Big data analysis adaptation and enterprises’ competitive advantages: the perspective of dynamic capability and resource-based theories

Big data analysis (BDA) adaptation has been spreading unprecedentedly fast among Chinese enterprises to gain a competitive advantage. Based on the resource-based theory (RBT) and dynamic capability theory (DCT), this study aims to propose a conceptual model to identify the sources of competitive advantages, interrelationship of their components, and the mechanism of obtaining competitive advantage. The results reveal several important findings. 1) Different dimensions of dynamic capabilities all have effects on competitive advantage, but they have different paths to influence these. 2) Two dimensions of dynamic capabilities have direct effects on the competitive advantages, and strategy flexibility has indirect effects on these. 3) Three dimensions of resources all indirectly and positively influence competitive advantages by affecting dynamic capabilities. 4) The path of resources and dynamic capabilities affecting competitive advantage are identified. The findings have important implications for managers that leverage BDA to achieve comparative advantages in business.     

CSR disclosure and sustainable supplier management: a small to medium-sized enterprises perspective

The respective literatures on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and sustainable supplier management have grown in recent years, but little scholarly attention has been paid to the link between the two. Within a framework that incorporates legitimacy and neo-institutional theories, this study investigates how CSR disclosure in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) influences CSR requirements and capacity building with suppliers. Based on an empirical data set of 146 000 SMEs, we test our hypotheses using multiple mediation analysis. Our results indicate that SME CSR disclosure has a positive direct effect on capacity building. When the mediating role of CSR requirements is taken into account, the study reveals that the more SMEs disclose their CSR activities, the more they require CSR from their suppliers, which in turn leads to an increase in capacity building with them. The study also suggests that the SMEs that limit their CSR requirements to the application step are more likely to build capacity with their suppliers than the SMEs that impose CSR verification. Overall, this article provides unique insights for practitioners seeking to determine the circumstances in which the SME practices of sustainable supplier management unfold in practice.     

As times goes by. A dynamic impact assessment of the innovation policy and the Matthew effect on Argentinean firms

ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of public funds for innovation on firm’s capabilities, innovative dynamics and economic performance. A large stream of literature about the evaluation of public funds is focused on testing the existence of additionality effects on investments and results. This paper aims to provide evidence about other dimensions of the firm that public policy can alter, with focus on the time window between the treatment and the impact, and the role of the Matthew effect (recurrence) in this process. The empirical exercise is based on a dynamic panel data made of 1465 firms (3337 observations) that applied to the Argentinean Technological Fund (FONTAR), which is the main public fund for innovation in Argentina, between 2007 and 2016. Results show short-term effects of accessing to FONTAR on firms’ capabilities, medium-term effects on innovation efforts and long-term effects on productivity. Even though the effect on productivity is larger among recurrent firms, the differences among recurrent and non-recurrent firms are not conclusive in case of capabilities and innovation efforts. All in all, this research provides evidence about the ‘when’ of public policy and the need to look beyond input additionality effects when analysing its impact.     

The impact of external R&D financing on innovation process from a supply-demand perspective

This paper sheds light on the effects of two different types of R&D financing sources respectively from a supply-demand combined perspective, namely subsidy from government and venture capital in market, on the innovation process. Our empirical analysis is based on a unique data set of industrial enterprises located in Beijing ZhongGuanCun Science Park during the period 2008–2015. In terms of the two stages of the innovation process, this paper untangles and compares the effects of the two financing sources on R&D input, patent output as well as profit outcome. We find that both supply- and demand-side external R&D financing channels have differential effects on the innovation process in terms of input, output or outcome as well as the different-sized enterprises. Supply-side subsidy tends to be more effective at the front end of the innovation process, while venture capital shows a demand-side consideration on technology evolution by focusing more on the back end of the innovation process. Both government subsidy and venture capital can have a significantly positive impact on the entire innovation process of small and micro enterprises, whereas for large and medium-sized enterprises, subsidy has no significant impact on profit outcome and venture capital can only affect patents positively. These findings suggest that the Chinese government should focus more on small and micro firms and increase such firms’ access to venture capital through a process of certification, so as to achieve an effective combination of government functions and market functions.     

The relationship between innovation network and innovation capability: a social network perspective

The key for acquiring innovation capability is knowledge transmission which is primarily based on the closer and tighter connections among businesses and other actors within innovation networks. Previous literature of patent analysis based on social network only explains the most influential corporations within an industry through social network indicators, but did not investigate the impact of these indicators on a firm’s innovation capability. This study uses social network perspective ‘centrality, cohesion and density’ to investigate the relationship between innovation network and innovation capability in the global semiconductor industry. Two purposes of this study are: (1) to investigate the innovation network relationship within the semiconductor industry at different periods and its evolution and (2) to study whether network position occupied by a firm in innovation network influences innovation capability. The empirical results show that firms with higher centrality and higher density have stronger innovation capability, but the weaker innovation capability with closer connection of sub-cluster (cohesion).     

