The impact of technology transfer on agribusiness performance in Kenya

ABSTRACT

This study examines how technology transfer can influence the performance of small businesses in developing countries like Kenya. The theoretical basis of the study is the technology transfer model, which integrates a consideration of the transfer provider with that of the recipient’s capacity. The study’s sample comprises 104 enterprises. Correlation and a regression model are used for content analysis. The results show that technology transfers improve small businesses’ performance and help drive rural development. The effectiveness of transferred technology has a major impact on small businesses’ competitiveness and access to international markets. These findings imply that governments must develop technology transfer strategies for small businesses in order to enhance both their performance and food security. Government policies for technology transfer should incorporate incentives for agricultural technology transfer to boost food security.     

创业型企业跨界创新模式建构与实现路径

外部环境的不确定性会激发企业进行开放式创新,跨界创新作为开放式创新的一种形式,是小微创业企业实现跨越式发展的有效途径。基于跨界搜索视角,应用SPS案例研究法进行相关资料收集与分析,初步构建了小微创业企业跨界创新模式框架。通过跨界搜索知识、科学技术和社会关系,实现不同维度跨界战略与跨界能力组合式协同提升,是企业实现跨界创新的有效模式,也是小微创业企业不断创新的作用机制。     

经济政策不确定性与家族企业创新 ——融资约束及政府补助视角

家族企业作为社会发展的主要参与者,在促进经济增长方面发挥着不可替代的作用。家族企业若想实现长期发展,必然依靠创新。然而,我国家族企业普遍面临创新投入不足、创新产出效率低下等问题。基于2010—2018年中国上市家族企业数据,分析经济政策不确定性对于家族企业创新是否存在激励作用。结果发现,经济政策不确定性提高,会对家族企业创新研发活动投入与产出产生正向激励作用,促进家族企业创新。从融资约束与政府补助视角,分析两者在上述正向激励作用中的调节作用。结果表明,对于融资约束小以及受到政府补助的家族企业而言,其受到经济政策不确定性的正向激励作用更显著,有助于其开展创新研发活动。结论不仅验证了经济政策不确定性对于家族企业创新的激励作用,还揭示了融资约束以及政府补助的调节作用,可为政府制定相应补助政策,构建完善的金融市场提供理论支持和经验证据。     

小微企业资金约束供应链中的协调融资——基于核心企业的功能价值视角

小微企业资金流瓶颈带来的供应链短板效应不仅成为制约其自身创新发展的桎梏,而且威胁到所在供应链的稳定性和竞争力。根据供应链中核心企业在协助小微企业解决资金约束问题过程中发挥的协调功能,提出了供应链融资协调模式,并对协调模式解决小微企业融资问题的作用机理进行了分析。针对协调模式运作中可能存在的权力配置和运作效率问题,进一步从共同财产权、信息共享和利润分配等方面探讨了使协调模式良性运作的机制设计。     

Building Innovation Networks: Issues of Strategy and Expertise

This article investigates the role of networks in new product development by reporting on a contemporary case study of a firm in the defence electronics sector. A specific focus is the development and ongoing management of a network that comprises a number of formal inter-firm strategic alliances. The paper begins by reviewing earlier literature on technology strategies for innovation that has identified a key role for inter-firm networking in the organization and management of new product development. We then consider the related issue of the relevant management expertise, which enables firms to adopt a network approach to their strategy for innovation by developing a competence in the process of network building. In this particular case study the critical issue centred upon the extent of the internal resources in terms of time and personal effort that was devoted to building trust and actively managing various inter-firm relationships over time. The article concludes that while inter-firm networking can facilitate new product development across firm boundaries, it is not a panacea for success. Whilst financially successful in terms of product and market development, the networking strategy has also set up problems within the particular case study firm in terms of resourcing and managing the very growth that has been generated.     

