Gaining from interactions with universities: Multiple methods for nurturing absorptive capacity

This paper examines the various methods through which firms benefit from interactions with universities, arguing that such benefits are instrumental in nurturing the multiple facets of a firm's absorptive capacity. We bring together data collected from a survey of UK firms that collaborated with universities, and firm-level data on past partnerships with universities. The results show that benefits from interactions with universities are multifaceted, including enhancement of the firm's explorative and exploitative capabilities. Results also indicate that firms’ R&D commitments, geographical proximity to and research quality of university partners have a distinct impact on the different types of benefits from interactions with universities. We find geographical proximity is crucial for assessing problem-solving as an important benefit, while interactions with top quality universities have a positive influence on the benefits associated with firms’ downstream activities. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and policy.     

Entrepreneurial orientation in turbulent environments: The moderating role of absorptive capacity

The literature on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has confirmed the positive relationship between EO and firm performance and that relationship's dependence on several contingencies. The present study connects the resource-based view and its dynamic capability extension to introduce absorptive capacity (ACAP) as a moderator of the relationship between EO and firm performance. This theoretically derived research model is empirically validated using survey data from 219 small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany. Our empirical findings are that ACAP strengthens the EO–performance relationship in turbulent markets.     

University-industry collaborations in Japan: The role of new technology-based firms in transforming the National Innovation System

This paper examines the role of new technology-based firms in university/industry collaborative (UIC) activities in Japan. UIC activities have been widely diffused into small startup firms over the past 5 years, according to quantitative analysis of RIETIs UIC Survey. In this paper, it is found that these smaller firms achieve higher productivity through UICs than large firms. In light of the findings of this paper, it appears that UICs are gaining momentum and are likely to play a strong role in reducing the dependence of Japan's system of innovation on in-house R&D conducted within large corporations.     

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.     

Brave old world: Accounting for ‘high-tech’ knowledge in ‘low-tech’ industries

‘Lower-tech’ sectors are still commonly regarded as unusual suspects in the modern process of innovation and economic change. In this paper we try to understand better how organisations specialising in traditional businesses have been transformed by a period of paradigm-shift such as the one that characterised the final decades of the twentieth century. We focus on a population of nearly 500 of the world's largest innovative companies to assess the extent to which companies belonging to ‘old-economy’ sectors have been developing cutting-edge knowledge about clusters of new technologies such as ICT, new materials and biotechnology. We find that ‘non-high-tech’ corporations transformed their patent portfolios in a non-trivial way. Companies in mature trades contributed significantly to the development of technologies that are at the core of the so-called Third Industrial Revolution.     

The effect of financial constraints, absorptive capacity and complementarities on the adoption of multiple process technologies

This paper investigates the factors affecting the multiple adoption of new process technologies in manufacturing. We focus our attention on the effect of both financial resources and absorptive capacity on the decision to introduce the technology. We argue in favour of a negative effect of financial constraints and provide reasons for a differential effect of internal and external R&D on innovation adoption. Additionally, the methodology allows us to consider the possible complementarities arising when firms adopt several new process technologies. Our results show that financial constraints are dependent on the technology analyzed, whereas only internal R&D investments are strong predictors of adoption. We are also able to present evidence that the three technologies analyzed (numerically controlled machines, computer aided design and robotics) are, to some extent, complementary.     

正式/非正式知识搜索宽度对创新绩效的影响

外部知识搜索对企业创新具有重要影响。本文从正式-非正式知识搜索视角出发,探讨知识搜索宽度对企业创新绩效的影响机制,尤其是网络嵌入性和吸收能力在正式/非正式知识搜索宽度影响企业创新绩效时所具有的调节作用。通过对161家企业问卷调查数据的实证分析,发现网络关系质量和吸收能力显著调节正式外部知识搜索宽度与创新绩效关系;结构洞显著调节非正式外部知识搜索宽度与创新绩效关系。     

Absorptive capacity and the search for innovation

This paper examines the link between a firm's absorptive capacity-building activities and the search process for innovation. We propose that the enhanced access to university research enjoyed by firms that engage in basic research and collaborate with university scientists leads to superior search for new inventions and provides advantage in terms of both the timing and quality of search outcomes. Results based on a panel data of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms support these contentions and suggest that the two research activities are mutually beneficial, but also uncover intriguing differences that suggest differing roles of internally and externally developed knowledge.     

The technology clubs: The distribution of knowledge across nations

The convergence clubs literature in applied growth theory suggests that countries that differ in terms of structural characteristics and initial conditions tend to experience diverging growth performances. What is the role of technological knowledge for the formation of clubs? The paper investigates this unexplored question by carrying out an empirical study of the cross-country distribution of knowledge in a large sample of developed and developing economies in the 1990s. The results indicate the existence of three technology clubs characterized by markedly different levels of development. The clubs also differ with respect to the dynamics of their capabilities over the decade, as the most advanced group and the intermediate one are found to be much more dynamic than the large cluster of less developed economies.     

