Coopetition and innovation. Lessons from worker cooperatives in the Spanish machine tool industry

This is an electronic version of the accepted paper in Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing[EN] Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how the implementation of the inter-cooperation principle among Spanish machine-tool cooperatives helps them to coopete–collaborate with competitors, in their innovation and internationalization processes and achieve collaborative advantages. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a multi-case approach based on interviews with 15 CEOs and research and development (R&D) managers, representing 14 Spanish machine tool firms and institutions. Eight of these organizations are worker-cooperatives.. Findings – Worker -cooperatives achieve advantages on innovation and internationalization via inter-cooperation (shared R&D units, joint sales offices, joint after-sale services, knowledge exchange and relocation of key R&D technicians and managers). Several mutual bonds and ties among cooperatives help to overcome the risk of opportunistic behaviour and knowledge leakage associated to coopetition. The obtained results give some clues explaining to what extent and under which conditions coopetitive strategies of cooperatives are transferable to other types of ownership arrangements across sectors. Practical implications – Firms seeking cooperation with competitors in their R&D and internationalization processes can learn from the coopetitive arrangements analyzed in the paper. Social implications – Findings can be valuable for sectoral associations and public bodies trying to promote coopetition and alliances between competitors as a means to benefit from collaborative advantages. Originality/value – Focusing on an “ideal type” of co-operation -cooperative organisationsand having access to primary sources, the paper shows to what extent (and how) strong coopetitive structures and processes foster innovation and internationalization

Mediation effects of trust and contracts on knowledge-sharing and product-innovation: evidence from the European machine tool industry

This is an electronic version of the accepted paper in European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 21 Issue: 2, pp.274-293 (2018)[EN] This paper analyzes the mediating role of contracts and trust on the generation of product innovations stemming from buyer-supplier knowledge-sharing among the members of the supply chain. Together with the individual effects of trust and contracts, their joint effect is examined in order to determine whether these are complementary or alternative mechanisms of safeguarding and control

Collaborative relationships with customers: generation and protection of innovations

This is an electronic version of the accepted paper in Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing[EN]Purpose: To discover the key elements for generating and protecting innovations based on the customer‐supplier relationship in industrial sectors Methodology: Exploratory qualitative study performed using semi‐structured interviews with CEOs and innovation managers of 22 industrial firms and institutions from the machine‐tool (MT) industry Findings: Key forms of knowledge must be shared by the two agents. Producers have to obtain in‐depth knowledge about customers’ needs and customers need knowledge on producer's absorptive capacity. Producers distinguish between three types of customer: reference customers, necessary for innovations with greatest scope, clientes amigos or test users, required to test innovations currently being developed, and traditional customers, associated with incremental innovations. The traditional means of protecting innovations is the detailed contract between customer and supplier; patents are used for innovations of greater technological scope, as a form of defense against third‐party patents and as a signaling element of absorptive capacity. Originality: The paper draws on the direct experience of executives from companies whose innovation is based on a close relationship with customers, in order to answer questions to which the literature has yet to provide definitive answers: What sort of information to be shared is relevant for the generation of innovations? Are all customers equal or are there profiles that contribute more effectively to the development of innovations? What attitude and mechanisms are most effective for protecting the knowledge and competitiveness generated through knowledge‐sharing

Value and barriers in the creation of intellectual property in advanced manufacturing: a country comparison

Purpose: The basic aim of this research is to determine to what extent intellectual property owners of advanced manufacturing technologies compensate the disadvantages of their small size and peripheral company location by innovations in these areas. Design/methodology/approach: We developed an empirical study of patents from two completely different economic areas, a central and a peripheral one, represented by Germany and Spain, respectively, in the domain of the Key Enabling Technology (KET) of advanced manufacturing technologies in robotics and automation. From the population of 211 Spanish patents granted and a random sample of 500 German patents, from the files of the US Patent and Trademark Office, we developed a series of logistic regression models. Findings Judging from the predicted possibilities to develop a patent with more citations, a proxy for its value, the study shows that whereas big companies from central locations do not obtain more heavily cited patents from sharing their R&D activity with other firms or research institutes, smaller manufacturing firms in peripheral areas, namely, Spain, may find this advantageous. Additionally, patents containing fewer cited articles and citations of previous patents, tend to be cited more frequently. Finally, this same outcome is also observed with patents showing shorter time between the application and grant. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on patent value which examines the KET of advanced manufacturing technologies in robotics and automation, comparing a central to a peripheral geographic environment, and determining the number, diversity and size of patent assignees. Our results prove relevant in general for manufacturing businesses, especially in the Machine-Tool and machinery producing industry. Overwhelmingly, these firms tend to be SMEs basing their marketing activity entirely on a Business-to-Business (B2B) focus, and facing serious obstacles for R&D activity

