Technology Commercialization in Road Infrastructure: How Government Affects the Variation and Appropriability of Technology

Successful technology commercialization is important for business profitability, and government policies can help or hinder firms' success. As a regulator, government affects standard setting and the nature and scope of property rights. As a sponsor, government can empower technology commercialization by its financial support of new technology. As a first user, government can significantly enhance the chances of successful technology commercialization. And as a buyer, government accounts for a substantial part of the world economy. Previous research on government's roles in technology commercialization mainly addressed the effects of specific roles. However, there is little understanding about the combined impact of these roles on technology commercialization. This article develops a conceptual model to analyze the combined effect of these roles on technology development projects. This model is based on a review of the literature on large technical systems, technological regimes, and technology policy that enabled this study on government's diverse roles in technology commercialization. To refine the conceptual model, an in‐depth analysis of three technology development projects was conducted. The empirical findings are drawn from road infrastructure. In that sector, government is the dominant customer and first user of most new technologies. Therefore, government has to create a market for those technologies and strongly affects their viability. This research has produced several major results. First, the developed model is the first to conceptualize the relevant relationships between the various roles of government in technology commercialization. Second, this study has shown that government's behavior as a regulator and sponsor conflicts with its preferences as a buyer and user. Consequently, the support of and demand for new technology is inconsistent and uncoordinated, leaving firms with significant uncertainties in assessing market opportunities. Third, the dominant position of government as a buyer in road infrastructure weakens the effectiveness of intellectual property rights. Fourth, existing studies on technology for partially public goods are mainly historical accounts, and only a few are empirical studies on innovation processes. This study provides an in‐depth analysis of the development and commercialization of technology for partially public goods. This article concludes with policy implications and suggestions for future research. An important policy implication is that government could improve technology commercialization by either stimulating the commercialization of various competing technologies or developing various competing products based on the same technology. A central issue for future research is how firms can involve government in its diverse roles in technology commercialization. Most of the existing research on customer involvement deals with consumer and business‐to‐business markets. A better understanding of government involvement could help firms to overcome the impediments they face in dealing with government.     

The contingent effects of political strategies on firm performance: A political network perspective

Research Summary: We examine the performance impact of corporate political strategies by analyzing the relationships among firms and various government institutions. While a firm's political connections to a focal government with decision‐making authority enhance performance, connections to a rival government competing with the focal government harm performance, particularly when the rivalry is intense. Firms can neutralize the negative effect from this political rivalry by using direct or indirect connections to a constraining government with power over the focal government. We find support for our conjectures based on an analysis of interactions among Chinese steel firms and the central and provincial governments in acquisition decisions during the industry's consolidation period of 1999–2010. Managerial Summary: Firms invest in political capital in order to influence public policies in their favor. However, the government is a not a monolithic entity and the relationships among various government institutions can alter and even reverse the effects of a firm's political strategy. This research shows that a firm's political connections can be both an asset and a liability. That is, although firms benefit from their connections to governments with decision‐making authority, they can be caught in the crossfire when there is a rivalry between governments. Furthermore, our research suggests that firms can cope with the negative impact from political rivalry by taking advantage of the structural relationships within the political system and influencing governments that have constraining power.     

The innovating region: toward a theory of knowledge-based regional development

This paper sets forth a model of knowledge-based regional development conceived as a set of multi-linear dynamics, based on alternative technological paradigms. Utilizing longitudinal data from a Swedish region, and international comparisons, four stages of development are identified: Inception, Implementation, Consolidation and Renewal. Innovation policy is created 'bottom-up' as an outcome of 'collective entrepreneurship' through collaboration among business, government and academic actors – the 'triple helix'. The key event is the creation of an entrepreneurial university, whether from an existing academic base or a new foundation, which takes initiatives together with government and industry to create a support structure for firm formation and regional growth. The result of these initiatives is a self-sustaining dynamic in which the role of academia and government appears to recede as industrial actors come to the fore and a lineage of firms is created. Nevertheless, as one technological paradigm is exhausted and another one is needed as the base for new economic activity, the role of academia and government comes to the fore again in creating the conditions for the next wave of innovation.     

