Political construction and control of technology: wave-power renewable energy technologies

Recognizing that gouernment-sponsored research, development and demonstration (R,D&D) is a rentral factor in the construction of new technologies, this paper analyzes selected aspects of the relationships between government officials, 'private' businesses and technologists, within the process of technolog development. Building on precious zoork in the social construction of technology tradition for example, of Hughes, Pinch and Biker) and in technology policy and decision-making theoy (for example, of Collingridge and Morone and Woodhouse), and using the case of wave-power R&D in the UK; the paper identifies characteristics of embryonic technological artefacts and their institutional contexts which tend to bias the socio-political construction process. The key to the paper is the extent to which such distortions lead to unwise, uneconomical and/or unfair innovations or hinder learning about seemingly inflexible technologies, which could help to reduce their complexity, scale or cost.     

Productivity, innovation and R&D: Micro evidence for Italy

By exploiting a rich firm level data-base, this paper presents novel empirical evidence on the effect of process and product innovations on productivity, as well as on the role played by R&D and fixed capital investment in enhancing the likelihood of introducing innovations at the firm level. Our results imply that process innovation has a large impact on productivity. Furthermore, R&D spending is strongly positively associated with the probability of introducing a new product, whereas fixed capital spending increases the likelihood of introducing a process innovation. The latter result might reflect the fact that new technologies are frequently embodied in new capital goods. However, the effect of fixed investment on the probability of introducing a process innovation is magnified by R&D spending internal to the firm. This implies that R&D can affect productivity growth by facilitating the absorption of new technologies.     

Choosing Between Internal and Non-internal R&D Activities: Some Technological and Economic Factors

This paper evaluates some of the technological and economic factors that underlie the choice between in-house R&D, R&D alliances and outsourcing. We recount the reasons for the growth in non-internal activities, and explain why these are not as prevalent for R&D as other value-adding activities, and highlight that outsourcing is most often undertaken where multiple, substitutable sources are available. We then develop two frameworks. First, a static framework is developed, which evaluates the choice of mode based on a firm's distribution of competencies, and their strategic importance. Second, a dynamic framework is developed that demonstrates how the static framework differs depending on whether the firm is engaged in pre-paradigmatic, paradigmatic or post-paradigmatic sectors. We also consider the effect of new technologies being introduced to a firm's portfolio of competencies     

Coordinating R&D and business planning

In order for US companies to become more competitive they need to improve coordination between their R&D and business planning. This article explanis what is known about coordinating R&D and business palnning, and provides guidance on how to improve it. It examines the development of a technology plan. Before a company can effectively deal with issues related to coordinating R&D and business planning, the R&D organization should understand its own capabilities through developing a technology plan. The intergration of technology planning with business planning is then examined. Two types of business palns are considered in relation to technology planning-product line strategies and a long-range business plan. Finally, the problem of definning on R&D organization's mission clearly is looked at.     

中国区域低碳竞争力的政治经济学分析：理论与实证

如何正确认识我国各区域低碳竞争力的影响因素以及政府力量在区域低碳经济发展过程中扮演的角色,对于区域经济的可持续发展具有十分重要的意义。文章在马克思价值理论框架下构建了一个区域低碳竞争力模型,以此探讨导致中国区域低碳竞争力差异的影响机制,并利用2000-2012年中国30个省市的面板数据对其进行检验,重点考察了两种不同的政府环境治理模式影响区域低碳竞争力的绩效差异。研究表明：(1)区域低碳竞争力可分解为传统要素禀赋效应、政府治理效应、技术进步效应和产业内部结构效应,其中,政府治理和技术进步对区域低碳竞争力具有正向影响,产业内部结构对区域低碳竞争力具有负向影响,而传统要素禀赋效应的影响方向并不确定,这取决于资本投入规模、人力资本及资本有机构成之间形成的动态互动关系。(2)由于政府的环保投资支持政策具有时滞性和累积性,因此基于行政监管的政府环境治理模式在控制生产性排放污染和提高区域低碳竞争力方面的绩效要略优于基于政府环保投资支持的环境治理模式。(3)政府环境治理在影响区域低碳竞争力方面的总体绩效要弱于传统要素和产业内部结构的影响。因此,“既加大投资治污力度,又加强环境管制”的双管齐下治理模式应该是各地方政府提高环境治理绩效、引导绿色发展的重要选择。     