中小企业人力资源管理研究

中小企业是社会经济发展的一支重要力量,但目前中小企业人力资源管理中的问题很大程度上制约了其自身的发展。从中小企业人力资源管理的特点出发,集中探讨中小企业人力资源管理中存在的问题,并试图构建一个适合我国中小企业的人力资源管理模式,以保证其人力资源管理系统的高效运行,促进企业健康发展。     

新冠肺炎疫情对我国中小企业的影响及应对

疫情来袭,两场没有硝烟的"战争"正在进行:一场是聚光灯下,白衣天使与死神的生命赛跑;另一场是聚光灯外,中小企业与困境的生存逆战。本研究旨在分析当前疫情对中国经济带来的影响,帮助中小企业更好地短期应对好疫情、中长期得到快速发展。     

区域比较视角下安徽省大中型工业企业创新绩效研究

基于《工业企业科技活动统计资料(2010)》与《安徽统计年鉴(2010)》的数据资料,运用数据包络分析的BC2模型,从区域比较的视角出发,对安徽省17个地市大中型企业的创新效率进行评价与分析,实证结果显示:除亳州、滁州、六安外,其余地市的大中型企业创新活动均处于无效状态,而且普遍存在创新效率低下,投入产出结构不合理,资源配置效率低的问题。进一步分析发现,创新活动的规模无效或规模不经济是导致整体综合效率DEA无效的根本原因。     

How technology policy facilitates technology diffusion and improves firm capability: a dynamic survey from a network perspective

Strategic alliances have been regarded as a potent tool of technology policy for the advancement of research and development (R&D) in developing countries. However, the effectiveness of this ‘visible hand’ has not been dynamically understood as a useful means of building up firm capability. To see how strategic alliances help small-sized firms improve their competitive advantage, this research investigates a government-supported strategic alliance for technology development. Using a two-stage model from the network perspective and methodology, the results show that via a government-sponsored strategic alliance, the network factors embedded in the alliance significantly help the firm develop a competitive advantage by facilitating technology diffusion among alliance members and improved firm-level technology capability. Thus, technology policy in the form of strategic alliances appears to serve as a ‘visible hand’ that homogenously upgrades firm technology capability and diffuses technology.     

Persistence and economic effects of technological innovations: a dynamic and sequential analysis of Uruguayan manufacturing firms

This paper analyzes the long-term relationship between research and development (R&D), innovations and productivity in 400 Uruguayan manufacturing firms during the period 2001–2009 based on a modified version of the structural model of Crepon, Duguet and Mairesse. The paper also analyzes thoroughly the decision of these firms to engage in R&D activities by using a novel categorical dependent variable, which takes three values: non-performance R&D activities, occasional performance or continuous performance over the period. Furthermore, the study investigates whether these manufacturing ?rms innovate persistently or discontinuously over the period. The results suggest a positive link between the intensity of R&D activities and the generation of product and process innovations. They also indicate that innovation probability is temporally persistent at the ?rm-level only for product innovations. Finally, the empirical findings reveal that these technological innovations have a positive effect on firm’s productivity.     

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.     

Tracing distant environmental impacts of agricultural products from a consumer perspective

Globally, trade flows of agricultural products are increasing. While value is typically added along the whole production chain, certain environmental impacts, such as land and water use, biomass appropriation, and soil degradation, are intrinsically linked to where the primary products originate from. When taking a consumer oriented approach on environmental problems, bilateral trade statistics can help in providing a clearer picture about the location of impacts caused by consumption elsewhere. However, in today's increasingly globalized world, consumer goods are often imported from countries other than where the primary product originated from. For instance, soybeans are transported from Brazil to the Netherlands, where they are processed into soy oil, which is shipped to Austria, where it is consumed. Utilizing bilateral trade matrices and matrix algebra, we present a method that allows to clearly link consumption patterns to the origin of primary products. In this, the method can help to provide information about consumption related, distant environmental impacts. We employ the case of land and water use linked to Austria's soy product consumption to demonstrate the approach's relevance. Finally, we outline some possible applications of this method to show its potential in enhancing understanding for informed consumer based environmental decision making.     

