The latecomer strategy for global ICT standardization: Indigenous innovation and its dilemma

This article reviews China׳s changing standardization strategies amidst the standards competitions that take place both domestically in China and globally. The relevant policies in China now support indigenous innovation, particularly in the information and communication technologies (ICT) industry by using standards, encourage domestic firms to patent their standard-related technologies, and promote innovation-oriented inter-firm alliances. The three cases examined illustrate the challenges that the Chinese government faces in implementing the policies. Most of all, while the government has actively promoted indigenous innovation as a latecomer strategy for global standardization, there are possibilities of clash with the international norms for free competition and economic liberalization which China is supposed to comply with. There are also oppositions from those domestic firms that mainly export products compliant with the international standards set by advanced countries, and from local authorities that support those firms. The demands for international compliance are often strengthened by multinationals importing products compliant with the international standards. These clashes and oppositions give a dilemma to the policy makers who want to push the standardization strategy based on indigenous innovation.     

Telecommunications and economic development in Singapore

The existing research of aggregate statistical analysis on the relationship between telecommunications and economic development is largely organized around the hypothesis that telephone growth fosters economic development. Although considerable evidence supports that hypothesis, there is also a growing realization that the growth of telecommunications, in turn, requires a sound economy. The existing research, however, ignores the reciprocal relationship between these two variables. Employing Singapore data, this article formulates a simultaneous equation model to assess the reciprocal relationship between telecommunications and economic development. These data support the reciprocal relationship hypothesis. Policy implications of the findings are also discussed.     

Food policy reforms for sustainable agricultural development in Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan

Given the present conditions of demographic growth and the complicated transition toward market economies in Central Asia, the problems of food security and designing policies to achieve it without compromising economic growth are at the forefront of policy agendas in these countries. This paper reviews food policy reforms in Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan in the context of sustainable agricultural development. Analyzing the trends in the agricultural sector during the transition period, it identifies the major impacts of policy reforms on food security and enumerates future challenges for improving food security in these countries. It finds that despite the progress made in reforming their economies toward market-oriented ones, the three countries continue to face food insecurity to varying degrees. It concludes that there is an urgent need to further expand and deepen the reform process by enabling functioning land, labor, and financial markets.     

Telecommunications and economic development – The 21st century: Making the evidence stronger

A review of the literature on the relation between telecommunications and economic development published since the turn of this century is undertaken. Two stages have been considered: until 2008, most contributions continued to examine the role of telecommunications taken together; since 2009, the impact of broadband –and, to a lesser extent, of mobile communications– dominates the research agenda. All in all, the role of telecommunications as a catalyst to leverage economic growth has been conclusively proven over the years. Taking into consideration the shortcomings of previous research, suggestions for future work are also provided.     

Telecommunications and economic development – The 20th century: The building of an evidence base

The literature on the relation between telecommunications and economic development published during the 20th century has been reviewed. It all began in 1963 with the publication of the Jipp curve. Over the twenty years that followed, there was hardly any noteworthy, at least academic, contribution. Already in the eighties, the debate was still focused towards the role of telecommunications in the integration of developing countries into the world economy. In the last decade of the century, subsequent research broadened the scope –the lack of an adequate telecommunication infrastructure is a serious drawback for any country–, and also made a qualitative and quantitative jump forward.     

Value chain innovations for technology transfer in developing and emerging economies: Conceptual issues,typology, and policy implications

The adoption of modern technologies in agriculture is crucial for improving productivity of poor farmers and poverty reduction. However, the adoption of modern technology has been disappointing. The role of value chains in technology adoption has been largely ignored so far, despite the dramatic transformation and spread of modern agri-food value chains. We argue that value chain organization and innovations can have an important impact on modern technology adoption, not just by downstream companies, but also by farmers. We discuss conceptual issues and provide an empirical typology of institutional innovations through which value chains can contribute to technology transfer to agriculture in developing and emerging countries.     

Antecedents and consequences of the strategic orientations in new product development: The case of Chinese manufacturers

The objective of the present study is to advance the understanding of the role of the strategic orientation of the firm for successful new product development (NPD), in the context of Chinese manufacturing firms. Through field research accompanied by a review of the related literature, this study identifies customer orientation and technology orientation as crucial strategic components that are important to successful new product development. This research proposes a conceptual model of strategic orientations, in which firm-internal (organizational support) and -external (environmental turbulence) factors are expected to influence strategic orientations, which, in turn, impact NPD performance. The model is tested using data collected from a large-scale survey of 232 manufacturing firms in China. The results largely support the hypotheses derived from the conceptual model. First, organizational support and environmental turbulence have a positive influence on the implementation of strategic orientations. Second, the two strategic orientations show a different pattern of performance implications.     