R&D Investments, Information and Strategy

This paper argues that firms can best realize the value of their investments in R&D by exploiting the associated information asymmetries. Attention is directed away from the physical results of R&D and towards the firm's ability, more generally, to earn rents from the private information emanating from its R&D. Four strategies may be used to exploit the information asymmetries from R&D: (1) publish the details of the innovation in return for legal protection; (2) keep the information inside the firm; (3) make the information selectively, informally available to others; and (4) disseminate the information as widely and rapidly as possible. To implement these strategies, resources may be allocated both to the commercial development of new technologies, and/or to related market opportunities (investing in other companies, assets and technologies). Of critical importance are the innovator's own skills and resources in effectively gathering, understanding, and commercially exploiting R&D-generated information asymmetries, both internally and in relation to other firms. This study should yield new insights to managers in designing strategies (and counter-strategies) to position themselves not only at the technological edge, but more fundamentally, at the 'information edge'.     

Science and Corporate Strategy: A Bibliometric Update of Hounshell and Smith

Hounshell and Smith's Science and Corporate Strategy: DuPont R&D, 1902- 1980 is one of the most comprehensive business history books ever written. In addition, it highlights the important relationship between corporate strategy and R&D activities. The purpose of this current paper is to update the information on DuPont's R&D activities using secondary data and bibliometrics. Our findings are that DuPont underwent a series of dramatic shifts in their R&D efforts during the 1980s and into the 1990s. For example, there was a focus on life sciences, a concerted attempt to reduce R&D, and an endeavour to align R&D more with core businesses. Beyond the bibliometrics, we found that corporate performance and changes in the top management team may have precipitated these changes in R&D. The implications of such relationships are also discussed.     

From Imitation to Innovation: The Evolution of R&D Capabilities and Learning Processes in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

Since the mid 1990s the Indian pharmaceutical industry has emerged as a leading supplier of generic drugs to both developing and developed countries.The movement of the Indian pharmaceutical industry along the R&D value chain represents a remarkable shift from an importer to an innovator of drugs. The Indian government's industrial and technology policies along with changes in regulation of intellectual property rights played a crucial role in shaping this development of R&D capability. Using the 'capability creation model' this paper discusses the learning processes and stages involved in this dramatic accumulation of technological capability. This analysis shows that the Indian pharmaceutical industry has followed a trajectory from duplicative imitation to creative imitation to move up the value chain of pharmaceutical R&D. Finally as a result of changes in patent law the industry is learning to develop capabilities in innovative R&D. The basic and intermediate technological capabilities gained from imitative learning gave these firms a solid base for development of competence in advanced innovative R&D. These findings have implications for government policies as well as firm strategies in other developing countries albeit with some limitations due to global harmonisation of patent laws being promoted by the World Trade Organization.     

私募股权投资、投资者情绪与科技型企业R&D投入

根据2009-2017年深圳证券交易所科技型上市企业相关面板数据,研究私募股权投资、投资者情绪与企业R&D投入之间的关系。研究发现：存在私募股权投资的科技型企业R&D投资强度更大;投资者情绪在私募股权投资与企业R&D投入之间起中介效应,即存在私募股权投资的科技型企业的投资者情绪更为高涨,高涨的投资者情绪会促使企业加大R&D投入。企业异质性检验发现,不同于国有企业和外资企业,民营企业的投资者情绪在私募股权投资与研发投入中的中介效应更加显著,并且处于不同生命周期的企业,无论是年轻企业还是成熟企业,投资者情绪的中介效应均不显著。将投资者情绪纳入分析框架,深入研究私募股权投资对企业研发活动的影响,对私募股权投资机构、企业、政府等进行科学决策具有重要理论价值和实践意义。     