The latecomer strategy for global ICT standardization: Indigenous innovation and its dilemma

This article reviews China׳s changing standardization strategies amidst the standards competitions that take place both domestically in China and globally. The relevant policies in China now support indigenous innovation, particularly in the information and communication technologies (ICT) industry by using standards, encourage domestic firms to patent their standard-related technologies, and promote innovation-oriented inter-firm alliances. The three cases examined illustrate the challenges that the Chinese government faces in implementing the policies. Most of all, while the government has actively promoted indigenous innovation as a latecomer strategy for global standardization, there are possibilities of clash with the international norms for free competition and economic liberalization which China is supposed to comply with. There are also oppositions from those domestic firms that mainly export products compliant with the international standards set by advanced countries, and from local authorities that support those firms. The demands for international compliance are often strengthened by multinationals importing products compliant with the international standards. These clashes and oppositions give a dilemma to the policy makers who want to push the standardization strategy based on indigenous innovation.     

The contingent value of CEO political connections: A study on IPO performance in China

This study investigates the effect of corporate political connections on IPO performance in an emerging economy. More specifically, it examines how CEO political connections affect the IPO performance of 428 firms in China from 2000 to 2004. The empirical results show that CEO political connections have a positive impact on firms’ ability to raise capital from public markets. The results also show that CEO political connections with the central government play a more important role in IPO performance than political connections with regional governments. In addition, the positive effect of central political connections on IPO performance is weaker in market-restricted regions but stronger in highly regulated industries. The findings highlight the contingent value of CEO political connections in an emerging economy.     

Autonomy and dependence of international cooperative ventures: an exploration of the strategic performance of U.S. ventures in Mexico

Researchers have begun to view international cooperative ventures as complex, multiparty organizations in which foreign and local firms and the venture itself all have distinctive roles. This approach has important implications for the venture strategies of foreign firms in emerging economies. This study explores relationships between the resource contributions of parent firms and U.S. managers' assessment of venture performance in a sample of established U.S.–Mexican ventures. The research suggests that mature cooperative ventures are expected to achieve autonomy from parent firms in key areas at the same time that certain forms of strategic dependency also are important to success. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring how regulators face platform business issues in the lifecycle stages: Evidence of iranian ride-hailing platform business

The emergence of Platform Businesses (PBs) has caused a conflict between the traditional and new economic actors. Furthermore, it has escalated to government bodies with different beliefs and formed diverse coalitions, including among government bodies. Therefore, governments, given their regulatory and supportive roles, should be able to intervene at the right time with practical tools and trade off their internal conflicts. This paper uses an exploratory-abductive approach to identify the challenges of the regulation during the lifecycle of PBs, explores the conflicts of interest among economic actors, examines the government intervention in the economy, and explains the regulatory and supportive roles of the government. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with PB experts, who have active roles in the regulatory process, and with well-known academics on the subject. Reviewing the pathways of PBs in Iran between 2014 and 2018, the paper suggests five propositions using regulation economics and advocacy coalition framework to develop the regulatory roles of government. The results demonstrate that PBs’ lifecycle, shifting from one-sided to two-sided market, moving from ownership to accessibility, and timing of intervention significantly support the development of Cognitive Tools, Regulation Frameworks, and Regulation Tools.     

