Adaptive expectations and cobweb phenomena: Does heterogeneity matter?

This paper studies a cobweb-type commodity market characterized by a strictly monotone demand and supply, in which n types of firms operate. Types differ in a key parameter governing price expectations which are supposed to be adaptive. The unique steady state of the resulting economic dynamics is characterized in terms of stability and the impact of the number of firms types is studied: to this end the notions of structural and behavioural degree of instability, which are introduced in the paper, prove to be crucial in determining whether stability or instability prevail. The case of market integration is also considered and conditions to have stability (or instability) in terms of the original markets' parameters are given. The baseline structure is extended in two directions. The first extension assumes the point of view of an authority who is uncertain about the firms types. In this case the structural degree of instability determines how heterogeneity affects the probability of ending up with a stable outcome. The second extension consists in endogenizing the choice of predictors through a discrete choice-based evolutionary mechanism. In both cases the amount of the heterogeneity and its possible variations play a critical role in shaping the range of possible long-run outcomes of the model.     

Heterogeneity and Specificity of Inter-Firm Knowledge Flows in Innovation Networks

abstract    Literature on innovation networks reveals little of to what extent different types of knowledge are exchanged and combined by collaborating firms to foster innovation. Based on field research in the aerospace industrial cluster of Rome, this study investigates the exchange of technological, market and managerial knowledge. Using social network analysis, the paper shows that the three types of knowledge are unevenly distributed and exchanged, thus revealing that the process of exchange is knowledge-specific. Further, it is found that in most collaborative relationships, partners exchange technological knowledge together with market and managerial knowledge, emphasizing the complex nature of the innovation process which requires access to and recombination of diverse knowledge. This phenomenon concerns not only large companies, but also small-to-medium enterprises. The reconsideration of the relative salience of the three types of knowledge has remarkable managerial and theoretical implications, which are developed in terms of propositions offered for further research.     

A comparison of family and nonfamily small firms in their approach to green innovation: A study of Italian companies in the agri‐food industry

Despite the growing scholars' attention toward green innovation, on the one hand, and family firms, on the other hand, there is still limited attention toward the intersection of these two streams of literature, because very few studies deal with green innovation in family firms. This paper aims at comparing family and nonfamily small firms in their approach to green innovation. To this aim, a multiple case studies methodology was used to understand whether and in which aspects family firms and nonfamily firms differ. In particular, a sample of 14 small enterprises (seven family and seven nonfamily firms) operating in the agri‐food industry and located in Italy was studied. Results suggest that family and nonfamily firms are similar with regard to green innovation characteristics, features of the green innovation process, faced challenges, and achieved outcomes. On the contrary, family firms differ from nonfamily firms in three key areas: firm's motivations, most relevant pressures, and green innovation view.     

Fostering product innovation: Differences between new ventures and established firms

This study combines insights from the entrepreneurship, competency-based view and innovation policy literature to analyze the relationships among different types of public incentives designed to foster innovation and product innovation at both new ventures and incumbent firms. To test our hypotheses, we ran a system of regression models on a cross-national sample comprised of 5238 firms from 29 European countries and found a different pattern for new ventures and incumbents. Our results suggest that support for attendance or participation in trade fairs and networking with other companies are the most effective methods of promoting product innovation for new ventures. However, for incumbent firms, we found that the most effective policies consisted of tax reduction for R&D expenditures and subsidies for acquiring buildings or other infrastructure(s) for innovation activities. This distinction prompts interesting insights related to theory development in research on entrepreneurship and innovation policy.     

Firms as source of variety in innovation: influence of size and sector

This article seeks to fulfill two main objectives. It firstly seeks to identify and quantify characteristics and behaviors of firms that are associated with what, in the evolutionary stream, is known as variety in innovation. A factor analysis is applied with a view to establishing, from a sizeable group of variables related to business innovation, the main factors or sources of variety in innovation in firms. The second goal is to estimate the influence of two variables that have been traditionally related to innovative firm activity on each of these sources: size and sector. The results of the analysis show seven important sources of variability in innovation for firms and that the influence of size and sector of activity on innovation occurs, at different levels of intensity, through these sources. The empirical analysis is based on the responses given for managers of a representative sample of enterprises in a personal interview.     

