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on Knowledge Management and Knowledge Economy |
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Issue of 2013‒10‒25
eight papers chosen by Laura Stefanescu European Research Centre of Managerial Studies in Business Administration |
| By: | Anuja Utz; Jean-Eric Aubert |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems Information and Communication Technologies - ICT Policy and Strategies Private Sector Development - E-Business Education - Knowledge for Development Macroeconomics and Economic Growth - Knowledge Economy Agriculture |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16134&r=knm |
| By: | Dornbusch, Friedrich; Neuhäusler, Peter |
| Abstract: | It is generally claimed that universities provide the scientific basis for future technological progress. Still, empirical evidence of the impact of direct links between universities and firms remains weak and is often at least inconsistent. This paper aims at contributing to the literature by analyzing how direct academic involvement affects the output of inventive activities of research teams in different organizational backgrounds. By applying a unique dataset of German academic and corporate patents, we find that boundary-spanning knowledge production with academic inventors raises the innovative performance of SMEs and MNEs. Furthermore, geographical proximity between team members is generally shown to be valuable for team performance in terms of the influence on future technological developments. At the same time, the results indicate that academic involvement helps inventor teams to profit from spatially distant knowledge sources. -- |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisidp:37&r=knm |
| By: | Leandro D’Aurizio, (Bank of Italy); Marco Marinucci (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | The paper describes the innovation strategies of a representative sample of Italian firms participating to the Bank of Italy’s yearly survey. The evidence covers the 2008-2010 period and highlights some stylized facts widely discussed in the economic literature. Results show that the activity of R&D is carried out within the firm, basically self-financed and it is more intense among bigger firms settled in central and northern Italy. On the other hand Public funding of R&D seems not able to influence the firms’ decision of undertaking the innovation process. Even though R&D expenditure and innovation activity are highly correlated, managerial best practices tend to be positively associated with R&D expenditure but to a lesser extent with the firms’ ability to introduce an innovation. Moreover, exporting firms have a higher propensity both to invest in R&D and to patent their intellectual property. Finally, the survey shows that the most relevant obstacles for Italian firms to innovate are the high setup costs and the lack of skilled research personnel. |
| Keywords: | research and development, innovation |
| JEL: | O31 O32 L25 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_197_13&r=knm |
| By: | Azagra-Caro,Joaquín M.; Consoli,Davide |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the influence of country-specific factors on the degree of reliance on public knowledge among innovators. Using backward citations as our dependent variable we find that national characteristics indicative of the quality of the innovation system generally have a positive effect on knowledge flows. A national bias towards applied research and development (R&D) has a negative impact, but this is moderated by individual public-private cooperation. Overall, our empirical exercise confirms the strong mutual influence of the characteristics of applicants and the attendant institutional context, thus contributing to the debate on the centrality of university/government-industry interaction in the current policy debate. Our sample consists of some 600,000 patents from the EU27 member states in years 1990-2007. The policy implications of our empirical exercise suggest the importance of strengthening the quality of innovation infrastructures and of setting targets for the composition of R&D funding to achieve a balance between patent knowledge production and knowledge flows. Last but not least, this analysis provides broad support for policies aimed at enhancing public-private cooperation to compensate for the effects of strong bias in the direction of national research. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge flows, innovation systems, national innovative capacity, patents, citations |
| JEL: | O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ing:wpaper:201304&r=knm |
| By: | Chris Kimble (MRM - Montpellier Recherche en Management - Université Montpellier II - Sciences et techniques : EA4557 - Université Montpellier I - Université Paul Valéry - Montpellier III - Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier (GSCM) - Montpellier Business School, Euromed Marseille - École de management - Association Euromed Management - Marseille) |
| Abstract: | This article returns to a theme addressed in Vol. 8(1) October 2002: knowledge management and the problem of managing tacit knowledge. The article is primarily a review and analysis of the literature associated with the management of knowledge. In particular, it focuses on the works of a group of economists who have studied the transformation of knowledge into information through the process of codification and the knowledge transaction topography they have developed to describe this. The article explores the theoretical and philosophical antecedents of the economists' views. It uses this as a basis for examining the dominant views of knowledge that appear in much of the literature on knowledge management and for performing a critical evaluation of their work. The results of the analysis centre upon the question of when is it appropriate to codify knowledge. They present a basic summary of the costs and benefits of codification before looking in more detail at its desirability. The conclusions concern the implications of the above for knowledge management and the management of tacit knowledge. They deal with the nature of knowledge management, some of the reasons why knowledge management projects fail to achieve their expectations and the potential problems of codification as a strategy for knowledge management. |
| Keywords: | codification; information management; knowledge management; tacit knowledge |
| Date: | 2013–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00826911&r=knm |
| By: | Mohammad Tavassoli; Nunzia Carbonara |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the effect of variety and intensity of knowledge on the innovative capability of regions. Employing data for Swedish functional regions, the paper tests the role of the variety (related and unrelated) and intensity of (i) internal knowledge generated within the region and also (ii) external knowledge networks flowing into the region in explaining regional innovative capability, as measured by patent applications. The empirical analysis provides robust evidence that both the variety and intensity of internal and external knowledge matter for regions’ innovative capability. When it comes to variety, related knowledge variety plays a superior role. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge intensity, Knowledge variety, Related variety, Unrelated variety, Internal knowledge, External knowledge, Patent applications, Functional regions |
| JEL: | O32 F14 R12 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:1317&r=knm |
| By: | Katarzyna Sznajd-Weron; Janusz Szwabinski; Rafal Weron; Tomasz Weron |
| Abstract: | A fundamental question related to innovation diffusion is how the social network structure influences the process. Empirical evidence regarding real-world influence networks is very limited. On the other hand, agent-based modeling literature reports different and at times seemingly contradictory results. In this paper we study innovation diffusion processes for a range of Watts-Strogatz networks in an attempt to shed more light on this problem. Using the so-called Sznajd model as the backbone of opinion dynamics, we find that the published results are in fact consistent and allow to predict the role of network topology in various situations. In particular, the diffusion of innovation is easier on more regular graphs, i.e. with a higher clustering coefficient. Moreover, in the case of uncertainty – which is particularly high for innovations connected to public health programs or ecological campaigns – a more clustered network will help the diffusion. On the other hand, when social influence is less important (i.e. in the case of perfect information), a shorter path will help the innovation to spread in the society and – as a result – the diffusion will be easiest on a random graph. |
| Keywords: | Diffusion of innovation; Opinion dynamics; Network structure; Watts-Strogatz network; |
| JEL: | C63 D70 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wuu:wpaper:hsc1309&r=knm |
| By: | Hasnas, Irina; Lambertini, Luca; Palestini, Arsen |
| Abstract: | In recent years Open Innovation (OI) processes have been receiving growing attention from the empirical and theoretical economic literature, where a debate is taking place on the aspects of complementarity or substitutability between internal R&D and OI spillover. By means of a differential game approach, we analyze the case of substitutability in an OI setup in a Cournot duopoly where knowledge spillovers are endogenously determined via the R&D process. The game produces multiple steady states, allowing for an asymmetric solution where a firm may trade off the R&D investment against information absorption from the rival. The technical analysis and the numerical simulations point out that the firm which commits to a higher level of OI absorption produces a smaller output and enjoys higher profits than its rival. -- |
| Keywords: | R&D,spillovers,dynamic games |
| JEL: | C73 L13 O31 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:111&r=knm |