Technological innovation in services and manufacturing: results from Italian surveys

This paper provides fresh empirical evidence on technological innovation in the service sector, and highlights major similarities and differences with manufacturing. The main findings are the following. Technological innovation is quite a diffused and variegated phenomenon in market services. Engineering, technical consultancy, computing and software emerge as the most innovative sectors. Innovation expenditure per employee in these industries is rather close to the manufacturing average. Service firms as well as the manufacturing ones rely on a wide range of innovation sources. The acquisition and development of software and investment in machinery are the most cited. Investment, R&D and software are the major components of firms' innovation expenditure. Both in services and manufacturing the most important objective of firms' innovation strategies consist of improving service/product quality, increasing market shares and reducing production costs. Major obstacles for introducing technological innovation in services, as well as in manufacturing, are of an economic nature—i.e. lack of appropriate sources of finance and cost of innovation too high. Technological information is drawn mainly from in-house production departments as well as from outside suppliers of equipment, clients and customers. Again this is a pattern which is quite similar to the one found in the manufacturing sector. Finally, in the near future the importance of technology for firms' performance is expected to increase in all service industries. Overall, service and manufacturing sectors show more similarities than differences with respect to some basic dimensions of innovation processes.     

Technological collaboration in product innovation: The role of market competition and sectoral technological intensity

Drawing on the strategic alliances and innovation literature, this study proposes that the impact of technological collaboration on product innovation is contingent on market competition and sectoral technology characteristics. Specifically, it argues that the generally observed positive effect of technological collaboration on product innovation may be diluted in highly competitive markets, and the interactive effect of technological collaboration and market competition on product innovation will be further moderated by sectoral technological intensity. Data on the product innovation and technological collaboration of 944 Chinese firms across five manufacturing sectors provide robust support for the contingent effects of technological collaboration on product innovation.     

基于科学的创新与基于技术的创新——兼论科学-技术关系的“部门”模式

现代以来,科学已经不再是单纯的知识追求,科学发现往往也是新技术。这一类基于科学的创新,与过去得到很多研究的基于技术的创新,存在很大的差异。认识这两类基本的创新模式的差异,对于理解各行业的技术变化和经济发展具有重要意义。因此,这篇文章提出了一个理论框架来分析这些差异。这种框架将使理论与政策讨论能够引进行业差异的视角。此外,这篇文章中的分析说明,科学-技术关系并不存在普遍的模式,而不如被理解为存在着部门模式,在不同的部门中,科学与技术存在不同的关系。     

Analysis of sources of innovation, technological innovation capabilities, and performance: An empirical study of Hong Kong manufacturing industries

The concept of the regional innovation system (RIS) has been developed into an important framework for evaluating innovation performance. The study reported in this paper explores the relationship between the RIS and the firm's innovation system (FIS) according to the basic premise that firms that better utilize sources of information (SI) available within their regional innovation system (RIS) perform better due effect this has in enhancing the firm's technological innovation capabilities (TICs). The different innovation capabilities of a firm are regarded as the key components of the firm's innovation system. The sources of information available within an RIS include external sources (EXT) and external expert organizations, the latter of which are referred to as knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). This study also explores the dual role of KIBS as both sources of and bridges for innovation in the RIS. Data were obtained through a mailed survey using a self-administered questionnaire. The utilization concept and the dual role of KIBS were verified. The results show that externally available information affects all innovation capabilities of the firm, while external expert organizations affect only the firm's R&D and resources allocation capabilities. This study contributes to the RIS literature by providing empirical evidence on how firms can interact with the RIS by utilizing SI to enhance their TICs and achieve global competitiveness.     

The integration of old and new technological paradigms in low- and medium-tech sectors: The case of mechatronics

This article addresses the internal transformation of low- and medium-tech (LMT) sectors from a technological perspective, analysing the absorption of radical new technologies by low- and medium-technology (LMT) firms and their integration into frameworks dominated by older technologies. Through an empirical analysis of a cluster of mechatronic companies, the paper highlights some of the main features of the integration process and provides a preliminary assessment of whether the phenomenon is more likely to occur within or between companies, that is through the absorption of new technologies by each firm individually or by means of linkages between specialised mono-technology companies.     

Technological paradigms,labour creation and destruction in a multi-sector agent-based model

This paper presents an agent-based model (ABM) of endogenous arrival of technological paradigms and new sectors entailing different patterns of labour creation and destruction, as well as of consumption dynamics. The model, building on the labour-augmented K+S ABM, addresses the long-term patterns of labour demand emerging from heterogeneous forms of technical change. It provides a multi-level, integrated perspective on so called scenarios of the future of work, currently often restricted or to firm-level or to short-time sectoral analyses, and studies the conditions under which labour creation and destruction tend to balance. It is a relatively fair and stable distribution of income granted by a Fordist-type of regulation of the labour market that guarantees that the model never reaches stages of persistent technological unemployment. On the contrary, a systematic mismatch between production and consumption spheres emerges out of a Competitive (post-Fordist) wage-labour nexus, wherein the labour shedding effect of process innovation tends to prevail over the labour creating effect of product innovation.     

