Search patterns and absorptive capacity: Low- and high-technology sectors in European countries

Searching for externally available knowledge has been characterised as a vital part of the innovation process. Previous research has, however, almost exclusively focused on high-technology environments, largely ignoring the substantial low- and medium-technology sectors of modern economies. We argue that firms from low- and high-technology sectors differ in their search patterns and that these mediate the relationship between innovation inputs and outputs. Based on a sample of 4500 firms from 13 European countries, we find that search patterns in low-technology industries focus on market knowledge and that they differ from technology sourcing activities in high-technology industries.     

中低技术企业的创新模式与创新绩效研究――基于中国制造业创新调查的实证分析

本文利用2009年中国企业创新调查数据,首先对中低技术企业进行界定,并在此基础上分析了中低技术企业与中高、高技术企业在创新模式和创新绩效方面的差异。结果发现：（1）行业内部企业R&D研发强度存在高度的异质性,中低技术行业内存在相当比例的高R&D研发强度企业,中高、高技术行业内同样也存在相当比例的中低R&D研发强度企业。企业创新模式除了存在行业差异,基于企业R&D投入强度的企业类型差异也非常明显。（2）从创新绩效看,相对于同行业内的中高和高技术企业,中低技术企业在产品创新方面表现较差;但在服务创新方面并没有显著差别;在过程创新在某些方面甚至优于中高和高技术企业。     

The role of corporate technology strategy and patent portfolios in low-, medium- and high-technology firms

Previous research into technology strategies and patent portfolios has focused on high-technology firms, whereas low- and medium-technology companies have been relatively neglected. Therefore, we analyze how corporate technology strategy and the size and composition of patent portfolios affect the performance of low-, medium- and high-technology firms. Data from 136 European companies are used to examine four hypotheses relating financial performance to technological diversification, technological aggressiveness, patent portfolio size, and patent portfolio quality. The cross-industry sample allows analyzing the different consequences of these strategic parameters in low-, medium- and high-technology firms by considering technological intensity as a moderator. Our first finding is that the positive impact of technological aggressiveness is limited in low- and medium-technology companies. Secondly, technological diversification has a positive effect in high-technology firms and a negative effect in low-technology firms. Thirdly, patent portfolio size has a positive effect only in high-technology firms. Finally, patent portfolio quality has an equally positive influence on all firms’ performance. In part, these results conflict with the findings of previous research into high-technology companies, and they call for rethinking the role of technology strategies and intellectual property portfolios in firms across industries.     

Costs and benefits of inter-departmental innovation collaboration

Inter-departmental innovation collaboration facilitates innovation performance. At the same time, it has been identified as a source of increased coordination costs. Using organizational information processing theory, this paper builds and tests hypotheses on the costs and benefits of innovation-related collaboration within firms. Based on a sample of 433 German manufacturing firms we show inter-departmental innovation collaboration to increase process innovation performance, but also to produce costs in terms of project delay and project termination. These costs, however, do not affect innovation performance at the firm level. This finding suggests firms to be well able to balance the costs and benefits of inter-departmental collaboration across their innovation project portfolio. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Beyond formal R&D: Taking advantage of other sources of innovation in low- and medium-technology industries

This study deepens our knowledge of critical success factors in the innovation process of low- and medium-technology (LMT) industries. To accomplish this, it explores how the innovation process in LMT firms may depend on non-formal R&D activities and the use of external sources. The empirical analysis is based on a representative panel of Spanish manufacturing firms. The results strongly support the view that non-R&D activities such as design, the use of advanced machinery and training are crucial to understanding the innovation process of any firm. The study finds, however, that the impact of these activities is especially important in LMT industries, particularly for the achievement of product innovations. The empirical evidence also reveals the importance of external sources such as the use of consultants, the hiring of personnel, collaboration agreements and external R&D, with the greatest differences between LMT and high-technology (HT) firms being observed in process innovations.     

