Innovation and Firm‐Level Productivity: Evidence from Bangladesh

In this paper, the labor productivity impact of manufacturing firms’ innovation in Bangladesh, a region which has, to date, been understudied in this respect, is examined through World Bank Enterprise Survey data from 2003 to 2006. We apply the Cobb–Douglas production function, augmented with innovation‐related inputs (and other expected sources of productivity) in a simultaneous three‐equation system connecting R&D to its determinants, innovation output to R&D, and productivity to innovation output; and in a two‐equation system connecting innovation output to its determinants and productivity to innovation output. Our results reveal that Bangladeshi firms’ process innovation is an important factor for their labor productivity, whereas the significant effect of product innovation is not clearly established.     

ISO认证与企业创新：地理位置与组织形式的调节效应

尽管已有研究在不同情境下广泛地检验了ISO认证所引致的绩效结果,但还未充分地关注中国企业ISO认证的相关议题。利用世界银行对中国企业的调查数据,实证检验ISO认证对企业创新的影响,以及地理位置和组织形式的调节效应。结果表明,ISO认证对产品创新与过程创新均产生显著的正向影响;相较于中西部地区的企业,东部地区企业的ISO认证对产品和过程创新的正向影响更加显著;相较于合伙制与公司制的企业,独资企业的ISO认证对产品和过程创新的正向影响更加显著。     

组织学习对技术创新绩效的调节效应——基于江苏民营制造企业的实证研究

文章以201家江苏民营制造企业为研究样本,探讨组织学习对技术创新与企业绩效关系的调节效应.研究发现:(1)工艺创新和产品创新对企业绩效均有显著正向影响,而且工艺创新对企业绩效的影响强度要高于产品创新,表明江苏民营制造企业技术创新是以工艺创新为主导;(2)组织学习对工艺创新与企业绩效关系有显著正向调节效应,对产品创新与企业绩效关系的调节效应不显著,表明江苏民营制造企业的组织学习是以工艺创新为主要目的.研究发现为推进江苏创新驱动战略提供了指导,要实现从“江苏制造”向“江苏创造”转变,关键在于营造以实现产品创新为主要目的的组织学习氛围,走以产品创新为主导的技术创新之路.     

New Products and Corruption: Evidence from Indian Firms

It has been shown that corruption has a negative effect on firm growth, but what about its impact on product innovation? I find that corruption, functioning as a bribe tax, diminishes the probability of new products being introduced. I use a World Bank Enterprise Survey conducted in India in 2005, with 1,600 firms answering both whether they introduced a new product to the firm, and whether and how much was paid in bribes. Controlling for innovation determinants and firm characteristics, sector‐state bribery averages have a negative and significant impact on product innovation.     

DEVELOPING EMPLOYMENT EFFECTS OF INNOVATIONS: MICROECONOMETRIC EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN

This paper aims to identify the effects of innovation on employment and labor composition in Taiwan. Using a new and detailed firm‐level data set, the empirical results determine that innovations, measured by R&D investments or patent counts, have a positive impact on employment. Both of the estimated employment effects of product and process innovations are overall significantly positive. Although the effects of process innovations differ between high and low R&D‐intensive industries, the process innovation tends to expand the firms’ output and then increase employment for high R&D‐intensive industries. However, it frequently results in laborsavings in terms of production work and reduces jobs in low R&D‐intensive industries. Moreover, technological innovations are found to be non‐neutral, leading to a shift in labor composition in favor of skilled and more educated workers.     

Firm Productivity,Innovation, and Financial Development

How do firm‐specific actions—in particular, innovation—affect firm productivity? What is the role of the financial sector in facilitating higher productivity? Using a rich firm‐level data set, we find that innovation is crucial for firm performance as it directly and measurably increases productivity. The impact of innovation on productivity is larger in less‐developed countries. Evidence of financial sector development influencing the innovation‐productivity link is weak, but the effect is difficult to identify due to correlation between indicators of a country's financial and nonfinancial development. Furthermore, we find evidence that the innovation effect on productivity is more significant for high‐tech firms than for low‐tech firms.     