Technological innovations and sectoral change: Transformative capacity, adaptability, patterns of change: An analytical framework

Following up on recent debates about sectoral systems of innovation and production, the paper introduces a heuristic framework for analyzing and explaining distinct patterns of technology-based sectoral change. The concept is based on two interrelated influencing factors. The first is the sectoral-specific transformative capacity of new technologies themselves, that is, their substantial or incremental impact on socioeconomic and institutional change in a given sectoral system. The second is the sectoral adaptability of socioeconomic structures, institutions, and actors confronted with the opportunities presented by new technologies. The first factor—the sectoral transformative capacity of new technologies—enables us to identify the technology-based pressure to change and adjust the structural, institutional, and organizational architectures of the sectoral system. The second, complementary factor—sectoral adaptability—helps us to discern the distinct social patterns of anticipating and adopting this technology-based pressure. The specific interplay between the two influencing factors creates distinguishable modes of sectoral transformation, ranging from anticipative and smooth adjustments to reactive and crisis-ridden patterns of change. Even processes of radical sectoral change continue over longer periods of mismatch and are characterized by numerous and mostly gradual organizational, structural and institutional transformations.     

标准化、科技创新与新能源发展的关系研究

从科技创新、标准化促进新能源发展的机理出发,并以新能源汽车为例分析标准化、科技创新促进新能源汽车行业发展的过程,进而综合利用协整理论,以1990—2017年标准化、科技创新及新能源发展的数据为样本,对标准化、科技创新与新能源发展的关系进行实证研究,并依据实证结果从科技创新及标准化方面给出相关建议。     

Exploring the sources of design innovations: Insights from the computer,communications and audio equipment industries

Whereas business research has focused on the impact of design innovations on market response and financial performance, the sources of design innovations, as opposed to those of technological innovations, have largely escaped investigation. In this research, we examine the organizational, financial, and environmental drivers of design innovations and how they contrast to technological innovations. Our study utilizes a unique dataset encompassing a 10-year window of innovation output drawn from the computer, communications, and audio and video equipment manufacturing industries. Our results suggest that design innovations are driven primarily by investments in research and development and slack organizational resources. Interestingly, we find that design innovations are more prevalent in smaller but fast-growing markets as opposed to technology innovations, which are prevalent in larger markets. Contrary to expectations, we find no association between marketing investments and design innovations. Our research contributes to the extant business literature by considering the sources of design innovations separately from the sources of technology innovations. We also contribute to the literature by distinguishing design and technology patents, developing a deeper understanding of design innovation, and illuminating a lesser understood source of competitive advantage for firms.     

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.     

Technological similarity,post-acquisition R&D reorganization,and innovation performance in horizontal acquisitions

This paper aims to disentangle the mechanisms through which technological similarity between acquiring and acquired firms influences innovation in horizontal acquisitions. We develop a theoretical model that links technological similarity to: (i) two key aspects of post-acquisition reorganization of acquired R&D operations – the rationalization of the R&D operations and the replacement of the R&D top manager, and (ii) two intermediate effects that are closely associated with the post-acquisition innovation performance of the combined firm – improvements in R&D productivity and disruptions in R&D personnel. We rely on PLS techniques to test our theoretical model using detailed information on 31 horizontal acquisitions in high- and medium-tech industries. Our results indicate that in horizontal acquisitions, technological similarity negatively affects post-acquisition innovation performance and that this negative effect is not mediated by the reorganization of the acquired R&D operations. However, replacing the acquired firm's R&D top manager leads to R&D productivity improvements that positively affect innovation performance.     

服务化与先进制造业GVC升级：基于技术创新异质性视角

在对2000—2018年中国先进制造业服务化对先进制造业全球价值链升级的影响进行实证分析的基础上，引入自主创新和模仿创新两类不同的技术创新，以检验其在上述影响中存在效应的差异。研究发现，先进制造业服务化对全球价值链升级具有显著促进作用；先进制造业服务化与模仿创新之间呈先促进、后抑制的倒“U”型关系；先进制造业服务化与自主创新之间呈先抑制、后促进的“U”型关系；知识资本投入在先进制造业服务化与模仿创新和自主创新中均存在调节效应，对自主创新产生促进效果，但对模仿创新产生负向影响。为进一步推动服务化进程，政府应鼓励推动先进制造业及服务业中的互动融合，并健全市场配置和运行机制，增强先进制造业技术、产品和市场自主创新能力。     

Innovative path dependence: Making sense of product and service innovation in path dependent innovation processes