经济政策不确定性与家族企业创新——融资约束及政府补助视角

家族企业作为社会发展的主要参与者,在促进经济增长方面发挥着不可替代的作用。家族企业若想实现长期发展,必然依靠创新。然而,我国家族企业普遍面临创新投入不足、创新产出效率低下等问题。基于2010—2018年中国上市家族企业数据,分析经济政策不确定性对于家族企业创新是否存在激励作用。结果发现,经济政策不确定性提高,会对家族企业创新研发活动投入与产出产生正向激励作用,促进家族企业创新。从融资约束与政府补助视角,分析两者在上述正向激励作用中的调节作用。结果表明,对于融资约束小以及受到政府补助的家族企业而言,其受到经济政策不确定性的正向激励作用更显著,有助于其开展创新研发活动。结论不仅验证了经济政策不确定性对于家族企业创新的激励作用,还揭示了融资约束以及政府补助的调节作用,可为政府制定相应补助政策,构建完善的金融市场提供理论支持和经验证据。     

环境信息披露与企业经营绩效——基于投资者关注的中介效应检验

经济高质量发展背景下,企业环境信息披露已经引起全社会的普遍重视。本文基于沪深A股上市公司2007—2019年样本企业面板数据,以投资者关注为中介变量,揭示环境信息披露对企业经营绩效的作用机制。结果显示,环境信息披露对企业经营绩效具有显著的正向激励作用,投资者关注发挥部分中介效用。进一步的研究表明,将机构投资者持股比例作为门槛变量时,存在显著的单一门槛效应,当企业引入机构投资者持股比例高于一定门槛值时,环境信息披露能显著提升企业经营绩效,否则激励效果不显著;同时异质性分析发现,重污染行业及2015年后环境信息披露对企业经营绩效激励效果更为显著。本文研究结论有助于企业更理性地认识环境信息披露的经济效益,为政府、企业和投资者共同构建高质量环境信息披露体系提供思路。     

Sources and directions of technological accumulation in France: a statistical comparison with FR Germany and the UK

Technological activities are an important determinant of national economic performance. Data on R&D and on the national origins of patenting in the USA show that, compared to those of FR Germany and the UK, French technological activities have the following characteristics: (1) a relatively high rate of growth over the past 20 years in aggregate activity; (2) concentration of technological strength in sectors dominated by state procurement and related R&D funding, rather than in “core” technologies; (3) stronger performance in fast-growing technologies in defence, electrical products and fine chemicals, than in electronics and motor vehicles; (4) a relatively stable and speialized sectoral pattern of technological strengths and weaknesses; and (5) sectoral patterns of trading strengths and weaknesses that broadly reflect those in technology. These characteristics of France's technological activities cannot be explained by their greater or lesser concentration, which is very similar to that found in both FR Germany and the UK, both in aggregate and in specific sectors. As in the other two countries, a few large firms have a major influence on national technological activities, especially in R&D-intensive sectors and automobiles. These results are on the whole consistent with the recent assessment by INSEE and CEPII of France's competitive position in international markets. However, they do show a strong Franch “niche” in technologies linked to state markets, and they do suggest certain advantages in long-term stability, rather than rapaid change, in technological priorities.     

Restructuring corporate r&d: from an autonomous to a linkage model

Since the mid-1980s, industrial R & D in the US has been going through major changes, i.e. a decline in industrial R&D expenditure and restructuring of centralized coqorate R&D laboratories. the autonomous model of rerearch, which has existed since World War Il, is being replaced by the linkage model in many leading corporate R&D laboratories. This paper presents the main features of both models, the reasons behind the retructuring, and the future implications of the linkage model. The findings of the paper are primarily based on 53 industrial with industrial scientists and managers; most of the changes are new and have not been examined in the literature. This paper draws the attention of scholars to recent changes in the management qf znnovatzon and sugests further study. The linkage model links scientists' research to the immediatt needs of business. However, it also decreases the likelihood of major breakthroughs occurring in technological in.innovation.     

Industry-university technology cooperation: a theory of inter-organizational relationships

This article proposes a grounded theoretical framework of R&D technology cooperation based on the congruence of existing theories of inter-organizational relationships. The theory is grounded in the empirical experiences of the industry-university cooperative centers in the US. It addresses two research questions: (1) Why do universities and industrial companies engage in cooperatioe R&D? (2) What factors affect their survival? Perceived resource dependency is proposed to be a motivator for initiating cooperative R&D. Interaction theories explain survivability, in that prior interaction between the parties and the degree of institutionalization of the interactions are hypothesized to explain survival over time. The intensity of interaction is also suggested to improve the chances for survival, but within a range of optimality (not too much and not too little). Iimitations and implications for research and poliy are also discussed.     