集群创新平台战略导向，知识获取与集群企业创新研究

集群企业的创新离不开集群各个要素的共同参与,尤其是离不开作为集群知识提供的重要组织创新平台的支持。应用集群创新平台理论、企业知识管理理论和战略管理理论,建立了创新平台战略导向下的集群企业知识获取影响集群企业创新的模型。通过182个集群企业样本对提出的研究假设进行了检验。创新平台的不同导向对集群企业创新产生不同的影响,集群企业知识获取对集群企业创新产生正向影响,而知识获取模式的不同在创新平台两种战略导向与企业创新的关系中具有不同的中介效应。     

服务业创新发展：基于江苏省的实证分析

尽管创新与服务业的发展已经成为我国经济与产业发展的主要内涵,但创新对服务业发展的作用仍较少被关注。综合已有的文献研究表明,我国现阶段"服务业发展之谜"特征显著,服务业劳动生产率增长缓慢已经成为制约服务业发展的重要原因。文章以江苏省服务业发展为例,分析了江苏省服务业发展的总体趋势以及服务业创新发展的现状,并对江苏省服务业创新发展的影响因素进行了实证分析。研究表明,江苏省服务业劳动生产率与服务业比重之间存在着长期的均衡关系,服务业劳动生产率的提高对服务业的发展水平有着显著的促进作用;城市化水平、人力资本等指标对服务业的劳动生产率有着正向的影响,但服务业集聚的作用仍未得到充分发挥,服务业与制造业之间缺乏有效的联动发展机制在一定程度上影响到服务业创新发展水平的提升。     

网络环境对技术创新组织的影响与趋势分析

网络环境对技术创新和技术创新组织产生了重要影响,使创新的组织边界模糊化、组织结构扁平化、用户的参与度增加、组织学习和知识共享的重要性增加.网络环境下未来的技术创新组织发展趋势将进一步趋于无边界化、虚拟化和网络化.对思科公司的案例进行了分析.     

Retesting the Learning-by-Exporting Theory: An Investigation of Chinese Manufacturers’ Productivity Under Globalization

This paper examines the learning-by-exporting effect in Chinese manufacturing firms from 2005 to 2007. The traditional view is that exporting can lead to increased productivity by facilitating access to the global market and, thus, information and cutting-edge technologies. This process has been explained by the learning-by-exporting theory, which is supported by mixed empirical evidence. A semiparametric estimation method was used to measure firm-level productivity and examine the contingent impact of exports on productivity. On the one hand, the exporting firms exhibited significantly higher productivity and faster growth than the non-exporting firms. On the other hand, the effect of exporting on productivity was dependent upon firms’ innovation behavior. Therefore, the learning-by-exporting effect is contingent on a firm’s innovation capabilities. Only sufficiently innovative firms could actually experience faster growth through exports and innovation. For non-innovative firms, exporting could even result in decreased productivity. This paper successfully reconciles the mixed findings from the existing literature and explains why both positive and negative evidence can simultaneously and reasonably exist under learning-by-exporting theory.

     

双重合作网络对技术创新的非线性影响——以石墨烯产业为例

结合全球石墨烯产业发明人和组织的联合申请专利数据,通过构建计量模型,实证检验网络结构特征对技术创新的影响,并深入讨论组织内部发明人网络密度、地理邻近性和制度邻近性所发挥的调节作用.研究发现,中心性与技术创新存在倒"U"形关系,过度的中心性对组织创新产生不利影响,发明人网络密度提升既可以增强中心性的积极作用,也可以降低过度中心性带来的负向效应;结构洞与技术创新之间存在正向"U"形关系,且网络密度具有正向调节作用;地理邻近性和制度邻近性均在网络结构特征与技术创新之间关系上具有调节作用,且前者的效应显著更强,即地理距离越近,越有利发挥网络结构带来的优势,加速异质性创新资源在网络的流动,促进知识和信息的有效转化,提升组织技术创新能力.最后,基于研究结论,提出通过动态调整组织内部发明人专利网络和组织间合作网络进而提升石墨烯产业整体技术创新水平的实现路径.     

