When does centrality matter? Scientific productivity and the moderating role of research specialization and cross-community ties

The present study addresses the ongoing debate concerning academic scientific productivity. Specifically, given the increasing number of collaborations in academia and the crucial role networks play in knowledge creation, we investigate the extent to which building social capital within the academic community represents a valuable resource for a scientist's knowledge-creation process. We measure the social capital in terms of structural position within the academic collaborative network. Furthermore, we analyse the extent to which an academic scientist's research specialization and ties that cross-community boundaries act as moderators of the aforementioned relationship. Empirical results derived from an analysis of an Italian academic community from 2001 to 2008 suggest academic scientists that build social capital by occupying central positions in the community outperform their more isolated colleagues. However, scientific productivity declines beyond a certain threshold value of centrality, hence revealing the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship. This relationship is negatively moderated by the extent to which an academic focuses research activities in few scientific knowledge domains, whereas it is positively moderated by the number of cross-community ties established

Determinants of patent citations in biotechnology: An analysis of patent influence across the industrial and organizational boundaries

The present paper extends the literature investigating key drivers leading certain patents to exert a stronger influence on the subsequent technological developments (inventions) than other ones. We investigated six key determinants, as (i) the use of scientific knowledge, (ii) the breadth of the technological base, (iii) the existence of collaboration in patent development, (iv) the number of claims, (v) the scope, and (vi) the novelty, and how the effect of these determinants varies when patent influence—as measured by the number of forward citations the patent received—is distinguished as within and across the industrial and organizational boundaries. We conducted an empirical analysis on a sample of 5671 patents granted to 293 US biotechnology firms from 1976 to 2003. Results reveal that the contribution of the determinants to patent influence differs across the domains that are identified by the industrial and organizational boundaries. Findings, for example, show that the use of scientific knowledge negatively affects patent influence outside the biotechnology industry, while it positively contributes to make a patent more relevant for the assignee's subsequent technological developments. In addition, the broader the scope of a patent the higher the number of citations the patent receives from subsequent non-biotechnology patents. This relationship is inverted U-shaped when considering the influence of a patent on inventions granted to other organizations than the patent's assignee. Finally, the novelty of a patent is inverted-U related with the influence the patent exerts on the subsequent inventions granted across the industrial and organizational boundaries

Archetypes of incumbents' strategic responses to digital innovation

Digital technologies (DTs) are significantly changing industrial and organisational activities, as well as the underlying processes and competencies. These impacts are particularly relevant when referring to firms’ business models, in particular on how incumbents have struggled to innovate their business model to react to the disruption triggered by DTs. These technologies have posed new challenges that seem to differ from those going along with previous technological shifts. We argue that such challenges depend on the incremental or radical nature of the technology at stake, as well as how far this is from the technological path of the incumbent, focal firm. By investigating how incumbents are adapting their business models in response to the disruption triggered by DTs, this paper proposes a conceptual matrix that draws on two dimensions: (i) the extent to which the impact of the digital technology is incremental or radical; and (ii) whether the industry of origin of the digital technology is the same or a different one from the focal firm. Through four illustrative case studies, we discuss different strategic approaches, highlighting how incumbents may mobilise different resources and assets following a more defensive or proactive posture in adapting their business model to the digital transformation

Opening the black box of artificial intelligence technologies: unveiling the influence exerted by type of organisations and collaborative dynamics

Until now, the management literature on Artificial Intelligence (AI) focuses mostly on the diverse applications of this technology, while its development has attracted only limited attention. To partially fill this research gap, the present paper analyses a large sample of AI patents and investigates the potential determinants of their technological impact. We show how University-Industry (UI) collaborations seem to be less able to develop high-impact AI patents, compared to other types of partnership based on the involvement of either universities or companies. This result contrasts with the previous literature on the inventing process of other generalpurpose technologies (GPT), thus clarifying how the development of AI may be significantly affected by the peculiar characteristics of this technology. Thereby, our findings not only shed further light on the inventing process of AI solutions but may also stimulate the debate on the development of other GPTs strongly imbued with scientific knowledge

Business Model Innovation and exaptation: a new way of innovating in SMEs

Although research underlines the need for SMEs to innovate their Business Model, they face considerable challenges in exploring external business opportunities and experimenting/developing their available resources in unexpected ways. We posit that one way that SMEs can innovate their Business Model is through exaptation, a discontinuous evolutionary process that allows utilizing and adapting existing resources in new application domains. Using a case study approach, we investigate the case of a SME that has successfully innovated its Business Model through exaptation. We then discuss how three key exaptation processes lead to value creation, delivery and capturing, thus supporting Business Model Innovation in SMEs