An audit of technological innovation capabilities in chinese firms: some empirical findings in Beijing, China

Recent studies have advocated different technological innovation capabilities (TICs) and discussed their impact on a firm’s competitive performance. This paper introduces a study framework of innovation audit and examines the relevance of seven TICs to building and sustaining the competitiveness of Chinese firms. Empirical data was acquired through a recent study of 213 Chinese firms in Beijing, China. Regression analysis was employed to examine the correlation between TICs and innovation rate, sales growth, and product competitiveness among these firms. The findings verify that R&D and resources allocation capabilities are the two most important TICs. A strong R&D capability could safeguard innovation rate and product competitiveness in large and medium-sized firms, whereas a resources allocation capability would enhance the sales growth in small firms. However, the impact of learning and organising capabilities on a firm’s innovation performance has yet to be investigated.The findings of this paper suggest that Chinese firms should consider a more balanced focus on their TICs’ harmonising enhancement. In order to maintain their sustainable development, effectively plan and implement their innovation strategies as well as enhance their whole innovation capability, Chinese firms should closely relate their TICs to the formulation of technology strategy and harmonisation of innovation and R&D activities.     

Product innovation rumors as forms of open innovation

Prior studies of open innovation have highlighted the effects of different flows of knowledge between firms and external partners—such as flows of software code, technical solutions, or new product ideas—and how firms face a “paradox of openness” about how open to be to external sources while also appropriating value. There are increasingly flows of more provisional knowledge as well, in the form of product innovation rumors exchanged within online technology blogs. Our study objective was to understand how product innovation rumors are used by firms as both inflows and outflows of provisional knowledge and their effect on the innovation process. Using interview data within a high-technology firm whose forthcoming products were the subject of rumor within technology blogs, we develop propositions regarding how inflows of product innovation rumors affect innovation decisions (while addressing concerns about appropriability and intrafirm knowledge flows) and how outflows from firms may affect stakeholders outside the firm (through selective revealing and influence of technology blog editors). Product innovation rumors in part address the paradox of openness by forming an informal means of open innovation alongside formal processes, and we suggest further research opportunities in this domain.     

On the relationship between environmental management, environmental innovation and patenting: Evidence from German manufacturing firms

This paper analyses empirically the relationship between environmental innovations, environmental management and patenting. In particular it tests a number of propositions on how environmental management systems and the interaction with environmentally more or less concerned stakeholders are associated with the probability of firms to pursue innovation in general (measured as patenting behaviour) and specifically environmental innovation (measured based on firm self-assessment and through patent data). In applying a negative binomial as well as binary discrete choice models the relationship is studied using data on German manufacturing firms. As a novel and important insight, the study finds that environmental innovation can be meaningfully identified using patent data and that environmental innovation defined this way is less ubiquitous than self-reported environmental innovation. It also reveals that the implementation level of environmental management systems has a positive effect exclusively on environmental process innovation, whereas it is negatively associated with the level of a firms’ general patenting activities. For environmental product innovation and patented environmental innovations a positive relationship with environmentally concerned and a negative link with environmentally neutral stakeholders is found.     

产品创新绩效偏离、双元学习与企业家导向

产品创新是一个“发明+商业化”的过程。为得到较高的产品创新绩效,企业不仅需要良好的新产品开发绩效（发明）做支撑,还需要在新产品的商业化过程中,具有相匹配的创新成果转化绩效。基于此,文章以知识基础观和理性行为理论为理论基础,探讨企业新产品开发绩效与创新成果转化绩效之间的偏离,即产品创新绩效偏离对双元学习平衡和互补的影响,并引入企业家导向这一企业产品创新过程中的关键情境要素,分析其对偏离和双元学习平衡或互补之间关系的调节作用。利用国内257家制造业企业的有效问卷数据检验理论模型,研究结果显示：（1）偏离负向影响双元学习的平衡,正向影响其互补;（2）当企业的新产品开发绩效大于或等于创新成果转化绩效,即偏离为正时,企业家导向加强了正偏离与双元学习平衡之间的负向关系,削弱了正偏离与双元学习互补之间的正向关系;（3）当企业的新产品开发绩效小于创新成果转化绩效,即偏离为负时,企业家导向削弱了负偏离与双元学习平衡之间的负向关系,加强了负偏离与双元学习互补之间的正向关系。     

Institutional frameworks and innovation in the German and UK pharmaceutical industry

This paper analyzes how governance structures impact the innovation capabilities of leading German and UK firms in the pharmaceutical industry. Our main objective is to show how variation in national institutional frameworks influences the innovation process, and thus, relative performance. There are two main conclusions. First, the corporate governance structure allowed leading UK firms to more quickly adapt than German firms to rapidly changing external environmental conditions in the global pharmaceutical industry. Secondly, leading UK firms have an advantage in generating innovative drugs (“blockbusters”) than do German firms due to the nature of the institutional framework in which they are embedded.     