TMT网络特征、知识创造与双元创新关系研究

文章以社会网络理论与知识基础观,探索企业双元创新的形成机制。高层管理团队（TMT）网络特征（中心性、稀疏性）代表获取企业外部资源与信息的能力,通过组织知识创造过程（知识交流、知识组合）,促进企业双元创新。依据241份样本,对TMT网络特征与双元创新间关系进行实证检验,且探讨了知识交流与知识组合两类知识创造过程的中介作用。实证结果表明：TMT网络特征对双元创新具有积极影响;知识交流与知识组合对上述关系均具有中介作用。实证研究结果在理论上指出TMT社会网络嵌入性的重要性,有助于深化TMT网络特征对企业双元创新的相关机理研究。     

The evolution of the productivity dispersion of firms: a reevaluation of its determinants in the case of Japan

This paper contributes to the literature that empirically analyzes the evolution of productivity dispersion at the firm level and its determinants. We investigate the case of Japanese firms by using a firm-level panel dataset taken from a large-scale administrative survey for the years 1994–2003. We confirm that there was indeed an overall increase in productivity dispersion. Moreover, we find that the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) decreased the within-industry labor productivity dispersion, contrary to what has been found for some other countries. On the other hand, we find evidence of a significant and positive impact of internationalization on productivity dispersion.     

Lead markets, innovation differentials and growth

This article suggests that the specialization of countries in international trade is determined by the lead-lag market pattern of national markets. Many internationally successful innovations have been adopted first in one country while other countries initially either preferred other designs or an established product. A model for the international diffusion of innovations is presented in which nationally preferred innovation designs compete to become a globally dominant design. In this model, there are country-specific market attributes that increase the likelihood that the choice a country makes among alternative technologies is followed around the world. It is argued that technological knowledge gaps are not the origin of an international competitive advantage. Instead, a country gains a competitive advantage because a specific innovation design was adopted earlier than in any other country. This gives local firms a head start in producing, gathering marketing intelligence and securing the property rights of a globally successful innovation. In countries with lag market characteristics, domestic innovations are less likely to get adopted worldwide. Lag markets often switch from a domestic innovation design to a foreign innovation design, which increases imports. The lead-lag market explanation of trade specialization has implications for national policies. In this model domestic innovations do not always foster exports; idiosyncratic innovations induced by lag market contexts can hamper the export chances of local firms and in the end lead to an increase in imports. It is suggested that in order to increase exports, national policies have to distinguish between a domestic lead and lag market context in each industry. While in a lead market context, traditional policy instruments that enhance the rate of innovations are effective, in a lag market situation national follower strategies are more appropriate.     

How does outward foreign direct investment enhance firm productivity? A heterogeneous empirical analysis from Chinese manufacturing

Using an original linked firm-level panel data from Chinese manufacturing firms over the period 2002–2007, this paper examines how outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) led productivity increase of parent firms (known as the own-firm effect) changes over firm heterogeneity. Conducting propensity score matching (PSM) techniques and differences-in-differences (DID) analysis, we find strong and robust evidence that the first OFDI promotes parent firm's productivity and this effect varies substantially with the firms' characteristics. In particular, firm's absorptive capacity is essential for the own-firm effect, and the absorptive capacity related with the product innovation is more important than that of the process innovation for the own-firm effect. Also, OFDI strategies for obtaining advanced technology and investing in developed countries significantly strengthen the own-firm effect, whereas, government supports have no significant impacts on the own-firm effect.     

Robots and industrial labor: Evidence from Japan

This paper provides one of the first studies of the impact of the introduction of robots to equilibrium labor demand in an entire economy. We use long-term (1979–2012) industry-level panel data from Japan, a country that is over 10 times as intensive in the use of robots as in the U.S. Our model, which is derived from Acemoglu and Restrepo (2017), shows that there are three effects on labor demand in the aggregate economy from the introduction of industrial robots. The first is the negative displacement effect of robots taking over the tasks of humans. The second is the positive industry productivity effect of robots lowering costs in a particular industry. This lowering of costs draws demand to the industry and expands output and employment in that industry. The third is the positive general equilibrium effect. Robots raise productivity and expands demand in all industries, thereby increasing the product and labor demand for the industry introducing the robots. In our estimation, we find that the displacement effect is insignificant, the productivity effect is sometimes positively significant, and the macroeconomic general equilibrium effect is always highly positively significant. Overall, the introduction of robots has been beneficial to the demand for labor in Japan. Our results are robust to various controls and instrumental variables.     

