La innovación como instrumento clave para la competitividad empresarial. Estudio de los principales indicadores en Europa

El presente trabajo se centra en estudiar la importancia que tiene la innovación tecnológica como factor determinante de la competitividad empresarial. Para ello, en primer lugar partimos de una revisión de la situación actual y de las perspectivas de futuro de la política europea de innovación frente a la actual crisis económica mundial. En segundo término, se define el marco conceptual que nos permitirá analizar el proceso de innovación tecnológica. A continuación, estudiaremos las relaciones y causalidades entre innovación y competitividad. Finalmente efectuaremos un diagnóstico de la capacidad innovadora de los países de la Europa de los Quince durante el periodo 1997-2006 basándonos en el examen de los indicadores habitualmente utilizados por la Comisión Europea para valorar la innovación.This paper focuses the relevance of technological innovation as a key element to forge business competitiveness. As a starting point we review the current status and prospects of European innovation policy considering the current global economic crisis. Secondly, we define the conceptual framework for the analysis of the technological innovation process. Then we will analyze the causal relationships between innovation and competitiveness. Finally, we will diagnose the EU-15 economy innovating capacity in the 1997-2006 period by examining certain main indicators used by the European Commission to evaluate innovation

Empirical analysis of technological innovation capacity and competitiveness in EU-15 countries

This paper carries out an analysis of the existence and characteristics of technology innovation clusters in EU-15 countries, also studying if belonging to a group or cluster explains differences in competitiveness among countries. Based on the main Science and Technology Indicators 2009 published by Eurostat (European Commission, 2009a) in addition to competitiveness indicators used by the European Commission (2009b), the World Economic Forum (2009) and IMD (2008), an empirical study has been conducted- using a cluster analysis – about the technological innovation and competitiveness variables for each country during the period 1998 to 2008. The results indicate the existence of five distinct groups of countries characterized by different levels of technological innovation and competitiveness

The role of lichenized algae in the production of Cladonia verticillaris depsidones, revealed by using alginate-immobilized cells

The mycobiont of the lichen Cladonia verticillaris produces two depsidones, protocetraric and fumarprotocetraric acids, in the nature. This last compound is produced from the former depsidone. To study the role of the algal partner in the production of these depsidones in the lichen thallus, fungal and algal partners were separated and immobilized in calcium alginate. The fungal immobilizates, as lichenized or isolated mycobiont, produced both depsidones, preferently fumarporotocetraric acid from acetate as a precursor. However, when algal immobilizates were co-incubated on acetate with the fungal ones, protocetraric acid was over-produced during the first 11 days of incubation to be later converted into fumarprotocetraric acid. We hypothesized about the algal production of a diffusible metabolite that inhibits the transformation of a depsidone into the other one

Integration of steam gasification and catalytic reforming of lignocellulosic biomass as a strategy to improve syngas quality and pollutants removal

Residual biomass gasification is a promising route for the production of H2-rich syngas. However, the simultaneous formation of pollutants such as light hydrocarbons (HCs), benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTEX), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) during gasification must be controlled. As a result, this study evaluated the effect of temperature and catalytic reforming over a Rh-Pt/CeO2-SiO2 catalyst during steam gasification of sugarcane residual biomass on syngas composition and pollutant removal. The above was carried out in a horizontal moving reactor, an Amberlite XAD-2 polyaromatic resin was used to collect the contaminants and characterization of the catalyst was performed. In this study, a concentration of up to 37 mol% of H2, a yield of 23.1 g H2 kg−1biomass, and a H2/CO ratio ≥2 were achieved when gasification and reforming were integrated. In addition, the catalyst characterization showed that Rh-Pt/CeO2-SiO2 was not susceptible to sintering and favored the formation of hydroxyl groups that promoted CO oxidation, thereby increasing the H2/CO ratio, as confirmed by in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). At 800 °C, where a high H2 yield was obtained, 209 g Nm−3 of light HCs and BTEX, 10.9 g Nm−3 of PAHs, and 32.5 ng WHO-TEQ Nm−3 of PCDD/Fs were formed after gasification. Interestingly, after catalytic reforming, 62% of light HCs and BTEX, 60% of PAHs, and 94% of PCDD/Fs were removed, leading to cleaner syngas with properties that allow it to be used in a wide range of energy applications.The authors are grateful to Universidad de La Sabana (Project code ING-203-2018), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (State Investigation Agency, project code PID2019-108632RB-I00), and The International Relations Department of the University of Alicante (program named “University Development Cooperation 2019”) for their financial support toward this work. The GC-MS/QQQ used in the analysis was supported by Project IDIFEDER/2018/004 by the Generalitat Valenciana (Spain)

