Innovation and Social Capital: A Cross-country Investigation

This study explores the impact of social capital on innovation by constructing a more general measure of social capital indicator consisting of generalized and institutional trust, associational activities and civic norms. We test the hypothesis that social capital has a positive impact on innovation at the national level. After controlling for R&D expenditure and human capital there is a positive relationship between social capital and innovation. Social capital interacts with entrepreneurship and the strongest relationship is between associated activities and entrepreneurship. This is consistent with the need to build social relationships in today's networked economy.human capital, social capital, entrepreneurship, innovation, generalized and institutional trust, civic norms, associational activities

Inducement Prizes and Innovation.

We examine the effect of prizes on innovation using data on awards for technological development offered by the Royal Agricultural Society of England at annual competitions between 1839 and 1939. We find large effects of the prizes on competitive entry and we also detect an impact of the prizes on the quality of contemporaneous patents, especially when prize categories were set by a strict rotation scheme, thereby mitigating the potentially confounding effect that they targeted only “hot” technology sectors. Prizes encouraged competition and medals were more important than monetary awards. The boost to innovation we observe cannot be explained by the re-direction of existing inventive activity.Awards; Patents; Contests.

Innovation as a Nonlinear Process, the Scientometric Perspective, and the Specification of an "Innovation Opportunities Explorer"

The process of innovation follows non-linear patterns across the domains of science, technology, and the economy. Novel bibliometric mapping techniques can be used to investigate and represent distinctive, but complementary perspectives on the innovation process (e.g., "demand" and "supply") as well as the interactions among these perspectives. The perspectives can be represented as "continents" of data related to varying extents over time. For example, the different branches of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in the Medline database provide sources of such perspectives (e.g., "Diseases" versus "Drugs and Chemicals"). The multiple-perspective approach enables us to reconstruct facets of the dynamics of innovation, in terms of selection mechanisms shaping localizable trajectories and/or resulting in more globalized regimes. By expanding the data with patents and scholarly publications, we demonstrate the use of this multi-perspective approach in the case of RNA Interference (RNAi). The possibility to develop an "Innovation Opportunities Explorer" is specified.Comment: Technology Analysis and Strategic Management (forthcoming in 2013

The winner takes it all? Multidimensional assessment of economic growth factors in Bundesländer

This paper seeks to offer a thorough assessment of current state of the play as well as developments taking place in 1989-2008 with respect to various determinants of economic growth in Germany. The primary aim is to evaluate the growth potential by constructing and consequently calculating the summary index encompassing various dimensions of economy. In order to take a holistic and comprehensive view on economic growth factors, conceptual framework of five modules encapsulating numerous factors and thus incorporating various growth aspects has been put forward. Competitiveness (production function), Sectors (output approach), Business cycle (expenditure approach), General economic condition (main macroindices) and Catalysts (residual - all other factors) are taken into account. Preliminary results confirm to some extent earlier studies pointing to existing West-East Germany's discrepancies. It seems particularly visible when taking into account elements of the first module and - key for long term growth - factors of the fifth unit.Artykuł stara się dokonać kompleksowej oceny obecnej sytuacji i zmian, jakie zaszły w latach 1991-2009 w zakresie różnych elementów wzrostu gospodarczego w niemieckich krajach związkowych. W tym celu zaproponowano pięciomodułowy schemat syntetyzujący najważniejsze czynniki i umożliwiający opracowanie cząstkowych, a następnie syntetycznego wskaźnika oceniającego potencjał wzrostu w poszczególnych regionach. Wyróżniono: 1) konkurencyjność, czyli ujęcie podażowe, nawiązujące do makroekonomicznej funkcji produkcji, 2) podział branżowy dotyczący udziału sektorów we wzroście gospodarczym, 3) koniunkturę, czyli ujęcie popytowe odwołujące się do kardynalnego równanie makroekonomii, 4) kondycję gospodarczą wyznaczoną kształtowaniem się głównych wskaźników makroekonomicznych oraz 5) klimat gospodarczy obejmujący pozostałe potencjalne determinanty wzrostu gospodarczego. Schemat stanowiący eklektyczne podejście do czynników wzrostu jest próbą wypełnienia luki między wysoce zmatematyzowanym modelowym i abstrakcyjnym ujęciem kwestii wzrostu, jaki przeważa w literaturze akademickiej, a podejściem praktycznym obecnym w prasie biznesowej, czy bieżących analizach politycznych. Otrzymane wyniki wskazują, że najwyższy potencjał wzrostu gospodarczego osiągnęły Bawaria, Badenia Wirtembergia i Nadrenia Północna Westfalia; najsłabszy - Berlin, Brema, Saksonia Anhalt i Meklemburgia Pomorze Przednie. Rezultaty te potwierdzają po części wcześniejsze wnioski innych badań o wciąż utrzymujących się dysproporcjach Wschód - Zachód, ale wskazują też na postęp, jaki wschodnie Landy osiągnęły od momentu Zjednoczenia