Financial constraints and foreign direct investment: firm-level evidence

Low productivity is an important barrier to the cross-border expansion of firms. But firms may also need external finance to shoulder the costs of entering foreign markets. We develop a model of multinational firms facing real and financial barriers to foreign direct investment (FDI), and we analyze their impact on the FDI decision. Theoretically, we show that financial constraints can affect highly productive firms more than firms with low productivity because the former are more likely to expand abroad. We provide empirical evidence based on a detailed dataset of German domestic and multinational firms which contains information on parent-level financial constraints as well as on the location the foreign affiliates. We find that financial factors constrain firms’ foreign investment decisions, an effect felt in particular by firms most likely to consider investing abroad. The locational information in our dataset allows exploiting cross-country differences in contract enforcement. Consistent with theory, we find that poor contract enforcement in the host country has a negative impact on FDI decisions.     

The effects of corporate governance and ownership on the innovation performance of Chinese SMEs

We investigate the degree to which corporate governance and ownership affect the innovation performance of firms in China with a particular focus on privately owned small and medium enterprises. Using the appropriate theoretical frameworks, we derive hypotheses regarding the impact of ownership concentration, board size and composition, and the background of the CEO on innovative activity. These hypotheses are tested using a unique sample of 370 mostly private and relatively small Chinese firms in Zhejiang province, for the period 2004–2006. Using two measures of innovation, invention patents and new product sales, and a variety of estimation methods appropriate to each measure, we find limited evidence that corporate governance affects innovation performance, but the results do depend on the measure of innovation. In general, the results suggest that for this sample, corporate governance and ownership affect innovation activity more strongly when innovation is measured by patenting activity, rather than new product sales. We conclude with a discussion about why this might be.     

The impact of differential power pricing policy on firm productivity in China: Evidence from iron and steel firms

The differential power pricing (DPP) policy is implemented as an important measure to curb the unrestrained development of high-energy-consuming industries, optimize industrial structure, and promote the upgrading of industrial technology. However, it is unclear how the DPP policy affects the productivity of regulated firms. Using the difference-in-differences approach, this study is the first to investigate empirically the DPP policy’s impact on the productivity of China’s iron and steel firms—a top carbon emitter. The results show that the DPP policy has a significant negative effect on the productivity of iron and steel firms, leading to a 1.20% per annum decrease in the total factor productivity growth of these firms, primarily because the policy significantly hinders firms’ scale efficiency. Considering the heterogeneity of firms, the impeding impact on large-scale and state-owned firms is less than that on the firms of full sample. To curb the irrational expansion of energy-intensive industries and eliminate backward production capacity, the government should implement the DPP policy more precisely according to the heterogeneity of firms, and other auxiliary measures, such as cost compensation for innovation, are also recommended.     

Intensive judicial oversight and corporate green innovations: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

The deterioration of pollution problem has increased environmental disputes. However, little is known about the relationship between intensive judicial oversight and corporate green innovations. Regarding the establishment of environmental courts in China as an almost ideal quasi-natural experiment, this paper identifies the impact and mechanism of environmental courts on corporate green innovations. We find that: (1) environmental courts have a significant positive impact on green innovations. However, by employing instrument variable (IV) strategy to alleviate the endogenous issues, we find environmental courts mainly promote the quantity of green innovations; (2) the positive effect on green innovations is more salient for firms in the industry with high pollution intensity, state-owned enterprises, and firms in regions with stricter mass supervision; (3) environmental courts can improve the efficiency of dealing with environmental disputes and alleviate the collaboration between government and firms. Therefore, it could promote corporate green innovations with the increasing pressure for pollution abatement; (4) environmental courts could cause additional costs to firms, such as crowding out non-green innovations and decreasing corporate TFP in the short term. Meanwhile, the establishment of environmental courts could also achieve specific social welfare effects, which is conducive to improving local environmental quality. This paper provides implications for judicial oversight of regulators on environmental protection.