Political hazards,experience, and sequential entry strategies: the international expansion of Japanese firms, 1980–1998

We find support for the role of experiential learning in the international expansion process by extending the stages model of internationalization to incorporate a sophisticated consideration of temporal and cross‐national variation in the credibility of the policy environment. Using a sample of 3857 international expansions of 665 Japanese manufacturing firms, we build on the concepts of uncertainty and experiential learning, to show that firms that had gathered relevant types of international experience were less sensitive to the deterring effect of uncertain policy environments on investment. One implication of our results is that research on international strategy should emphasize understanding the political institutions that constrain or enable political actors, just as entry mode research has done. A second implication is that research in the stages model of internationalization should give the same weight to the policy environment as a source of uncertainty to a firm, as it has given to cultural, social and market institutions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Roles for managing in mobile service development nets

This paper examines the roles for managing in business nets. The roles are studied by applying an initial conceptual framework built on network management research and role theory. The study empirically grounds the framework by using the case of a new mobile service development net. The article answers the question of what are the managerial action-based roles for managing in business nets. The empirical data of the study consists of fifteen interviews and a seven-month participant observation in a net that created and piloted a new mobile service directed at the spectators of a sports team. As a result of this study, an empirically grounded typology of twelve roles for managing in nets is presented. The roles are related to the changes in the net, the service development over time, and to the interpretations of the behaviours by the other actors in the net. Moreover, the study shows how external actors to the net can influence it.     

Behind M&;As in China and the United States: Networks,learning, and institutions

Few scholars would dispute the argument that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are different in China and the United States, but we know little about how they differ. This article reports one of the first studies that systematically compares and contrasts how M&As differ in these two countries. While prior research on M&As tends to emphasize economic and financial explanations while treating firms as atomistic actors severed from their institutional and network relations, we develop a new theoretical framework based on relational, behavioral, and institutional perspectives. We not only consider firms as learning actors embedded in network relations, but also compare and contrast their M&A patterns between China and the United States, two distinctive institutional contexts. We find that both a firm’s structural hole position and its learning orientation (exploration/exploitation) in alliances have direct and joint impacts on subsequent M&As. Further, such impacts differ across the two countries, due to their institutional disparities.     

Exploring the role of spatial relationships to transform knowledge in a business idea — Beyond a geographic proximity

The “space” dimension has characterized the aggregation of firms, ranging from industrial districts to clusters. Within a local system, as emphasized by the Triple Helix model (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 2000), universities, firms, and public institutions generate synergies by producing and exploiting technological knowledge. From this perspective, local relationships become synonymous with spatial relationships characterized by geographic proximity. However, is it possible to find different dimensions of proximity influencing spatial relationships in order to support innovation? This paper demonstrates that different proximity dimensions influence firms' boundaries and the development of spatial relationships through which actors interact to develop resource combinations identified in innovation. After a review of the these topics, the paper provides findings related to the spatial relationships developed by Petroceramics as a hosted spin-off of the Italian Technological Pole (POINT) as well as its subsequent relocation to the Kilometro Rosso Science Park. As such, this paper deals with how technological knowledge is transformed into a business idea through spatial relationships based on different dimensions of proximity.     

Smart specialization in regional innovation systems: a quadruple helix perspective

This article explores Robotdalen, a smart specialization initiative in the region of Mälardalen, Sweden, and its impact on regional innovation systems (RIS). The Robotdalen initiative, with the goal to create a regional center for robotics, was established based on the triple helix innovation systems model of industry, university, and government interaction. This paper aims to understand the dynamic interactions of the smart specialization strategy in relation to the RIS. It also includes the perspective of the fourth helix, which contains civil society and users. To date, there has been a scarcity of research which explores the challenges of quadruple helix models from a micro perspective to understand their complexity. To address this, a single case study approach is taken, which includes a longitudinal perspective of 10 years (2007–2016). The analysis includes micro activities explored from a strategizing perspective. The research contributes by identifying three strategic practices that have evolved over time for Robotdalen. It also presents an empirical operationalization of the fourth helix, as well discusses the arrival of the fourth helix perspective.     

