Hazard models with varying coefficients for multivariate failure time data

Statistical estimation and inference for marginal hazard models with varying coefficients for multivariate failure time data are important subjects in survival analysis. A local pseudo-partial likelihood procedure is proposed for estimating the unknown coefficient functions. A weighted average estimator is also proposed in an attempt to improve the efficiency of the estimator. The consistency and asymptotic normality of the proposed estimators are established and standard error formulas for the estimated coefficients are derived and empirically tested. To reduce the computational burden of the maximum local pseudo-partial likelihood estimator, a simple and useful one-step estimator is proposed. Statistical properties of the one-step estimator are established and simulation studies are conducted to compare the performance of the one-step estimator to that of the maximum local pseudo-partial likelihood estimator. The results show that the one-step estimator can save computational cost without compromising performance both asymptotically and empirically and that an optimal weighted average estimator is more efficient than the maximum local pseudo-partial likelihood estimator. A data set from the Busselton Population Health Surveys is analyzed to illustrate our proposed methodology.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009053606000001145 in the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Determinants and dimensions of firm growth

Firm growth is an important indicator of a thriving economy. Although the determinants of firm growth have been studied in various disciplines, an integrated analysis is still lacking. This paper attempts to provide such an analysis. Many determinants of firm growth are summarized and classified into three dimensions: individual, organizational, and environmental determinants. By conducting an empirical study using 523 Dutch small and medium sized firms, we identify the determinants of firm growth which is measured by employment growth. Our findings show that environmental determinants do not affect firm growth. Individual ones do: entrepreneurs with growth motivation and having technical knowledge are more likely to grow their firms while entrepreneurs characterized by a strong need of achievement are less likely to engage in firm growth. Organizational determinants have the most influence on firm growth: the older thefirm, the less likely it is to grow. Availability of financial capital is found to be crucial to firm growth. Finally, the firm’s scalability (its preparedness to grow) is found to have a positive impact on firm growth.

Family orientation, strategy and organizational learning as predictors of knowledge management in Dutch SMEs

Knowledge management (KM) is becoming a growing concern in management research and practice because of its role in determining firm innovation capability and in enhancing working life quality of knowledge workers. Although research and policy interest in KM is beginning to grow for small and medium-sized suppliers, still relatively limited attention has been paid to understand the specifics of KM issues of SMEs in particular. Previous studies rely on either qualitative case studies or very small samples. In this study, we will investigate KM among SMEs using empirical data from about 2000 SMEs. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of different KM techniques and the determinants of KM. We found that SMEs are most likely to acquire knowledge by staying in touch with professionals and experts outside the company. Also, SMEs are most likely to share knowledge and experience by talking to each other and to store knowledge in formal repositories. Furthermore, we found a significant positive relationship between organizational learning and strategy and knowledge management, as well as a significant negative relationship between family orientation and knowledge management. In conclusion, knowledge management practices are not independent from other resources and processes inside SMEs. Therefore, there is no all-in-one knowledge management practices package for all types of SMEs across industries.

The risk of growing fast

Are firm growth and firm survival related to each other? This paper tests the hypothesis that the relationship between firm growth and firm survival can be characterised by an inverted U-shaped relation. This hypothesis is confirmed by our estimations. At the same time, the results indicate that the top of the inverted U-shaped relation occurs at very high growth rates. This suggests that for the large majority of enterprises, the relationship between firm growth and firm survival can be better described by a positive relationship rather than an inverted U-shaped relationship. Although these results are preliminary, they suggest that policies that aim to increase the number of fast-growing firms have no negative effects on the rate of firm deaths.

Beyond the Scope of the Deal:Configuration of Technology Alliance Portfolios and the Introduction of Management Innovation

While firms invest in portfolios of technology alliances primarily seeking technological benefits (e.g. access to novel technological knowledge to develop product innovations), an adequate portfolio of technology alliances can also bring non-technological benefits, such as access to novel managerial knowledge, which can result in management innovation. However, it remains unclear under what conditions technology alliance portfolios yield such benefits. Drawing from the literature on knowledge utilization from alliance portfolios, we examine how the configuration of a firm's technology alliance portfolio affects the likelihood of the firm introducing management innovation. Our panel data analyses of Spanish manufacturing firms for 2008–2016 reveal that a firm is more likely to introduce management innovation when its alliance portfolio shows diversity of partner types; however, this positive effect of diversity becomes less pronounced as the alliance portfolio becomes more oriented towards exploration (i.e. relatively greater presence of research-focused partner types). Our study also provides recommendations for managers seeking to connect the technological and non-technological spheres of innovation: a technological alliance portfolio that brings together diverse partner types while avoiding excessive presence of research-focused partner types may offer greater opportunity for management innovation

Knowledge Management in the SME and its Relationship to Strategy, Family Orientation and Organization Learning

In this study, we examine the prevalence of different KM practices and the organizational determinants of KM among SMEs by conducting a quantitative study of empirical data from nearly 500 Dutch SMEs. Our empirical results show that knowledge is managed in a people-based approach in SMEs. SMEs are most likely to acquire knowledge by staying in touch with professionals and experts outside the company and they incline to share knowledge and experience by talking to each other. Furthermore, KM is dependent on other organizational resources and processes. Organizational learning and competitive strategy with a formality approach are the positive determinants of KM while family orientation is a negative determinant of it. One of the challenges in the current study was to clearly distinguish, on an empirical basis, the previously defined concepts of knowledge management practices and organizational learning. Although in theory, they are distinct, the results of this study lead us to conclude that they may overlap in practice. In the conclusion, we recommend a learning-oriented knowledge management model for SMEs which combines aspects of the two literatures