The two dimensions of policy impacts on economic cohesion: Concept and illustration for the CAP

Given the growing importance of cohesion policy within the European Union (EU) during the last two decades, public and scientific interest in the role of EU policies for regional disparities has risen continuously. Recent empirical studies on the impacts of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on economic cohesion have been strikingly diverse in their principal findings. Whereas some studies suggest positive overall effects on economic cohesion, others stress exactly the opposite. One major reason for the ambiguous results is that a single agreed-upon measure of economic cohesion is lacking. We propose a concept that distinguishes between two dimensions of policy impacts on economic cohesion: (i) the redistributive impact at a defined period of time and (ii) the change of the redistributive impact over time. The first dimension addresses the question whether a policy makes the distribution of a target variable, e.g., income, more equal or unequal at one point of time. The second dimension covers the impact of the policy on the disparity of the same variable over time, i.e., the impact on convergence. An empirical illustration of the concept for 13 NUTS 1 regions in Germany over the period 1991–2009 reveals that the two policy impacts of the CAP are partly contradictory for the two dimensions. It is shown that the CAP fosters economic cohesion by reducing regional disparities in each individual year. With regard to redistributive impacts over time, we find that CAP transfers leave income convergence largely unaffected for society as a whole. Within the agricultural sector, it leads to a convergence of receipts per farm whereas it induces a divergence of farm receipts per hectare.     

Supply chains and economic development: Insights from the Indian dairy sector

With almost three quarters of the labor force depending on agriculture in India, kick-starting agricultural growth is considered crucial for pro-poor development. More specifically, dairy production – which is labor-intensive but does not heavily rely on access to land – is generally expected to offer better prospects for income growth to the poorest among rural households. However, most policies aimed at increasing dairy production are based on ad hoc observations, with hardly any micro-level evidence. Using a unique primary dataset on 1000 rural households in Andhra Pradesh, this paper investigates the dairy production system, addressing three main research questions: First, we look at the typical profile of a dairy farmer and we find that both family traditions in dairy and owning (even a small piece of) land play a role in determining participation in dairy – while land size does not matter. Second, we show that dairy production is strongly and positively associated with improvement in rural livelihoods, in terms of income per capita, but that this positive relation only holds for larger dairy farms. In a third step, we look at the determinants of farm growth and we find that households having higher shares of graded dairy animals have grown more after 2005.     

Platforms,systems competition,and innovation: Reassessing the foundations of communications policy

Focusing on the effects of policy on investment and innovation this paper examines whether the conceptual foundations of sector regulation are aligned with the current technological and economic conditions of advanced communications. One conclusion is that the prevailing theories and practices are only adequate if the policy challenge can be reasonably approximated as a static or steady-state problem but they may have serious shortcomings if this is not possible. The article proceeds with a review and critical examination of two approaches that could augment or possibly replace the traditional approach under conditions of dynamic competition—the theory of platform markets and systems approaches. Both frameworks model aspects of competition in interconnected systems in more detail and offer novel insights to inform communications policy in an era of continuous change. Nonetheless, important theoretical and implementation gaps remain that will require additional efforts by researchers and practitioners.     

Poverty, food security, and nutrition in Central Asia: a case study of the Kyrgyz Republic

This paper attempts to provide insights into poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition in Central Asia in the period following independence, and presents the available evidence from household-level data in the Kyrgyz Republic. It finds that although some improvement has been made in recent years, significant levels of poverty, food insecurity, and child malnutrition still exist. The paper argues that, in the short run, efforts should be made to protect vulnerable groups by investing in information generation and building capacity to design and implement food security and nutrition policies and programs. Increasing the speed of policy reforms and investment in productivity-enhancing agricultural research and rural infrastructure are fundamental for long-tern sustainable development in Central Asia.     

