Concurrent learning: How firms develop multiple dynamic capabilities in parallel

Much is known about the importance of dynamic capabilities. Yet, surprisingly little is known about how multiple dynamic capabilities might be developed in parallel, since most existing work explores a particular dynamic capability in isolation. Using rich quantitative and qualitative data on Dow Chemical's acquisitions, joint ventures, and divestitures over the past 20 years, we seek to address this gap. Besides contributing by adding fresh insights about managing growth and the utility of distributed practice, and by shedding light on positive and negative experience transfer, our core contribution is an emergent theoretical framework that develops the concept of “concurrent learning. ” Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assimilation of immigrants in Spain: A longitudinal analysis

In this paper we use a new panel dataset to analyse the earnings assimilation of immigrants in Spain. We show that immigrants reduce the wage gap relative to natives by 15 pp during the first 5–6 years after arrival, but the earnings differential does not disappear completely. Earnings assimilation is not homogeneous across different nationalities, being faster for South-American and European (new accession countries to EU) immigrants compared to Africans. Finally, we show that human capital gains within the firm as opposed to higher mobility contribute the most to their assimilation process.     

Firm Size and Innovation in European Manufacturing

The paper investigates the differences between small, medium-sized and large firms regarding their performance in the introduction of new products and processes. After a review of the relevant literature, two models are proposed and tested in search for different business strategies and innovation inputs connected to product and process innovations. The empirical analysis uses innovation survey (CIS 2) data at the industry level for 22 manufacturing sectors, broken down in three firm size classes, for eight European countries. Special attention is devoted to tackling the issues of possible endogeneity of the regressors and of unobserved sectoral heterogeneity. The results – strengthening the findings of previous studies – show that product and process innovations, though having some complementarities, are associated to different innovative inputs and strategies pursued by firms. Systematic differences also emerge between the behaviour of large firms and SMEs.      

The evaluation of public investments under uncertainty

In this paper we revise and extend the theory of the evaluation of public investments under uncertainty. Precisely, we argue that the value of the investments that the public sector would be willing to undertake is never below its market value, and that it can be higher if it provides social insurance.     

A NOTE ON METROECONOMICA: SHACKLE'S CONTRIBUTION

In the 1950s Shackle contributed a number of important articles to Metroeconomica, a new economic journal founded by Eraldo Fossati in 1949 and published in Trieste (Italy). The journal gave considerable prominence to Shackle's theory of decision under uncertainty through publication of many articles, but, above all, through publication of the proceedings of a symposium held in 1959 and entitled ‘Shackle's theory on decision’. The aim of this note is to clarify why Metroeconomica gave particular importance to Shackle's perspective.     

Einzelbesprechungen

Ohne ZusammenfassungAus dem Englischen übersetzt von J. SteindlAus dem Italienischen übersetzt von Erich Allina, Wien     

The Beveridge curve and unemployment fluctuations in Canada

We estimate the impact of cyclical, sectoral, and participation shocks and that of the trend on both the Canadian unemployment rate and the job vacancy rate over the 1969 to 1998 period. We conclude that a rise in the Canadian unemployment rate of almost 5 percentage units occurred between 1972 and 1982 because of participation rate shocks and a trend movement. Because the trend also explains the leftward shift of the Beveridge curve observed in the 1990s, this shift cannot be interpreted as a decline in the natural unemployment rate.
La courbe de Beveridge et les fluctuations du chômage au Canada. Les auteurs évaluent la contribution des chocs sectoriels, des changements dans le taux d'activité, des fluctuations cycliques et de la tendance sur les mouvements du taux de chômage et du taux de postes vacants pendant la période 1969–98. Ils concluent que le taux de chômage non conjoncturel s'est accru de près de 5 points de pourcentage entre 1972 et 1982 en raison de chocs dans le taux d'activité et d'un mouvement tendanciel. Le déplacement vers la gauche de la courbe de Beveridge observé dans les années 1990 est pour sa part le résultat d'une baisse tendancielle des postes vacants et n'indique nullement que le taux de chômage naturel ait diminué pendant cette période.     

Homeownership as a Sign of Immigrants’ Consumer Acculturation: The Role of Region of Origin

ABSTRACT

One of the limitations highlighted by the consumer acculturation literature is the lack of empirical research to identify better constructs or indicators of consumer acculturation. In this article, the use of homeownership by immigrants in the host society is proposed as an indicator of advanced consumer acculturation. The decision to own a home by a minority group, such as immigrants, represents a key landmark in the process of adaptation to the new culture and a commitment with the host country's values and culture. The empirical case used is the immigrant population of Spain. The sharp rise in its foreign-born population during the last decade and the significantly higher homeownership rates of natives in comparison with other countries makes the Spanish scenario a relevant case study. The results obtained show homeownership is linked to features associated with highly acculturated consumers. Moreover, the analysis conducted reveals important differences in the way immigrants from different origins advance in their consumer acculturation processes and suggest distinct approaches when marketing to these groups.     

UNCERTAINTY AND CONSUMPTION: NEW EVIDENCE IN OECD COUNTRIES

This work analyses the empirical evidence about precautionary saving in OECD countries in the period 1955–2000. Unlike the previous literature, we perform the test using a measure of uncertainty allowing for heterogeneity in stochastic processes which generate data for each country and selecting for each economy the autoregressive moving average process which best describes the series. The results obtained support the main conclusion of precautionary saving theory, showing that a greater degree of uncertainty increases saving. A less clear conclusion is obtained with reference to the effect of uncertainty on consumption growth, which does not seem to be strongly supported by the data.