The European Technology Policy : Propositions for a Multilevel Governance

The aim of this paper is to highlight the relevance of a geographical multilevel technology policy within the European Union. At the present time the European policy of innovation is a "community" policy, in other words it involves a sharing of skills. In this paper we argue that outside the problems that this situation inherently poses, this territorial organisation may be considered as an asset. We use the central concept of technology externalities, taken in its traditional shape and in its renewals, to provide theoretical justifications for a “territorialised technology policy”, that is to say a policy of innovation designed and implemented on several territorial levels. Three levels are here taken into account : regional, national, European.European technology policy; knowledge externalities; multilevel governance.

Why royalties ? Evidence from French distribution networks

This empirical note deals with the contractual design of relationships in distribution networks. In the framework of agency theory, I study the royalty rate as an incentive device for the upstream firm in maintaining brand-name value, using recent French data to estimate probit models. The results are consistent with the analytical framework.Vertical Relationships; Distribution Networks; Contract Design; Two-sided moral hazard

The geography of innovation : challenge to technology policy within regions

The "Geography of Innovation" is based on the desire to give empirical foundations to the explanations behind the pronounced spatial polarisation of the innovation activities. It focuses on an attempt to measure the spatial dimension of knowledge externalities, in order to reveal their role in the organisation of research systems. The aim of this paper is to survey this empirical literature in order to highlight the main results interesting for the innovation policy. This analysis emphasises one main role of technology policy : supporting the institutions which generate knowledge and learning. These are found at various territorial levels, especially within the European Union. Here attention is drawn to the regional intervention level.technology policy, geography of innovation, knowledge externalities, European regions, knowledge-based economy

Double-Sided Externalities and Vertical Contracting : Evidence from European Franchising Data

This paper deals with contractual design and vertical relationships within a franchise chain, in the field of the literature on share contracts. Within a double-sided moral hazard, the contract sharing the profit generated by the vertical decentralized structure results from the necessity to incite both the franchisee and the franchisor. This paper takes into account the five franchisor incentive mechanisms in order to study the chosen type of vertical coordination in different contexts. Using a multinational European dataset, we provide evidence that the two-sided externalities and monitoring costs have an influence on the type of vertical coordination in the networkAgency theory; econometrics of contracting; vertical restraints

Benefits of Conducting Postproject Reviews to Capture Lessons Learned

Organizational learning has been a focus of scholars since 1970. Researchers have demonstrated that conducting postproject reviews to capture lessons learned significantly improves organizational learning. Guided by the concept of organizational learning, the purpose of this case study was to explore how 6 New York metropolitan organizational leaders used postproject reviews to prevent project managers from repeating the same mistakes, increasing cost and time overruns, and experiencing project failure. Semistructured face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted with a project sponsor and 5 project managers in the New York metropolitan area. Data were analyzed using the process of coding and condensing the codes, which produced 5 themes, including effective lessons learned, capturing lessons learned, benefits of lessons learned, barriers to postproject reviews, and leadership support. The findings of this study indicated that organizational leaders used standard templates and organizational policies to ensure project managers execute postproject reviews. Organizational leaders and project managers may benefit from the findings of this study by learning the advantages of conducting postproject reviews. This study may contribute to positive social change by organizations achieving cost avoidance when they reduce project failures and increase project success

Coverage of Corruption News by Major Newspapers in Nigeria

This research arises from the need that conscious effort and attention is needed to curb the negative effects of corruption on socio-economic transformation of the nation and that exploiting the media to expose corrupt practices in sectors of the nation’s economy is the best way in shaping public opinions on the menace of corruption. This study used content analysis to determine the Newspaper coverage of corruption news in the major sectors of the Nigeria economy over a period of 5 years (2006 - 2010). A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select three newspapers namely Tribune, The Nation and Guardian; and a total of nine hundred and thirteen (913) corruption articles generated from the 540 issues were analysed in this study. Data were collected on frequency of coverage, categories of items/stories, prominence, space allotment and depth of treatment of articles on corruption. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and means was used to summarise the data collected. Findings revealed that frequency of coverage of corruption articles in year 2010 carries the highest percentage of 23.7% while the Nigerian Tribune ranked first on the coverage of corruption articles with a total number of 381 (41.7%) articles. Overall, prominence was given to inside page articles (87.4%) in all the three newspapers, however, the Guardian newspaper, reported the highest in the front page having 41.7%. Majority (76.7%) of the corruption articles fell in the news category with the Nigerian Tribune having 42.4%. More than half (56.8%) of space allotted to corruption articles is one-quarter page while the Nigeria Tribune recorded highest (61.4%) space allotment of full page. The politics/governance sector ranked first with a total of 522 news items accounting for 57.2% of the whole corruption stories while agriculture, transport and energy sectors occupied the lower rung of the ladder. Also, politics/governance sector had the highest level of prominence with score of 654. Study concluded that Politics/Governance, Service oriented (i.e. telecommunications and banks), and sports sectors are perceived to be more corrupt sectors in Nigeria. Keywords: Corruption news, newspapers, coverage, Nigerian sectors

Knowledge diffusion and innovation policies within the European regions: Challenges based on recent empirical evidence

This article builds upon empirical results concerning localised knowledge spillovers to highlight some policy implications within European regions. The analysis emphasises the role of regional innovation policies in supporting the institutions that generate knowledge and learning. However, the variety of regional features presented in the empirical literature suggests that the search for universal policy tools is unrealistic. From this perspective, we argue that original strategies must be generated to cope with the various dilemmas faced by regional innovation policies. Such specific strategies require accurate knowledge of local features. Improving data and indicators to diagnose and monitor regional innovation is therefore presented as a key issue for policy makersinnovation policy ; localised knowledge flows ; European regions ; knowledge-based economy

Attitudes and Perception of Corrupt Practices among Public Officials in the Agricultural Sector in Southwestern Nigeria

Corruption constitutes greater challenge threatening the wellbeing of our economy more than other social malaise, yet it has not been a major focus of social research. Attitudes and perception of corrupt practices among public officers in the agricultural sector in southwestern Nigeria was therefore investigated. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 174 public officers from Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MANR) from Oyo, Ekiti and Osun States. Data was collected using structured questionnaire on respondents’ perception and attitude to different forms of corruption. Data were summarized using frequency counts, percentages, mean and charts. Majority (89.0%) of respondents indicated favourable attitude to influence peddling, patronage (78.0%), pork barreling (70.0%), private use of government resources (65.0%) and bureaucratic conflict of interest (56.0%). At least 50.0% of respondents from each of ADP and MANR showed favourable attitude to corrupt practices. More than half (52.3%) of the respondents had favourable perception of corruption. Majority of the respondents from ADP (52.4%) and MANR (52.2%) indicated a favourable perception of corruption. No significant difference existed in attitude (t=0.954; p>0.05) and perception (t=0.787; p>0.05) of corruption between respondents from the ADP and MANR. A veritable culture of corruption and a high level of tolerance for most forms of corruption prevailed among the public officials in the agricultural sector in southwestern Nigeria. Public orientation using the media and other public enlightenment strategies in order to engender attitudinal change among corrupt public officials should be pursued as a matter of national emergency. Keywords: Perception of corruption, corrupt attitudes, agricultural sector, southwestern Nigeria