Technology commercialization intelligence: Organizational antecedents and performance consequences

External technology commercialization, e.g., by means of technology licensing, has recently gained in importance. Despite imperfections in technology markets, out-licensing constitutes a major technology commercialization channel. Although the identification of licensing opportunities represents a significant managerial challenge, prior research has relatively neglected these activities. Therefore, we develop the concept of ‘technology commercialization intelligence’ (TCI), which refers to the observation of a firm's environment with particular focus on identifying technology licensing opportunities. Grounded in a dynamic capabilities perspective, we test five hypotheses regarding organizational antecedents and performance consequences of TCI, drawing on data from a survey of 152 companies. The empirical findings provide strong support for the importance of the TCI concept. The findings deepen our understanding of the discrepancies between successful pioneering firms active in technology licensing and many others being less successful. The results have major implications for technology exploitation in open innovation processes.     

Chris Willett (Ed.): Public Sector Reform and the Citizen's Charter. London: Blackstone Press, 1996.

Journal of Consumer Policy -     

No Terroir in the Cold? A Note on the Geography of Geographical Indications

Geographical Indications (GIs) are increasingly important instruments of agricultural and food regulations and are growing as contentious issues in trade negotiations and disputes. GIs can improve welfare but they can also be a protectionist instrument. The EU has the most GIs in the world, but they are concentrated in the south of the EU. Even excluding wine, there are seven times more food GIs per capita in the southern EU Member States than in other EU Member States. This note discusses several factors which may explain the geographic concentration of GIs in the south of the EU.     

Technology Adoption,Vertical Coordination in Value Chains,and FDI in Developing Countries: Panel Evidence from the Dairy Sector in India (Punjab)

Review of Industrial Organization - (Global) value chains have contributed to agricultural technology adoption in transition countries and food export commodities in developing countries through...     

POVERTY, TNEQUALTTY, AND FAMTLY LIVING STANDARDS IMPACTS ACROSS SEVEN NATIONS: THE EFFECT OF NONCASH SUBSIDIES FOR HEALTH, EDUCATION AND HOUSING

The main aim of this paper has been to summarize the impact of noncash income–health and health education benefits, and imputed rent-on living standards, income distribution and poverty in seven nations at the beginning of the 1980s using the Luxembourg Income Study database. Our results do not give rise to a pattern of national differences in poverty rates or income inequality which are markedly different from that which emerges from previous LIS research based on cash income alone. While these results may be sensitive to the techniques used to measure and value noncash benefits in this paper, it appears that noncash income reinforces the redistributive impact or conventional (cash) tax-transfer mechanisms rather than acting to offset them in any major way.     

Transition and agricultural labor

Reforms have strongly affected agricultural employment in transition countries but in remarkably different ways. We present a theoretical model and an empirical analysis to explain differences in labor adjustment during transition. We show that the differences are due to a combination of variations in initial conditions and differences in reform policies and effects. The removal of price distortions and subsidies caused wage and price adjustments during transition and a reduction in labor demand in agriculture. Surplus labor outflow from agriculture was further stimulated by the privatization of the farm assets as they improve incentives and remove constraints for optimal factor allocation and structural adjustment. The shift to individual farms, which was especially strong in labor‐intensive production systems with low labor productivity in agriculture, has reduced the outflow of labor from agriculture by improving farm governance and labor efficiency, although this effect was mitigated by losses in scale economies due to disruptions and market imperfections in transition. In general, labor outflow was considerably lower on individual farms than on corporate farms, due to a combination of factors related to human capital, access to finance, and physical capital. In the last section of the article we present a general framework for understanding labor adjustments in transition countries. Specifically, we show that there are several patterns of labor transition. In one pattern, followed by, e.g., the Czech Republic and Hungary, there is initially a strong survival of the restructured large‐scale corporate farms that have laid off many workers. In the second phase of transition, gradually the importance of individual farms increases. In other countries, such as Romania, the opposite has happened. In these countries there is an immediate strong shift to individual farms, while labor use increases on average in agriculture. After this initial phase, the shift to individual farms continues, albeit more slowly, and labor use in agriculture starts to decline. Finally, our analysis shows that in countries such as Russia and Ukraine much of the surplus labor is still employed by little‐reformed former collective and state farms. Major adjustments await more progress in agricultural and general reforms.     

Variables influencing the customer relationship management of banks

Banks are important role players to the economy of any country. However, to survive in a competitive business environment banks need to focus on building and maintaining client relationships and to identify how their employees influence these relationships. This study investigates the influence of variables, with regard to bank employees, on the customer relationship management (CRM) of banks. A literature study explains CRM, the banking industry and employees' involvement with banking clients. To assess the impact of the predetermined variables from literature on the CRM of banks, a number of hypotheses were constructed and tested empirically among a sample of banking clients. The findings reveal that the variables knowledgeability and attitude of bank employees have a statistically significant impact on the effectiveness of the CRM strategies of banks. Based on the findings of the empirical investigation, strategies are provided for banks to improve their employees' knowledgeability and attitude in order to ensure more effective CRM strategies.     

ACCRUAL ACCOUNTING REFORMS: ONLY FOR BUSINESSLIKE (PARTS OF) GOVERNMENTS

Based on governmental accounting experiences and on the rising criticism of accrual accounting, this paper proposes that accrual accounting in governments will only succeed in businesslike (parts of) governments in the coming years. This proposition leans on the inappropriate transfer of the accrual accounting framework from the profit sector, the underestimation of difficulties considering accrual budgeting and the lack of attention to the political dimension. This paper points out that the advocates of accrual accounting have neglected some important considerations.     

Behaviour of Retail Entrepreneurs

Retailers' goal attainmet is studied using a model consisting of relationships concerning the productivity of labour and floor-space. Evidence from large supermarkets shows that retailers concentrate on the maximising of the value of annual sales rather than on maximising annual profit.