Drivers of Innovation in State-Owned Enterprises: Evidence to Public Enterprises from Ecuador

p. 45-63The current studies on innovation do not consider or tend to ignore innovation in Public Enterprises (PE) and their effects on other organizations. Recent evidence shows that PE are not necessarily inferior to their private counterparts (Kowalski, Büge, Sztajerowska, & Egeland, 2013). This article investigates the determinants of innovation in PE of Ecuador, for the first time, through an empirical study. It identifies internal and external determinants of innovation and the effect on the probability of innovation in PE. In addition, the variable environmental care is included as an internal determinant; this variable has not been analyzed in previous work on innovation in PE. The data used come from the Survey of Activities of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Ecuador (ACTI) published in 2014. The proposed model is estimated by logit linear regression. The results show that there are determinants that have a positive effect on the probability of innovation and they are of two types: internal (workers training, technology acquisition and environmental care) and external (government, through the support program for quality management).S

A bibliometric analysis of B Corps and sustainable business ecosystems

25 p.[EN] Comprehending the state of the art of certified B Corps and sustainable business ecosystems (SBE) is crucial to affirming the role of B Corps in SBE development. The aim of this paper is to systematise the scientific knowledge related to both concepts and explore the role and contributions of these enterprises in the SBE. To date, no study has jointly carried out a bibliometric analysis and discussed the state of the art of B Corps and SBEs in management literature. A sample of 696 research documents from 2006 to 2024, extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, has been analysed. The results show a strong relationship with the stakeholder and circular economy theories and a weaker relationship with the institutional theory, among others. The SBE literature is closely connected to sustainable and innovation business models, social entrepreneurship, and it is especially associated with social and environmental impact.SIThis work was financed through a PRIMA grant (Section 2- 2021) and is part of the project 569 PCI2022-132966, funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN), the State Investigation 570 Agency (AEI) (DOI/10.13039/501100011033) and by the European Union “NextGenerationEU”/ Re-571 covery Plant, Transformation and Resilience (PRTR). This work was supported by University of Padova, Department of Economics and Management “Marco Fanno”, under “The role of B Corps in the transition towards Carbon Neutrality (TRACY)” Project

Introduction to Special Issue “Advances in Sustainability-Oriented Innovations”

8836This Special Issue focuses on the study of Sustainability-Oriented Innovations (SOIs). Our purpose is to shed light on the SOIs literature regarding their determining factors, implications and new challenges for the future. In this editorial, we are delighted to present the three papers included in this Special Issue. Each of them tackles di erent issues related to SOIs having important academic and managerial implications. Two papers analyze the influence of SOIs on urban development and resource productivity, respectively, and the third studies SOIs determinants, in particular, cooperation networks. Moreover, two of the papers analyze SOIs considering territory (cities or countries) as their unit of analysis while the third focuses on firms. This denotes that SOIs’ actions are important whatever the level of analysis and as either a determinant or a consequence.S

Revisión teórica del concepto de ambigüedad causal: una contribución al debate

p. 97-110Tradicionalmente, la ambigüedad causal ha sido considerada como uno de los mecanismos con lo que cuentan las empresas para proteger sus competencias estratégicas de las acciones de sus rivales, contribuyendo de esta forma al mantenimiento de la ventaja competitiva. Sin embargo, algunos estudios recientes apuntan que la existencia de dicha ambigüedad en el seno de las empresas impide la transferencia de esas competencias en el interior de las organizaciones, lo que dificulta la consecución de altos resultados. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es realizar una primera aproximación al estudio de la ambigüedad causal con objeto de efectuar una revisión teórica de los trabajos dedicados al estudio de dicha variable otorgando especial énfasis a la relación entre ambigüedad causal y resultados empresariales con el fin último de realizar alguna aportación al debate existente en la literatura.S

Does international patent collaboration have an effect on entrepreneurship?

.Entrepreneurship is one of the main pillars of growth in any economy. Achieving a high rate of entrepreneurship in a region has become the priority objective of governments and firms. However, in many cases, new firm creation is conditioned by relations or collaboration in innovation with agents from other countries. Previous literature has analyzed the mechanisms that foster entrepreneurship. This paper attempts to shed light on the influence of international patent collaboration (IPC) on entrepreneurial activity at country level taking into account the timing of this relationship. An empirical study is proposed to verify whether IPC leads to greater entrepreneurship and to analyze the gestation period between international patenting actions and firm creation. Using the Generalized Method of Moments, the two hypotheses proposed were tested in a data panel of 30 countries for the period 2005–2017. Results show the influence of IPC in promoting entrepreneurship in the same year, but especially in the following year. The study offers implications for entrepreneurs and public agents. IPC affects the integration and interaction of international agents in a country, favors the production of new knowledge, and increases positive externalities in a territory. All this facilitates the creation of new companies with a high innovative component.S

Factores que determinan la cooperación con clientes en innovación

p. 117-140El objetivo de este trabajo es investigar los factores que determinan la cooperación para el desarrollo de innovaciones entre empresas y un grupo concreto de agentes, los clientes y usuarios. El punto central del análisis son dos variables reconocidas en estudios previos como factores importantes en el estudio de la cooperación con estos agentes pero que han sido tratadas desde una perspectiva puramente teórica: 1) información sticky (información costosa de adquirir, transferir y utilizar) y 2) necesidades heterogéneas. En la presente investigación se profundiza en el estudio de dichas variables y los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que realmente ejercen una influencia significativa en las relaciones de cooperación con estos agentes. Así mismo, la cooperación con otros agentes, la experiencia previa en I+D, la capacidad de absorción, el desarrollo de innovaciones de producto y la propiedad extranjera en el capital de la empresa resultaron ejercer cierta influencia en la colaboración con clientes.S

Corporate Governance and Innovation: a Theoretical Review

p. 266-284Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the literature on two lines of research, corporate governance and innovation, explaining how different internal corporate governance mechanisms may be determinants of business innovation. Design/methodology/approach – It explores the theoretical background and the empirical evidence regarding the influence of both ownership structure and the board of directors on company innovation. Then, conclusions are drawn and possible future research lines are presented. Findings – No consensus was observed regarding the relation between corporate governance and innovation, with both positive and negative arguments being found, and with empirical evidence not always pointing in the same direction. Thus, new studies trying to clarify this relationship are needed. Originality/value – Over recent years, interest has grown in the influence of governance mechanisms on innovation decisions taken by the management. Innovation efforts and results depend on factors that are influenced by corporate governance, such as ownership structure or the functioning of the board of directors. Thus, the paper shows an updated state of the art in this field proposing future lines for empirical research.S

Synthesis, structure and reactivity of Pd and Ir complexes based on new lutidine-derived NHC/phosphine mixed pincer ligands

Coordination studies of new lutidine-derived hybrid NHC/phosphine ligands (CNP) to Pd and Ir have been performed. Treatment of the square-planar [Pd(CNP)Cl](AgCl2) complex 2a with KHMDS produces the selective deprotonation at the CH2P arm of the pincer to yield the pyridine-dearomatised complex 3a. A series of cationic [Ir(CNP)(cod)]+ complexes 4 has been prepared by reaction of the imidazolium salts 1 with Ir(acac)(cod). These derivatives exhibit in the solid state, and in solution, a distorted trigonal bipyramidal structure in which the CNP ligands adopt an unusual C(axial)–N(equatorial)–P(equatorial) coordination mode. Reactions of complexes 4 with CO and H2 yield the carbonyl species 5a(Cl) and 6a(Cl), and the dihydrido derivatives 7, respectively. Furthermore, upon reaction of complex 4b(Br) with base, selective deprotonation at the methylene CH2P arms is observed. The, thus formed, deprotonated Ir complex 8b reacts with H2 in a ligand-assisted process leading to the trihydrido complex 9b, which can also be obtained by reaction of 7b(Cl) with H2 in the presence of KOtBu. Finally, the catalytic activity of Ir–CNP complexes in the hydrogenation of ketones has been briefly assessed.CTQ2013-45011-P, CTQ2016-80814-R and CTQ2014 -51912-RE

Descubrimiento de oportunidades empresariales: capital humano, capital social y género

pp. 187-196El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar cuáles son los factores que influyen sobre la segunda de las etapas del proceso de creación empresarial establecidas por Shane y Venkataraman (2000), es decir, sobre el descubrimiento de oportunidades de creación empresarial. Para ello, por un lado, se analiza la influencia que pudiera tener sobre esta etapa tanto el capital humano como el capital social. Por otra parte, también se pretende analizar la existencia de diferencias de género en el descubrimiento de oportunidades empresariales. Para ello, se utiliza una muestra de 28.888 individuos provenientes del Proyecto GEM (2009), que permite concluir que los individuos que poseen un mayor stock de capital humano, así como aquellos que están inmersos en amplias redes sociales, descubrirán más oportunidades de creación empresarial. Asimismo, este trabajo muestra que existen diferencias de género en cuanto al descubrimiento de oportunidades de creación empresarial.S

Estructura de la industria, entorno institucional y actividad innovadora en la empresa industrial española

pp.57-72En este artículo se analiza la influencia que ejercen sobre el rendimiento innovador de la empresa factores representativos de la estructura de la industria donde opera (concentración, oportunidad tecnológica), del marco institucional del territorio donde se localiza (capital social, spillovers) y del esfuerzo innovador que realiza (I+D externa e I+D interna). A partir de una muestra de empresas industriales españolas se comprueba que estas variables están relacionadas positivamente con el rendimiento innovador (desarrollo de productos). Adicionalmente, el análisis de todas las variables en un modelo conjunto muestra que, en entornos institucionales con niveles significativos de capital social y spillovers, la empresa modifica su estrategia innovadora eliminando la I+D interna y concentrando el esfuerzo innovador exclusivamente en la I+D externa.S