Innovation management techniques and tools: a review from theory and practice

Knowledge is considered to be an economic driver in today's economy. It has become a commodity, a resource that can be packed and transferred. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the scope, trends and major actors (firms, organizations, government, consultants, academia, etc.) in the development and use of methods to manage innovation in a knowledge-driven economy. The paper identifies the main innovation management techniques (IMTs) aiming at the improvement of firm competitiveness by means of knowledge management. It will specifically focus on those IMTs for which knowledge is a relevant part of the innovation process. The research study, based on a survey at the European level, concludes that a knowledge-driven economy affects the innovation process and approach. The traditional idea that innovation is based on research (technology-push theory) and interaction between firms and other actors has been replaced by the current social network theory of innovation, where knowledge plays a crucial role in fostering innovation. Simultaneously, organizations in both public and private sectors have launched initiatives to develop methodologies and tools to support business innovation management. Higher education establishments, business schools and consulting companies are developing innovative and adequate methodologies and tools, while public authorities are designing and setting up education and training schemes aimed at disseminating best practices among all kinds of businesses.     

How middle managers manage the political environment to achieve market goals: Insights from China's state‐owned enterprises

Research summary: Although the middle management literature has identified various bridging roles performed by middle managers in the market environment, it is relatively vague about whether and how they manage the political environment to achieve market‐related goals. In an inductive field study of four large state‐owned enterprises based in mainland Communist China, operational middle managers were found to take an active role in dealing with political actors to achieve market efficiency in their local environments, performing two distinct bridging strategies. Our field study suggests that middle managers are better equipped than their bosses (top executives) as well as their subordinates (frontline employees) to perform the bridging function between competing market and political imperatives in various local settings. Managerial summary: For firms that operate in diverse geographies, it is challenging for a handful of top executives to deal with numerous political actors. This burden could be shared with operational middle managers, who play a bridging role by drawing on their operational knowledge and local networks. Our research on middle managers who work under the scrutiny of political actors in China found that they bridge market and political ideology by conveying common features that seem legitimate to both. They also bridge market goals and political actors with personal affect. Compared to top executives and frontline employees, middle managers have unique advantages in performing these bridging functions. Firms can enhance their strategy execution ability by training middle managers in dealing with political actors in diverse contexts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sustaining the International Competitive Advantage of Asian Firms: A Conceptual Framework and Research Propositions

The sudden loss of export markets by many Asian firms during the Asian financial crisis (AFC) has raised important questions on how firms in the region can regain and sustain their competitive advantage in international markets. This paper develops a conceptual model which focuses on certain key elements of a firm's internal resources as critical sources of competitive advantage and offers research propositions. It is argued that Asian firms can enhance their international competitive advantage by leveraging their internal resources within an external environment generally conducive to growth.     

The spatial configuration of the entrepreneurial support network for the semiconductor industry

This study is the first to examine the spatial location of different actors in the entrepreneurial support network for high-technology start-up firms. The actors included in this study are lead venture capitalists, independent members of the board of directors, investment bankers, and law firms. Using data based on 44 semiconductor initial public offerings, the geographical location of these newly public firms and the actors in their support network is mapped, and the spatial relationships between these firms and their network are examined. It was found that the geographical proximity between these actors and the firms they support varied significantly, with a firm's legal counsel being the most proximate, followed by investment bankers, venture capitalists, and independent directors.     

Communication and co-operation in product development: a case study of a European car producer

Continuous innovations in product and process technology, coupled with time-to-market pressure, have made rapid product development a key strategic objective of manufacturing firms. Consequently, many firms have started to define the ways in which products are designed, developed and produced, so as to reduce the time from conception to manufacture. The strategies employed to achieve this goal vary, and include the integration of functions through selective use of concurrent engineering, the formation of strategic project teams, and technological connections by CAD/CAM systems. The research reported in this paper, co-ordinated by the WZB Institute of Berlin, is aimed examining organizational, technological and human resources practices that enhance quality in R&D by improving communication and co-operation C&C) between the actors. Although the research was carried out in four countries(Germany, Italy, Japan and the USA) and in three sectors (car, personal computer and machine tools) this paper analyses the evidence provided by a set of face to face interviews of the managers, engineers and designers of a European car producer.     