Ventajas competitivas de las empresas de telefonía móvil en América Latina: Análisis desde la perspectiva de los grupos estratégicos

El objetivo del presente artículo es estudiar la estructura de la industria de telefonía móvil en los países latinoamericanos, identificando la existencia de grupos estratégicos así como analizando las diferencias de desempeño empresarial entre los mismos. El propósito final es identificar las ventajas competitivas de los grupos con mejor desempeño, así como las estrategias que les han llevado a conseguirlo. El análisis empírico se ha llevado a cabo utilizando datos de una muestra de las 22 empresas latinoamericanas con mayor capitalización bursátil de la industria en el año 2013. Los resultados revelan la existencia de cinco grupos estratégicos y la presencia de diferencias significativas en el desempeño empresarial intergrupal. Las variables determinantes de las ventajas competitivas de los grupos con mejor desempeño son la cuota de mercado, el número de suscriptores y la fidelidad de los clientes

Incidencia de las variables institucionales del país de origen de las empresas multinacionales en su performance financiero

This paper analyze the relationship between synthetic global indicators of CSR programs followed by international firms, their market value, and the capitalist (economic and institutional) model adopted by the country of origin of such firms. The CR indicators are picked out from performance-oriented indices that ask companies to comply with demanding requirements. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 336 firms from 24 different countries.En este artículo se comprueba la existencia de una relación directa entre el modelo institucional del país de origen de las empresas multinacionales socialmente responsables, incluidas en los índices Dow Jones Sustainability (DJSI) y FTSE4Good, y su desempeño financiero, medido a través de la capitalización bursátil. El análisis empírico se basa en una muestra de 336 empresas, pertenecientes a 24 países. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el desempeño en responsabilidad empresarial depende básicamente del modelo económico e institucional del país de origen de las empresas multinacionales

Technological innovation as a determing factor on national competitiveness

El presente trabajo lleva a cabo un análisis sobre la existencia y características de clusters de innovación tecnológica en 57 economías del mundo, estudiando al mismo tiempo si la pertenencia a un grupo o cluster, explica las diferencias de competitividad entre dichas economías. Para ello, se ha realizado un estudio empírico que se apoya en los indicadores de innovación tecnológica publicados en el Global Competitiveness Report (CGR) 2009-2010 (WEF, 2009) y en el Índice de Competitividad que elabora el International Institute for Management Developmet (IMD, 2010). Los resultados muestran la existencia de cinco grupos de países caracterizados por diferentes niveles de innovación tecnológica y de competitividad. En segundo lugar, se realiza un análisis de regresión para examinar la relación entre las variables de innovación tecnológica y la variable de competitividad, los resultados revelan que dicha relación es positiva.This article carries out an analysis on the existence and characteristics of technological innovation clusters on 57 economies worldwide, and explores if differences in competitiveness among these economies can be explained by their belonging to a group or cluster. For that purpose, we have conducted an empirical study based on technological innovation indicators included in the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2009-2010 (WEF, 2009) and in the Competitiveness Index published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD, 2010). The results indicate the existence of five groups of countries characterized by different levels of technology innovation and competitiveness. We have also conducted a regression analysis in order to evaluate the relationship between variables of technological innovation and competitiveness. The results show a positive relationship