Specialization, factor accumulation and development

We estimate the effect of factor proportions on the pattern of manufacturing specialization in a cross-section of OECD countries, taking into account that factor accumulation responds to productivity. We show that the failure to control for productivity differences produces biased estimates. Our model explains 2/3 of the observed differences in the pattern of specialization between the poorest and richest OECD countries. However, because factor proportions and the pattern of specialization co-move in the development process, their strong empirical relationship is not sufficient to determine whether specialization is driven by factor proportions, or by other mechanisms also correlated with level of development.     

Specialization versus diversification as a venture capital investment strategy

Much important work has informed us of rates of return earned by venture capitalists, the importance of venture capitalists to the “going public” process, and the criteria venture capitalists use to evaluate deals. This paper seeks to add to the literature by testing hypotheses, based upon both the finance and strategic management literature, regarding certain venture capitalist investment practices.Venture capitalists seek to control or manage risk (Driscoll 1974; MacMillan, Siegel, and SubbaNarasimha 1985). Financing structure and investment strategy provide several means for venture capitalists to do this. Tools available to the venture capitalist include portfolio diversification to spread risk across different industries, firms, or hot/cold IPO markets to minimize unsystematic or investment-specific risk. Information sharing, networking, and specialization can also be used to control unsystematic risk.Several hypotheses are developed from these conflicting perspectives. Data used to test the hypotheses are derived from responses to a survey of venture capitalists. Three hundred surveys were mailed to venture capitalists; 98, or 32.7%,returned usable responses.Portfolio diversification is a well-known means to control risk exposure by reducing unsystematic or specific risks. However, Bygrave (1987, 1988), as well as financial intermediation theorists, argues that maintaining a high degree of specialization is useful for controlling risk as well as for gaining access to networks, information, and deal flow from other venture investors. The analyses of this paper build upon Bygrave's work. We construct more rigorous tests to resolve the conflict between the diversification and information-sharing hypotheses. Our hypothesis tests were usually resolved in favor of the information-sharing view. For example, venture capitalists in the sample that were heavily involved in seed round financing were diversified across fewer numbers of firms and industries.Further evidence in favor of information sharing is seen in investment patterns across different financing stages. Diversification would imply maintaining a portfolio of investments across the different investment stages. The information sharing/specialization view would argue that it is best to stay focused on a single stage or several “connected” stages. The empirical evidence from the sample once again favors the specialization perspective.This research provides information of use to venture capitalists, as they seek information on how best to control risk; to entrepreneurs, as they learn of the factors venture capitalists consider in determining their investment strategy; and to academicians, as such studies provide insight to general industry practice and thus help to form the basis of classroom discussion and future research endeavors.     

China''''s development of scientific and technological undertakings

With the full implementation ofthe country's strategy ofreinvigorating the nationthrough science and education and thestructural reforms in scientific research,China's scientific and technological strengthhas been boosted markedly, narrowing itsgap with the developed countries. In the reform of scientific researchinstitutions, 869 of the formerlygovernment-affiliated scientific researchinstitutions or academies were incorporatedinto enterprise groups, or transformed intoenterprises by the e…     

The tradeoff between firm size and diversity in the pursuit of technological progress

Conclusion Our analysis lends support to both sides of the debate concerning the optimal firm size for achieving technical advance. It provides a basis for why industries composed of many small firms will tend to exhibit greater diversity in the approaches to innovation pursued, and why greater diversity will contribute to more rapid technological change. It also provides a basis for why industries populated by larger firms will achieve a more rapid rate of technical advance on the approaches to innovation that are pursued. These arguments together suggest that a tradeoff exists between the appropriability advantage of large size and the advantages of diversity that accrue from numerous small firms. Our analysis has been more appreciative than rigorous and, indeed, often explicity speculative. While we attempted to raise important questions, our framework requires more structuring before we can be confident about any of our conclusions. Even in its inchoate form, however, our analysis demonstrates that much needs to be done before the current debate about firm size can seriously inform policy. If we accept the plausibility of our basic framework, it focuses attention on a range of issues and questions. The fundamental premise of our analysis is that firm capabilities and perceptions differ within industries. This premise is not, however, widely reflected in analyses of industry behavior and performance, which typically take some representative firm as their starting point. Indeed, the analytic utility of our particular premise deserves scrutiny. Are differences in firm capabilities and perceptions as critical to explaining the industry patterns in innovative activity and performance as we suggest? Do these differences persist? Is our abstract characterization of these differences and their effects on innovative activity up to the task of providing a basis for policy?These intraindustry differences in capabilities and perceptions underpin the hypothesized relationship in our framework between the number of firms within an industry and the number of distinct technological activities pursued by the industry as a whole. Surely this hypothesis should be tested. To establish the relationship between numbers of firms and technological diversity, we also made two important assumptions, which themselves should be examined. First, we assumed that firms independently decide upon which approaches to innovation to pursue.This assumption precludes the clustering of firms around innovative activities due to imitation, a phenomenon highlighted by Nelson (1981) and Scott (1991). To the degree that innovative activities yield relatively fast, public results, the assumption may be suspect. While our evidence indirectly suggests that such clustering may not be critical for explaining innovative activity in a wide range of industries, more research would be helpful. Second, we assumed that the number of approaches to innovation pursued by firms is independent of their size, implying large and small firms will tend to pursue the same number of approaches. This assumption probably does not apply to the smallest firms within an industry, particularly to the extent that such firms are often not full line manufacturing firms. Does it apply, however, to the medium to large firms that account for the preponderance of R&D and economic activity inthe manufacturing sector? While our evidence again provides indirect support for this claim, more empirical and theoretical research is indicated.We also made other claims and assumptions that deserve further attention. For example, we argued that greater technological diversity stimulates technical advance and provides gross increments to social welfare. Assuming it exists, the mechanism linking diversity and technical advance has never been examined empirically and is not obvious. Our assumption that expected firm growth due to innovation is increamental played an important role in permitting usto hypothesize an appropriability advantage of large size. Again, both the assumption and its alleged effect on innovative activity are worth examining. Finally, we also need to test whether the relationship between R&D and firm size within industries depends upon appropriability conditions, particularly upon the extent to which firms can sell their innovations or grow rapidly due to innovation. In conclusion, this litany of reasonable but unsubstantiated assumptions and arguments should make clear that this paper is only a modest beginning of a daunting research agenda.

