The internet: strategy and boundaries of the firm

Many advantages have been ascribed to the Internet. Although it lacks the necessary elements to be regarded as a strategic resource, the Internet seems to be a useful tool to provide support for business strategies.In this work we discuss how the Internet can be used to support the development of capabilities and define firm boundaries. Using a sample of Spanish firms, empirically analysed, we find positive relationships between the use of the Internet and product differentiation, as well as the introduction of organizational changes. In addition, we present evidence that the Internet reduces both internal coordination costs and transaction costs as a result of the positive relationships found between the use of the Internet, the degree of vertical integration and the establishment of technological agreements with suppliers and customers

Does R&D offshoring lead to SME growth? Different governance modes and the mediating role of innovation

In this article, we address the role of R&D offshoring strategies in the sales growth of small - and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We propose that different governance modes of R&D offshoring - insourcing versus outsourcing - may lead to growth, but that they differ in their effects. In turn, we argue that innovation mediates the relation between international R&D sourcing strategies and sales growth. Based on a large database of SME manufacturing enterprises in Spain, we find that offshore outsourcing positively affects sales growth both directly and indirectly, while offshore insourcing only affects sales growth indirectly via innovation results. The analysis reveals different contributions of each governance mode to sales growth and the mediating role of innovation in the relation between R&D offshoring and firm growth

La estrategia de internacionalización de la pequeña empresa familiar

Este trabajo estudia la internacionalización de las empresas familiares. A partir del enfoque de la empresa basado en los recursos, se analiza qué problemas plantea la propiedad familiar para obtener una cantera de recursos adecuada para sustentar la salida a los mercados internacionales. A partir de ahí, el contraste empírico confirma la existencia de una relación negativa entre propiedad familiar e internacionalización medida a través de la actividad exportadora. Igualmente, se confirma cómo la búsqueda de nuevos recursos, tanto a través de la incorporación de nuevas generaciones a la dirección como mediante la colaboración con otras empresas (mediante participación accionarial o alianzas), tiene efectos positivos para la internacionalización de la empresa familiar

Matemática aplicada a crisis empresariales

En este trabajo presentamos aplicaciones lógicas y matemáticas a la resolución de concursos de acreedores, que surgen por falencias en una empresa. Mostramos cómo las ciencias formales son imprescindibles en la cuantificación de activos y pasivos de una institución, aunque no siempre se da una total adecuación entre los resultados matemáticos y lo que dictamina una norma jurídica en su aplicación a hechos reales concretos. En la práctica profesional se aplican diversos conceptos lógicos y matemáticos para dar mayor rigor a los informes de los procesos concursales, contemplando las normas técnicas, jurídico-contables. Se apreciará en ellos la relativa interrelación de las ciencias formales y sociales. Servirá, además, para que un docente pueda evidenciar los alcances y límites de aplicaciones lógico matemáticas a una realidad social, en este caso un juicio de proceso concursal

Comercio exterior y mediación lingüística en el sector vitivinícola de Castilla y León

Comercio exterior y mediación lingüística en el sector vitivinícola de Castilla y Leó

International and domestic external knowledge in the innovation performance of firms from transition economies: The role of institutions

In this study, we analyze how the acquisition of domestic and international external knowledge contributes to the innovation performance of firms in transition economies and how the institutional conditions of the home country may affect these relations. We test our hypotheses via the responses of 645 firms from 18 Central and Eastern European countries. Our findings show that both external knowledge sources—domestic and international— contribute positively to the number of new products in transition economies. Our results also indicate that a country’s governance imperfections positively moderate the relations between both domestic and international external knowledge and the number of new products. Additionally, our findings highlight that the benefits of international external knowledge for product innovation are greater in contexts with weaker institutional conditions than in environments with stronger institutional conditions. In contrast, the benefits of domestic external knowledge for product innovation do not vary substantially between scenarios with stronger institutional conditions and those with weaker ones. These findings lead us to conclude that the institutional conditions of transition economies moderate the relation between domestic and international external knowledge and innovation performance differently, with international external knowledge proving particularly valuable for product innovation when these conditions are weak.This project was partially funded by the Government Research Agency of Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019–106874 GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). This work is developed with the support of Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid-Spain) with the project Excellence of University Professors (EPUC3M20) in the context of the V PRICIT

Failed and successful innovations: The role of geographic proximity and international diversity of partners in technological collaboration

