据库为依托,运用hedonic模型分析了不同物业属性对房价的影响力差异。为了进一步比较物业内部因子与区位因子在房价决定机制中的作用,引入了结构方程模型对潜变量进行了分析。研究结果首先验证了项目距市中心距离这一核心区位指标对房价的绝对影响力,同时也表明项目内部因子对房价整体影响力与区位因子相当。     

跨界搜索均衡对企业创新绩效的影响——战略柔性的调节作用

将组织均衡理论引入跨界搜索研究,构建了跨界搜索均衡对企业创新绩效影响的理论框架,实证考察了跨界搜索的匹配均衡、联合均衡及其交互作用对企业创新绩效的影响,以及战略柔性对上述影响的调节作用。基于192家高新技术企业的问卷调查数据进行实证研究。结果表明:跨界搜索的匹配均衡和联合均衡对企业创新绩效有正向影响;跨界搜索的匹配均衡和联合均衡对企业创新绩效具有正向的交互作用;战略柔性正向调节跨界搜索均衡的两个维度与企业创新绩效的关系。     

Saving behaviour: evidence from Portugal

This paper analyses the determinants of saving behaviour among Portuguese households using a structural equation model with latent variables. It is found that the main factors directly influencing households' saving behaviour are their attitude towards saving and their level of income. However, savers' behaviour is also indirectly influenced by their perceptions of longevity, their feelings as savers, the replacement rate and the age. The family size does not have any effect, either directly or indirectly. Policy implications are derived from the study.