Comparing nuclear power trajectories in Germany and the UK: from ‘regimes' to ‘democracies’ in sociotechnical transitions and Discontinuities

This paper focuses on arguably the single most striking contrast in contemporary major energy politics in Europe (and even the developed world as a whole): the starkly differing civil nuclear policies of Germany and the UK. Germany is seeking entirely to phase out nuclear power by 2022. Yet the UK advocates a ‘nuclear renaissance’, promoting the most ambitious new nuclear construction programme in Western Europe.Here,this paper poses a simple yet quite fundamental question: what are the particular divergent conditions most strongly implicated in the contrasting developments in these two countries. With nuclear playing such an iconic role in historical discussions over technological continuity and transformation, answering this may assist in wider understandings of sociotechnical incumbency and discontinuity in the burgeoning field of‘sustainability transitions’. To this end, an ‘abductive’ approach is taken: deploying nine potentially relevant criteria for understanding the different directions pursued in Germany and the UK. Together constituted by 30 parameters spanning literatures related to socio-technical regimes in general as well as nuclear technology in particular, the criteria are divided into those that are ‘internal’ and ‘external’ to the ‘focal regime configuration’ of nuclear power and associated ‘challenger technologies’ like renewables. It is ‘internal’ criteria that are emphasised in conventional sociotechnical regime theory, with ‘external’ criteria relatively less well explored. Asking under each criterion whether attempted discontinuation of nuclear power would be more likely in Germany or the UK, a clear picture emerges. ‘Internal’ criteria suggest attempted nuclear discontinuation should be more likely in the UK than in Germany– the reverse of what is occurring. ‘External’ criteria are more aligned with observed dynamics –especially those relating to military nuclear commitments and broader ‘qualities of democracy’. Despite many differences of framing concerning exactly what constitutes ‘democracy’, a rich political science literature on this point is unanimous in characterising Germany more positively than the UK. Although based only on a single case,a potentially important question is nonetheless raised as to whether sociotechnical regime theory might usefully give greater attention to the general importance of various aspects of democracy in constituting conditions for significant technological discontinuities and transformations. If so, the policy implications are significant. A number of important areas are identified for future research, including the roles of diverse understandings and specific aspects of democracy and the particular relevance of military nuclear commitments– whose under-discussion in civil nuclear policy literatures raises its own questions of democratic accountability

Overpressured layer chromatography: from the pressurized ultramicro chamber to BioArena system

The pressurized ultramicro (UM) chamber as a closed adsorbent layer chamber enables the use of a special chromatoplate and a pump to increase and optimize the mobile phase flow velocity through an optional development distance in an adsorbent layer. This chamber is the basic instrument of overpressured-layer chromatography (OPLC), which is a separation technique that combines the advantages of conventional TLC/HPTLC with those of HPLC. The versions of OPLC instrument, the character and achievement of off-line and on-line OPLC systems in analytical and preparative use are described. The development of BioArena as a complex bioautographic system means an exploitation of the unique advantages of planar-layer system for detection, isolation and identification of new antimicrobials, antineoplastics, biopesticides and other biologically active substances as well as for studying fundamental biochemical reactions and mechanisms

