Recent Developments in US Industrial Relations

The persistence of economic pressures that first challenged American industry in the 1970s continues to reshape US industrial relations. In an effort to maintain their competitiveness, US firms have developed a panoply of strategies ranging from confrontation and labour control to collaboration and employee empowerment. This essay reviews evidence relating to the development and diffusion of these alternative strategies and their implications for long-term US competitiveness. In this context, the recent work of Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations is discussed as well as a number of public policy options intended to facilitate the implementation of high value-added production systems. The essay concludes with a discussion of the implications of recent trends for industrial relations research.     

The European Commission's approach to mergers involving software-based platforms: Towards a better understanding of platform power

The European Commission’s digital single market policies are increasingly concerned with the impact of so-called ‘platforms’ on competition in the internal market. Whereas the European Commission acknowledges the contributions of platform companies to innovation, it also sees actual and potential damages occurring from their powerful position. As such, the European Commission aims to strengthen the enforcement of its competition law rules in this area. The main research question is how the European Commission has been evaluating the competitive effects of platforms under merger control and whether its approach is adequate to address the manifold concerns related to platforms and competition. Based on a case study analysis, we conclude that the European Commission (1) recognises the platform circumstance, their essential intermediary role in the digital industry and the importance of maintaining fair competition; (2) its analysis has been slowly evolving becoming more granular; (3) platforms’ behaviour and not their size per se is most often the central concern; (4) the proposed Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act packages tackle platform concerns identified in the European Commission’s ex-ante analysis, signalling that its analysis seems to have inspired their creation.     

国有企业对产业竞争力的影响

本文首先在理论上阐明了国有企业对产业竞争力的影响，指出国有企业是市场经济的补充，它可以通过直接和间接途径塑造产业竞争力，甚至是经济全球化背景下发展中国家增强产业竞争力的主要手段。随后分析了国有企业对竞争性产业、垄断性产业、战略性资源产业和战略性高技术产业竞争力的影响。本文的结论是：单一的市场机制不足以支撑主导产业的竞争力，国有企业有利于增强主导产业的核心竞争力，私有化应该是有限度的。     

基于创新过程系统的区域高技术产业竞争力评价

基于创新过程系统,将区域高技术产业竞争力分为创新投入、创新产出、创新扩散与创新支持4个维度。采用因子分析法和聚类分析法,分析并评价了2013年31个省市的高技术产业竞争力。研究结果表明:各个区域在创新过程系统不同维度的表现并不一致;高技术产业园区对高技术产业发展具有引领和示范作用;区域高技术产业依赖于区域经济的发展,并作用于区域经济的发展。针对中国高技术产业现状,提出了促进高技术产业竞争力提升的对策与建议。     

The economics of adventitious presence thresholds in the EU seed market

Since settling on its mandatory labeling rules for genetically modified (GM) foods in the late 1990s, the European Commission has considered a number of times setting tolerance levels (thresholds) for the accidental presence of GM material in conventional seeds. In every case, it has opted to defer the decision. In the absence of such thresholds, current European labeling laws require that seeds be labeled as GM if they contain any detectable trace of GMOs approved for cultivation in the EU. Conventional seeds with detectable traces of GMOs that have not been authorized for cultivation cannot be sold in the European market altogether. As the acreage of GM crops has continued to grow at a fast pace around the world, industry calls to the EU Commission for setting “practical” adventitious presence (AP) thresholds for conventional seeds in the EU have multiplied. In this paper, we examine the economics of alternative AP thresholds for conventional seeds in Europe from the perspective of those who must comply with the regulation – EU seed firms. Specifically, we first examine the operational changes that might be necessary for seed firms to comply with alternative AP thresholds for conventional seeds. Then, we analyze the associated market uncertainties, compliance costs and their implications on firm and industry competitiveness.     

Reshaping European metrology research – the role of national research managers

This paper deals with the role of research and development (R&D) managers in shaping the landscape of public research in Europe. These R&D managers work in the sphere of public research within national government laboratory services. The case we present is of the reconfiguration of metrology research. Metrology is the science of measurement. We examine why scientists and research managers in nationally embedded institutes, which are performing R&D in support of national policy and local industry needs, have chosen to co‐operate in a shared research programme. This means giving up, in part, their national sovereignty over funds and decision making. Furthermore, we examine how they have achieved the shared programme, which was launched as a European Commission (EC) programme through the Article 185 ¹ initiative, which allows the European Union to participate in research programmes undertaken jointly by several Member States.     