Competitive pressure and economic integration: an illustration for Spain, 1983–1996

This paper estimates sectoral mark-ups in the Spanish economy during the period 1983–1996. The data consists of a large firm level data set that encompasses all sectors of economic activity apart from financial institutions. The time period considered is well suited to assess the pro-competitive effect of economic integration, as Spain’s economy became fully integrated in the EU, which was itself embarking on a massive liberalisation exercise. I find that sectors most exposed to international competition witnessed a significant drop in margins, while those more sheltered from competitive pressures did not. Finally, comparing estimated mark-ups to accounting margins indicates that the latter are a reasonable proxy for margins obtained econometrically.     

Environmental sustainability in the OECD: The power of digitalization,green innovation,renewable energy and financial development

Digitalization has emerged as a crucial factor in reducing pollution and holds significant potential for facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy. Nevertheless, the environmental impact of digitalization hinges on the strategies for collaboration with various economic actors and, as a result, their engagement with digitalization. In light of this, the present study seeks to examine the externality effect of digitalization on green innovation, renewable energy, and financial development in relation to environmental sustainability. The analysis employs the System Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) for 36 OECD countries over the period of 2000–2018. The empirical findings indicate that digitalization, green innovation, renewable energy, and financial development substantially promote environmental sustainability. Moreover, the interaction between digitalization, green innovation, renewable energy utilization, and financial development enhances the ecological footprint-mitigating effect of digitalization. In view of these results, merging digitalization and environmental policies may yield more robust outcomes and improved environmental quality compared to implementing a single policy in isolation.     

Strategic flexibility, rigidity and barriers to the development of absorptive capacity in business markets: Themes and research perspectives

The marketing and strategy literature hail strategic flexibility as a key success factor in creating continuously customer value and generating competitive advantage. However, empirical evidence indicates that rigidity in market strategies and actions is more the rule than the exception in organizations. The focus of this special issue is on better understanding rigidity and flexibility in business markets. This lead article seeks to elaborate on why companies face rigidity and how they can create flexibility. To do this, we relate rigidity in organizations to the concepts of dominant logic, industry recipe and persistence. The case illustrations highlight barriers to the development of absorptive capacity in business organizations. Identifying such barriers is a first step in better understanding how companies can remain agile and flexible in demanding and fast changing markets. The paper then proceeds with a brief introduction to the other contributions of this special issue and concludes with a research agenda.     

Nexus between telecommunication infrastructures,economic growth and development in Africa: Panel vector autoregression (P-VAR) analysis

This study examines the causal-effect relationship between telecommunication infrastructures, economic growth and development in selected African countries. It further estimates the trivariate impacts of telecommunication infrastructures, economic growth and development in the region. The analysis considers a panel of forty-six African countries from 2000 to 2015. To measure economic growth, real gross domestic product serves as the proxy, while economic development is measured by the Human Development Index, and telecommunication infrastructures by a composite index of telecommunication computed from mobile line, fixed line and internet access penetration via principal component analysis (PCA). The empirical results suggest the existence of a bidirectional long-run relationship between telecommunication infrastructures, economic growth and development. The causality tests reveal that there is feedback causality between telecommunication infrastructures, economic growth and development. Telecommunication infrastructures promote economic growth and development in Africa and vice versa. Thus, there is need to promote inclusive and holistic policies that will enhance digital provide, economic growth and development simultaneously in Africa. An increase in telecommunication infrastructures will encourage aggregate output and standard of living to move in the same direction in Africa.     

The third-generation-mobile (3G) policy and deployment in China: Current status, challenges, and prospects

Since the inception of telecom reform in 1994, structural reform has been a main thread surrounding the course of the development of China's telecommunications industry. In structuring the 2008 reform and the 2009 3G rollout China's government adopted a relatively balanced approach in the hope of creating level-playing-field in 3G era. Nevertheless, due to the presence of substantial switching costs, substitution effects from the present technology mode, that is, 2.5G, the absence of killer applications, among other technological and institutional factors, China may not have a realistic 3G era before moving toward 4G and beyond. At the bare minimum, currently there is a lacking of either adequate technological-push or demand-pull for a full-scale 3G commercialization—there is no sign that this situation will change in the near term. Triggered by recent initiatives of market convergence between the telecommunications, Internet, and cable, a renewed circle of market, and regulatory reform is probably necessary to cast a sounder industry basis for a timing migration toward the next-generation-networks (NGNs). The timing migration toward 4G (and beyond) may provide a chance for a late-mover nation like China to leapfrog its western counterparts in leading the industry in the era of NGNs. To this end, China is confronted with a challenge in re-examining its industry policy as well as technological strategies for a sustainable development in the era of NGNs. This study offers heuristic analysis and insights on the above issues based on archival documents and interviews. While implications are suggested for China's circumstances, the Chinese experiences may also be considered by other countries and investors when it comes to 3G (and beyond) policies, regulations, deployments, and evolutions.     

