Human capital in the eco-innovative firms: a case study of eco-innovation projects

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain the influence of human capital (HC) on the organizations in terms of eco-innovative entrepreneurship, and the existing relations of these resources with economic and financial resources as well as other capabilities of the firms. A secondary challenge in the research is to define and measure the availability of HC in firms for those eco-innovative processes. Design/methodology/approach: The targeted population for the study was eight eco-innovative companies in Spain. Within each company, a detailed CEO questionnaire was collected to measure HR information, certification or the existence of internal initiatives to promote eco/innovation, and secondary source records to measure economic and financial performance. This data collection strategy eliminated the possibility of percept-percept bias, since the data for each stage of the model were collected from different sources. The database has been analyzed through a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). Findings: The main conclusion from the QCA analysis indicates that the role of the specialized HC involved in the R&D and innovation activities, the environmental management of firms and the resources (energy) management are relevant factors in the eco-innovative process and they have to be specifically managed for the development of eco-innovations. The qualitative analysis shows that firms that devoted specialized HC to the eco-innovation activities are companies at least ten years old, which have R&D and innovation departments as well as a specific department for the environmental management. They have been certified through some environmental certification standards, have human resources devoted to the product design, promote entrepreneurship for innovation among their own employees and also have higher than the sector average rates of leverage. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this paper is linked to the number of analyzed study cases, although all of them are sufficiently representative. Nevertheless, given that the empirical research addressing the interrelated factors of eco-innovation and HC is still not abundant, this study provides an interesting starting point for discussion and the improvement of the qualitative method applied in this paper. Moreover, further research is still needed to fully elucidate how the corporate entrepreneurship is promoted to respond to the eco-innovation strategy of firms, as well as to deeply explore the characteristics of the intellectual capital concerned to the eco-innovation processes. Originality/value: As a novel application, the influence of HC in organizations in terms of eco-innovative entrepreneurship has been analyzed through the measurement of the level of HC specifically devoted to eco-innovation in eight eco-innovative companies. One of the contributions of this study is to define the variables to measure the HC that is available for eco-innovation in an eco-innovative firm. The main conclusions are of interest to practitioners concerning the eco-innovation development in firms

‘I understood the words but I didn’t know what they meant’: Japanese online MBA students’ experiences of British assessment practices

We report on a case study of high Japanese student failure rates in an online MBA programme. Drawing on interviews, and reviews of exam and assignment scripts we frame the problems faced by these students in terms of a ‘language as social practice’ approach and highlight the students’ failure to understand the specific language games that underpin the course assessment approach. We note the way in which the distance learning and online context can make the challenges faced by international students less immediately visible to both students and institution

Are new organisations at the cutting edge of employment relations innovation?

© 2017, © David Peetz, Olav Muurlink, Keith Townsend, Adrian Wilkinson and Madeleine Brabant. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in the degree of innovation in employment relations (ER) between emerging and established firms, Design/methodology/approach: A large national telephone survey (N=1,416) of both emerging ( < 5 years) and established firms was conducted. Findings: Emerging firms were more casualised, less unionised, and experiencing higher levels of market expansion and unpredict ability. Despite these differences, younger firms showed otherwise remarkable similarity to older firms across a range of ER practices, and both categories showed a reliance on business networks, rather formal training, for ER knowledge. While introducing ER changes more rapidly than older (and larger) firms, they were converging towards a suite of ER practices similar to that adopted by older firms. The results suggest that, if anything, established firms may have been engaged in greater innovation in more unusual ER practices. Research limitations/implications: Only managers were surveyed. The data are cross-sectional rather than longitudinal. As the study was undertaken in only one country, replication in other settings would be desirable. Originality/value: The results raise major doubts about the notion that new firms represent the cutting edge of innovation, and highlights the degree to which newer firms match or mimic older firms’ ER architecture