Financial conservatism fosters job creation during economic crises

ABSTRACT

This article aims to analyse the phenomenon of financial conservatism in firms’ capital structures and relate it to their employment variation for a sample of Spanish companies during the 2008–2013 period, characterized by a sharp crisis and very high unemployment rates. Financial conservatism is described as following a low-leverage/high cash no-short-term capital structure policy. We use the noisy selection model that relates growth, age, and size, to which we add a dummy indicating financial conservatism. As the growth of a company is measured as its number of employees’ variation, we are ultimately analysing how financial conservatism affects job creation. The objective of this work is to stress the advantages of a financially conservative policy as the evidence shows that such a policy at a given enterprise is a positive factor for job creation, which in Macroeconomics terms means an improvement in economy’s employment. The average conservative company more likely to foster job creation is a small company belonging to the industry or services sector.     

Two-way relationship between innovation and market structure: evidence from Indian high and medium technology firms

ABSTRACT

This study analyses a two-way relationship between innovation and market structure in Indian high and medium technology firms. We perform an empirical analysis based on a simultaneous equation model on data for 991 high and medium technology firms during 2000–2015. Patent applications and patent grants capture innovation activity of the firms. We find that the market structure has an insignificant impact on innovation. A separate analysis of neck-and-neck firms also suggests that market structure has no impact on innovation. On the other hand, patenting has a positive and significant impact on market structure in both high and medium technology firms. The study concludes that in-house technology creation is a vital source of market dominance in Indian high and medium technology firms.     

Dynamics of CSFs for business innovation: Normal vs. Crisis economic conditions

This research reviews the literature on business innovation, identifies CSFs for business innovation, empirically tests the validity of CSFs as well as examines the impact of CSFs on the success of business innovation, and investigates whether CSFs for business innovation are identical or different in normal and crisis economic conditions. Thorough extensive literature review, eleven CSFs were identified: motivation and rewards, TF team manpower, strategy, methodology, goals and measurement, organizational structure, change management, role of information technology, implementation, leadership, and communication. The respondents rated leadership as the most important CSF, followed by motivation & rewards, change management, TF team manpower, role of information technology, and strategy. In crisis economic conditions, the respondents evaluated leadership as the most important CSF, followed by motivation and rewards, TF team manpower, change management, strategy, and role of information technology. It may be that management approaches business innovation more strategically and methodologically to successfully complete business innovation projects since there are scarce resources and increasing pressure for success in crisis economic conditions. Regression analyses show that CSFs in total have very significant explanatory power in the success of business innovation and reveal that leadership and TF team manpower have the strongest explanatory power.     

International trade and firm innovation: patterns and evidence from the Chinese Employer-Employee Survey data

ABSTRACT

How international trade fosters firm innovation is crucial in understanding how economic integration boosts productivity growth. This study uses the Chinese Employer-Employee Survey data set, which contains detailed, firm-level information on exports, imports, and innovation. The study documents several stylized facts characterizing the interaction between international trade and innovation among Chinese firms. The main findings are that exporters and importers are exceptional in production and innovation; exporters are more inclined to import material and machinery inputs; domestic and private firms do not seem to be more innovative than their counterparts.

Abbreviations: CEES: Chinese Employer-Employee Survey; FIE: Foreign investment enterprise; NBS: National Bureau of Statistics of China; SOE: State-owned enterprise     

Financing of innovation: national development banks in newly industrialized countries of East Asia

Abstract

Contemporary literature on innovation tends to overlook the issue of financing, whereas financial history suggests that banks have been essential to financing of new industries. Emerging literature ondevelopment banking, although inspiring, remains focused on financing policies. The article aims to rearticulate a coevolutionary nature of industrial and financial interests, following the works of Schumpeter and Minsky, by looking at the 4 cases of national development banks, tasked with long-term financing of industries, from newly industrialized countries of East Asia—South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. The study suggests that innovation in finance, as well as organizational innovation in financial institutions, represent essential elements of financing of innovative activities. Further, organizational innovation in financial institutions, such as development banks, might signify a disposition to face uncertainty, which characterizes economic and technological unknowns inherent in financing of innovation.     

