Superstars in the making? The broad effects of interdisciplinary centers

Many universities have developed large-scale interdisciplinary research centers to address societal challenges and to attract the attention of private philanthropists and federal agencies. However, prior studies have mostly shown that interdisciplinary centers relate to a narrow band of outcomes such as publishing and grants. Therefore, we shift attention to include outcomes that have been the centers mandate to influence ? namely outreach to the media and private industry, as well as broader research endeavors and securing external funding. Using data covering Stanford University between 1993 and 2014, we study if being weakly and strongly affiliated with interdisciplinary centers in one year relates to and increases (1) knowledge production (publications, grants and inventions), (2) instruction (numbers of students taught, PhDs and postdocs advised), (3) intellectual prominence (media mentions, awards won and centrality within the larger collaboration network), and (4) the acquisition of various sources of funding in the next year. Our results indicate that interdisciplinary centers select productive faculty and increase their activity on a broad range of outcomes further, and in ways greater than departments and traditional interdisciplinary memberships, such as courtesy and joint appointments.     

Impacts of grants and contracts on academic researchers’ interactions with industry

Based on a representative national sample of 1564 academic researchers, we investigate the impacts of research grants and contracts on the nature and extent of faculty research and technology activities with industry. A particular focus is on understanding the independent contributions of industry and government grant sources on levels of industrial involvement. In addition to examining the source of grants, the study controls for a number of independent factors including: scientific field, research center affiliation, tenure status, and gender. Results suggest independent effects of grants and contracts on industrial activities. Grants and contracts from industry have a significant effect on academic researchers’ propensity to work with industry, as measured by an “industrial involvement scale.” Federally-sponsored grants also have an impact in increasing work with industry, but a more moderate one. Further, those with more grants and contracts (of each type) have a greater propensity for industrial involvement than those who have such contracts but fewer. This holds even when proxies for productivity and career stage are introduced in regression equations. The analysis also considers whether provision of grants and contracts is best viewed as a predictor of industrial involvement or just another type of industrial involvement using factor analysis and nested multivariate modeling to compare effects.     

Knowledge to money: Assessing the business performance effects of publicly-funded R&D grants

UK Research Councils (UKRCs) spend around £3bn pa supporting R&D and innovation. We provide a comprehensive assessment of these grants on the performance of participating UK firms, using data on all projects funded by UKRCs over the 2004–2016 period and applying a propensity score matching approach. We exploit the richness of the data available in the Gateway to Research database by investigating the heterogeneous effect of these projects across several novel directions which have not been explored before. We find a positive effect on the employment and turnover growth of participating firms, both in the short and in the medium term. Exploring impacts across different types of firms we find stronger performance impacts for firms in R&D intensive industries and for smaller and less productive firms. We also consider how impacts vary depending on the characteristics of the funded research projects in terms of partners characteristics, receipt of other research grants and grant value. Finally, we focus on the different sources of grants, analysing in particular the evolution in the funding strategy of Innovate UK. Our results have implications for the extent and targeting of future Research Council funding both in the UK and elsewhere.     

Extramural research grants and scientists’ funding strategies: Beggars cannot be choosers?

Although competitive funding of public research has been characterised as providing output incentives that raise efficiency and productivity, we know very little about whether the quality of a scientist's research is in fact the primary award criterion on which funding bodies base their grant decision. This paper provides insights into scientists’ strategies for obtaining project-based research funding in the presence of multiple funding opportunities. It draws a distinction between four types of grants, including the Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP6), government, foundation, and industry grants. Based on a sample of more than 800 scientists at universities and public research institutes in Germany, the results indicate that scientist productivity measured in terms of publication and patent stock is a statistically significant determinant only for obtaining foundation and industry grants while the award of an FP6 or government grant is influenced by other characteristics. The results further show that the different grants are not complementary, i.e. scientists specialise in certain grants. In this respect, the analysis informs science, technology and innovation policy about potential discrepancies between policy rhetoric, stipulated award criteria, and actual funding outcomes which makes it possible to fine-tune the debate on how public research should be financed.     

新一轮改革以来中国农口科研单位的收入结构变化及其区域间的差异

本文重点分析了新一轮改革以来,我国农口公共科研体系的经费收入结构变化及其区域间差异,研究表明,新一轮改革增加了政府对农口科研单位的投入.改善了不同级别科研单位问的投资结构;但政府财政拨款中竞争性经费所占的比例偏高,这将会影响科研单位的长期发展规划;不同地区及部门间的经费投入比例不尽合理,这将不利于区域和各部门的协调发展.     