关于现代企业集团动态财务战略控制体系的构想

企业财务战略控制的目标正在由资金平衡目标、利润目标,价值目标向动态能力目标转化。基于动态能力的企业财务战略控制体系的关键在于财务战略与控制体系、动态能力和实现机制的有机融合,从而提升财务对企业战略管理的支撑力。     

基于创新型企业的风险投资发展对策探析

二十世纪90年代以来,以高新技术产业为主导的知识经济浪潮席卷全球,推动了风险投资的发展;技术创新作为企业创新的重要内容,是国内企业迎接全球经济一体化,提高核心竞争力的必然选择。笔者在回顾国内外风险投资理论研究成果的基础上,基于我国经济社会发展现状,就若干风险投资研究的前沿领域,从公司治理、价值评估、运作与退出机制、宏观环境等方面,讨论了风险投资的发展对策。     

The impact of old technologies on innovation: the case of the US biotechnology industry

This paper investigates the implications of a technology sourcing strategy maintaining a focus on the rediscovery of old technologies. Specifically, we study the different impact exerted by old technological solutions, distinguished on the basis of their organisational and industrial origins, on the innovation value. We develop a set of hypotheses about the impact exerted by four distinct types of old technological solutions (firm core technological heritage, firm lateral technological heritage, competitors’ technological heritage and others’ technological heritage) and test them on a sample of 1189 biotechnology patents registered at the US Patent and Trademark Office from 1979 to 2002. Results strongly support our hypotheses, revealing that: (1) using both firm core technological heritage and others’ technological heritage has an inverted U-shaped effect on innovation value; (2) employing firm lateral technological heritage is positively related to innovation value; (3) a negative relationship occurs between competitors’ core technological heritage and the value of subsequent innovations.     

Disentangling managerial incentives from a dynamic perspective: The role of stock grants

We analyse the optimal contract between a risk‐averse manager and the initial shareholders in a two‐period model where the manager's investment effort, carried out in period 1, and his or her current effort, carried out in period 2, both impact the second‐period profit, so that it may be difficult to disentangle the incentives for these two types of effort. We show that stock grants play different roles according to whether the signal of investment effort is less noisy, or noisier, than that of current effort. We determine simultaneously the optimal stock grants and the optimal restrictions on sales of shares.     

The impact of exploration and exploitation learning on organisational innovativeness among hospitals: an open innovation view

This study tries to explore the impact of exploration and exploitation learning on organisational innovativeness among health service organisations from an open innovation view. We developed several constructs including realised absorptive capacity (RACAP), breadth and depth of external knowledge acquisition and tried to explore the roles of these constructs in the influence process of organisational learning on organisational innovativeness. The mail survey was used to collect research data from top hospital managers in Taiwan. The overall valid response rate was 44.23%. We applied a structural equation model to test the research hypothesis. Results indicated the breadth and depth of external knowledge acquisition would affect organisational innovativeness through RACAP. Exploration learning had a directly positive influence on RACAP and also had an indirect impact through the mediation of breadth and depth of external knowledge acquisition among health service organisations.     

科学驱动视角下产业创新网络与生态主体研究——以5G产业为例

利用产业科学关联度指标清晰界定科学驱动的产业与创新，通过社会网络分析方法探究其在整个产业中的网络地位及其作用，并挖掘产业创新生态参与主体的网络关系。研究发现：科学驱动的创新成果处于网络中心位置，更容易被频繁的引用，能够为其他创新成果提供经验输出和知识依赖，成为驱动创新发展的基石，同时科学驱动的创新成果审查周期和技术覆盖广度在数值上显著大于“技术驱动的创新”，表明其能够产生高价值技术的可能性更大；科学驱动的产业是科学驱动的创新大量汇聚的产业，是整个行业发展的关键核心技术，具备取得、协调及配置资源的能力，能够整合内外部信息和知识资源，通过频繁的交流、协作带动其他产业的共同发展，为产业的形成演化奠定基础；在科学驱动的产业中，创新主体之间网络结构紧密，产学研协同融合体系发挥重要作用，企业占据主体地位成为创新的主体和参与科学研究的主体，而大学等公共机构的创新成果传播速度更快，在创新网络中的中心性地位具有不可替代的优势。     

The dynamic impact of intellectual capital on firm value: evidence from China

We examine the dynamic relationship between intellectual capital (measured by human capital and organizational capital) and firm value of Chinese listed firms. We do causality identification using system GMM and IV estimation, and find no significant relation between human capital and firm value, but organizational capital positively affects firm value with a lag. Our findings are robust to firms with different property rights, of different sizes, or in different industries, with the only exception of capital-intensive firms, in which human capital has a significant influence on firm value. The results imply that the improvement of organizational system plays a more important role in raising the value of a firm in a typical developing country, like China.     

The impact of private equity on firms׳ patenting activity

The paper analyses the impact of private equity (PE) backed leveraged buyouts (LBOs) on innovative output (patenting). Using a sample of 407 UK deals we find that LBOs have a positive causal effect on patent stock and quality-adjusted patent stock. Our results imply a 6% increase in quality-adjusted patent stock three years after the deal. The increase in innovative activity is concentrated among private-to-private transactions with a 14% increase in the quality-adjusted patent stock. We also find evidence suggesting that PE firms facilitate the relaxation of financial constraints. In sum, our findings suggest that PE firms do not promote short-term cost-cutting at the expense of entrepreneurial investment opportunities with a long-term pay-off.