Long-run profits in times of crisis: A comparison between european SMEs and large companies

This is pioneering research in that it makes a comparison of the process of con- vergence of long-run profits in the manufacturing sector of six European countries (2000-12), differentiating between SMEs and large firms, and by identifying the impact of the crisis on this process. The results obtained by employing the convergence model, known as the Partial Adjustment Model, indicate that the inter-country competitive process, is working better among large companies than among SMEs. The impact of the crisis on this process has been uneven across the countries and the sizes of the firms

Characterisation of Technological Collaborations and Evolution in the Spanish Defence Industry

Collaboration with technological partners as an innovation strategy has become widespread in recent years, and all sectors are immersed in this process. In particular, the defence industry is characterised by the technological complexity of the products and services offered, together with a constant innovation process. However, data that allow us to identify characteristics that are found in collaboration contracts are not usually available in this sector. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by studying the different characteristics of both the technological partners and the development agreements for the 1999-2017 period. This is possible thanks to a database of more than 300 collaboration technology agreements between public and private organisations and the Spanish Ministry of Defence. The results provide the Ministry of Defence with a clear picture of the type of collaborations in the Defence industry, their partners and their behaviour under different economic conditions, which will help it identify the type of collaborations that can contribute to improving the design of its innovation strategy

Business networks and localization effects for new Swedish technology-based firms’ innovation performance

This study examines the business networks and localization effects for new technology-based firms (NTBFs) in the context of innovation performance (the number of patents and product differentiation). In this regard, the study includes 28 variables. A survey was conducted in 2016 with 401 Swedish NTBFs that were small and young (the employment mean was 1.80 and the average age of each firm was 28.3\ua0months). The biggest category of NTBFs was knowledge-intensive high-technology services, followed by medium high-technology manufacturing, and high-technology manufacturing. Hypotheses on how business networks and localization are related to innovation performance were tested using principal component analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The results show that the primary significant factor for innovation performance regarding business networks and localization dimensions are professional network services, while industrial and regional areas also have a positive relationship on product differentiation. Our study also shows that innovation performance enhances firms’ abilities to access external financing through professional network services (e.g., venture capital companies)

Are More Innovative Firms Less Vulnerable to New Environmental Regulation?

Compliance with pollution limits and standards requires firms to implement adaptation processes that are not only costly themselves but also affect future profits in as much as they modify production systems and methods. This paper attempts to respond to the question of how technological knowledge moderates the effect that the implementation of a new environmental regulation has on the results of affected firms. The regulation selected for this study is the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Act (IPPC). A Multivariate Regression Model (MVRM) has been applied to the regulatory event. The most important implication of this paper is that technological knowledge prepares a firm for adapting to a greater environmental demand such as may be derived from a new regulation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2007environmental regulation, market value, technological knowledge,