The critical role of the institution-led market in the technological catch-up of emerging market enterprises: evidence from Chinese enterprises

Innovation scholars have, in the past, applied the concept of ‘windows of opportunity’ to study latecomer firms’ catch-up. Previous research treats this concept as three separate aspects, i.e., technological, institutional and market. The role of government was seen as being concerned only with institutional windows of opportunity. However, governments in emerging markets exert influence not only through traditional means of institutional support but, also, via market-driven mechanisms. The former refers to state procurement, resource provision, legislation, and administrative control, whereas the latter is concerned with demand creation, resource allocation, and the regulation of market orders. This multifaceted nature of government in promoting economic growth, guiding technological development, and influencing enterprise behavior remains under-researched. Yet, it plays a crucial role in the catch-up of emerging market enterprises. Therefore, based on innovation studies literature and an institution-based view of international business, the present research proposes a new construct, termed the institution-led market, with the aim to encapsulate the complex role of government in the catch-up of emerging market enterprises. The institution-led market is defined as a unique type of market that is well-timed and strategically created by the government and supported by institutional policies and resources. A large database of 259 Chinese firms in 37 industries was created and analyzed using a hierarchical logistic model to empirically test the relationship between the institution-led market and technological catch-up of emerging market enterprises. We demonstrate that the institution-led market positively affects the catch-up of emerging market enterprises; furthermore, it significantly moderates the effect of technological discontinuity on the catch-up. Finally, the theoretical contributions and managerial implications of the present research are discussed.     

On the duality of political and economic stakeholder influence on firm innovation performance: Theory and evidence from Chinese firms

Research Summary

In this study, we propose and test a multi‐stakeholder perspective to address variation in innovation performance across firms. Specifically, we analyze how a focal firm's innovation performance is shaped by its political stakeholders (local and central governments) and economic stakeholders (suppliers, buyers, and competitors). Using a data set consisting of over 26,400 Chinese firms, we first find support for our predictions that a focal firm's innovation performance will be enhanced by both its government connections and the innovativeness of its economic stakeholders. We then analyze whether the interdependent effect of these political and economic stakeholders is more likely to be synergistic versus antagonistic, and find evidence consistent with the antagonistic view.

Managerial Summary

We show how a firm's innovativeness is influenced strongly by its relationships to external stakeholders. Specifically, we examine the potentially dual‐edged role of political stakeholders (local and central governments) and economic stakeholders (suppliers, buyers, and competitors). Using extensive data on Chinese firms, we find: (a) that the higher the level of government connections, the greater a firm's innovativeness; (b) that firms located in proximity with more innovative economic stakeholders also tend to have higher innovation performance. We also look beyond these independent positive effects to examine the joint effect of these two forms of stakeholder influence, and here we see that more influence is not always better. Specifically, we find that the innovation benefit that typically accrues to firms in proximity to more innovative economic stakeholders is weakened when those firms also have higher‐level government connections.     

企业社会资本的功效结构:基于中国上市公司的实证研究

与政府的联系、组织的社会网络资本和特有的关系资本构成了企业的社会资本。通过对97家上市公司的经验研究表明,企业社会资本对销售收入的提升有着正面的促进作用,但对资产报酬率的改善却没有明确的影响。具体而言,在提升销售收入过程中,组织的社会网络资本作用最大,特有关系资本次之,企业家的政府关系资本是第三位的。我们还发现,国有企业比非国有企业在政府关系的利用和获得有利社会地位方面更有优势,但在组织的特有关系资本建设方面却呈现不足。作者建议管理者谨慎评价企业社会资本的功效,有必要考虑不同社会资本结构的交互作用,并将之与其他要素综合起来运用;企业应当用动态的眼光分辨不同层次的社会资本对绩效改善的作用。