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Intellectual property rights,FDI, and technological development

This paper presents two simultaneous trade-offs faced by a developing country in protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs), namely (1) between attracting foreign direct investment and deterring international technology spillovers, and (2) between encouraging domestic innovation and suppressing technology diffusion. The optimal level of IPR protection depends on the technological capability of the host country. In less developed countries, IPRs should be just strong enough to induce FDI since international technology spillovers are the dominant source of technological development. A stronger level of IPR protection is instead recommended for more advanced emerging economies as a tool to exploit the potential of their domestic innovators. The results cast doubt on the adequacy of globally harmonized IPR standards that do not consider the level of development.     

Development banking and technological development: a case study of industrial development banks in the GCC countries

This article explores the important role of Industrial Development Banks in promoting the quality of technological development. It is argued that the historical experiences of the developed economies and several developing economies during recent times support the need and potentials of a more pro-active role by Industrial Development Banks. Against this background, the specific experiences of Industrial Development Banks in the Gulf Co-operation Council Countries are examined and the results of a select field survey are reported. This exploratory study suggests that some fundamental steps are needed in order to develop Industrial Development Banks from being comparatively passive conduits of technological aid to more active promoters of technological development.     

Effect of corporate governance on default risk in financial versus nonfinancial firms: Canadian evidence

This paper investigates the influence of corporate governance variables on default risk of Canadian firms after the 2008 financial crisis. We provide evidence that important governance mechanisms have differential impacts between Canadian financial and nonfinancial firms. Ownership structure, (e.g., institutional ownership and insider ownership), has a significant impact on the default risk of financial firms but not on nonfinancial firms. Nonfinancial firms with more independent boards are associated with lower default risk, while financial firms with larger boards and more independent boards have higher default risk. In addition, although cross‐listing in the US reduces the default risk for Canadian nonfinancial firms, it actually increases the risk for Canadian financial firms during the postcrisis period. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development of British accountancy in the nineteenth century: A technological determinist approach

This article argues that some of the most popular treatments of the development of accountancy in Britain do not accord with the historical evidence. This is true of the functionalist's altruistic view of the profession and of the predominant paradigm – the Weberian ‘professional project’. There is no evidence in the early history of British accountancy to support the concepts of, for example: monopolistic closure, credentialism, or the social construction of skill. Instead, using a model based on technological determinism, the article reasserts the importance of the industrialisation process in forming the accountancy profession, and sees the formation of the chartered societies as largely set up to brand the accountants' training and thereby preserve the value of their human capital.     

天津近代技术进步的特点及其与工业发展关系探讨

本文对天津近代技术进步的特点及其对经济增长的影响进行分析,指出天津近代技术进步呈现出阶段性、多元性等特点,并且与工业发展呈现出同步性特征;历史证明.技术进步促进了天津近代经济增长和工业结构调整.     

Supplier roles in product development: Interaction versus task partitioning

In a Danish company a new product development process was structured according to a QFD technique. Based on the company’s own knowledge of the correlations depicted in a ‘House of Quality’, the suppliers could be divided into those who could contribute to the product’s development through task partitioning, and those with whom an interactive product development process would have to be initiated. However, because such a process of division is based on the limited information of the customer (i.e. the company), a supplier may benefit from actively entering into the pre-development process in which the customer assigns developmental roles to the suppliers.     

Explaining technological innovation in Chinese enterprises: Insights from technological entrepreneurship

The transformation of China into an innovation-oriented nation is now topping the agenda of Chinese government. Technological innovation is seen at the heart of this transformation, and enterprises have been called the key driving force of the innovation process. However, what are the key ingredients for such a transformation to occur? And are Chinese enterprises ready to fulfil this new responsibility? Drawing on the concept of technological entrepreneurship, this paper intends to explain technological innovation in Chinese enterprises, and attempts to develop an integrative view for research in this field, especially as related to the questions asked above.     

