1,893 research outputs found
A novel approach to national technological accumulation and absorptive capacity: Aggregating Cohen and Levinthal
No full textThe paper develops a more precise specification and understanding of the process of national-levelknowledge accumulation and absorptive capabilities by applying the reasoning and evidence from the firm-levelanalysis pioneered by Cohen and Levinthal (1989, 1990). In doing so, we acknowledge that significant cross-bordereffects due to the role of both inward and outward FDI exist and that assimilation of foreign knowledge is not onlyconfined to catching-up economies but is also carried out by countries at the frontier-sharing phase. We postulate anon-linear relationship between national absorptive capacity and the technological gap, due to the effects of thecumulative nature of the learning process and the increase complexity of external knowledge as the country approachesthe technological frontier. We argue that national absorptive capacity and the accumulation of knowledge stock aresimultaneously determined. This implies that different phases of technological development require different strategies.During the catching-up phase, knowledge accumulation occurs predominately through the absorption of trade and/orinward FDI-related R&D spillovers. At the pre-frontier-sharing phase onwards, increases in the knowledge base occurlargely through independent knowledge creation and actively accessing foreign-located technological spillovers, interalia through outward FDI-related R&D, joint ventures and strategic alliances.economics of technology ;
Bridging Contested Terrain: Linking Incentive-Based And Learning Perspectives On Organizational Evolution
No full textIn this paper we present a general model of organizational problem-solving in which we explore the relationship between problem complexity, decentralization of tasks and reward schemes. When facing complex problems that require the co-ordination of large numbers of interdependent elements, organizations face a decomposition problem that has both cognitive dimensions and reward and incentive dimensions. The former relate to the decomposition and allocation of the process of generation of new solutions: since the search space is too vast to be searched extensively, organizations employ heuristics for reducing it. The decomposition heuristic takes the form of division of cognitive labour and determines which solutions are generated and become candidates for selection. The reward and incentive dimensions fundamentally shape the selection environment which chooses over alternative solutions. The model we present begins to study the interrelationships between these two domains of analysis: in particular, we compare the problem-solving performance of organizations characterized by various decompositions (of coarser or finer grain) and various reward schemes (at the level of the entire organization, team and individual). Moreover we investigate extensions of our model in order to account for (admittedly rudimentary) power and authority relationships (giving some parts of the organization the power to stop changes in other parts), and discuss the interaction of problem representations and incentive mechanisms
"Closing the R&D Gap, Evaluating the Sources of R&D Spending"
No full textBoth spending and tax policies have been implemented in the United States with the goal of stimulating private sector research and development (R&D). Karier questions whether current R&D policy, especially the research and experimentation tax credit, can contribute to closing the gap between nondefense expenditures on R&D in the United States and such expenditures in other countries, such as Japan and Germany. He also explores possible changes to our current R&D policy to make it more effective.
INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS: INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE IN HONOR OF JAMES G. MARCH
No full textMechanisms Promoting ERK-Dependent Neuronal Oxidative Toxicity
No full textGlutamate-induced oxidative toxicity in HT22 cells and primary immature cortical cultures provides an excellent model system for studying oxidative stress-dependent neurodegeneration. Glutamate treatment leads to cysteine and subsequent glutathione depletion, followed by the steady accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This form of cell death depends upon the persistent activation, via phosphorylation, of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) kinase-1/2 (ERK-1/2) that occurs during oxidative stress. However the mechanisms responsible for this chronic activation of ERK during oxidative stress have not been well characterized. In this thesis, I demonstrate that ERK activation is dependent upon the tonic activity of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt pathway and the subsequent activation of MEK. Furthermore, the persistent ERK activation that leads to cellular toxicity can be driven by the oxidative-dependent inactivation of ERK-phosphatases. Thus the balance of activating kinase activity and inactivating phosphatase activity dynamically regulates ERK-dependent signaling and is a major determinant of neuronal cell responses to oxidative stress. The overexpression of a negative regulator of the ERK MAPK pathway, the ERK-specific phosphatase MKP3, led to protection of both HT22 cells and primary immature cortical cultures from oxidative toxicity. Furthermore, a catalytically inactive form of MKP3 (MKP3 C293S) was shown to physically restrict activate ERK to the cytoplasm. Because overexpression of MKP3 C293S was also shown to be neuroprotective, translocation of active ERK to the nucleus, but not ERK activation alone, must be required for glutamate-induced oxidative toxicity. Collectively, these results clearly place ERK activation as a necessary event that leads to neuronal cell death during oxidative stress and have revealed some unique mechanisms by which ROS accumulation drives ERK activation
David Levinthal photographs 1984-1994 Dark Light
No full textPublished in collaboration with the Cambridge Darkroom Gallery to coincide with the exhibition 'Dark Light' held in 1994SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:99/30111 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
Collective performance: modeling the interaction of habit-based actions
No full textRecurring patterns of action are essential in our efforts to explain central properties of business firms and other organizations. However, the development of systematic theory has been hampered by the difficulty of adequately specifying foundational assumptions. We address this problem by defining a concept of collective performance, which brings together a range of recurring organizational action patterns that have been studied under labels such as “routine,” “practice,” standard operating procedure, or “genre of action.” All these forms of organizational action are based on human habit to a significant degree. We propose a conceptual framework for such habit-based organizational action patterns. The framework is a set of core principles and desirable model properties that can serve as a guide in the development of formal models of collective performance. It provides micro-foundations for the modeling of collective performance that are aligned with contemporary developments in psychology. Finally, we present a series of examples, developed in Supplementary Materials, that shows how our framework leads to new classes of formal models that can aid the analysis of collective performance
- …
