36 research outputs found
The role of knowledge variety and intensity for regional innovation
This paper analyses the effect of variety and intensity of knowledge on the innovation of regions. Employing data for Swedish functional regions, the paper tests the role of the variety (related and unrelated) and intensity of (1) internal knowledge generated within the region and also (2) external knowledge networks flowing into the region in explaining regional innovation, as measured by patent applications. The empirical analysis provides robust evidence that both the variety and intensity of internal and external knowledge matter for regionsâ innovation. When it comes to variety, related variety of knowledge plays a superior role.The earlier version of the paper was published in the following two working paper series: http://www.circle.lu.se/upload/CIRCLE/workingpapers/201334_Tavassoli_Carbonara.p df http://econ.geo.uu.nl/peeg/peeg1317.pdf</p
Innovation determinants over industry life cycle
This paper analyzes how the influence of firm-level innovation determinants
varies over the industry life cycle. Two sets of determinants are
distinguished: (1) determinants of a firm's innovation propensity, i.e. the
likelihood of being innovative and (2) determinants of its innovation
intensity, i.e. innovation sales. By combining the literature emphasizing
firms' internal resources (micro-level) with the research strand on the role of
the industry context (meso-level), the paper develops hypotheses about the
relative importance of firm-level innovation determinants over the industry
life cycle. Estimation of a firm-level model of innovation in Sweden, while
acknowledging the stage of the life cycle of the industry a firm belongs to,
shows that the importance of the determinants of innovation propensity and
intensity is not equal over the stages of an industry's life cycle
Determinants and Effects of Innovation: Context Matters
Innovation and technological change is the major factor of production, renewal,
and competitiveness of firms and nations in the contemporary âknowledge
economyâ. The overall purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the
innovative behavior of firms in various sectors and regions. In particular, I
have analyzed the determinants (driving forces) of firmsâ innovation on the one
hand (in paper 1 and 2), and the effect of firmsâ innovation on the other hand
(in paper 3 and 4). In addition, a central concern in this dissertation is that
context, in which firms operate and innovate, matters for innovation. I take
into account several contexts in the analyses of both the determinants and
effects of innovation. These contexts are: the regions in which firms are
located, the dynamics of industries, and the dynamics of cluster in which firms
belong to.
This dissertation consists of four separate papers plus an introductory
chapter. Each paper can be read independently, but all of them deal with either
determinants or effects of the innovation of firms.
The first paper analyzes the effect of various firm-specific determinants on
firmsâ innovation output. It also considers the stages of the Industry Life
Cycle (ILC) as a context in which firms operate and innovate. Using the
Community Innovation Survey data for manufacturing and service sectors in
Sweden during 2002-2004, I find that the importance of various determinants of
firmsâ innovation depends on the stages of the ILC in which they operate.
The second paper is again investigates the determinants of innovation, but this
time incorporates another context that affect the innovation, i.e. the regions
that firms belong to. Using the patent applications data as a measure of
innovation in all functional regions in Sweden during 2002-2007, we find that
both the internal knowledge generated within the region and the inflow of
external knowledge matter for innovation of firms located in the regions.
Moreover, the extent of related variety of knowledge in the region has the
superior role to promote innovation.
The third paper examines the effect of a firmâs innovation output on firmâs
performance. Export behavior of firms is chosen as a performance indicator.
Particular attention is devoted to distinguishing between innovation input and
innovation output and to isolate their effects on export behavior of firms.
Using two waves of Swedish Community Innovation Survey data during 2002-2006
merged with registered firm-level data, I find that what really matters for
enhancing the export behavior of firms is the innovation output of firms,
rather than the innovation input (mere efforts in investing in innovation
activities).
The fourth paper also analyzes the effect of innovation on performance measures
but this time incorporates another context, i.e. the life cycle of the regional
cluster that firms belong to. This paper delves into a particular cluster, i.e.
Linköping ICT cluster. Using data collected through interviews during 2009 and
2012 on key cluster actors, we find that innovation is among the factors that
are always highly important at any given stage of the clusterâs evolution,
however, it has slightly greater importance during the âgrowingâ stage
Innovation strategies of firms : What strategies and why?
This paper analyzes various innovation strategies of firms. Using five waves of the Community Innovation Survey in Sweden, we have traced the innovative behavior of firms over a 10-year period, i.e. between 2002 and 2012. We distinguish between sixteen innovation strategies, which compose of Schumpeterian four types of innovations (process, product, marketing, and organizational) plus various combinations of these four types. First, we find that firms are not homogenous in choosing innovation strategies, instead, they have a wide range of preferences when it comes to innovation strategy and some of the innovation strategies are âcommonlyâ used among firms. Second, using Transition Probability Matrix, we found that firms also persist to have such a diverse innovation strategy preferences. Finally, using Multinomial Logit model, we explained the determinant of each and every innovation strategies, while we gave special attention to the commonly used innovation strategies among firms
The impact of individual characteristics and regional agglomeration on the survival of self-employed firms
Survival of entrepreneurial firms : the role of agglomeration externalities
This paper analyzes the role of various types of agglomeration externalities on the survival rate of entrepreneurial firms. In particular, we trace the population cohort of newly-established and self-employed Swedish firms in the Knowledge-Intensive Business Service sector in 1997 up to 2012 and investigate the role of Marshallian and Jacobian externalities on the survival of these firms. We find that only Jacobian externalities (diversity) is positively associated with the survival of entrepreneurial firms. Not all Jacobian externalities matter though. Only the higher the ârelated varietyâ of the region in which an entrepreneurial firm is founded, the higher will be the survival chance of the firm, while âunrelated varietyâ barely has any significant correlation. The result is robust after controlling for extensive firm characteristics and individual characteristics of the founders. The main message here is: for a newly-established entrepreneurial firm, not only it matters who you are, but also where you are
Innovation strategies and firm performance : Simple or complex strategies?
This paper analyzes the effect of various innovation strategies (ISs) of firms on their future performance, captured by labor productivity. Using five waves of the Community Innovation Survey in Sweden, we have traced the innovative behavior of firms over a decade, that is, from 2002 to 2012. We defined ISs to be either simple or complex (in various degrees). We call an IS a simple IS when firms engage in only one of the four types of Schumpeterian innovations, that is, product, process, marketing, or organizational, while a complex IS is when firms simultaneously engage in more than one type. The main findings indicate that those firms that choose and afford to have complex ISs are better off in terms of their future productivity in comparison with those firms that choose not to innovative (base group) and also in comparison with those firms that choose simple ISs. The results are mostly robust for those complex innovators that have a higher degree of complexity and also keep the balance between technological (product and process) and non-technological (organizational and marketing) innovations
Persistence of various types of innovation analyzed and explained
This paper analyzes the persistency in innovation behavior of firms. Using five waves of the Community Innovation Survey in Sweden, we have traced the innovative behavior of firms over a ten-year period, i.e., between 2002 and 2012. We distinguish between four types of innovations: process, product, marketing, and organizational innovations. First, using transition probability matrix, we found evidence of (unconditional) state dependence in all types of innovation, with product innovators having the strongest persistent behavior. Second, using a dynamic probit model, we found evidence of "true" state dependency among all types of innovations, except marketing innovators. Once again, the strongest persistency was found for product innovators. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved