Acquisitions of small high-tech firms as a mechanism for external knowledge sourcing: the integration-autonomy dilemma

Acquisitions of small high-tech firms by large incumbents are a prominent mechanism for external knowledge sourcing, whose success strictly depends on the choice of a wise post-acquisition implementation strategy. This paper theoretically discusses and empirically documents - on a sample of 458 deals in the 2001–2005 period - the antecedents of this choice by focusing on the integration-autonomy dilemma. Specifically, we jointly consider two main dimensions of the post-acquisition implementation: whether the acquiring firm absorbs the acquired one into its organization or keeps it separate as an autonomous subsidiary/business unit and whether the acquired CEO is replaced or retained. Separation with CEO retention corresponds to the minimum level of integration (and the maximum level of autonomy), whereas absorption with CEO replacement corresponds to the maximum level of integration (and the minimum level of autonomy.) We hypothesize that the acquiring firm chooses an implementation strategy with high level of integration when the acquired firm produces a component technology or operates in a related market. Indeed, in both cases, the interdependency between the two firms is high and thus the benefits of integration likely exceed the costs of the loss of autonomy. However, this positive association is weaker when the acquiring and acquired firms have common ground, originating from technological relatedness or prior alliances, which acts as a low-cost coordination mechanism. Results of econometric estimates largely confirm our hypotheses

Who talks about collaborative spaces, how, and why

Communities in urban contexts and firms in corporate offices have recently started to implement collaborative spaces. Several authors from different disciplines are currently advancing knowledge in this realm. Systematizing this diverse knowledge base helps to advance our understanding of this novel phenomenon. To this end, the present work reviews 29 papers focusing on collaborative spaces. We analyse these papers in terms of contents, research methods, fields of study, authors’ background, and impact on the academic community. Grounding on this analysis, we outline new relevant research questions and opportunities for future investigations

Open Business Models and Venture Capital Finance

We investigate the differences in venture capital (VC) governance of investee firms with Open Business Models, specifically Open Source Software (OSS), versus closed business models. Due to OSS’s pronounced complexity and uncertainty, we conjecture that VC-backed OSS firms are more frequently staged and syndicated. We present robust empirical evidence from the United States that OSS ventures have more financing rounds and are more likely to be syndicated, and mixed evidence that OSS ventures have a larger number of syndicated investors

The open innovation research landscape: established perspectives and emerging themes across different levels of analysis

This paper provides an overview of the main perspectives and themes emerging in research on open innovation (OI). The paper is the result of a collaborative process among several OI scholars – having a common basis in the recurrent Professional Development Workshop on ‘Researching Open Innovation’ at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. In this paper, we present opportunities for future research on OI, organised at different levels of analysis. We discuss some of the contingencies at these different levels, and argue that future research needs to study OI – originally an organisational-level phenomenon – across multiple levels of analysis. While our integrative framework allows comparing, contrasting and integrating various perspectives at different levels of analysis, further theorising will be needed to advance OI research. On this basis, we propose some new research categories as well as questions for future research – particularly those that span across research domains that have so far developed in isolation

Observation of inverse Compton emission from a long γ-ray burst.

Long-duration γ-ray bursts (GRBs) originate from ultra-relativistic jets launched from the collapsing cores of dying massive stars. They are characterized by an initial phase of bright and highly variable radiation in the kiloelectronvolt-to-megaelectronvolt band, which is probably produced within the jet and lasts from milliseconds to minutes, known as the prompt emission1,2. Subsequently, the interaction of the jet with the surrounding medium generates shock waves that are responsible for the afterglow emission, which lasts from days to months and occurs over a broad energy range from the radio to the gigaelectronvolt bands1-6. The afterglow emission is generally well explained as synchrotron radiation emitted by electrons accelerated by the external shock7-9. Recently, intense long-lasting emission between 0.2 and 1 teraelectronvolts was observed from GRB 190114C10,11. Here we report multi-frequency observations of GRB 190114C, and study the evolution in time of the GRB emission across 17 orders of magnitude in energy, from 5 × 10-6 to 1012 electronvolts. We find that the broadband spectral energy distribution is double-peaked, with the teraelectronvolt emission constituting a distinct spectral component with power comparable to the synchrotron component. This component is associated with the afterglow and is satisfactorily explained by inverse Compton up-scattering of synchrotron photons by high-energy electrons. We find that the conditions required to account for the observed teraelectronvolt component are typical for GRBs, supporting the possibility that inverse Compton emission is commonly produced in GRBs

Software innovativeness. A comparison between proprietary and Free/Open Source solutions offered by Italian SMEs.

Innovation processes taking place in the software sector are already widely debated. The widespread success of Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) raises new research issues, dealing with whether and how the free circulation of ideas championed by the movement and its collective management of intellectual property rights fosters innovation. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the literature by addressing the following research questions: are programs based on FOSS solutions more innovative than proprietary ones, and, if so, which innovation dimensions are typical of the FOSS production mode? Based on a sample of 134 software solutions produced by Italian Small and Medium Enterprises and using a methodology frequently applied in technology management to evaluate innovativeness of products and services, this exploratory study provides initial insights into what happens when alternative metrics are used to observe complex innovation processes in the software market

Small-medium enterprises and innovative startups in entrepreneurial ecosystems: exploring an under-remarked relation

To date, contributions in the field of entrepreneurial ecosystems have mainly focused on definitions, actors, key attributes, consequences on startups’ creation and growth, while conceding less space to key relations among actors. This study contributes to filling this gap by exploring the relation in entrepreneurial ecosystems between small-medium enterprises and a relevant class of startups: innovative startups. We take stock of extant knowledge to discuss the challenges and benefits of this relation. Then, we document that innovative startups tend to locate within Italian industrial districts, a peculiar case of entrepreneurial ecosystems where Italian small-medium enterprises tend to agglomerate, despite there is no evidence that they operate in the same industry of specialization of the Italian industrial districts. We interpret these results as a possible indication that innovative startups value the relation with small-medium enterprises. We provide an original review and illustrative evidence on small-medium enterprises and startups relations as few studies have done so far. Finally, the study presents a research agenda for stimulating novel directions for academic research and practice-oriented conversations on the role of small-medium enterprises and innovative startups in entrepreneurial ecosystems. We deem this is a relevant topic, given the importance of these relations, especially within entrepreneurial ecosystems located in countries where small-medium enterprises (often operating in traditional industries) are the main engine of local and regional development

Osservatorio su nuove imprese e nuovi settori: Introduzione

L'Italia \ue8 caratterizzata da un numero crescente di imprese di nuova creazione. L'obiettivo dell'osservatorio \ue8 quello di creare una struttura permanente che consenta di raccogliere nel tempo lavori di ricerca che descrivano la situazione dell'imprenditorialit\ue0 con riferimento al nostro paese ma anche al contesto internazionale