Open business models in entrepreneurial stages: evidence from young Spanish firms during expansionary and recessionary periods

This study examines the effect of open business models on the innovation performance of young firms during expansionary and recessionary periods. Founded on previous studies regarding innovation and business models, evidence shows that open business models developed by young firms will increase their innovation performance independently of economic conditions. Moreover, the theoretical effect of different types of collaborations (science-based, commercial, and diverse collaborations) adopted by young firms could differ during diverse economic periods. We tested this theoretical development using a Tobit analysis with firm level data collected from the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC). The total number of observations corresponds to 318 young Spanish firms in 2005 (expansionary period) that remained active in 2011 (recessionary period). Our results indicate that in expansionary periods, young Spanish firms benefit from open business models oriented toward diverse types of cooperation (even though commercial collaboration harms innovation performance), whereas in recessionary periods, commercial and diverse technological collaborations encourage young Spanish firms to exploit innovation benefits.     

R&D cooperation and unintended innovation performance: Role of appropriability regimes and sectoral characteristics

This research empirically examines the relation between R&D cooperation and unintended innovation performance. The effects of appropriability and sectoral conditions on the unintended innovation performance in the context of R&D cooperation were also tested. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the manufacturing firms sampled from the Korea Innovation Survey (KIS) 2012. Our estimation results show that for the high-tech focal firms under strong appropriability regime, cooperation with competitors increases the likelihood of their unintended innovation performance. For the high-tech focal firms under weak appropriability regime, cooperation with customer and user firms and universities increases the likelihood of their unintended innovation performance. For the low-tech firms under strong appropriability regime, cooperation with the customer and user firms and advisory organizations increases the likelihood of unintended innovation performance. For the low-tech firms under weak appropriability regime, cooperation with competitors and government research institutes increases the likelihood of unintended innovation performance. As a whole, the significance of this paper lies in shedding a new light on approaching the innovation performance with the notion of unintended innovation performance, which is shaped by different partner types and environmental conditions.     

IDENTIFYING FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE PRODUCT INNOVATION: A CASE STUDY APPROACH

This article provides an analysis of factors affecting the level of product innovation in a small enterprise setting. The perspective chosen considers the interaction of management and environmental factors and its impact on product innovation and explores how these factors interrelate to influence small business success (growth). A causal multi-site model is developed which will assist in identifying product innovation determinants for high-growth and low-growth firms. Moreover, direct and secondary explanations of product innovations will be isolated. Twelve case studies will be examined. The conclusions are that, for high-growth firms, determinants of product innovation that influenced small-business success (growth) were technology, competitive edge, research and development, product life-cycle, market change, product/market mix and customer base. For low-growth firms, customer base was a major determinant of product innovation which influenced small-business success (growth).     

Learning by Exporting: New Insights from Examining Firm Innovation

Empirical findings across many nations show that exporters have superior productivity compared to nonexporters and that this relationship is driven by productive firms becoming exporters. The conclusion drawn from these studies is that there is little learning from exporting. We, however, assess if there are ex post benefits that accrue to exporting firms by examining innovation outcomes. We argue that exporters can often access diverse knowledge inputs not available in the domestic market, that this knowledge can spill back to the focal firm, and that such learning can foster increased innovation. We examine product innovation and patent application counts of a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms from 1990 to 1997. To conduct the analysis, we use a nonlinear GMM estimator for exponential models with panel data that allows for predetermined regressors and linear feedback. We find that exporting is associated with innovation. Moreover, the panel data allow us to explore the temporal relationship between exporting and innovation. In contrast to existing findings, we find evidence of learning by exporting—albeit in dimensions not previously examined in the literature.     