Human capital and innovation: the importance of the optimal organizational task structure

Management literature has identified high-skilled human capital as a crucial dimension of innovation processes at the firm level. In this study, we introduce an alternative view of human capital based on the tasks that firms’ workers perform. We propose a measure of cognitive analytical and interpersonal tasks: the degree of abstractism. We argue that the level of abstractism of a firm has an effect on a firm's propensity to innovate and on its product innovation performance. We hypothesize that while the degree of abstractism has a linear positive relationship with the propensity to innovate, the relationship between abstractism and product innovation performance follows an inverted u-shaped relationship. We find partial support to our hypotheses using data from more than six thousand Portuguese firms. We discuss how these results change our understanding of the relationship between human capital and innovation at the firm level.     

中国企业创新40年

论文回顾了中国企业40年来的创新历程,在区分不同阶段创新特征的基础上,对未来创新趋势进行了展望。首先,研究对40年来企业创新的总体特征做出了判断。其次,按照经济发展阶段和政策特征将过去40年的创新历程区分为不同的阶段,并详细总结了各个阶段企业创新取得的成就、存在的问题和当时的创新政策。最后,研究对中国企业创新方向和学术研究的方向进行了展望。     

Transfers of user process innovations to process equipment producers: A study of Dutch high-tech firms

A detailed survey of 498 high technology small and medium-sized enterprises in the Netherlands shows process innovation by user firms to be common practice. Fifty-four percent of these firms reported developing entirely novel process equipment or software for their own use and/or modifying these, both at significant private expense. Twenty-five percent of the user innovations in our sample were transferred to commercializing producer firms. Many transfers were made without any direct compensation. Very importantly from the perspective of effective diffusion of user innovations, innovations with higher commercial potential - and more general appeal for users - are much more likely to be transferred to producers. The pattern we document of frequent innovation by individual user firms at substantial cost, followed in many cases by voluntary, no-charge information spillovers to producers, suggests that “open source economics” may be a general pattern in the economy.     

The relationship between technology, innovation, and firm performance—Empirical evidence from e-business in Europe

This article analyzes the relationship between the usage of Internet-based technologies, different types of innovation, and performance at the firm level. Data for the empirical investigation originates from a sample of 7302 European enterprises. The empirical results show that Internet-based technologies were an important enabler of innovation in the year 2003. It was found that all studied types of innovation, including Internet-enabled and non-Internet-enabled product or process innovations, are positively associated with turnover and employment growth. Firms that rely on Internet-enabled innovations are at least as likely to grow as firms that rely on non-Internet-enabled innovations. Finally, it was found that innovative activity is not necessarily associated with higher profitability. Possible reasons for this and implications are discussed.     

Sectoral patterns of small firm innovation, networking and proximity

Drawing upon a sample of 597 small and medium-sized manufacturing firms, this article investigates the extent to which cooperation for innovation is associated with firm-level product and process ‘innovativeness’ and, where collaborative relationships are reported, the factors which influence their spatial distribution. With respect to the former issue, the data suggests considerable variety of association across Pavitt’s [Research Policy 13 (1994) 343] sectoral taxonomy and innovation type. However, the data also indicates the need for caution when developing network strategies or policies: the evidence presented here is unequivocal in noting that innovation is neither a necessary nor less a sufficient condition for innovation. Moreover, internal resources often act as complements to, or indeed appears to negate the need for, external resources. With regards to the spatial distribution of firm linkages, it appears that increasing firms size and export propensity are positively associated with external linkages at a higher spatial level. Moreover, the spatial reach of innovation-related linkages is also likely to be greater for firms reporting the introduction of relatively novel innovations (i.e. products or processes which are new to the industry). In contrast, smaller firms and firms engaged in incremental product innovations appear more likely to be locally embedded.     