潜艇水下巡航状态通信（CSD）相关技术发展综述

虽然潜艇水下巡航状态通信（CSD）从概念的提出至今已近30年,但其依然是现 代和未来潜艇通信技术发展的重要方向。介绍了CSD概念的定义,较为深度地研究了潜艇水下 巡航状态通信发展的军事需求背景;归纳了迎合潜艇水下巡航状态通信需求的三大类技术, 并对它们的军事应用前景进行了探讨;对现代潜艇水下巡航状态通信技术发展现状以及未来 发展趋势进行了分析。这些工作对于推动国内相关领域技术的发展有着重要意义     

Encouraging Professional Skepticism in the Industry Specialization Era

This paper provides theory and experimental evidence that, under common audit conditions, industry specialization inhibits some aspects of auditors’ professional skepticism. As auditors amass industry experience, they develop extensive knowledge of non-misstatement explanations for unusual financial statement fluctuations. This knowledge coupled with confidence in their ability to analyze audit evidence inhibits their inclination to be skeptical when there are no overt indicators of elevated misstatement risk. Although these conditions are, by definition, the conditions where misstatements are least likely, they are also the same conditions where the PCAOB has alleged pervasive insufficient professional skepticism and where well-concealed fraud is possible. These results pose an ethical dilemma for the PCAOB in terms of weighing its charge to protect the public interest against the fairness of its inspections to audit firms. Encouragingly, I also predict and find that audit firm efforts to promote professional skepticism are more effective for specialists as non-specialists are skeptical regardless of these efforts.     

Protect,profit, profess,promote: Establishing legitimacy through logics of diversity in Canadian accounting firm recruitment documents

Prospective accounting recruits are increasingly diverse. Drawing on a theoretical framework that combines legitimacy theory, impression management, and institutional logics, we use content analysis to examine how the eight largest Canadian accounting firms refer to diversity in their recruitment websites. Our analysis reveals accounting firms adopt multiple institutional logics and various impression management strategies to enhance legitimacy in the eyes of prospective diversity‐sensitive employees. We find four “Ps” of diversity‐related institutional logics—protect, profit, profess, and promote—all of which are at play in accounting firms' websites. Further, we find that diversity is far from being an institutionalized concept. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Value versus growth stock returns and the value premium: The Canadian experience 1985–2005

This paper provides further evidence on the value premium using Canadian data from 1985–2005 and a search process involving both price to earnings (P/E) and price to book value (P/BV) ratios. The study documents a consistently strong value premium over the sample period, which persisted in both bull and bear markets, as well as in recessions and recoveries. Moreover, the paper shows that a P/E based search process did a better job of identifying value stocks and arriving at more consistent and sizeable value premium than did a search process based on P/BVs. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Corporate venture capital (CVC) investments and technological performance: Geographic diversity and the interplay with technology alliances

Firms are increasingly operating portfolios of geographically dispersed CVC investments for accessing a variety of location-specific knowledge, often alongside traditional external knowledge-sourcing strategies such as technology alliances. We examine the conditions under which geographic diversity in corporate venture capital (CVC) investments has positive consequences for firms' technological performance in the context of simultaneously pursued technology alliance strategies. We find that geographic diversity in CVC portfolios enhances performance as long as firms avoid knowledge redundancy in knowledge-sourcing arising from geographic overlaps with technology alliances, and the managerial complexity, coordination costs, and resource constraints stemming from the simultaneous pursuit of diversity in both technology alliances and CVC investments. Our inferences draw on a panel data set on the patents, CVC investments, and technology alliances of 55 CVC-active firms in a variety of industries.     

Product development benchmarking versus customer focus in applications of quality function deployment

The study explores the tradeoff between efforts to benchmark on product-development practices and be customer focused in the implementation of a quality-improvement method. The results of a survey of thirty-three firms' experience with quality function deployment (QFD) reveal that benchmarking on how competitors, peers, or role models develop products facilitates process improvement but hinders customer focus. Smaller firms are also shown to gain more customer focus and process-improvement benefits from QFD than larger firms.The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Office of Manufacturing Management Research, the National Quality Research Center, and the Manufacturing Forum at the University of Michigan's School of Business Administration as well as the kind assistance of the American Supplier Institute for making this study possible.     

依靠科技创新加快经济发展方式转变

党的十七届五中全会审议通过的十二五规划建议提出要以科学发展为主题,以加快转变经济发展方式为主线,这是十二五规划建议的又一个鲜明特点,也是推动科学发展的必由之路.我们贯彻十七届五中全会精神,依靠科技创新加快经济发展方式转变,实现经济平稳较快发展,开创科学发展新局面.     

Bricolage effects on new-product development speed and creativity: The moderating role of technological turbulence

This study provides a theoretical account of bricolage effects on two critical new-product advantages. Survey data from 222 firms reveal that bricolage hastens new-product development (NPD), but has an inverted U-shaped relationship with new-product creativity. However, under high technological turbulence, bricolage has an enhanced positive association with NPD speed. Consequently, this study contributes to bricolage theory and practice by revealing how bricolage influences new-product advantages and identifying boundary conditions for successful NPD.