Who leads Research Productivity Change? Guidelines for R&D policy makers

Relying on efficiency analysis we evaluate to what extent policy makers have been able to promote the establishment of consolidated and comprehensive research groups to contribute to the implementation of a successful innovation system for the Spanish food technology sector, oriented to the production of knowledge based on an application model. Using data envelopment analysis techniques and Malmquist productivity indices we find pervasive levels of inefficiency and a typology of different research strategies. Among these, in contrast to what has been assumed, established groups do not play the pre-eminent benchmarking role; rather, partially oriented, specialized and "shooting star" groups are the most common patterns. These results correspond with an infant innovation system, where the fostering of higher levels of efficiency and promotion of the desired research patterns are ongoing.Innovation Policy; Management; Productivity Change; Malmquist Index; Distance Function

Patent strategy in the digital transformation era

The digital transformation and big data paradigms have expanded across many research fields, including both strategy and innovation. Although existing research attempts to keep up with the pace of these phenomena, more in-depth knowledge of how patent big data can help firms and managers in their decision-making process is still needed. Based on patent co-classification analysis, this paper aims to provide two different but complementary patent tools; the first exploits ex-ante patent information whereas the latter integrates it with ex-post details extracted by patent documents. We further investigate the technology positioning and links as well as examine the industry’s «excellence» technology structure conceived as the combination of the technology elements that has yielded high-impactful inventions

Patenting and industrial performance: the case of the machine tool industry

Using the case of an important capital goods industry the paper examines the impact of the national patent system on the performance of firms. Many theories attempt to explain the firms’ innovative behavior using the concepts of national and sectorial systems of innovation. The patent law plays a particularly important role in these systems. At the level of the firm its importance rests on the possibility to appropriate profits. An empirical analysis of a sample of the 49 largest international manufacturers of machine tools shows that patents are a superior mechanism for appropriating the returns on R&D in this industry. This is indicated by a strong positive relationship between the market value of the firm and its patenting activities. -- Am Beispiel einer wichtigen Investitionsgüterindustrie wird in diesem Beitrag der Einfluß nationaler Patentsysteme auf den Unternehmenserfolg untersucht. Zahlreiche Theorien gehen davon aus, daß das Innovationsverhalten von Unternehmen von nationalen und sektoralen Innovationssystemen beeinflußt wird. Das Patentrecht spielt in diesen Systemen eine wichtige Rolle. Auf der Unternehmensebene beeinflußt es die Möglichkeiten der Unternehmen Gewinne zu erzielen. Am Beispiel der 49 größten Unternehmen der internationalen Werkzeugmaschinenindustrie wird nachgewiesen, daß in diesem Industriezweig Patente ein wichtiges Instrument zur Erzielung von Gewinnen darstellen. Dies zeigt sich besonders deutlich an der engen positiven Beziehung, die zwischen dem Marktwert der Unternehmen und ihrem Patentierverhalten empirisch festgestellt wurde.

The impact of West-German universities on regional innovation activities: A social network analysis

In recent years, it has widely been accepted that the ability to create, access and use knowledge and technology is becoming a fundamental determinant of long-term development and competitiveness. Thus, it is not surprising that universities have increasingly become involved in economic development and are often believed to play a key role in regional economic development. This paper firstly examines how far all West-German universities are already involved in close network collaborations. Second, it demonstrates how many distinct linkages 45 chosen West-German universities already possess within the innovation network, and third, to what extent they are already needed as a link in the chains of contacts. Thereby, special attention is given to the eight West-German elite-universities. We basically found out that university interactions, especially university-enterprise networks, become much more important over the last 20 years, as their cooperation activity strongly increased over time. Besides, their distinct linkages to other actors as well as their importance as an intermediary within the innovation network highly increased over the last decade, too; this especially holds for the eight West-German elite universities. --Human Capital,Economic Growth,Social Network Analysis,Patent Analysis,Patent Collaboration,Network Interaction,West-German University,Elite-University