R&D managers’ adaptation of firms’ HRM practices.

The heads of R&D departments are those most responsible for the adaptation of firms’ human resource management (HRM) practices to the idiosyncrasies of their departments. From their description, this paper analyzes the HRM practices in R&D departments and the adaptation achieved in four different firms. The data suggest that the main adaptations are produced primarily in recruiting and organizing the work of R&D personnel. In contrast to suggestions in the specialized literature, less adaptation is found in other HRM practices analyzed (managerial support and degree of delegation, compensation and career plans). Psychological theories of procedural justice and social comparison can improve our understanding of such results. The organizational structure affects the reference group for such comparisons and, consequently, the R&D managers’ capacity to adapt such practices. Based on these arguments, the delegation of HRM practices to R&D departments will enhance the degree of adaptation of such policiesR&D; Research and development; Human resource management;

Technological collaboration : bridging the innovation gap between small and large firms.

This paper analyses technological collaboration as an input to the innovation processes of SMEs. Technological collaboration may be a useful mechanism to offset some of the weaknesses in SMEs resource endowments and bring their innovation capabilities closer to that of their large counterparts. The results, based on a large longitudinal sample of Spanish manufacturing firms, show that technological collaboration is a critical factor in improving the capabilities and innovativeness of SMEs. While a general bridging of the gap between the innovativeness of SMEs and large firms was observed, the most significant advance was in product rather than process innovations.

The importance of diverse collaborative networks for the novelty of product innovation.

Competition today is driving firms to introduce products with a higher degree of novelty. Consequently, there is a growing need to understand the critical success factors behind more novel product innovations. This paper theoretically and empirically analyzes the role of different types of collaborative networks in achieving product innovations and their degree of novelty. Using data from a longitudinal sample of Spanish manufacturing firms, our results show that technological collaborative networks are of crucial importance in achieving a higher degree of novelty in product innovation. Continuity of collaboration and the composition of the collaborative network are highly significant dimensions. Collaboration with suppliers, clients and research organizations in this order have a positive impact on the novelty of innovation, while collaboration with competitors has a negative impact. The greatest positive impact on the degree of innovation novelty comes from collaborative networks comprising different types of partnersProduct innovation; Degree of novelty; Collaborative networks; Technological partner; Spain;

Public selection and financing of R&D cooperative projects : credit versus subsidy funding.

In this article we develop an analytical model of the selection process for R&D cooperative projects, to study the factors that motivate public project selection and corresponding funding, using two different financial instruments: subsidies and credits. For this purpose, we propose a three stage empirical strategy to analyse the differential individual effects of several factors on the decisions taken by the public agency. This analysis is based on project level data from cooperative R&D project calls under the Spanish PROFIT initiative, for the period 20002003. The main results show that the public agency uses the two financial instruments to address different objectives. First, some projects close to the market are well supported through credits, while basic research projects receive only selective support in the form of subsidies. Second, there is significant diversity in the selection and funding of technological areas. Third, regarding the explicit goal of fostering cooperation, the public agency selectively favours partnerships with universities and technology institutes through the award of subsidies. However, there seems to be less incentive for large consortia. Fourth, there are significant regional differences among financed projects and, also, our data show sharp yearly fluctuationsPublic Funding; R&D Cooperation; Project selection; Credit; Subsidy;

Complementarities between universities and technology institutes : new empirical lessons and perspectives.

This paper investigates the different roles played by universities and technology institutes (TIs) as innovation partners of firms. Comparing the characteristics of Spanish firms collaborating with these agents allows us to better define complementarities among the target groups of these organizations. Our findings show that those firms collaborating with universities are bigger, have higher internal capabilities and are less dependent on their external relationships while firms collaborating with TIs are smaller, have weaker internal capabilities but are more open to their environment and thus more reliant on external sources. We point to the implications of these findings for regional development. Universities have a role as partners of more technologically advanced firms. TIs, on the other hand, partner those firms, which though also quite advanced, require more external help in their innovation processes. These results should help policy-makers in the definition of more complex regional strategies and the provision of tools aimed at different goals. Managers of universities, TIs and client firms should find these results of help in developing more positive collaborations with one anotherUniversities; Technology insitutes; Spanish firms; Collaboration;

Service innovation in manufacturing firms : evidence from Spain.