We aim to clarify the role of research partnerships on the success and failure of innovation projects by examining the geographic proximity and diversity of partners. First, we argue that collaboration with geographically near partners will contribute relatively more to innovation success than it does to innovation failure, while collaboration with geographically distant partners will contribute relatively more to innovation failure than it does to innovation success. Second, we postulate that lower levels of international diversity will contribute relatively more to innovation success than it does to innovation failure, while higher levels of international diversity will contribute relatively more to innovation failure than it does to innovation success. Using a large dataset of firms for the period 2008–2013, we perform a joint analysis of failed and successful innovations. Our empirical findings support our theoretical arguments. Our results highlight the relevance of studying both failed and successful innovations and the importance of knowing their determinants to manage the innovation process successfully. Moreover, our findings should alert managers to the importance of geographic location when choosing collaboration partners. It is noteworthy that beyond a certain threshold, international diversity begins to act as a brake on innovation success and to increase the likelihood of failure.This project was funded by the Government Research Agency of Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-106874GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and Spanish Ministry of Economy and Business (ECO2017-87514-P). All authors have contributed equally to this paper

International collaboration and innovation in professional and technological knowledge-intensive services

In this paper, we explore the impact of international collaboration on innovation in technological and professional knowledge-intensive business services. We propose that the benefits of international collaboration differ depending on the activity sector and the location of the foreign partner. Specifically, we argue that the nature of knowledge and innovation processes in professional and technological knowledge-intensive business services may explain different effects of international collaboration on innovation performance. Our empirical analysis is based on a large sample of knowledge-intensive business services for the period 2004-2007. We specify two bivariate probit models to test our hypotheses. The results confirm the hypotheses and show that proximity to international partners is more important for professional knowledge-intensive services, while diversity in international collaboration is more important for technological knowledge-intensive services.This project was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (ECO2015-67296-R, MINECO/FEDER, UE), and the Community of Madrid and the European Social Fund (S2015/HUM-3417, INNCOMCON-CM). Rodríguez thanks Ramón Areces Foundation for financial support.Publicad

Home country institutions and exports of firms in transition economies: Does innovation matter?

We draw on institutional theory and the resource-based view to analyze the relation between home-country governance imperfections and the export intensity of firms in transition economies, including an examination of the moderating role of innovation. We propose that greater governance imperfections result in lower export intensity and that innovation mitigates the constraints of operating with weak home-country institutions. Analyses of panel data from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) on firms from transition economies provide support for our arguments. Our findings allow us to conclude that although firms from transition economies face difficulties to export due to the regulatory constraints of their home countries, a strategy based on innovation represents a viable way of overcoming these limitations.We thank the Associate Editor, Roberto Vassolo, the two anonymous reviewers and Grigorios Asimakopoulos for their helpful comments and suggestions. This project was partially funded by the Government Research Agency of Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-106874 GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). This work is developed with the support of Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid-Spain) with the project Excellence of University Professors (EPUC3M20) in the context of the V PRICIT. Authors appear in alphabetical order.Publicad

The impact of R&D sources on new product development: Sources of funds and the diversity versus control of knowledge debate

We build on the knowledge-based view to study the relative impact of alternative R&D sources on innovation performance. We contrast two arguments that have created a debate in the literature: One is that diversity of knowledge is better for innovation, because the integration of a larger variety of knowledge helps create new products that can fulfill unmet customer needs; another is that control of knowledge is better, because the incentives and contextual system of the firm facilitate employees' experimentation, which supports the creation of new products. We provide one solution to this debate by arguing that the relative importance of diversity and control of knowledge on innovation depends on the sources of finance. Hence, we find that, in general, control of knowledge has a higher impact than diversity of knowledge on the sale of new products. We also find that alternative sources of finance moderate the relationships: internal funds strengthen the impact of R&D sources with more diversity of knowledge on the sale of new products, while external funds strengthen the impact of R&D sources with more control of knowledge on the sale of new products.Authors appear in alphabetical order. We thank Tina Ambos, anonymous reviewers, and participants at the European International Business Academy annual meeting for useful suggestions for improvement. We thank the National Statistics Institute, the Science and Technology Foundation, and the Foundation for Technical Innovation of Spain for access to the database. This project was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (ECO2015-67296-R, MINECO/FEDER, UE) and the Community of Madrid and the European Social Fund (S2015/HUM-3417, INNCOMCON-CM). Cuervo-Cazurra thanks the Walsh Research Professorship, the Robert Morrison Fellowship and the Lloyd Mullin Fellowship for financial support. Rodriguez thanks Ramon Areces Foundation for financial support