Innovation and corporate governance in the firm - an empirical analysis with a focus on patents and ownership structure

This thesis aims at better understanding the complete process of knowledge production in the firm with a focus on Corporate Governance. I theoretically and empirically investigate firm decisions on innovation throughout a concept called the Innovation Value Chain (IVC). This concept includes all relevant firm decisions regarding developing innovative strategies. It starts at evaluating when firms innovate and – if they do – how much they invest in Research and Development (R&D) activities. Next it investigates which factors affect the transition from innovation input into actual tangible innovative assets. In case innovation projects are successful, I evaluate their actual value for the firm. Chapter 2 of this thesis offers a summary of the concept of innovation in the firm, a literature review on how it is affected by Corporate Governance, a discussion on innovation and patent measures as well as descriptive evidence on patenting activities of German firms. Chapter 3 investigates both the investment decision of firms as well as how these investments are transformed into innovative assets. These assets are – unlike in most other concepts – divided into different consecutive measures: Patent applications, patent grants and patent citations. In doing so we are able to address a project’s quality and novelty. A particular focus lies on the role of Corporate Governance in the form of ownership structure. It turns out that – whereas R&D investments are not affected by such structures – firms where managers own shares (owner-led firms) underperform in transferring investments into patents. Moreover – if they innovate – they rather focus on less risky worldwide conformity in innovation. On the other hand it turns out that firms benefit from monitor ownership, thus owners in the supervisory board that tend to control managers. Other control channels like capital concentration and institutional ownership also do not prove beneficial for firm-level innovation. Chapter 4 examines the effect of successful innovation on different performance measures. It turns out that patent grants and citations both increase sales in a production function environment, whereas there was no impact on return on assets and return on equity. Concerning ownership information the results again speak in favor of monitor rather than managerial ownership. Firms should thus endow monitors with shares to increase their effort and interest in the firm. Also owners should withdraw from management positions and rather carry out controlling duties. Chapter 5 focuses on the effect of innovation on firm survival. I am able to confirm the results from former studies that innovation decreases the probability of market exit. Furthermore the opinion of a stable effect throughout a firm’s life cycle is rejected. Whereas mature firms benefit from innovation by strategic renewal when competitors have caught up, young firms should rather stick to conventional investments rather than risky innovation. In summary this thesis helps in better understanding the complete process of knowledge production within the firm. It addresses ownership structure as a crucial factor of Corporate Governance which can be chosen by the firm as well as the role of different patent measures and their impact on different performance dimensions. Firms are thus encouraged to pick adequate Corporate Governance techniques in combination with clear innovation and performance goals, as links can be complex

Food security, harvest shocks, and the potato as secondary crop in Saxony, 1792-1811

This article has two aims: First, it is a contribution to development economics, in particular to the literature about food risk in rural economies. We contribute by emphasizing crop diversification as a means of reducing the variance of household food production, and by providing empirical evidence for the success of this strategy in a historical setting. Second, the article contributes to economic history by addressing the relationship between early industrialisation and agrarian change. We interpret the structure of agricultural production in the context of a low energy-high labour input proto-industrial equilibrium, where household production of a diversified food bundle represents an effective way to fight food risk. This should be seen in line with a literature highlighting endogenous adjustment of agricultural production to demand shifts from the non-agricultural sectors (Grantham 1989, Kopsidis and Wolf 2012)

Klinische Relevanz der Vorratsmilbensensibilisierung bei Kindern und Jugendlichen

Bekanntermaßen sind Vorratsmilben (VRM) im Erwachsenenalter Auslöser allergischer Erkrankungen wie Asthma oder einer Rhinokonjunktivitis. Sie kommen in erster Linie in landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben jedoch auch gesichert in städtischer Umgebung vor. Ziel dieser Studie war es, herauszufinden, ob VRM auch bei Kindern und Jugendlichen klinisch relevante Sensibilisierungen auslösen können und VRM somit in Zukunft Platz in der Routinediagnostik bei dem Verdacht auf eine allergische Erkrankung finden sollten. 100 Kinder und Jugendliche im Alter zwischen 5 und 18 Jahren, die sich aufgrund einer rhinokonjunktivalen Symptomatik ärztlich vorstellten, erhielten zunächst, neben den Standardallergenen, einen Pricktest (PT) sowie einen ELISA auf die drei VRM Acarus siro (As), Lepidoglyphus destructor (Ld) und Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Tp). Bei vorhandener Sensibilisierung gegen mindestens eine VRM folgte eine rhinokonjunktivale Provokation mit der/den jeweiligen VRM. Klinische Symptomatik sowie rhinomanometrische Messungen wurden dokumentiert und ausgewertet. Ergänzend wurde eine kleine Gruppe von 4 Probanden rhinokonjunktival provoziert, die den VRM durch die landwirtschaftliche Wohnumgebung wahrscheinlich exponiert waren, im PT/ELISA aber keine Sensibilisierung gegen VRM zeigten. 33 % des Gesamtkollektivs (n=100) waren gegen mindestens eine VRM sensibilisiert. Mit 25 % fiel Acarus siro im Pricktest bzw. ELISA etwas häufiger positiv aus als Lepidoglyphus destructor mit 22 % und Tyrophagus putrescentiae mit 23 %. Eine klinisch relevante Sensibilisierung, also positive Reaktionen in der Provokation, lag bei 10 % der Patienten vor. Lepidoglyphus destructor löste hierbei die meisten positiven Reaktionen aus. Somit ist zusammengefasst festzuhalten, dass VRM auch im Kindes- und Jugendalter klinisch relevante Sensibilisierungen mit rhinokonjunktivalen Beschwerden hervorrufen können

Professionally responsible coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination counseling of obstetrical and gynecologic patients

© 2021 Elsevier Inc. The development of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines in the current and planned clinical trials is essential for the success of a public health response. This paper focuses on how physicians should implement the results of these clinical trials when counseling patients who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed about vaccines with government authorization for clinical use. Determining the most effective approach to counsel patients about coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination is challenging. We address the professionally responsible counseling of 3 groups of patients—those who are pregnant, those planning to become pregnant, and those breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed. We begin with an evidence-based account of the following 5 major challenges: the limited evidence base, the documented increased risk for severe disease among pregnant coronavirus disease 2019-infected patients, conflicting guidance from government agencies and professional associations, false information about coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines, and maternal mistrust and vaccine hesitancy. We subsequently provide evidence-based, ethically justified, practical guidance for meeting these challenges in the professionally responsible counseling of patients about coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination. To guide the professionally responsible counseling of patients who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, and breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed, we explain how obstetrician-gynecologists should evaluate the current clinical information, why a recommendation of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination should be made, and how this assessment should be presented to patients during the informed consent process with the goal of empowering them to make informed decisions. We also present a proactive account of how to respond when patients refuse the recommended vaccination, including the elements of the legal obligation of informed refusal and the ethical obligation to ask patients to reconsider. During this process, the physician should be alert to vaccine hesitancy, ask patients to express their hesitation and reasons for it, and respectfully address them. In contrast to the conflicting guidance from government agencies and professional associations, evidence-based professional ethics in obstetrics and gynecology provides unequivocal and clear guidance: Physicians should recommend coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination to patients who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, and breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed. To prevent widening of the health inequities, build trust in the health benefits of vaccination, and encourage coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine and treatment uptake, in addition to recommending coronavirus disease 2019 vaccinations, physicians should engage with communities to tailor strategies to overcome mistrust and deliver evidence-based information, robust educational campaigns, and novel approaches to immunization