利基企业的商业生态系统战略决策模型研究

已有的研究对骨干企业的商业生态系统理论进行了比较深入的讨论,利基企业是生态系统中的大众和价值创造主体,研究其商业生态系统战略不仅具有重要的理论价值,同时也有助于提高初创企业的创业成功率,从而激活国民经济的活力。本文识别出利基企业在商业生态系统中面临着随整个系统灭亡、被核心企业捕食和与其它利基者竞争3种挑战,提出以商业生态系统和生态位评估为基础的利基企业商业生态系统战略决策模型。      

The role of intermediaries in cross‐industry innovation processes

In this article, we investigate the role intermediaries play in the cross‐industry innovation process. Intermediaries are external institutions that support companies in their innovative activities. They are frequently used to bridge gaps between different industries. Our research focuses on the question of which capabilities an intermediary should have in order to achieve success in initiating a cross‐industry innovation. Our empirical base consists of a survey of 107 European manufacturing companies and an analysis of six collaborative cross‐industry innovation projects. The company survey is used to identify the capabilities an intermediary should have during each of the three phases of the innovation process. The cross‐industry projects, each of which involves a Swiss or a German industrial company and an intermediary, provide us with analyzable data. We conclude our study by identifying three types of intermediary: the innovation broadener, the innovation leverager, and the innovation multiplier.     

长三角资本密集型制造业集聚与FDI的互动关系研究

结合长三角资本密集型制造业集聚与FDI分布的现状,以产业竞争力为关键切入点,逐次分析长三角资本密集型制造业集聚对FDI的影响路径以及FDI对长三角资本密集型制造业集聚的影响路径,并以日企在苏州电子信息产业的投资为例,对长三角资本密集型制造业集聚与FDI互动关系进行分析,研究结果表明,长三角资本密集型制造业集聚程度较高的行业,外资分布也较多;在长三角资本密集型制造业发展的成长阶段,FDI的进入对于产业集聚的形成起到了关键作用;随着该产业的发展进入成熟阶段,产业集聚效应进一步吸引了FDI的进入,长三角资本密集型制造业集聚与FDI之间通过产业竞争力这一间接导体产生了一种"良性循环"。     

基于灰色理论的纺织业与信息业协同发展研究

基于产业协同理论和1999年至2009年中国纺织产业、信息产业的生产总值和产业增加值率数据,运用灰色关联理论模型,研究两产业协同发展问题。结果说明阻碍中国纺织服装产业国际竞争力快速提升的主要原因之一就是与信息产业发展的协同程度不高,所以提高中国纺织服装产业信息化仍然是当务之急。     

融入技术附加值的国际竞争力评价方法——基于电子通讯设备产业的实证分析

鉴于即使属于同一个产业,产业内各贸易品的技术附加值也有显著不同,本文认为单纯使用以贸易规模为基础的评价指标,会高估以偏低技术含量产品为主的特定国家某产业国际竞争力,并低估以高技术含量产品为主的特定国家某产业国际竞争力。因此,本文引入显示性技术附加值(RTV)方法,以电子通讯设备产业为例,对其下属各类贸易品赋权,并据此计算包括中国在内的六个国家和地区的产业技术高度水平(TL),发现中国该产业的国际竞争力并没有贸易规模类指标所显示的那么理想,且产业内长期处于进口高技术含量产品、出口低技术含量产品的"技术逆差"状态,国际竞争力仍与美日等国存在较大差距。本文提出,以进出口规模为基础的经典指标是在评价产业国际竞争力的"量",而融入了技术附加值的创新性指标是在评价产业国际竞争力的"质",后者能比前者更加精准地衡量真实的产业国际竞争力水平。     

企业 R&D 投入与企业绩效关联度分析——基于中美上市工业企业的实证研究

技术创新主要源自于具有导向性的研究和开发活动,是影响企业竞争力和可持续发展至关重要的因素。本文以中美范围内工业制造行业的 209家上市工业企业为样本,结合企业 2009~2015 年相关数据,实证分析了R&D投入与企业绩效的关系。研究结果表明研发支出和企业经济绩效之间具有非线性关系,可用倒U型曲线来描述,R&D 投入具有动态边际效应,研发投入为销售额的4％时,企业相应的经济效益达到最优水平。最后,本文建议企业应该加大R&D投入力度,同时注重研发投入的最佳阈值,以获得最大的产出效益,提高企业技术创新的竞争能力。     

湖北光伏产业发展定位分析

在阐述我国及湖北光伏产业链各环节发展现状的基础上，分析了湖北发展光伏产业的比较优势，指出湖北虽应重视光伏产业发展，但不能急于求成，短期内不必效仿其他省份打造光伏千亿元产业，而应从健全产业链、启动光伏市场、壮大企业规模、增强企业竞争力等方面，以光伏技术的推广利用为切入点和突破口，以应用拉动产业，适度鼓励和扶持光伏产业发展。     