The buying center concept as a milestone in industrial marketing: Review and research agenda

The buying center (BC) has captivated the attention of researchers for >50 years, becoming a central element of organizational buying behavior. While it seems easy to identify the BC participants in any given situation, the marketing literature lacks an integrative framework for examining the nature of BC. The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to develop a rigorous BC conceptual model; (2) to provide an assessment of the BC state-of-the-art; and (3) to identify key opportunities for future research. Based on a systematic literature review, the descriptive findings indicate a decreasing number of publications since the late 2000s and that top-tier marketing journals have been almost silent since the early 90s. The domain-based findings suggest a three-layer model driving a thorough understanding of the concept, the main stages associated with BC deployment (formation, dynamics, and outcomes), and the contextual factors influencing BC decision-making

La influencia del factor dimensión en la pertenencia a centrales de compra por parte del pequeño comercio

[ES] Desde hace varios años, el pequeño comercio en España y en otros países europeos viene enfrentándose a un entorno de creciente concurrencia, con la irrupción de nuevas formas comerciales más integradas vertical u horizontalmente, y mejor preparadas para competir en precio y variedad. Ante este hecho, las centrales de compra se ofrecen como una alternativa tendente a acortar distancias en estas dos cuestiones, a la vez que buscan la prestación de ciertos servicios que ayuden al pequeño comerciante a gestionar más eficaz y eficientemente su negocio.En el presente artículo se analiza la evolución reciente y las tendencias del aprovisionamiento por parte del pequeño comercio a través de centrales de compra y servicios en España. A continuación, mediante un estudio empírico se busca determinar las respuestas de los pequeños comercios en torno a una relación sugerida de puntos a favor y puntos en contra que supondría la agrupación en una central de compras. Sobre esta cuestión, se pretende analizar de manera particular, en qué medida se relacionan el tamaño de la empresa comercial con el grado de acuerdo hacia las centrales.[EN] For several years, small shops in Spain and in other European countries have found themselves facing up to a situation of increasing convergence with the inrush of new commercial ways which are more vertical and horizontally integrated and better prepared to compete in price and variety. Faced with this fact, the trade associations (central offices of purchasing) offer themselves as an alternative designed to reduce distances on these two questions and at the same time providing certain services to help the small trader to manage his business more efficiently and effectively.In this article before you, this recent evolution and the supply trend by the small shops through the trade associations (central offices of purchasing) in Spain, are analysed. Then, through an empirical study, it is tried to establish the answers of the small shops to a suggested relationship of points in favour and against which grouping together in a trade association (central office of purchasing) would suppose. With regards to this question, it is analysed in a particular way, to what extent we can relate the size of the commercial company with the degree of agreement with the trade associations (central office of purchasing)

