Benchmark Value-added Chains and Regional Clusters in R&D-intensive Industries
Reinhold Kosfeld, Mirko Titze
International Regional Science Review,
No. 5,
2017
Abstract
Although the phase of euphoria seems to be over, policy makers and regional agencies have maintained their interest in cluster policy. Modern cluster theory provides reasons for positive external effects that may accrue from interaction in a group of proximate enterprises operating in common and related fields. Although there has been some progress in locating clusters, in most cases only limited knowledge on the geographical extent of regional clusters has been established. In the present article, we present a hybrid approach to cluster identification. Dominant buyer–supplier relationships are derived by qualitative input–output analysis from national input–output tables, and potential regional clusters are identified by spatial scanning. This procedure is employed to identify clusters of German research and development-intensive industries. A sensitivity analysis reveals good robustness properties of the hybrid approach with respect to variations in the quantitative cluster composition.
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Joint R&D Subsidies, Related Variety, and Regional Innovation
T. Broekel, Matthias Brachert, M. Duschl, T. Brenner
International Regional Science Review,
No. 3,
2017
Abstract
Subsidies for research and development (R&D) are an important tool of public R&D policy, which motivates extensive scientific analyses and evaluations. This article adds to this literature by arguing that the effects of R&D subsidies go beyond the extension of organizations’ monetary resources invested into R&D. It is argued that collaboration induced by subsidized joint R&D projects yield significant effects that are missed in traditional analyses. An empirical study on the level of German labor market regions substantiates this claim, showing that collaborative R&D subsidies impact regions’ innovation growth when providing access to related variety and embedding regions into central positions in cross-regional knowledge networks.
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Financial Literacy and Self-employment
Aida Ćumurović, Walter Hyll
Abstract
In this paper, we study the relationship between financial literacy and self-employment. We use established financial knowledge-based questions to measure financial literacy levels. The analysis shows a highly significant correlation between selfemployment and financial literacy scores. To investigate the impact of financial literacy on being self-employed, we apply instrumental variable techniques based on information on economic education before entering the labour market and education of parents. Our results reveal that financial literacy positively affects the probability of being self-employed. As financial literacy is acquirable, findings suggest that entrepreneurial activities may be raised via enhancing financial knowledge.
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RegDemo: Preparation and Merger of Actor Data – Technical Documentation of Routines and Datasets
Wilfried Ehrenfeld
IWH Technical Reports,
No. 1,
2015
Abstract
Übergeordnetes Ziel der hier vorgestellten Routinen ist die Abbildung von Kooperationsbeziehungen von Unternehmen, Universitäten, außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtung sowie sonstiger Institutionen auf drei Ebenen von Innovationstätigkeit (Verbundprojekte; Publikationen; Patente). Dazu werden a) die drei innovationsbezogenen Datenbanken (Förderkatalog; Web of Knowledge; DPMA Patente) vereinheitlicht und zusammengeführt sowie b) diese kombinierten Datenbestände mittels Record-Linkage-Techniken mit den Daten aus den Institutionendatensätzen Amadeus und Research Explorer verknüpft. Die Zusammenführung erstreckt sich für dieses Projekt auf die sechs Fallregionen, die in RegDemo vorgesehen sind. Die Abgrenzung erfolgt anhand von Raumordnungsregionen: 501 - Aachen; 513 - Siegen; 602 - Nordhessen (= „Kassel“); 1302 – Mittleres Mecklenburg/Rostock (= „Rostock“); 1401 - Oberes Elbtal/Osterzgebirge (= „Dresden“); 1504 - Magdeburg.