Innovation in times of crisis: National Systems of Innovation, structure, and demand

This article addresses the impact of the current economic downturn on innovation across Europe. Using micro- and macro-data, we investigate to what extent some structural characteristics of National Systems of Innovation, along with demand, affect firms’ persistency in terms of innovation investment. It emerges that the effects of the economic downturn in terms of firms’ innovation investment are not the same across European countries. The competences and quality of the human resources, the specialization in the high-technology sector, together with the development of the financial system seem to be the structural factors which are able to offset the effect of the economic downturn on innovation investments of firms across Europe. Finally, some considerations about policies during recessions are discussed.     

组织创新对企业模仿与创新绩效的影响

识别组织创新过程对企业绩效的影响对理解企业的创新过程非常重要。本文采用中国制造业调查数据,利用潜在分类模型方法定量分析企业的组织创新类型与特点,并结合多元处理效应模型探讨组织创新对企业产品模仿与创新绩效的影响。研究发现样本企业的组织创新程度从低到高可划分为五个等级。中高程度的组织创新水平(第Ⅲ和第Ⅳ种)对产品模仿绩效有显著作用,表明侧重知识创新和研发投入的组织创新有利于提高企业产品模仿绩效;只有最高程度的组织创新,即第Ⅴ种类型组织创新,显著提高产品创新强度,表明全面提升组织创新程度对产品模仿到产品创新的转变具有重要作用。所以创新政策不应仅仅停留在技术创新层面,而应强调企业的全面创新。     

新兴市场企业出口战略对创新绩效的影响

出口是最为普遍的国际化扩张战略,是促进新兴市场企业成长的重要路径。现有研究基于组织学习理论,检验了“出口学习”效应,但较少关注新兴市场企业出口学习结果的差异。本研究通过整合组织学习和注意力基础观理论,基于世界银行2008—2012年对东欧和中亚地区企业经营环境的调查数据,运用Tobit回归,审查了出口战略对创新绩效的影响,并检验了注意力结构化分布对出口学习的调节效应。研究发现：组织注意力的结构化分布,导致了新兴市场企业出口学习结果的异质性。具体而言：（1）新兴市场企业出口战略能够提升其产品和流程创新绩效;（2）国有所有制、财务冗余会提升出口战略对流程创新绩效的正向影响;网络营销能力会提升出口战略对产品创新绩效的正向影响。     

The effect of technological imitation on corporate innovation: Evidence from US patent data

Technological imitation may play a crucial role in motivating firms to innovate. However, theoretical predictions and empirical findings on the role of imitation have not yet reached a consensus. One major gap in the previous studies is that the empirical tests are based on samples consisting of only one industry over a short period of time. This study uses a novel measure of industry-level technological imitation proxied by quick citations by competitors to examine the relationship between imitation and innovation. Using US patent data for the period 1977–2005, we find that there are inverted U-shaped relationships between the degree of industry-level technological imitation and industry-level innovation activities and between the degree of industry-level technological imitation and the value of firm-level innovation. Our results suggest that positive externalities from the interactions among firms during the innovation process outweigh the negative effects of free-riding concerns on firms’ innovation activities and incentives to innovate up to a high degree of technological imitation, while free-riding concerns outweigh the positive externalities when the level of technological imitation is extremely high. The sector-by-sector analyses show that the relationship between technological imitation and the quantity and market value of innovation are not very different across Pavitt sectors. A comparative analysis on the role of imitation between agglomerated and non-agglomerated industries suggests that the positive effect of a moderate level of imitation and the negative effect of an excessive level of imitation are more pronounced for agglomerated industries. The results suggest that creating innovation clusters, such as Silicon Valley in the United States and Shenzhen City in China, and allowing different innovators to cooperate, imitate and compete with each other would be very effective in promoting corporate innovation. However, an excessively high level of technological imitation is more detrimental for firms in innovation clusters because it lowers those firms’ incentives to innovate more radically.