Knowledge codification and technological innovation success: Empirical evidence from Spanish biotech companies

This paper analyzes the influence of knowledge codification on technological innovation in a sample of Spanish firms from the biotechnology sector. It tests how codification affects firms' development of incremental and radical innovations and their attempts to keep their investments exclusive by building barriers to imitation and to substitution. The work also considers the incorporation of legal protection measures. The results show, on the one hand, that knowledge codification is only beneficial for developing incremental innovations and, on the other, that firms must incorporate systems of legal protection into their codification practices if they want to keep their innovations exclusive.     

A non-parametric spatial independence test using symbolic entropy

In the present paper, we construct a new, simple, consistent and powerful test for spatial independence, called the SG test, by using the new concept of symbolic entropy as a measure of spatial dependence. The standard asymptotic distribution of the test is an affine transformation of the symbolic entropy under the null hypothesis. The test statistic, with the proposed symbolization procedure, and its standard limit distribution have appealing theoretical properties that guarantee the general applicability of the test. An important aspect is that the test does not require specification of the W matrix and is free of a priori assumptions. We include a Monte Carlo study of our test, in comparison with the well-known Moran's I, the SBDS (de Graaff et al., 2001) and τ test (Brett and Pinkse, 1997) that are two non-parametric tests, to better appreciate the properties and the behaviour of the new test. Apart from being competitive compared to other tests, results underline the outstanding power of the new test for non-linear dependent spatial processes.     

Optimal information transmission in organizations: search and congestion

We propose a stylized model of a problem-solving organization whose internal communication structure is given by a fixed network. Problems arrive randomly anywhere in this network and must find their way to their respective specialized solvers by relying on local information alone. The organization handles multiple problems simultaneously. For this reason, the process may be subject to congestion. We provide a characterization of the threshold of collapse of the network and of the stock of floating problems (or average delay) that prevails below that threshold. We build upon this characterization to address a design problem: the determination of what kind of network architecture optimizes performance for any given problem arrival rate. We conclude that, for low arrival rates, the optimal network is very polarized (i.e. star-like or centralized), whereas it is largely homogenous (or decentralized) for high arrival rates. These observations are in line with a common transformation experienced by information-intensive organizations as their work flow has risen in recent years.     

The decline of the industrial district of Como: recession,relocation or reconversion?

Industrial districts are experiencing intensifications in those economic conditions that have historically favoured them. Some of them have entered a process of decline, which might seem the cause or the effect of recession, relocation or reconversions into different models. The present paper aims at contributing to the debate on the evolutionary patterns of industrial districts, offering an explorative look at the phenomenon of industrial districts’ decline. This topic has been widely overlooked in literature and demands further empirical evidence and conceptual insights. To this purpose, the paper builds on the longitudinal case study of the industrial district of Como, illustrating and analysing its decline process from 1980 to 2003. The focus of the study is on the determinants of an industrial district's decline and the consequences on the structures of the district itself. The findings are then abstracted to a model for the understanding and explanation of the decline of industrial districts. The conclusion is that scholars, practitioners and policy-makers might benefit from enhancing their knowledge of industrial districts’ decline and also from interpreting industrial districts’ evolution in a wider sense. The paper concludes with contributions and suggestions for further research.     

Multinational enterprises and domestic wages: The contingent effect of skill composition

While previous literature has extensively shown that foreign-owned firms pay higher wages than domestically owned firms, the examination of intra-industry wage spillovers between foreign-owned and domestic companies has received much less attention, particularly among non-core EU economies. In this paper, we contribute to the literature on wage spillovers of foreign multinational enterprises onto domestic firms by considering whether the presence of MNE subsidiaries in the Spanish manufacturing industry affects wages in domestic firms in the same industry. Although no evidence supports the existence of wage spillovers from MNEs onto domestic firms on aggregate, we show that the effect of this outside presence on domestic wages is significantly more positive in step with the higher level of workers’ skills in domestic firms. Because only workers in domestic firms with a highly skilled workforce will benefit from wage spillovers from the foreign firm presence in the industry, policy makers need bear in mind that not all FDI will automatically generate spillover benefits to domestic firms.     

Analysis of an integrated plan for expanding broadband access in Colombia

Colombian telecommunications exhibit remarkable growth in the mobile sector and television market evolution and some degree of stagnation in fixed telephony and broadband access. Only recently the Colombian government has started to seriously address the need to deploy a plan for rapid and effective broadband growth, adding to the worldwide wave of government planned investments on fibre-optic broadband access expansion. This paper analyses the current state of the Colombian government’s broadband plan, named Vive Digital, comparing its proposed actions with the plans and achievements of three OECD countries’ experiences on broadband policies. Several aspects, either collectively or individually, from the three international cases are used as guidelines of what an integrated, efficient broadband policy may be. The analysis takes consideration of the contextual differences between the studied cases for the benefit of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the Colombian plan, and is focused on the incentive structure needed to advance the development of infrastructure, services, applications and user involvement.     

Differences in digitalization levels: a multivariate analysis studying the global digital divide

This papers aims to identify and explain the differences in information and communications technologies (ICT) adoption for a sample of 142 developed and developing countries. In addition, we examine the relationships between specific combinations of technologies and the factors explaining them. Although income is a key factor for all country groups, its role is more significant for middle-digitalization countries. Using several multivariate techniques, we detect different patterns of digitalization. The patterns are explained to differing degrees by the type of country, by differences in economic development, and by socio-demographic and institutional variables. Factors such as quality of regulation and infrastructure explain ICT adoption in high-income countries. The ICT combination associated with specific income groups as well as the explanatory variables detected for each of them might be useful to implement the most appropriate policy actions to reduce the digital divide.     

Seasonality and price behaviour of airlines in the Alicante-London market

This article focuses on airline prices in the Alicante-London market. It analyzes price evolution over short periods to observe the incidence of seasonality, the types of firms involved, timetabling, types of airport, competitiveness, and variables such as the price of jet fuel and the rate of exchange used by airlines to establish prices. The paper shows the relative incidence of these variables and stresses the relevance of seasonality and competitiveness in the price strategies followed by the different types of company.     

Economic Analysis of the Policy for Accreditation of Dairy Farms Free of Bovine Brucellosis and Tuberculosis: Challenges for Small and Large Producers in Brazil

One of the cornerstones of the National Program for Control and Eradication of Bovine Brucellosis and Tuberculosis in Brazil is the voluntary accreditation of free herds. We developed a stochastic cost–benefit analysis model for two types of dairy herds (high yield Holstein‐Zebu crossbred females and lower productivity smaller scale herds) to identify the technical and economic constraints of this process. The initial prevalence of infected animals and the impact of the disease in the structure and performance of the herd were derived from secondary data. Information on the costs and benefits of herd sanitation were compiled into a cost–benefit model at the herd level. The last step consisted of a scenario simulation to evaluate the impact of alternative policies to the certification process. For each scenario, we calculate the probability over time of a Benefit–Cost Ratio greater than 1 and of an Internal Rate of Return above 1% (the discount rate used in the model). Results show that larger and more intensive dairy farms, and also herds affected by brucellosis compared with tuberculosis‐positive herds, are more likely to achieve financial gains from the certification investment. The compensation for culled animals is important in the initial phase of herd sanitation and the premium payment on milk would help farmers to achieve a return on the investment over time. The model can be adapted to different and dynamic production, epidemiological and economic settings.