The impact of the science research council's policy of selectivity and concentration on average levels of research support: 1965–1974

Use is made of the peer-adjudicated grants awarded by the Science Research Council (SRC) during the years 1965–1974 to examine the Council's policy of selectivity and concentration. The paper develops earlier work on the concentration of these resources in two ways, firstly, be exploring changes in the median levels of grants over the decade, and secondly, by correlating these changes with changes in the concentration of research funds. With regard to the first dimension the analysis revealed that in all but two committees of the Council, the median of the grant distributions remained constant or declined over time. In the second case, expensive areas of research - those exhibiting a high median grant - were found to exhibit the highest concentration index. Both of these results clarify the manner in which the SRC had responded to a perceived escalation in the costs of research and also provided a basis for examining the rationale for the SRC's adoption of an expanded policy of selectivity and concentration in which such escalation has forced the SRC to be both more selective in the research they support and to concentrate those limited resources in fewer groups in order that quality in research be sustained. The analyses presented in this paper raise certain questions over the extent to which these changes have occured in the area of peer-adjudicated grants.     

我国图书情报专业文献的开放获取研究

利用网络调查的方法,对我国图书情报专业文献的开放获取可用性和引用优势展开研究.研究结果表明:我国图书情报专业文献的开放获取可用性较低:OA文献的来源渠道多样化;通过机构知识库获取的OA文献比例低;OA期刊的建设处于起步阶段;OA文献具有明显的引用优势.还对我国图情专业OA文献引用优势与国外期刊相比不明显的原因进行了简要分析.最后对我国图书情报专业文献OA资源建设提出了几点建议.     

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.     

Navigating the impact-innovation double hurdle: The case of a climate change research fund

This paper analyses how the funding for research grants was allocated from a specific research fund which aimed to support innovative research projects with the potential to have research impact by reducing carbon emissions. The fund received a total of 106 proposals, of which 27 were successful at obtaining financial support. Our aims were to test which factors influenced the funding decision and to discover whether or not and to what extent the fund met its intended objectives through the allocation of monies. The allocation process and its outcomes were analysed using correlation, logistical and linear regression to test our research hypotheses. Using this research funding process as a single study, we found that trying to clear the impact-innovation double hurdle in a single funding initiative ultimately compromises both goals. This paper therefore contributes to our understanding of innovation management within the context of carbon emission reduction and explains which factors influenced success in securing research monies through the funding process.     

The use of digital technologies by small and medium enterprises during COVID-19: Implications for theory and practice

Scholars have highlighted the role of Digital Technologies (DT) in enhancing productivity and performance in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). However, there is limited evidence on the use of DT for dealing with the consequences of extreme events, such as COVID-19. We discuss this gap by (i) outlining potential research avenues and (ii) reflecting on the managerial implications of using DT within SMEs to deal with the repercussions of COVID-19 and securing business continuity.     

The unintended consequences of the pandemic on non-pandemic research activities

Research about the Covid-19 pandemic has taken center stage in shaping the work of many scholars, inter alia highlighting the importance of research in addressing the grand challenges humanity faces. However, the pandemic has also ushered in increased administrative, teaching and out of work commitments for many researchers, leading to concerns that academics will become less willing to invest time in obtaining resources to undertake non-Covid-related projects. Using a large-scale survey of business, economics and management researchers, coupled with their publication histories and additional institutional data, we examine how far individuals experienced the focus on the pandemic as ‘crowding out’ interest in, and undermining their confidence in applying for grants for work not focused on the pandemic. We found 40% of the sample agree that the pandemic has impaired their confidence in applying for non-pandemic-related grants and ‘crowded out’ other projects. Researchers with current and prior grants, particularly those with the most experience of holding grants, scholars whose work ‘impacted’ beyond academia, and early career researchers, disproportionately considered themselves to be most affected. We also found that researchers’ perceptions differed based on institutional characteristics. We discuss the implications of these findings for grant providers and national research agencies as well as for individual academic researchers and the institutions in which they work.     

The economics of universities in a new age of funding options

The environment in which universities in the United States and some other countries operate has been changing, creating discussion of privatization of public universities. This paper examines the implications for US universities of greater access to royalties for federally funded, private-goods research, and reduced government grants or transfers to support public-goods research. Conditions under which increased private-goods research for out-of-state firms (developing patents and private market applications) leads to higher tuition and reductions in instruction and basic research are developed. The likely outcome is greater privatization of public universities, which may lead to a new public-private structure for what have been the leading US public research universities.     