Intra- and inter-firm dynamics in combinatorial knowledge bases

[EN] Research on innovation has often concentrated on a narrow set of sectors and activities, and on the experiences of the most advanced regions in the world. However, innovation, when defined in a broad sense, incorporates a variety of processes and outputs that cut across organisational, sectoral, territorial and knowledge boundaries. This paper seeks to make a contribution to this literature by focusing on the experiences of less developed regions, and by examining how different knowledge bases contribute to technological upgrading and higher added value for firms. It argues that in regions where access to advanced knowledge and technology is restricted, or where firms do not have the absorptive capacity to access, absorb and exploit such knowledge, combining existing knowledge in innovative ways may be the best strategy for firms to become more innovative and competitive. It also argues that this combination can happen through vertical integration within the firm, or by the creation and maintenance of inter-firm mechanisms that stimulate knowledge dissemination. These themes are discussed by drawing on the evolution of the wine industry in three Portuguese regions. These regions have all experienced different trajectories, in terms of the renewal of their wine industry, and it is argued that this is in part the result of endogenous regional characteristics.This work was supported by an Early Career Grant by the Regional Studies Association and by the German Research Foundation/European Science Foundation [grant number 10-ECRP-007].Marques, P. (2019). Intra- and inter-firm dynamics in combinatorial knowledge bases. European Urban and Regional Studies. 26(2):186-204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776418779116S186204262Asheim, B. T., Boschma, R., & Cooke, P. (2011). Constructing Regional Advantage: Platform Policies Based on Related Variety and Differentiated Knowledge Bases. Regional Studies, 45(7), 893-904. doi:10.1080/00343404.2010.543126Balland, P.-A., & Rigby, D. (2016). The Geography of Complex Knowledge. Economic Geography, 93(1), 1-23. doi:10.1080/00130095.2016.1205947Christopherson, S., & Clark, J. (2007). Power in Firm Networks: What it Means for Regional Innovation Systems. Regional Studies, 41(9), 1223-1236. doi:10.1080/00343400701543330Cusmano, L., Morrison, A., & Rabellotti, R. (2010). Catching up Trajectories in the Wine Sector: A Comparative Study of Chile, Italy, and South Africa. World Development, 38(11), 1588-1602. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.05.002Dosi, G., Faillo, M., & Marengo, L. (2008). Organizational Capabilities, Patterns of Knowledge Accumulation and Governance Structures in Business Firms: An Introduction. Organization Studies, 29(8-9), 1165-1185. doi:10.1177/0170840608094775Giuliani, E. (2007). The selective nature of knowledge networks in clusters: evidence from the wine industry. Journal of Economic Geography, 7(2), 139-168. doi:10.1093/jeg/lbl014Giuliani, E., & Bell, M. (2005). The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster. Research Policy, 34(1), 47-68. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2004.10.008Giuliani, E., Morrison, A., & Rabellotti, R. (2011). Innovation and Technological Catch-Up. doi:10.4337/9780857930514Grant, R. M. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17(S2), 109-122. doi:10.1002/smj.4250171110Halkier, H., James, L., Dahlström, M., & Manniche, J. (2012). Knowledge Dynamics, Regions and Public Policy. European Planning Studies, 20(11), 1759-1766. doi:10.1080/09654313.2012.723419Hatch, C. J. (2013). Competitiveness by Design: An Institutionalist Perspective on the Resurgence of a «Mature» Industry in a High-Wage Economy. Economic Geography, 89(3), 261-284. doi:10.1111/ecge.12009Helfat, C. E. (2015). Vertical firm structure and industry evolution. Industrial and Corporate Change, 24(4), 803-818. doi:10.1093/icc/dtv027Malerba, F., Nelson, R., Orsenigo, L., & Winter, S. (2008). Vertical integration and disintegration of computer firms: a history-friendly model of the coevolution of the computer and semiconductor industries. Industrial and Corporate Change, 17(2), 197-231. doi:10.1093/icc/dtn001Manniche, J. (2012). Combinatorial Knowledge Dynamics: On the Usefulness of the Differentiated Knowledge Bases Model. European Planning Studies, 20(11), 1823-1841. doi:10.1080/09654313.2012.723423Manniche, J., Moodysson, J., & Testa, S. (2016). Combinatorial Knowledge Bases: An Integrative and Dynamic Approach to Innovation Studies. Economic Geography, 93(5), 480-499. doi:10.1080/00130095.2016.1205948Marques, P. (2017). From toys to automobiles: foreign investment, firm heterogeneity and intermediaries in a Portuguese industry. European Planning Studies, 25(8), 1375-1393. doi:10.1080/09654313.2017.1303822Marques, P. (2017). Human capital and university–business interactions: an example from the wine industry. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 4(1), 154-160. doi:10.1080/21681376.2017.1341818Martin, R., & Moodysson, J. (2011). Comparing knowledge bases: on the geography and organization of knowledge sourcing in the regional innovation system of Scania, Sweden. European Urban and Regional Studies, 20(2), 170-187. doi:10.1177/0969776411427326Martin, R., & Sunley, P. (2003). Deconstructing clusters: chaotic concept or policy panacea? Journal of Economic Geography, 3(1), 5-35. doi:10.1093/jeg/3.1.5Moulaert, F., & Sekia, F. (2003). Territorial Innovation Models: A Critical Survey. Regional Studies, 37(3), 289-302. doi:10.1080/0034340032000065442Pina, K., & Tether, B. S. (2016). 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Evaluating the internal dualism of the informal sector: evidence from the European Union