Incumbents as disruptor and their disruptive behaviour enabling disruptive innovation: case study of high performance and low cost CPU and foundry market

ABSTRACT

The ability and role of incumbents to enable and sustain disruptive innovation is underestimated so far, compared with new entrants. Thus, this research aimed to observe incumbents’ role as a disruptor and their disruptive behaviours to enable disruptive innovation in different market segments. Based on two case studies of CPU and foundry markets, it was observed that incumbents enabled disruptive innovation by adjusting disruptive window in the context of performance trajectories and discontinuous time, and they sustained their market leadership by having advantages through continuous cost reduction and accumulated technological knowledge in high performance and low cost market. This study has extended the theory of disruptive innovation by including incumbents’ role and their disruptive behaviours and has practical implications as well for incumbents and new entrants to establish competitive technology strategy at the organisation as well as national level.     

A theory of innovation for process-based innovations such as nanotechnology

Many see Nanotechnology as the technology that will underlie the next Schumpeterian wave creating new opportunities for wealth and job creation. Further it is a process based or materials technology. Yet all currently used models of innovation are based on assembled products or service products and these simply do not recognize the differences in materials products nor the “enabling” nature of Nanotechnologies. If nanotechnology is poised to become the economic engine of this millennium and if current models of innovation, which are utilized, by policy makers and firm based strategist alike are based on technology product paradigms that are dissimilar to the realities of nanotechnology and other process-based technologies then there is cause for concern.Here the authors provide a model and supporting cases demonstrating a new process or materials based innovation model that is based on the tight coupling between product and process innovation of not only Nanotechnology-based products but other process-based products. This is an important finding, because it identifies and remedies a gap in the literature associated with earlier process and product innovation models. For process-based products like materials, food, chemicals and nanotechnologies any change to the manufacturing processes results in significant changes in end product features. The implications of this model to practice are considered.     

The sources and aims of innovation in services: Variety between and within sectors

Services dominate economic activity, but remain under-researched by analysts of innovation and technological change. The early 'one size fits all' theories of innovation in services have in recent years given way to an appreciation that services are diverse, not least in their innovation activities. This paper draws on recent empirical evidence from large-scale surveys undertaken in 13 western European countries, to investigate the extent and the sources of innovation in five services sectors. The analysis includes the extent to which services innovate, and amongst innovators the extent to which they engage in R&D and collaborative arrangements for innovation. The analysis supports the recent literature which emphasises significant differences between sectors in their pattern of innovation behaviour, but also highlights significant intra-sectoral differences in innovation behaviour. This intra-sectoral variation deserves much fuller investigation in the future.     

Antecedents and consequences of green innovation in the wine industry: the role of channel structure

In this study, we place green innovation in a broader technology development, commercialisation and distribution context to test hypotheses in three areas: (1) the internal vs external drivers of green innovation; (2) the effect of green innovation on business performance; and (3) the role of channel structures (the degree to which producers sell directly to consumers or businesses) in making green innovation more productive in terms of business performance. To test our hypotheses, data from an international survey among 123 wineries is used. Our results suggest that internal drivers, i.e. environmental management and quality management in particular, play a greater role than external drivers (e.g. government and regulatory pressures) on the adoption of green innovation strategies. Producing and using organic products and processes and recycling activities are found to have a significant direct positive impact on business performance. Our results also confirm the moderating effect of channel structures: the benefits of green innovation in terms of business performance are larger when firms use more direct sales channels (selling wine directly from the wine cellar to consumers and businesses).     

Hospitality industry economic innovation out of tradition small–medium-size enterprises in North-Eastern Thailand

This study focuses on the creation of economic innovation out of tradition in small–medium-size hospitality industry enterprises in the north-eastern part of Thailand. We looked at the role of the roots of the business on its development and the roots vary from existing old traditional accommodations, to accommodations that developed out of a restaurants or a totally different types of hospitality related or unrelated businesses. We also looked as hospitality institutions that developed out of an existing building that could house accommodations or be expanded to a hotel. With the structure naturally comes the location. In real estate as in tourism location plays a very important role, location, location and location. So a three-star hotel may have developed out of a homestay or a bed and breakfast or a simple family restaurant. We did not look at the hotels that were the result of planned developments of real estate developer and hotel franchise operator. Innovation is broadly defined as a new idea, method or product. Product, process or service innovations may have their roots in the traditions of the business. Traditions are long established customs, believes that have been transmitted over generations or time in general terms. The study is quantitative in nature and explored a convenience sample 100 small–medium-size hospitality enterprises in the north-eastern part of Thailand by administrating a pretested survey to the owner/operators. The sample is a good representation of the hospitality industry in Thailand under the business model of tradition as an engine for innovation and the ongoing academic debate which generates implications for hospitality industry best practices and as strategic resource.     