广东省建筑业产业结构和竞争力分析

运用偏离-份额分析模型,以2003～2007年为研究周期,对广东省建筑业的产业结构和竞争力进行分析探讨。结果表明,虽然广东省建筑业在这些年取得一定的进步,但总体发展不是很理想,产业发展速度低于全国平均水平,产业结构不甚合理,竞争力有待加强,表现在传统产业部门的房屋建筑工程分支尤甚。相对而言,建筑装饰分支和建筑安装分支具有较快的发展速度和较强的竞争力,但因其比重相对较小,对总体贡献有限。提出了提高广东省建筑业的发展和竞争力水平的若干建议。     

建筑行业绩效与竞争力:国内外研究进展

绩效与竞争力已发展成一个比较成熟的研究领域,一系列绩效与竞争力分析框架被应用到建筑行业,如波特钻石模型、3-P竞争力模型、产业组织理论、SWOT分析等产业分析理论.建筑行业研究人员也着力于设计出一些特定的分析模型来探讨行业内问题,如H分析框架、3C模型及PMS分析框架等.建立定量绩效与竞争力测评体系已成为各国建筑行业管理的发展趋势,如美国、英国、韩国、葡萄牙及新加坡等发达国家.而研究的不同点则在于测评指标体系、指标权重与测评方法等方面.     

中国地区工业竞争力评价

工业竞争力是近年来学术界研究的一个重要领域。本文在对现有研究成果进行间要回顾的基础上，提出了一个衡量地区工业竞争力的基本理论框架，即地区工业竞争力是由市场影响力、工业增长力、资源配置力、结构转换力和工业创新力有机构成的综合体。根据这一基本理论框架，我们设计了一个简便的测度地区工业竞争力的综合评价指标体系，并据此对当前我国各地区的工业竞争力状况进行了初步评价，提出了增强地区工业竞争力的政策建议。     

Economics at DG Competition, 2011–2012

This paper discusses a selection of cases and important policy developments in the enforcement activities of the Directorate General for Competition at the European Commission during the past year (2011?C2012). In particular, it illustrates the importance of competition policy in the area of financial markets based on the Deutsche B?rse/NYSE Euronext merger decision, discusses the role that the analysis of innovation can play in merger cases based on recent transactions in the hard disk drive industry, and illustrates the rising role of economic analysis in European state aid control.     

Follow the money: Online piracy and self-regulation in the advertising industry

We study the effects of a self-regulation effort, orchestrated by the European Commission in 2016 and finalized in 2018, that aims to reduce advertising revenues for publishers of copyright infringing content. Data on the third-party HTTP requests made by a large number of piracy websites lets us observe the relations of the piracy and advertising industry over time. We compare these dynamics to a control group of non-advertising services which are not subject to the self-regulation. Our results suggest that the effort is limited in its effectiveness. On average, the number of piracy websites that make requests to EU-based advertising services does not change significantly. Only when we allow for heterogeneity in the popularity of third-party services, we find that the number of piracy websites that interact with the most popular EU-based advertising services decreases by 42%. We do not find evidence that non-EU-based advertising services react to the self-regulation. This implies that only a small share of the firms in the market comply with self-regulation in a way that is visible in our data. We also do not find evidence that the demand for piracy websites decreases due to this “follow the money” initiative.     

Static electricity: Rules for plant safety

The tasks and aims of the Commission involve the promotion of safety in the chemical industry. Its membership is composed of individuals who hold positions with responsibilities for safety in chemical industrial concerns, in SUVA (Swiss national accident insurance fund) and the Swiss federal labor inspectorate as well as people at educational establishments in a position to further the importance of industrial safety; all are members ad personam. The Commission endeavors to recognize current safety problems and tasks of comparatively major importance and to initiate and promote their treatment by specialists or specialist working parties from industrial firms and government organizations. The tasks involve not only the countering of directly recognizable risks by suitable measures but also the continuous extension and improvement of the methods and instrumentation used to recognize risks. In situations where fundamental statutory principles or recognized guidelines for industrial safety problems are lacking, the Commission attempts to derive practicable recommendations based on practical experience and the findings of the working parties. In collaboration with the authorities, the Commission strives for meaningful interpretations and practical solutions within the framework of statutes and official regulations, and it is at the service of the authorities in the preparation of guidelines and fundamental statutory principles. The Commission publishes findings and working party results arising from its activities in appropriate form. The reliability of such information must be assessed by the reader and no liability is accepted for its use. An important part of the Commission's work involves safety education. Seminars and courses are held regularly to promote this aspect in universities and technical colleges. The activities of the Commission are primarily supported by those firms and organizations whose employees are members. The results of the work are, however, available in principle to all interested parties.