This paper analyses path dependence and path creation in firm innovation focusing on the effect of cognitive frames and organisational processes. A Northern European medical device firm is analysed through a detailed assessment of the structural and processual elements of cognitive path dependence. Cognitive schemas are analysed through development of ideal typical views on innovation and through an investigation of two specific innovation projects.Drawing on sensemaking and actor network theory the paper adds to the literature in three respects. First, it provides a more systematic analysis than available in the existing literature of how cognitive frames enable and constrain firm innovation. Second, it presents an empirical analysis that contributes to a differentiation of the concept of path dependence, distinguishing between innovative path dependence and technological path dependence. Third, the paper analyses the timing of constraints and path dependence. In the cases studied the innovation approach frames the innovation problem and constraints in relation to technologies have an impact on the innovation processes later, after new technologies have been thoroughly researched.The paper illustrates how the case firm is cognitively locked into an innovation path focused on generating ever-new product versions on different technological platforms, regardless of cannibalisation among the firm's different product versions. Despite the cognitive lock-in to an innovation path the firm is unconstrained in its choice of technological platforms and paths. Firms’ innovation processes may thus simultaneously be characterised by unrestrained search processes and myopic behaviour.     

Science,technology and innovation studies at a crossroad: SPRU as case study

The setting up of the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at Sussex University 50 years ago represented a “transformative change” in the research on science policy and the understanding of the nature and origin of technological change and innovation studies. It influenced policymakers across the world in both the mature Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and the developing world. It made the topic of science, technology and innovation (STI) familiar to business studies scholars. Today though, the analysis of STI appears to be somewhat in crisis. On the one hand, there is growing evidence that the growth and welfare gains of new technologies and innovation are no longer forthcoming in an automatic “trickle-down” fashion. The knowledge and technology diffusion “machine” appears broken. On the other hand, there are growing environmental concerns about the negative externalities of unsustainable fossil-fuel-based growth as industrialization spreads across the globe. STI policy appears somehow stuck in an industrial efficiency and consumerism mode that is unable to address in a satisfactory way the impact of such negative externalities. Can the broader historical approach as popularized within the so-called Science and Technology Studies (STS) tradition provide additional, complementary insights? Yes, if STI and STS scholars are prepared to leave their respective conceptual comfort zones and address in complementary fashion some of the major societal policy challenges confronting science, technology and innovation policy today.     

知识源、知识获取方式与产业创新绩效研究-以中国高技术产业为例

基于1995年到2007年的面板数据,本文分析了中国高技术产业在外部知识获取对于创新绩效的影响机制。研究结果表明企业不仅直接从外部获取知识还可以借助本地网络间接获取外部知识。不同类型知识的转移方式是不同的,总体上知识的异质性程度越高,知识转移的方式就会越复杂。     

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.     

我国区域技术创新效率:现状与原因

近年来,我国区域经济发展的不平衡问题引起了多方关注。本文认为,区域技术创新效率的差距是我国经济区域发展不平衡的重要表现与深层原因。为此,利用DEA方法,对我国30个省市自治区1999 -2002年期间的技术创新效率进行了测算,结果显示,我国区域技术创新效率呈现由东到西逐渐下降的趋势。进一步的计量分析表明,企业性质、人力资本、产业结构等是影响我国各省市自治区技术创新效率的显著因素。因此,要提高区域技术创新效率,缩小我国区域经济之间发展的差距,中西部地区须进一步促进企业产权改革、加强人才建设和产业结构调整。     

Technological innovation capabilities in the thin film transistor-liquid crystal display industries of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

The study described herein uses US Patent and Trademark Office data to assess variations in technological innovation capabilities, and their influence on market performance, among leading TFT-LCD producers in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The empirical results suggest that TFT-LCD producers in Korea and Taiwan built innovation capabilities by creating complementary knowledge for Japanese firms, whose technologies lead the way in the industry. The results also show that latecomers sought to expand production by selecting certain technological fields, but that they exploited these fields in different ways. Specifically, Korean conglomerates increased their scale of technology in order to improve their technological positions, while Taiwanese producers pursued innovations that strengthened their technological efficiency. While Japanese firms led the way in terms of both technology and market share during the 1990s, they then evolved to become merely technological leaders from 2000 onwards. However, Japanese firms have since renewed their business strategies to counter the aggressive market expansion of their competitors by strengthening the protection of their intellectual property rights through inter-keiretsu collaborations in technological niches, and by securing leadership in the market in high value-added key components in order to retain more of the profits from their own innovations. Four policy imperatives for both technology leading and latecomer countries regarding the development of sustainable industries associated with the industrial cycle and market dynamics are discussed.     

科技园管理创新、战略动机和企业创新绩效：一个整合模型

 根据文献回顾,建立相关研究假设和理论框架,提出了科技园区运行机制整合模型,探讨了科技园管理创新、企业入园的战略动机以及园内企业创新绩效之间的逻辑关系,认为科技园管理创新包括两个理论维度：一是科技园管理机构的相关政策;二是科技园管理机构的企业导入服务。企业入驻科技园的战略动机则分成两个维度进行讨论：一是企业入园的外在动机（利益性动机）;二是企业入园的内在动机（主观评估）。而园内企业的创新绩效则有技术研发、人才储备、市场开拓、研发资金等几个层面,本研究通过利用已有的成熟量表,测量相关潜变量,利用结构方程模型验证了假设并提出相关的政策性建议。