政治关联与商业模式创新：吸收能力的调节效应

针对企业构建政治关联能否激发以及怎样激发商业模式创新的问题，本文构建了政治关联在吸收能力调节下影响商业模式创新的理论模型。以384家企业为样本进行的实证检验表明：企业构建政治关联能够激发商业模式创新，知识消化能力强化了政治关联对商业模式创新的积极影响，但知识获取能力却削弱了政治关联对企业商业模式创新的积极影响。这些发现一定程度揭示了企业政治关联影响商业模式创新的内在机制，区分了不同维度吸收能力的调节效应差异，对企业商业模式创新理论与实践的发展起到了促进作用。     

外部搜索策略、知识吸收能力与技术创新绩效

外部搜索策略对企业技术创新绩效的有着重要影响,而知识吸收能力在此过程中起着调节作用,本文基于理论分析,提出研究假设,并通过问卷调查收集数据,采用结构方程模型进行实证研究。结果表明：外部搜索策略的搜索广度对企业技术创新绩效存在显著正向影响,知识吸收能力正向调节搜索广度对企业技术创新绩效的影响;外部搜索策略的搜索深度与技术创新绩效呈倒U型关系,知识吸收能力调节了搜索深度对技术创新绩效的影响。     

The role of ICT knowledge flows for international market share dynamics

This paper investigates the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) related knowledge flows for international market shares. Using bibliometric data on scientific publications, we analyse the relationship between the strength of 14 OECD countries in four ICT-related scientific fields and the ability of those countries to maintain and acquire export market shares in the OECD market, across 16 manufacturing industries over the period 1981-2003. We find that domestic and foreign ICT-related scientific knowledge flows have a positive and significant impact on export market shares in ICT industries, while only domestic flows positively affect export shares in non-ICT industries. We also find that small open economies benefit more than other countries from foreign knowledge flows both in ICT and in non-ICT industries.     

A theoretical analysis of the role of social networks in entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship involves innovation and uncertainty. We outline a theory of entrepreneurship, which highlights the importance of social networks in promoting innovation and reducing uncertainty. Our findings suggest that this “social” aspect of entrepreneurship increases the probability of entrepreneurial success. The results also lend credence to theories of entrepreneurship that suggest that entrepreneurial opportunities are formed endogenously by the entrepreneurs who create them. We also consider the public policy implications of our findings.     

What exactly are technological regimes?: Intra-industry heterogeneity in the organization of innovation activities

This empirical study analyzes the patterns of innovation within and across industries using firm-level survey data from Finland and Denmark. The theoretical starting point is evolutionary theory with its premise that firms in different technological regimes pursue different paths to innovation. Similar modes of behaviour are found in the two datasets, and they closely correspond to those found in earlier studies. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, however, the results show that industries are not at all uniform in terms of how firms innovate; in almost all four- or five-digit NACE industries, three or more different modes of innovation can be identified. This suggests that firms’ strategic differentiation or local search activities overcome pressures in the technological environment towards homogenous behaviour, at least in the short term.     

非正式网络对双元创新的影响:吸收能力的中介作用和环境动态性的调节作用

分别以非正式网络、双元创新、吸收能力和环境动态性为自变量、因变量、中介变量和调节变量,以227家高新技术企业为样本,通过理论分析与实证研究,揭示非正式网络对双元创新的影响以及吸收能力的中介作用和环境动态性的调节作用.实证结果表明:(1)非正式网路对双元创新有显著的正向作用;(2)潜在吸收能力在非正式网络与渐进性创新之间...     

从外部知识获取到内部创新能力：员工信息素养的调节效应

通过对257家新兴企业中高层管理者和研发人员的调查数据,本文研究了员工信息素养对外部知识效应的影响,重点分析了员工信息素养对外部知识获取与内部创新能力之间关系的调节效应,并运用模糊集定性比较分析（fsQCA）技术探讨了企业规模对员工信息素养的制约效应。结果表明：员工信息素养对技术知识和市场知识的吸收效果均有促进作用;此外,企业规模越大,员工信息素养对技术知识与创新能力之间关系的促进作用越小。本研究结论不仅丰富了员工素养与企业创新等领域的理论空间,同时也为战略性新兴产业企业在开放式创新环境下有效提高员工信息素养、增强外部知识吸收、提升创新能力和创新绩效提供了实践指导。     

不同外部知识环境下企业吸收能力的动态重构

自"吸收能力"诞生以来,其研究视角正在逐渐转变。近三年来吸收能力与外部环境之间的动态演进成为研究主流。此研究在国外最新理论研究的基础上进一步提出,鉴于企业资源的有限性和学习成本,企业不可能将其吸收子能力全部保持在巅峰水平,而需要根据外部环境的不同,对子能力进行选择性投资,利用它们特定的组合推进企业的创新绩效和财务绩效;这个过程从整体上来看便是企业吸收能力随环境变化而进行的动态重构。文章采用实证研究的方法,在113个企业样本的基础上进行统计分析,研究结果支持上述假设;同时还证明,外部知识环境也影响沟通机制对吸收能力的作用。本文的理论创新点在于从动态能力的角度研究企业吸收能力,指出其内部构成随环境变化的模式,以及沟通机制在其间的作用。此外,企业管理者可以根据对外部知识环境显隐性的判断,对吸收子能力进行选择性投资,以达到资源的最佳配置。     

Performance of Spanish universities in technology transfer: An empirical analysis

This paper investigates the performance of universities in the transfer of technology using a unique university-level dataset for Spain. The results suggest that universities with established policies and procedures for the management of technology transfer perform better. Universities with large and experienced technology transfer offices (TTOs) generate higher volumes of contract research, but the TTO characteristics appear to matter less for university performance in terms of licensing and creation of spin-offs. Furthermore, universities with a science park perform better than those without, which suggests that the agglomeration of knowledge close to universities has a positive effect on universities’ technology transfer performance.