Race,ethnicity, and telecommunications policy issues of access and representation: Centering communities of color and their concerns

This paper examines how and why activist groups representing marginalized communities of color are increasingly engaging in communications technology policy issues, particularly in relation to issues of digital access and representation. It explores three distinct but related case studies to disentangle the issues and concerns of a range of communities of color, and the challenges and opportunities for their advocates in navigating the highly technical communications technology policy arena: the first case study, which centers on the NAACP's original opposition to net neutrality, reveals the primacy of issues surrounding the “digital divide” to populations of color, and the difficulties of engaging in technical conversations surrounding Internet governance when issues of access persist. Meanwhile, the second case reviews the campaign by Free Press to promote set-top box liberalization as an issue of representation and diversity to both policymakers and citizens. The final case, which examines the work of the Tribal International Carrier to build an alternative internet service network for Native populations, highlights the precarity which organizations must strategically navigate in order to mitigate the influence of both the state and large corporations over Internet policy issues in order to both serve and represent their constituents. In all, this paper presents and extends upon a novel approach to communications policy research, foregrounding the need to integrate critical race frameworks and, relatedly, to center the breadth, depth, and lived experiences of communities of color, which can therein facilitate more inclusive digital media and communication environments and policy structures.     

Economic growth,telecommunications development and productivity growth of the telecommunications sector: Evidence around the world

This paper studies the relationships between economic growth, telecommunications development and productivity growth of the telecommunications sector in different countries and regions of the world. In particular, this study assesses the impact of mobile telecommunications on economic growth and telecommunications productivity. The results indicate that there is a bidirectional relationship between real gross domestic product (GDP) and telecommunications development (as measured by teledensity) for European and high-income countries. However, when the impact of mobile telecommunications development on economic growth is measured separately, the bi-directional relationship is no longer restricted to European and high-income countries. This study also finds that countries in the upper-middle income group have achieved a higher average total factor productivity (TFP) growth than other countries. Countries with competition and privatization in telecommunications have achieved a higher TFP growth than those without competition and privatization. The diffusion of mobile telecommunications services is found to be a significant factor that has improved the TFP growth of the telecommunications sector in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).     

Network-centric digital development in Korea: Origins,growth and prospects

South Korea is currently the world leader in digital network infrastructure and the leading example of ICT-driven development. However, the explanation of how and why Korea accomplished these things is not clearly apparent from a review of mainstream scholarship. A deeper understanding of Korea’s “miracle on the Han” requires more historical, cultural, political and social context. This study addresses questions of how, when and why a nation whose infrastructures were utterly destroyed at the 1953 cessation of hostilities in the Korean War could emerge as the world’s digital network leader. It examines policy issues bearing on digitization of networks, network architecture and network technologies, along with broader context in which these policies were considered, drafted and implemented. Chronologically, the study explains the origins of digital development in the revolutionary decade of the 1980s, Korea’s rise to world broadband leader in the 1990s and its ambitious plans for next generation networks. The study concludes with a review of policy “lessons”, including both successes and failures, that may be drawn from the Korean experience.     

‘Mainline’ telecommunications infrastructure, levels of development and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of developing countries

This paper assesses the growth impact of telecommunications infrastructure investment in developing countries by subjecting country-specific data on mainline tele-density and per capita growth to a Granger causality test within a panel cointegration framework. The results suggest that growth effects vary widely across country groupings reflecting different levels of development. Mainline tele-density and per capita growth strongly reinforce each other for countries that are relatively less developed. The reinforcement effect is even stronger for emerging countries that can be identified by their higher than average growth rates. In contrast, there is, at best, weak evidence of bi-directional causal links between the two variables for countries that are relatively more developed. These differences in the mainline tele-density and per capita growth relationships suggest that investment in telecommunications infrastructure, with its potential to generate high growth return, may serve as the critical tool for driving the growth and development process forward in the less developed countries.