Purpose To transcend the current debates about whether participation in the informal sector is a result of informal workers “exclusion” or their voluntary “exit” from the formal sector, the aim of this paper is to propose and evaluate the existence of a dual informal labour market composed of an exit-driven “upper tier” and exclusion-driven “lower-tier” of informal workers. Methodology To do this, data from a 2013 Eurobarometer survey involving 27,563 face-to-face interviews across the European Union is reported. Findings The finding is that in the European Union, there is a dual informal labour market with those participating in the informal sector due to their exclusion from the formal sector being half the number of those doing so to voluntarily exit the formal sector. Using a logistic regression analysis, the exclusion-driven “lower tier” is identified as significantly more likely to be populated by the unemployed and those living in East-Central Europe and the exit-driven “upper tier” by those with few financial difficulties and living in Nordic nations. Research implications The results reveal the need not only to transcend either/or debates about whether participants in the informal sector are universally exclusion- or exit-driven, and to adopt a both/and approach that recognises a dual informal labour market composed of an exit-driven upper tier and exclusion-driven lower tier, but also for wider research on the relative sizes of these two tiers in individual countries and other global regions, along with which groups populate these tiers. Originality/value This is the first evaluation of the internal dualism of the informal sector in the European Union

Agglomeration Externalities of Fast-growth Firms

Small groups of fast-growth firms contribute disproportionately to job creation, yet little is known about their broader impact on the economy. This paper provides the first evidence of the agglomeration externalities of fast-growth firms, examining their economic impact on non-fast-growth firms operating within the same region (NUTS-2) and industry (SIC2), and through backward and forward linkages. Using comprehensive firm-level data on UK firms between 1997 and 2013, the analysis shows robust evidence of positive spillovers of fast-growth firms on the labour productivity of non-fast-growth firms in the same industry and region. However, the externalities in relation to the employment growth of non-fast-growth firms are negative, suggesting labour poaching and local competition effects

Intangible assets and investments at the sector level : empirical evidence for Germany

This paper investigates the role intangible capital plays for economic growth in different sectors in Germany. It consists of two major parts. In the first part, we aim at measuring investment in intangibles at the sector level. We shed light on differences across sectors but also compare these figures with investment in physical capital and with investment in intangibles in the UK as European benchmark. The second part explores the role of intangible assets for stimulating growth at the sector level by performing growth accounting analyses. We find that German firms have boosted investments in intangible capital from 1995-2006 by 30%. Furthermore, results reveal differences in the investment patterns among the UK and Germany. In nearly all sectors investments in design and computerized information are larger in the UK. In contrast, German firms invest a higher proportion of gross output in R&D in all sectors, and advertising is also more common except for the sector trade & transport. Intangible assets have stimulated labour productivity growth in all sectors. The contribution varies between 0.17 (construction) and 0.59 (manufacturing) percentage points. In manufacturing, financial and business services innovative property capital is the most influential type of intangible capital for labour productivity, followed by economic competencies and computerized information. In all other sectors, economic competencies play the most prominent role for labour productivity growth

Unemployment insurance reform – 1991–2006 : a new balance between rights and obligations in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, focusing on unemployment insurance schemes, the article seeks to identify the development of social rights and obligations in four countries (France, Germany, Portugal and Spain), representative of the conservative regime, over the period 1991–2006. Second, the article aims to verify whether or not there was a common reform trajectory in time as well as in space, given the already known divergence over the appropriateness of classifying Mediterranean countries within the framework of a specific regime. Based on analysis of 25 legislative changes concerning entitlement and eligibility criteria, the study presents three major findings. First, the four insurance schemes reveal a new balance between (weaker) social rights and (stronger) obligations, which may indicate a trend toward a re-commodification of work. Second, Portugal adopted a specific trajectory while the Spanish reform process more closely resembled that carried out by France and Germany. Finally, two waves of reform may be identified: first, between 1991 and 1997 and justified by cost-containment concerns and, subsequently, from 2001 onwards, associated with a stronger recalibration of benefit rights