区域经济增长极位的理论分析

区域发展日趋强大后沿交通线对周围环境产生辐射作用,由于较大的接触优势使交通沿线成为产业带,并相对周围地区形成发展轴线,其能量进一步向周围传递扩散。本文将增长极、轴作为扩散源,圈定研究区域范围,建立3类边界条件下经济扩散的稳态与动态模型,探讨其求解方法,从而尝试为经济扩散规律、过程模型及增长极轴选择等问题的研究寻找一条机理的定量研究途径。     

基于知识的区域竞争优势来源及形成机理

区域作为全球竞争中一种新的竞争单位,其竞争优势的来源问题已经成为目前研究的新课题。本文通过逐层剥离笼罩在区域竞争优势根源外围的因素,认为区域竞争优势最终来源于区域所拥有的知识;在应用组织知识理论对区域知识的类型和特征进行分析的基础上,探讨了基于知识的区域竞争优势形成的内在机理,并指出组份知识只能为区域带来暂时的竞争优势,而体系知识则能为区域提供持续的竞争优势。     

Funding incentives, collaborative dynamics and scientific productivity: Evidence from the EU framework program

In this paper we examine how incentives for collaboration shape collaborative behavior and researcher productivity in the context of EU-funded research networks. EU-funded research networks require researchers to collaborate as a condition for securing research funding. The presence of research funding, therefore, may influence collaborative behavior. Our approach involves isolating the effects of funding, collaboration and previous collaborations (prior to funding) on research output, and examining how the pattern of collaboration affects research productivity over time. Employing a panel of 294 researchers in 39 EU research networks over a 15-year period we find that while the impact of funding on productivity is generally positive the overall impact of collaboration within the funded networks is weak. When we delineate between pre-, during- and post-funding periods, however, we find some important differences. During the period of funding, collaboration did not lead to an increase in research production. In the post-funding period we find that although the number of collaborations decreases within the network, the impact of collaboration on productivity is positive and significant. Our findings suggest that collaborations formed to capitalize on funding opportunities, while not effective in enhancing researcher productivity in the short run, may be an important promoter of effective collaborations in the longer run.     

区域制造业比较优势的多源性研究

比较优势理论在区域经济分析中的应用由来已久,然而非议颇多。这不仅是因为比较优势的概念定义和识别路径存在混淆,而且数据的可获性问题导致实证检验被长期搁置。本文建立显示性比较优势、潜在比较优势作用机制的实证分析框架,并基于两个时期我国区域制造业比较优势的时空演变进行空间计量检验。结果表明,技术水平、要素禀赋、规模经济、集聚效应、制度因素都是区域制造业显示性比较优势的重要来源。本文的启示在于,区域经济发展的比较优势战略并不应该排斥外生、内生多种因素的作用,比较优势产业发展的动力机制其实是多元的,不应当独尊一术。     

Venture capital as a catalyst to commercialization

We find that the public funding of academic research and venture capital have a complementary relationship in fostering innovation and the creation of new firms. Using panel data on metropolitan areas in the United States, from 1993 to 2002, our analyses reveal that the positive relationships between government research grants to universities and research institutes and the rates of patenting and firm formation in a region become more pronounced as the supply of venture capital in that region increases. Our results remain robust to estimation with an instrumental variable to address potential endogeneity in the provision of venture capital. Consistent with perspectives that emphasize the importance of an innovation ecosystem, our findings point to a strong interaction between private financial intermediation and public research funding in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation.     

研究型大学人文社会科学学科论文产出差距的计量分析

将我国56所设有研究生院的大学作为特定集合，利用中文社会科学引文索引（CSSCI）为数据源，从论文产出的集中度、变异系数、极差、绝对优势、相对优势、比较优势等角度探讨了28个学科和3大学科群的差异程度，并透过差异程度初步勾勒出人文社会科学学科结构的特征。认为这一研究对于研究型大学学科布局调整、选择优先发展学科具有参考意义。     

A Framework and Databases for Measuring Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Scholarly literature on the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has increased sharply over the past five years. The surge in interest has also heightened the demand for robust empirical measures that capture the complexity of dynamic relationships among ecosystem constituents. We offer a framework for measurement that places collaborative relationships among entrepreneurs, firms, government agencies, and research institutions at the center of the ecosystem concept. We further emphasize the four roles of the federal government as a catalyst, coordinator, certifier, and customer in shaping these relationships. Despite the central importance of these firm-government interactions, there is surprisingly little research on suitable methodologies and appropriate data for systematically and reliably incorporating them into measures of ecosystem health. Our study aims to address this gap in the literature by first developing a conceptual framework for measuring entrepreneurial ecosystems and then describing an array of accompanying databases that provide rich and detailed information on firms and their relationships with government organizations, accelerators, and research institutions. A major advantage of our approach is that all the underlying databases are drawn from non-confidential, publicly available sources that are transparently disclosed and regularly updated. This greatly expands the potential community of scholars, managers, and policymakers that may independently use these databases to test theories, make decisions, and formulate policies related to innovation and entrepreneurship.     

Technology strategies and standard competition — Comparative innovation cases of Apple and Microsoft

This paper analyses the technology strategy and standard competition of the most outstanding innovation cases of Apple and Microsoft. The objective of the study is to understand innovators' pursuit of strategies in securing the benefits from an innovation, based on the innovation life cycle model. The study develops a new methodological framework of platform for analysing the case studies. It is argued that the ability to establish an industry standard and lock-in customers enables an innovator to create a competitive advantage. The study offers important lessons in strategic innovation management.