Origins of knowledge and innovation in R&D alliances: a contingency approach

Innovative performance is influenced both by the origins of the existing knowledge that is combined to generate innovation and by how economic actors search for new knowledge. Drawing on a sample of inter-firm dyadic R&D alliances, we found that whereas the integration of geographically distant knowledge and of organisationally proximate knowledge in R&D alliances are negatively related to the alliance innovative performance, search span positively moderates both relationships.We conclude that, in order to make the most of broadspan searching, firms participating in R&D alliances should integrate geographically distant but organisationally proximate knowledge. By doing so, firms take advantage of the diversity and novelty that characterises geographically distant knowledge, while preserving considerable levels of relative absorptive capacity that are needed for them to understand, internalise, and effectively use partners’ knowledge from different domains

The effect of spatial variables on the economic and environmental performance of bioenergy production chains

The aim of this paper is to understand the impacts of spatial variables on the performance of bioenergy production chains (BPCs). Even though the strong debates continue on the use of first generation biomass for bioenergy production, many countries continue to utilize it as an alternative energy source. Several studies have been carried out on biomass transformation efficiency, on environmental impacts of using crop in biofuel production, and on its negative effects on increasing food prices. However, less attention has been paid to the role played by the spatial variables on the performance measures of BPCs. In this paper, we analyse how three spatial variables, i.e. cultivation area size, land dispersion, and accessibility to cultivation areas, can affect the performance of energy-balanced BPC, which produces its own electric and thermal energy demand. The chain is represented as a network of processes, where all inputs and outputs are geographically referred and analysed in a theoretical case example. We propose an enterprise input–output (EIO) model, which can be used as an accounting tool to compute the main materials and energy flows-related costs and as a planning tool to evaluate the chain performance in different scenarios. Finally, the proposed model is applied to an actual case study, to investigate the opportunity to establish a sunflower-based BPC in Apulia region (Italy) and to assess its performance. Results show that higher land dispersion degree and less area accessibility levels reduce the economic and environmental performance of the BPCs. The construction of the energy-balanced chain reduces the negative environmental impacts caused by fossil energy use in the processes of the BPC. Managerial implications can also be obtained from actual case study about the biodiesel plant location decisions

Presence in foreign markets, ethnic minority ownership and financial performance of high-tech SME’s

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face strong competition with larger incumbents in a fast-changing globalized economy that undermine their financial performance. For this reason, operating in foreign market could be a valuable solution to pursue growth opportunities and improve their financial performance. The purpose of the paper is to understand the relationship between SMEs internationalization and their financial performance, and whether this effect is moderated by the presence of ethnic minority ownership. Based on a sample of 10.326 high-tech manufacturing US SMEs, our study reveals a positive relation between the number of foreign markets where SMEs operate and their financial performance. In addition, we demonstrate that this effect is positively moderated by the presence of ethnic minorities in the SMEs’ ownership. Therefore, our findings provide evidence of the strong relationship between strategic choice, in the form of presence in foreign markets, and economic results, as well as on the influence exerted by individual-level mechanism

Smart city governance from an innovation management perspective: Theoretical framing, review of current practices, and future research agenda

Smart city transitions are a fast-proliferating example of urban innovation processes, and generating the insight required to support their unfolding should be a key priority for innovation scholars. However, after decades of research, governance mechanisms remain among the most undertheorized and relatively overlooked dimensions of smart city transitions. To address this problem, we conduct a systematic literature review that connects the fragmented knowledge accumulated through the observation of smart city transition dynamics in 6 continents, 43 countries, and 146 cities and regions. Our empirical work is instrumental in achieving a threefold objective. First, we assemble an overarching governance framework that expands the theoretical foundations of smart city transitions from an innovation management perspective. Second, we elaborate on this framework by providing a thorough overview of documented governance practices. This overview highlights the strengths and weaknesses in the current approaches to the governance of smart city transitions, leading to evidence-based strategic recommendations. Third, we identify and address critical knowledge gaps in a future research agenda. In linking innovation theory and urban scholarship, this agenda suggests leveraging promising cross-disciplinary connections to support more intense research efforts probing the interaction patterns between institutional contexts, urban digital innovation, and urban innovation ecosystems