Factores críticos de la supervivencia entre las PYME tecnológicas españolas

This paper is an analysis on the survival of the medium and high-tech industrial Spanish SMEs. By means of Cox regressions we analyse to which extent a series of company factors, � with the company size as the most important one, the fact of belonging to a specific sector, and its location � are related to its survival. At least as regards SMEs and contrary to what the literature states, our results show that the reduced initial size, either at the moment of beginning in a sector or at any other period of time, do not exert a negative influence on company survival. Secondly, we also find that some of the ratios and variables taken from the company accounts do affect differently on its survival depending on the accounting year they date from. This indicates that their effect, rather than being immediate, is lagged over time. Finally, we find that both the sub-sector and the region of the company have effects on its survival.El presente trabajo es un análisis sobre la supervivencia de las pequeñas y medianas empresas españolas para los sectores calificados como de tecnología media y alta. En concreto, mediante funciones de regresión de Cox se analiza en qué medida una serie de factores propios de la empresa, con el tamaño como más destacado, junto con la pertenencia al sector de actividad, y la procedencia, se asocian con el hecho de mantenerse como empresa activa. Los resultados muestran que, al contrario de lo que mantiene la literatura analizada, al menos entre las PYME tecnológicas españolas el reducido tamaño inicial en el momento de comenzar en el sector, o el reducido tamaño medio no incide negativamente en su supervivencia. Por otro lado, también se obtiene que determinados aspectos inherentes a su rendimiento y resultados afectan de manera desigual según el ejercicio pasado del que datan, indicando cierto retardo en los efectos sobre las empresas. Finalmente, se constata que tanto el sector como la región en la que está ubicada la sede son aspectos que afectan de forma desigual a la supervivencia

Dime dónde vives y te diré dónde compras: factores del espacio urbano influyentes en el destino de las compras

Retailing is a key factor for urban regeneration, and it must be considered as such in the management of the cities. In this sense, urban managers must put forward plans and take measures in order to reverse the loss of retail attractiveness of the city centres that in many cases has been produced in favour to peripheral outlets. To this end, it is important to know more on buyer behaviour as regards the destination for shopping between both environments. Using logistic regressions we determine to which extent the urban configuration of a commercial area, its centrality, its accessibility or the transport means selected by buyers exert an influence on the shopping destination, in the city versus peripheral shopping centre dilemma.El comercio es un factor estratégico de regeneración urbana y como tal ha de ser considerado en la necesaria gestión de los centros urbanos. Así, los responsables municipales, conscientes del impacto económico y social de una buena gestión del centro urbano, deben poner en marcha planes e impulsar medidas para paliar la pérdida de atractivo comercial que, en muchos casos, se ha producido en favor de entornos comerciales de periferia. Para ello es importante conocer cuál es el comportamiento de los compradores a la hora de decidir su lugar de compra entre ambos entornos. En el presente trabajo analizamos mediante funciones de regresión logística, en qué medida la configuración urbanística de una zona comercial, su centralidad, su accesibilidad o el modo en que el consumidor decide desplazarse para comprar, influyen sobre su decisión del lugar de sus compras, en la disyuntiva centro versus periferia

Encouraging the implication of shops in the city by means of retail associationism: the case of Bilbao

Retail activity in urban areas constitutes a key variable in the health of a city. For that reason, the processes of urban revitalization and retail revitalization run in parallel manner. Integrated management models for urban centres constitute a good framework to harness the competitiveness of the cities and their retail businesses, but they require of all implied participation, by means of a public ¿ private cooperation. Retail business participation needs to articulate the channels for it. In this sense, zonal associations constitute the organizational context to give voice to retail shops, but they are a pending subject, if we see the low rates of associationism in Spain. In this paper, we analyse the relationship between factors featuring the retail business situation in cities, particularly its location, the length of time, and the number of employees, with respect to its affiliation to the zonal association, with the purpose of establishing guidelines to improve the rates of associative participation.El comercio minorista en los centros urbanos constituye un factor clave para la salud de una ciudad. De aquí que se asuma que los procesos de revitalización urbana y comercial discurren de forma paralela. En este proceso, se puede entender que los modelos integrados de gestión de centro urbano son un buen marco para afianzar la competitividad tanto de las ciudades como de los comercios, aunque requieren de la participación de todos los agentes implicados en un proceso de colaboración público-privada.Para conseguir la implicación de los comercios en este proceso, se requiere contar con cauces adecuados. En este sentido, las asociaciones de tipo zonal son un interlocutor válido para los comercios. Sin embargo, su realidad dista mucho de ser la ideal, si se atiende a los bajos índices de asociacionismo que existen en España. En este artículo se analiza la relación entre algunos de los factores que definen la situación de los comercios en el centro urbano, particularmente su localización, antigüedad y número de empleados, precisando cuál es efecto sobre la afiliación en torno a las asociaciones de carácter zonal. El objetivo último del estudio realizado es proponer algunas pautas para que las asociaciones consigan mayores cotas de participación en torno a éstas