MODES OF INNOVATION & UNCERTAINTIES IN THE CAPITAL GOODS INDUSTRY

Product innovation is a subtle process, frequently leading to shifts in the competitiveness of firms. Developing products in an environment undergoing technological change is given to frequent failure, even in well-established and sophisticated organizations. In order to tackle competitiveness and to deal with innovation uncertainty, firms develop diverse innovation processes. Two modes of innovation are suggested in recent literature: 1) Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) mode, which is based on the production and use of codified scientific and technical knowledge; and 2) Doing, Using and Interacting (DUI) mode, which relies on informal processes of learning and experience-based know-how. In this paper we analyse product innovation at firm level. We perform an exploratory analysis in four leading equipment and machinery producers from the Aveiro region, in Portugal. Doing so, we explore the main features of the capital goods’ industry with implications for innovation, and analyse the dominant uncertainties associated to the innovation process. and modes of innovation. Key findings include the complete absence of DUI mode in the cases studied, and even a low learning characteristic in one company. The paper concludes by considering the implications for firms’ competitiveness and for innovation policy.modes of innovation, uncertainties, R&D, capital goods, SME

On R&D, medium and high-tech industries and productivity: an application to the Portuguese case

This paper investigates the potential impact of increased R&D efforts and structural changes in Portugal on labour productivity. The paper addresses Portugal’s ambition, expressed in the 2005 Technological Plan. Based on existing literature on the relation between R&D expenditures, structural change and productivity, we evaluate the contribution of R&D and medium to high-tech industries on productivity over the last 30 years. Our results confirm the importance of governement’s R&D and of business R&D in the medium to high-tech sectors, as they stimulate productivity growth. However, we cannot hypothesize that productivity growth was primarily rooted on the development of medium-high technology industries.Manufacturing, Productivity, Structural Change, R&D, High-tech industries

SEARCHING FOR SECTORAL PATTERNS OF INNOVATION IN EUROPEAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

The present paper is conducted under the research project “Enterprise of the Future: Trends and Scenarios towards Competitiveness” which attempts to disclosure determinants of future enterprise competitiveness. Innovation is not only a must today but also an imperative in future competitiveness scenarios. In modern evolutionary economics it is argued that sector-specific factors are one of the key factors explaining innovative behaviour and performance of firms. Several contributions have pointed that industries largely differ in terms of knowledge base and technological sources, opportunities and appropriation of innovative activities, technological trajectories and firms’ strategies. Using as background Pavitt’s taxonomy, this paper explores the nature, extent and sources of variety of innovation in the manufacturing industry, aiming at identifying common patterns across industries, and sectoral patterns across countries. This paper presents evidence based on the aggregated results of the last IV Community Innovation Survey released by EUROSTAT (CIS4), for which data is available for a number of industries and countries.innovation, manufacturing industry, Community Innovation survey CIS

Public policy for innovation and internationalisation: are they worth it?

This paper investigates empirically determinants of regional growth. The scant literature that exists indicates that a region’s economic growth depends to a large extent on several features of the regions themselves, which evolve slowly over time. Our results contribute to this set of literature, accounting also for policy variables, which have been by far neglected. Indeed, due to numerous market failures, measures to promote innovation and internationalization have been prominent in government policies in the last decade. This follows because, there is a consensus among academics, policy makers and practitioners that innovation and internationalization has become increasingly important for the growth of regions and countries. The effect of such ad hoc policy measures by home governments to promote innovation and internationalization has scarcely been studied, and existing studies addressing this issue have mainly a national focus. Despite the clear theoretical justification for the public support, policy makers ask for robust empirical evidence on these matters. This paper contributes to this end. The novelty of the study is in the emphasis on the impact of public policy tools (for innovation and internationalization), and on the coordination between them, upon regional growth. The study is conducted for the 20 Italian regions over the period 1998 to 2008. It tests not only the importance of regional characteristics but also the effects of public policy measures upon the regional economic growth. We focus in specific in the role of innovation and internationalization policy related measures. The results reveal the importance of regional characteristics and also of policy measures. The empirical findings are in line with the theoretical hypotheses: public incentives are key for promoting growth, and they have to be seen in the broader context of the determinants of regional growth. The paper also derives conclusions regarding the interrelationship between policies for innovation and for internationalization. Moreover, the allocation of incentives does not seem to help counterbalance the regional asymmetry, and the global processes and challenges are likely to strengthen the gap between regions.

The effect of crises on firm exit and the moderating effect of firm size

The liability of smallness assumption suggests that smaller firms face higher exit risks. However, does it apply during crises? We show that during downturns size reduces firms‟ exit risk by less; the hazard rate increases more rapidly in size

Educar para o Turismo – contributos do uso da tecnologia

O setor turístico contempla diversas áreas de ação que exigem que a formação dos alunos que irão ingressar no mercado de trabalho seja adaptada a cada uma delas. No final de uma licenciatura é necessário que os alunos possuam competências que lhes permitam uma fácil adaptação a qualquer uma das áreas do setor. Para o efeito, diferentes abordagens de lecionação podem ser adotadas, de modo a maximizar o potencial formativo dos alunos. O presente trabalho pretende dar conta de algumas estratégias adotadas no Ensino Superior em cursos de Turismo. Deste modo, através de uma revisão da literatura, pretende-se compreender de que modo as instituições, a nível internacional, têm utilizado ferramentas digitais, contribuindo para a aproximação às exigências do mercado de trabalho e para o desenvolvimento da competência digital. Da análise efetuada, conclui-se que os docentes implementam diferentes estratégias no ensino do Turismo, apesar de os estudos serem ainda parcos tendo em consideração os recursos existentes

Family tourism effects for low-income families – Past reality for future insights

Although the benefits of tourism are recognized, there are still doubts about the potential effects of family tourism for specific types of families. This qualitative study aims to characterize past family tourism practices of a sample of low-income families with children and examine its effects. Interviews were conducted, including adult(s) and children of each family. Results reveal that families reported important benefits and that differences between the perceptions of mothers and fathers exist. Further research is needed to consider different subtypes of families. Reflection on challenges faced by initiatives and research targeting this segment are presented

Empresas Estrangeiras e Capital Humano nos Serviços Intensivos em Conhecimento

The effect of foreign firms on host economies may occur through labour market, leading to the development of human capital. This paper investigates whether foreign firms contributed in a positive way to the development of human capital, looking in detail at the knowledge intensive services in Portugal. The study is based on panel data at the firm level for the period 2000-2006 using the Quadros de Pessoal dataset. The results show that firms with foreign capital have higher human capital intensity than domestic firms.