The ways in which manufacturing firms come to offer services to customers – servitisation or servicisation – are attracting considerable attention. This paper examines an innovation survey of Spanish firms in order to investigate one aspect of this phenomenon: the introduction of new or improved services by manufacturers. Specifically, the paper analyses the determinants of service innovations in manufacturers and determines whether they differ from those of product or process innovations in these same firms. The study finds that almost 20 percent of the firms in the sample have introduced such services in the recent past and that important differences exist between service and product (goods) innovations, with service innovations being particularly related to human resource development and closer links to customers. This suggests that service innovation by manufacturers has much in common with the innovation patterns detected in service sector firms. Intriguing differences across manufacturing sectors are also noted, with the lowest- and highest-tech sectors reporting more service innovations than the medium-tech sectorsInnovation; Manufacturing; Service; Servitisation;

Beyond formal R&D : taking advantage of other sources of innovation in low- and medium-technology industries.

This study deepens our knowledge of critical success factors in the innovation process of low- andmediumtechnology (LMT) industries. To accomplish this, it explores howthe innovation process in LMT firms may depend on non-formal R&D activities and the use of external sources. The empirical analysis is based on a representative panel of Spanish manufacturing firms. The results strongly support the view that non- R&D activities such as design, the use of advanced machinery and training are crucial to understanding the innovation process of any firm. The study finds, however, that the impact of these activities is especially important in LMT industries, particularly for the achievement of product innovations. The empirical evidence also reveals the importance of external sources such as the use of consultants, the hiring of personnel, collaboration agreements and external R&D, with the greatest differences between LMT and high-technology (HT) firms being observed in process innovationsLow- and medium-technology industries; Technological activities; External sources; Innovation outputs; Market characteristics;

The role played by interdependences in ERP implementations : an empirical analysis of critical factors that minimize elapsed time.

We analyzed the role played by different module types that influence the time spent on an ERP implementation. By using the concept of interdependences together with organizational integration theory, we distinguished between business-support and value-chain modules and affirmed that their respective implementation times would differ. We also highlighted the existence of time-savings and facilitator mechanisms that could reduce the total elapsed time for an ERP implementation with these module types. We found empirical support for our hypotheses by using data from 141 organizations and using econometric duration models. Through contextual, organizational, and project specific controls, our results lead us to the conclusion that value-chain modules take longer than business-support modules to implement. Furthermore, we found empirical evidence of time-savings and facilitator mechanisms in the ERP implementation process.ERP implementation; Elapsed time; Interdependences; Organizational integration; Facilitator mechanisms; Time savings; Duration models;

Corporate governance and the Mondragón cooperatives.

This paper builds upon recent advances in the corporate governance framework to extend and complement the economic literature on producer cooperatives. We argue that the problem of governance in a cooperative is twofold and consists in designing mechanisms and setting up institutions that (1) encourage workers to define a goal that maximizes workers’ welfare and (2) induce managers to pursue and internalize such a broad goal. When compared to capital-controlled firms, the agency problems become more complex and harder to solve in the cooperative framework. As empirical evidence of this problem and its corresponding solution, we illustrate the case of the Mondragón cooperatives, explaining in detail the incentive system and the control mechanisms now in place in this successful business group. The study of the governance architecture of Mondragón may help us to propose solutions to traditional problems of the cooperative firm and to reach a better understanding of both the governance of cooperatives and corporate governance in general.

Idoneidad del socio tecnológico. Un análisis con datos de panel.

El objetivo del presente trabajo consiste en identificar el socio más adecuado para llevar a cabo una cooperación tecnológica. Con esta finalidad, proponemos un modelo empírico que interrelaciona las motivaciones para cooperar, la elección del socio tecnológico y el impacto que éste tiene sobre las actividades de innovación tecnológica. Para la estimación de nuestro modelo, hemos contado con los datos de la Encuesta sobre Estrategias Empresariales para los años 1999, 2000 y 2001. Los resultados de la aplicación sugieren que las empresas, cuando persiguen objetivos tecnológicos, optan como primera opción por llegar a acuerdos de colaboración con clientes y proveedores. Sin embargo, el impacto tecnológico de los organismos de investigación (universidades y centros tecnológicos) es superior, tanto en términos de la culminación del proceso innovador -en nuevos productos y/o procesos- como en la contribución al aprendizaje tecnológico de la empresa -incentivando la generación de activos intangibles-. Este resultado pone de relieve 1) que los organismos de investigación tienen potencial para jugar un papel crucial como instituciones de apoyo tecnológico al tejido industrial, pero 2) que el conocimiento de dicha institución por parte del sector productivo es aún escaso.