The Importance of the Diverse Drivers and Types of Environmental Innovation for Firm Performance

Today, firms are faced with a number of environmental challenges, such as global warming, pollution control and declining natural resources. While there is increasing pressure to deliver environmentally friendly products and services, little is known about what drives the many different types of environmental innovation, or how such pursuits' impact firm performance. Using a sample of 2181 firms, this paper examines the factors that drive nine different types of eco‐innovation in Ireland, and assesses how such innovations impact firm performance. We find that, while demand‐side, supply‐side and regulatory drivers impact on the likelihood of a firm engaging in eco‐innovation, the relative magnitudes of these impacts vary across the types of eco‐innovation considered. Moreover, we find that only two of the nine types of eco‐innovation positively impact firm performance. The results point to regulation and customer pressure as viable mechanisms through which firms can be encouraged to eco‐innovate. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Environmental Management Evolution: Empirical Evidence from Spain and Italy

This research is focused on a survey conducted among Spanish and Italian companies in order to define the environmental management evolution within firms. Through this survey, a number of maturity stages were defined and validated, and the identification of the relevant factors for each of the maturity stages was made. Survey results show that companies start with environmental management issues due to legislation requirements. Afterwards, firms go through a training phase, continuing with the systematization stage, then look for economic benefits through ecological improvements (ECO² stage) and finish with the eco‐innovation and leading green company stages. The survey has shown that the maturity stages have application in all types of industrial sector. These are useful for those firms that want to make progress in environmental matters, as it helps them to identify at which maturity stage they are and what are the factors that they need to take into account to move forward. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

后发企业“逆向创新”成功因素研究——以海尔“小小神童”系列产品创新为例

本文通过对海尔“小小神童”洗衣机产品逆向创新的案例分析,总结了后发企业取得逆向创新成功的若干重要影响因素,即：选择同领先企业技术势差较小的产业领域,后发企业实现逆向创新的机会更多;后发企业在逆向创新过程中,必须充分发挥具有本土比较优势的创新资源要素;后发企业在逆向创新过程中需要依靠开放创新策略、技术与市场和管理创新紧密协同的策略支撑。     

Green innovation to respond to environmental regulation: How external knowledge adoption and green absorptive capacity matter?

Although environmental regulations have been considered as important forces of conducting green innovation, how and under what conditions they affect green innovation are still unclear. Drawing from institutional theory, this study used survey data from 237 manufacturing firms in China to investigate how two dimensions of environmental regulations (i.e., command and control regulation and market‐based regulation) affect green product innovation and green process innovation. Further, this article examined the mediating role of external knowledge adoption and the moderating role of green absorptive capacity. Our results indicate that both command and control regulation and market‐based regulation have positive influences on external knowledge adoption. External knowledge adoption fully mediates these positive relationships. In addition, green absorptive capacity only strengthens the positive impact of market‐based regulation on external knowledge adoption. Our study contributes to institutional theory and green innovation literature.     

The more funding the better? The moderating role of knowledge stock on the effects of different government-funded research projects on firm innovation in Chinese cultural and creative industries

Based on prior research, this study attempts to examine how effectively government-funded research projects (GFPs) can facilitate firm innovation in the cultural and creative industry (CCI), as well as the internal organizational contingency associated with the effects of GFPs. Specifically, this paper differentiates two types of GFP -- central-government-funded projects (CGFPs) and local-government-funded research projects (LGFPs) -- and explore how effectively the two types of GFP affect two types of firm innovation, i.e., radical innovation and incremental innovation. Based on an empirical study of the panel data of Chinese innovative firms related to the CCI, this paper finds that CGFPs have an inverted U-shaped effect on both firms’ radical innovation and incremental innovation in the CCI, while LGFPs have an inverted U-shaped effect on firms’ incremental innovation, but they have no significant effects on firms’ radical innovation. The effects of both CGFPs and LGFPs are moderated by firms’ knowledge stock.     

