1,720,969 research outputs found
Relatedness and connectivity in technological domains: missing links in S3 design and implementation
No full textEuropean guidelines for the smart specialization strategy (S3) required regions to identify synergies between technological domains within the same region (relatedness) and potential links of the chosen domains with other European regions (connectivity). The aim of this paper is to analyse if and to what extent regions have been able to implement such indications and the methodology adopted. The paper is based on a content analysis of the S3 documents approved by Italian regions. The empirical analysis reveals that only in a few cases regions considered relatedness and connectivity of technological domains. Moreover, the methods adopted by regions to detect potential links between the specialization domains is based more on anecdotal evidence than on the application of theoretically grounded methodologies. The paper suggests that the explanation for this omission is the absence of a consolidated methodology to deal with these issues and proposes some preliminary guidelines to overcome the problem
Project failures and innovation performance in university–firm collaborations
No full textThe main aim of this paper is to analyze the factors affecting the likelihood of the failure of innovation projects (delay or abandonment) and the relation between project failure and innovation performance. Specific emphasis is given to the role of collaboration in general, and to collaboration with universities and public research institutions (PRI) in particular. We use data about German firms for the period 2002–2005, merging the results of two successive Community Innovation Surveys. We show that collaboration is associated with the Delay and, to a lesser extent, the Abandonment of innovation projects. Collaboration with PRI does not increase either the likelihood of project failure or the innovation performance, compared to collaboration with firms. We also show that there is a positive relation between the delay of projects and the innovation performance of firms. The occurrence of delays can be considered as a sort of ‘necessary’ cost in order to raise the level of innovation performance
Growth in total factor productivity and links among firms
No full textIn this paper we study the relevance of links among firms in explaining the mean and the auto-correlation property of the aggregate total factor productivity rate of growth (Solow residual). Our approach relies on the interaction between idiosyncratic shocks of firms and the network structure of firms. We analytically study this phenomenon using the adjacency matrix of a complete network and we present a simulation with more general random adjacency matrices. We also check empirically, using Italian data, the relationship between the network structure and the Solow
residual. In particular, in the empirical part, we find two main results: firstly, the
relationship between the Solow residual and the measure of connectivity of firms is
positive, in accordance with the analytical results. Secondly, we find that the measure
of connectivity is pro-cyclical with the annual growth rate of industrial production
Ownership as R&D incentive in business groups
No full textSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are supposed to be less likely to conduct formal R&D because of the lack of financial resources, weaker competencies, and the absence of scale and scope economies. These limitations may be overcome when an SME belongs to a business group. Empirical studies have shown that firms belonging to business groups have a higher propensity to engage in R&D. We demonstrate that this higher propensity depends on the ownership of controlled companies, besides the presence of coordination mechanisms. We develop a model, and we empirically test its predictions using a data set of Italian SMEs operating in the manufacturing sector. From the model we derive three main implications: (1) there is no difference in R&D propensity between standalone firms and firms at the bottom of groups; (2) head and intermediate firms have a higher R&D propensity than standalone firms and firms at the bottom of the group; (3) the intensity of R&D depends on the ownership of controlled firms and on their size. Overall, the results of the empirical analysis are in accordance with the implications of the model
Business Group Affiliation and R&D
No full textThis paper analyzes whether belonging to a business group enhances firms' propensity for and intensity of R&D based on the greater opportunities to finance and co-ordinate R&D strategies and internalize knowledge spillovers. Compared with the existing literature, this paper has the following novelties: (a) it examines how the organization and diversification of business groups influence the R&D investment of affiliated firms; (b) it analyzes the role of R&D spillovers among affiliated firms; and (c) it distinguishes between propensity for and intensity of R&D. We find that less diversified groups are more likely to centralize R&D, while in more diversified groups firms are more likely to be autonomous. We find that controlled companies are more likely to benefit from knowledge spillovers than firms at the head of the group. Finally, we find that R&D autonomy is significantly associated with both a higher propensity for and intensity of R&D in controlled companies
The dark side of collaborations for innovation: Are collaborations with universities darker than those with other partners?
No full textIn addition to its advantages, collaboration for innovation might increase the cost of innovation because of leakages of strategic information, appropriability problems and coordination difficulties. When collaborating with public research institutions (pris) the latter problem is expected to be more severe, thus raising the probability of project failure. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether and to what extent collaboration for innovation raises the probability of failure, i.e. delay or abandonment of innovative projects. It also aims to verify whether and to what extent collaboration with PRIs increases the likelihood of failure. We use data from the fourth Italian Community Innovation Survey (cis 4), which collected data for the three-year period 2002-2004. The empirical results support the hypothesis that collaboration significantly affects the probability of delay or abandonment of innovative projects. However, collaboration with PRIs does not increase the likelihood of failure compared to collaboration with other partners. Moreover, we find that delays are influenced by cost factors (such as lack of financial resources) or knowledge factors (such as lack of qualified personnel) while abandonment is significantly associated with market factors (such as uncertain demand)
La ‘Smart Specialization Strategy’ delle regioni italiane e le relazioni fra ambiti tecnologici
No full textThe Smart Specialization Strategy requires regions to identify links between technological domains within the same region (relatedness) and between different regions (connectivity). Besides providing a first analysis of technological domains of Italian regions, this paper shows that Italian regions generally neglected the analysis of relatedness and connectivity. We argue that this underestimation is due to the absence of a consolidated methodology to detect such links and to the lack of data and information to carry out this analysis
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