Assessing the appropriate grassroots technological innovation for sustainable development

ABSTRACT

Grassroots technological innovation (GRTI) is perceived as a source of sustainable development while addressing local problems and needs of people belonging to the bottom of the economic pyramid. The fostering of sustainable development develops a need for scientific evaluation and subsequent diffusion of GRTI to ameliorate the livelihood of grassroots communities. It is, hence, the purpose of this research to assess the relative performance of different GRTIs with respect to economic, social, and environmental benefits. The empirical data for this study comprised of 32 GRTIs from the three different rural non-farm sectors in the Indian context. Analytical hierarchy process is used for deducing the relative assessment of the selected GRTI against the aforementioned performance criteria. The findings of this study offer imperative insights into the field of technology diffusion and development at the grassroots level and suggest recommendations for sustainable policy formulation.     

浙江中小企业自主创新问题对策研究

提高中小企业自主创新能力对浙江经济具有重要的现实意义。本文简要回顾了浙江中小企业发展的概况,分析了中小企业自主创新的特点和存在的问题。在此基础上,提出浙江中小企业提高自主创新的对策建议。     

Integration,network and industrial innovation in technology sourcing overseas M&A: a comparison between China and South Korea

ABSTRACT

Appropriate integration in technology sourcing overseas M&A is effective for acquirers to improve their innovation network positions and to promote domestic industrial innovation. We use the technology sourcing overseas M&A of Chinese and South Korean manufacturing industries as samples for empirical analysis. The results show that post-merger integration strategy should match resource characteristics between acquiring and acquired firms to promote industrial innovation through innovation network position improvement. Specifically, high-degree integration should match high-resource-similarity / low-resource-complementarity acquired firms, low-degree integration should match low-resource-similarity / high-resource-complementarity acquired firms, and moderate-degree integration should match high-resource-similarity / high-resource-complementarity acquired firms. The acquirer’s home country institutional development enhances the effect of post-merger integration. This study provides guidance for promoting industrial innovation through post-merger integration.     

Determinants of demand for technology in relationships with complementary assets among Japanese firms

ABSTRACT

There has been growing interest in open innovation by firms creating new value by combining internal and external ideas. Technology insourcing, however, has not been satisfactorily investigated compared to technology outsourcing in empirical literature. In this paper, we examine the determinants of external technology sourcing by types of the counterpart in new product development (NPD). We use a novel dataset at the product level, conducted by RIETI in 2011. We highlight cases in which a technology partner is also a business partner, such as a supplier or customer, from those where this is not the case. In contrast, in cases when a technology partner is not a business partner, patents play an important role in moderating transaction costs in partnerships. In contrast, in cases when a technology partner is also a business partner, we found a pattern of co-specialization of managerial resources with the partner firm.

Abbreviations: B2B: Business to business; NPD: New product development; RBV: Resource-based view     

Innovative growth: the role of market power and negative selection

ABSTRACT

This paper relies on register-based statistical data from Finland to measure broad research and development (R&D), organizational capital (OC) and information and communication technology (ICT) investments as innovation inputs in addition to formal survey-based R&D and CIS survey data on innovations. The linked panel data are appropriate for a comparison of low-market-share (small) and large-market-share (large) firms. We analyze the productivity growth and profitability of Finnish firms with varying market power. In contrast to high-market-share firms, low-market-share firms are characterized by low profit derived from new innovations. This study suggests that in addition to imitative growth, a ‘negative selection mechanism’ explains the high productivity growth relative to the low profits.