An analysis of non-financial factors associated with financial distress

This article examines factors associated with financial distress among 1006 Spanish manufacturings (SMEs), distinguishing high and low technology industries. Financial distress is analysed using industrial organizational theory through the Porter's five competitive forces model (external factors) and the resource based view through strategic variables (internal factors), such as training, planning, innovation, technology and quality. Two different sources of information were used in the study: Qualitative information related to environmental conditions and strategic variables was gathered through a questionnaire addressed to the firm manager. Quantitative information to identify whether the firm was in financial distress was gathered from the balance sheets and earning statements of the firms. Evidence from this study shows that environmental conditions and some strategic variables are associated with financial distress. The results found that young SMEs with low technology and in a highly competitive environment had a higher probability of financial distress. High bargaining power of buyers and high degree of rivalry among existing competitors were positively associated with financial distress. Financial distress in high-technology industries was not affected by external factors. However, firms with a quality certification have better quality control procedures that ultimately improve financial performance of firms in the technology industries.     

Knowledge capital,CEO power,and firm value: Evidence from the IT industry

Disruptive innovation dramatically changes the demand of a product market in the information technology (IT) industry. In response to the impact of disruptive innovation, IT firms that may be eliminated from the competitive race actively develop innovative products and adjust their operating strategies to strengthen their survivability in the fiercely competitive market. Thus, this study explores the factors that affect firm value in the IT industry under the impact of disruptive innovation. The empirical results reveal that knowledge capital and CEO power play crucial roles in explaining firm value. IT firms with powerful CEOs and increased knowledge capital have high firm values. The effects of knowledge capital and CEO power on firm value are especially significant for founder and duality CEO firms. Furthermore, the influence of CEO power is more prominent in periods of financial crisis.     

Green management,firm innovations,and environmental turbulence

The multifaceted nature of firm innovation has prevented researchers from fully explaining the relationship between firm innovation and green management. This study, building on the Schumpeterian theory of innovation, explores this relationship by examining three major types of firm innovation—strategic innovation, managerial innovation, and product innovation—and their respective relationships with green management, considering several dimensions of environmental turbulence as distinctive boundary conditions. We propose that both strategic innovation and managerial innovation facilitate green management, which in turn mediates these effects on new product performance. The results of a survey of 303 Chinese firms provide strong support for this mediating logic. Moreover, we find that market turbulence weakens the effect of strategic innovation on green management whereas technological turbulence strengthens such effect but the effect of managerial innovation on green management is not influenced by environmental turbulence. Our research contributes to the innovation as well as green management and sustainability literatures by offering a framework in which to analyze firm innovation and green management and by showing how firms pursue sustainability and prosperity under specific environmental conditions.     

Why does eco‐innovation differ in service firms? Some insights from Spain

Although environmental innovation studies have traditionally focused on manufacturing firms, the distinctive features of eco‐innovation activities carried out by service firms require special attention. Using the Spanish Commumity Innovation Survey (CIS), this paper determines which are the main drivers of undertaking eco‐innovation and investigates the similarities and differences between service and manufacturing firms within the five sub‐groups of services (supplier dominated, scale intensive physical networks, scale intensive information networks, science‐based, and others). The results confirm that the main eco‐innovation triggers are similar—technological push factor orientation (internal R&D and persistence) and firm size—while the impact of market pull factors and public environmental legislation differ within the services sub‐groups. In addition, we find a high degree of heterogeneity within service firms. In contrast to traditional service firms, those in the groups involving R&D activities, information networks, and scale‐intensive physical networks exhibit intensive eco‐innovation performance and show a high level of green indicators.     

Liberating HR through technology

Workforce management applications are expected to drive the next phase of enterprise‐wide applications market growth. But will firms actually benefit from these applications? Horror stories of failed technology implementation efforts abound and hardly inspire confidence. Treating installation of HR technology as a form of innovation, we introduce a model that describes the technology implementation process. The model brings to the fore various issues that merit the attention of academics and practitioners alike. It appears that firms that undertake technology initiatives with a view to enable the HR function to focus more on value‐added activities are the ones most likely to realize the full potential of technology. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.