From world factory to world investor: the new way of China integrating into the world

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that outward direct investment (ODI) is replacing international trade as the new way China integrates into the world. Based on two complementary datasets, we document the pattern of Chinese ODI. We argue that the rapid growth of China’s ODI is the result of strong economic development, increasing domestic constraints, and supportive government policies. Compared with trade integration, investment integration involves China more deeply in global business. As a new global investor, China’s ODI in the future is full of opportunities, risks, and challenges. The Chinese government should improve bureaucracy coordination and participate more in designing and maintaining international rules to protect ODI interests.     

创业项目选择互联网众筹影响因素研究

互联网创业项目众筹是近几年刚起步的一种商业融资模式,需要众筹的创业项目首先需考虑众筹投资者决策影响因素。建立了互联网创业项目因素、投资者个人因素和众筹平台影响因素决策模型,通过理论假设、调查问卷数据采集和二分类Logistic回归方法分析众筹投资者决策行为主要影响因素。结果显示,在显著水平0.05下,性别、婚姻状况、对创业发起者的支持、对众筹项目的感兴趣程度、众筹项目前景、创业项目风险、创业项目发起人能力、众筹项目回报与投资者期望一致、众筹平台知名度、众筹平台对投资者利益的保护程度是主要影响因素。结论可为互联网创业项目众筹设计、可行性分析和获得投资提供依据,也可为互联网创业众筹研究提供理论指导。     

参与惯性和投资选择

参与惯性是否影响了个体的投资选择?参与惯性是如何产生的?采用2006年中国9城市投资者调查数据,本文发现:在银行存款、外汇、股票、债券、期货、基金、借出、做生意、保险金、收藏品、房地产、理财产品、彩票等广义投资项目中,个体当前和未来期望的选择都表现出了参与惯性,即倾向于维持他们过去的选择;这种参与惯性是其禀赋效应或延迟决策等行为偏见的结果,而不是理性选择所致。本文的政策涵义在于:加强投资者教育,使其意识到并主动克服投资决策中的参与惯性,这是有效增进投资者福利的政府政策所需要考虑的。     

Optimal Climate Change Policies When Governments Cannot Commit

We analyse the optimal design of climate change policies when a government wants to encourage the private sector to undertake significant immediate investment in developing cleaner technologies, but the relevant carbon taxes (or other environmental policies) that would incentivise such investment by firms will be set in the future. We assume that the current government cannot commit to long-term carbon taxes, and so both it and the private sector face the possibility that the government in power in the future may give different (relative) weight to environmental damage costs. We show that this lack of commitment has a significant asymmetric effect: it increases the social benefits of the current government to have the investment undertaken, but reduces the private benefit to the private sector to invest. Consequently the current government may need to use additional policy instruments—such as R&D subsidies—to stimulate the required investment.     

Exploring Strategic R&D Success Factors

This paper identifies strategic R&D success factors for organizations that produce R&D results for proprietary use. First, six types of R&D organizations are identified by using the criteria of profit orientation and external or internal use of R&D results. Following this, success criteria are identified by studying sample organizations that match the classification criteria. In the concluding section it is shown that important success criteria can be derived, many of which are independent of the organizational arrangement chosen for the generation of R& D results. Among them are: embedment into the scientific system, development of core competencies, securing appropriability, choosing appropriate organizational structures and processes.     

政府资助对中小企业创新研发的影响

现阶段我国仍属于新兴市场经济国家,市场机制并不完善,中小企业的生存环境不容乐观.为提升中小企业市场竞争力,各级政府加大对其创新研发的资金和政策扶持力度对帮助其持续稳定发展有着十分重要的意义.本文从深市中小板上市企业中筛选出了471家企业在2014—2018年间的面板数据,利用回归模型进行实证检验,以探究政府资助政策对中小企业创新研发的影响.结果显示:政府的资助政策在整体上对科技研发投入产生了积极的作用,但对创新研发的产出没有直接影响;只有对科技研发人员进行投入才能给创新产出带来积极影响.因而,政府资助应该着重加强对科技人员的投入.