An evolutionary model of the size distribution of firms

An analytical study of the evolution of the distribution of firm size in an industry is presented. A drift-diffusion model is proposed to express the time-evolution of density of firm size within the industry. The model blends the conventional, more or less static, determinants with the kinds of dynamic considerations introduced by stochastic processes of evolutionary dynamics. The steady-state distribution as well as the dynamic behavior of the model are derived. Parameters in the resulting analytical expressions are then fit to a population of firms in the non-manufacturing service sector. The empirical portion of the paper validates the proposed evolutionary model.     

Government Programs and Diffusion of Innovations in Taiwan: An Empirical Study of Household Technology Adoption Rates

ABSTRACT

This research mirrors Olshavsky's (1980) groundbreaking study by using penetration data for household technologies in Taiwan. Results support conventional wisdom that adoption rates are increasing over time. Moreover, rates were negatively associated with price. This research goes beyond Olshavsky by examining whether adoption rates differ across geographical regions types (i.e., rural, townships, and metropolitan). Adoption rates for nine household technologies at the three geographical types are not significantly different. Support is lent to the proposition that government rural development policies promoting education and physical infrastructures have fostered relatively equal diffusion patterns of household technologies in Taiwan.     

Different paths to universal access: The impact of policy and regulation on broadband diffusion in the developed and developing worlds

The authors examine the broadband digital divide by analyzing the impact of policy and regulation on broadband Internet diffusion. Their multiple regression analysis shows factors that determine broadband diffusion in technologically developed countries do not necessarily have the same impact in less developed countries. They show that in technologically developed countries, there is greater broadband diffusion in countries that make a higher financial investment in information and communication technologies (ICTs), have effective governing practices at the national level, have higher levels of education, and are more urban. In technologically developing nations, a competitive telecommunications sector and higher investment in ICTs lead to greater broadband diffusion, with investment having an even larger impact in the developing world than in the developed world. In addition, stronger democratic political institutions, higher levels of national income and lower levels of income inequality increase diffusion, but the presence of a national telecommunications regulatory authority has a negative impact. These results suggest that the path to widespread availability and use of broadband requires different strategies depending on a nation's level of technological development.     

A comparative study of the adoption and implementation of target costing in the UK, Australia and New Zealand

Most of the studies on target costing (TC) only provide insight into the adoption and perceived benefits of TC, and do not address the levels of implementation of the technique. These studies also assume that TC is only relevant to manufacturing firms and therefore do not investigate the adoption of this technique in service firms, and consequently exclude service firms from their surveys and analysis. Furthermore, most studies do not examine factors influencing the adoption of TC systems. Contributing to these gaps in the literature, this paper reports the results of a survey among CIMA-qualified management accountants working in manufacturing and service firms in the UK, Australia and New Zealand on the adoption and implementation of TC. The study examines the importance of attributes of TC (namely relative advantage, compatibility, ease of use, result demonstrability, trialability) for decision makers to adopt and implement such cost and management accounting innovation. The survey indicates that TC is equally prevalent among manufacturing and service firms while in terms of the levels of implementation there is a significant difference between manufacturing and service firms. The study shows that there is a growing interest in the examination of all cost-reducing strategies at the planning stage and adoption of value engineering to incorporate customer requirements rather than focusing on the adoption of cost-cutting strategies at the production stage.     

技术创新的扩散与中国的技术进步(英文)

本文讨论了技术创新转移过程中的激励、评估以及对引进技术的消化和再创新等问题.     

后疫情时代中国智能驾驶创新扩散特征研究——基于创新扩散理论深度调研

基于罗杰斯创新扩散理论,采用立意抽样法,对涵盖智能驾驶创新扩散源、潜在受用群体的25家典型机构中的95名受访者进行深度调研,结合资料分析、现场观察等质性研究法,勾勒中国智能驾驶创新扩散实践经历新冠肺炎疫情前后呈现的不同创新属性扩散模式特征。结果发现：①新冠肺炎疫情虽然在一定程度上消解了L1—L5级智能驾驶创新扩散源与政府及限定场景潜在受用群体创新属性之间的矛盾,却将新矛盾聚焦于非专业人士教育培训与操作易用性诉求上;②新冠肺炎疫情加快了政府及限定场景潜在受用群体对智能驾驶创新的认知进程,使得智能驾驶创新劝服与决策过程直接进入实施阶段;③智能驾驶创新采纳者钟形曲线分布发生偏移,原先属于落后者、晚期大多数类别的潜在受用群体不断向早期大多数类别身份转换。最终,提出积极寻求疫情与复工场景应用机会、定向开发并拓展产品线、加速技术迭代与升级等应急举措,以面对突发性公共危机时能够继续维系有效的扩散实践。     

Have diffusion rates been accelerating over time?

It is widely believed that products are diffusing within the marketplace at an increasing pace. To empirically investigate this belief, diffusion model parameters are estimated for a large set of consumer durables in the home appliance industry, Multiple measures of diffusion rates are then computed and compared across products by year of introduction. Contrary to conventional wisdom, no statistical relationship is found. These results suggest that diffusion rates havenot been systematically accelerating over time.Thanks are extended to Vithala Rao and Donald Lehmann (editor) for their comments on an earlier draft, and to Howard Susskind and Eric Olson for their assistance with the data collection and analysis.     

INNOVATION,SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT RESEARCH: Some methodological reflections

The critics of best practice research argue that it is based on selective reporting, does not ask whether innovations are sustainable and does not compare excellent organizations to those that are failing. This article attempts to defend best practice research from these criticisms as well as provide suggestions for future best practice research. The best applications to innovations awards are shown to be representative samples of innovative activity and sustainable. A number of examples of practitioner studies of best practice and academic or auditor studies of organizational failure are provided. The article concludes with suggestions as to how to integrate studies of success and failure, such as case studies of turnarounds and more quantitative studies intended to explain differences in performance among organizations (for example, league tables). The conclusion reached is that the criticisms of best practice research have become less relevant as best practice research has become methodologically more sophisticated.     

A technology replacement model with variable market potential — An empirical study of CRT and LCD TV

The rapidly changing economic environment and increasingly fierce competition indicate that companies must innovate in both their products and marketing strategies if they are to continue to flourish. Specifically, the ability to accurately predict the demand for products is crucial when firms decide to allocate their resources, especially in the fast moving high technology industries, where there is very high investment in R&D and production facilities. This study establishes a forecast model for technology replacement based on the diffusion model with population growth used for the variable market potential. The proposed model is then applied to investigate the CRT and LCD TV market.The results suggest that the new model is more accurate than the constant market potential model in fitting and forecasting performance. Consumers who purchase a TV for the first time are likely more attracted to LCD TV rather than CRT TV. As for those individuals who already own a CRT TV, the attraction is not strong enough to encourage them to replace their current CRT TV with a new LCD TV. Moreover, it is noted that the falling price of LCD TV is an essential factor in encouraging purchases.     

技术扩散和经济增长：一个空间计量模型研究

本文在扩展空间MRW模型的框架下基础考虑各经济变量之间的相互依赖性，并放弃技术进步是外生的假设，将其内生化，认为技术的进步对于经济增长作用显著。另外强调了技术在空间上的扩散，经济集聚等因素对于经济增长的重要作用，本文建立的扩展的RWM理论模型认为一个地区的技术进步率，储蓄率，人口增长率以及相邻地区的加权储蓄率加权人口增...