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The Structure and Evolution of Inter-sectoral Technological Complementarity in R&D in Germany from 1990 to 2011
T. Broekel, Matthias Brachert
Journal of Evolutionary Economics,
No. 4,
2015
Abstract
Technological complementarity is argued to be a crucial element for effective R&D collaboration. The real structure is, however, still largely unknown. Based on the argument that organizations’ knowledge resources must fit for enabling collective learning and innovation, we use the co-occurrence of firms in collaborative R&D projects in Germany to assess inter-sectoral technological complementarity between 129 sectors. The results are mapped as complementarity space for the Germany economy. The space and its dynamics from 1990 to 2011 are analyzed by means of social network analysis. The results illustrate sectors being complements both from a dyadic and portfolio/network perspective. This latter is important, as complementarities may only become fully effective when integrated in a complete set of different knowledge resources from multiple sectors. The dynamic perspective moreover reveals the shifting demand for knowledge resources among sectors at different time periods.
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Young, Restless and Creative: Openness to Disruption and Creative Innovations
Daron Acemoglu, Ufuk Akcigit, Murat Alp Celik
NBER Working Paper,
No. 19894,
2015
Abstract
This paper argues that openness to new, unconventional and disruptive ideas has a first-order impact on creative innovations—innovations that break new ground in terms of knowledge creation. After presenting a motivating model focusing on the choice between incremental and radical innovation, and on how managers of different ages and human capital are sorted across different firms with different degrees of openness to disruption, we provide firm-level, patent level and cross-country evidence consistent with this pattern. Our measures of creative innovations proxy for innovation quality (average number of citations per patent) and creativity (fraction of superstar innovators, the likelihood of a very high number of citations, and generality of patents). Our main proxy for openness to disruption is the age of the manager - based on the idea that only companies or societies open to such disruption will allow the young to rise up within the hierarchy. Using this proxy at the firm, patent and country level, we present robust evidence that openness to disruption is associated with more creative innovations, but we also show that once the effect of the sorting of young managers to firms that are more open to disruption is factored in, the (causal) impact of manager age on creative innovations is small.
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On the Trail of Core–periphery Patterns in Innovation Networks: Measurements and New Empirical Findings from the German Laser Industry
Wilfried Ehrenfeld, Toralf Pusch, Muhamed Kudic
Annals of Regional Science,
No. 1,
2015
Abstract
It has been frequently argued that a firm’s location in the core of an industry’s innovation network improves its ability to access information and absorb technological knowledge. The literature has still widely neglected the role of peripheral network positions for innovation processes. In addition to this, little is known about the determinants affecting a peripheral actors’ ability to reach the core. To shed some light on these issues, we have employed a unique longitudinal dataset encompassing the entire population of German laser source manufacturers (LSMs) and laser-related public research organizations (PROs) over a period of more than two decades. The aim of our paper is threefold. First, we analyze the emergence of core–periphery (CP) patterns in the German laser industry. Then, we explore the paths on which LSMs and PROs move from isolated positions toward the core. Finally, we employ non-parametric event history techniques to analyze the extent to which organizational and geographical determinates affect the propensity and timing of network core entries. Our results indicate the emergence and solidification of CP patterns at the overall network level. We also found that the paths on which organizations traverse through the network are characterized by high levels of heterogeneity and volatility. The transition from peripheral to core positions is impacted by organizational characteristics, while an organization’s geographical location does not play a significant role.
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Taking the First Step - What Determines German Laser Source Manufacturers' Entry into Innovation Networks?
Jutta Günther, Muhamed Kudic, Andreas Pyka
International Journal of Innovation Management,
No. 5,
2015
Abstract
Early access to technological knowledge embodied in the industry’s innovation network can provide an important competitive advantage to firms. While the literature provides much evidence on the positive effects of innovation networks on firms’ performance, not much is known about the determinants of firms’ initial entry into such networks. We analyze firms’ timing and propensity to enter the industry’s innovation network. More precisely, we seek to shed some light on the factors affecting the duration between firm founding and its first cooperation event. In doing so, we apply a unique longitudinal event history dataset based on the full population of German laser source manufacturers. Innovation network data stem from official databases providing detailed information on the organizations involved, subject of joint research and development (R&D) efforts as well as start and end times for all publically funded R&D projects between 1990 and 2010. Estimation results from a non-parametric event history model indicate that micro firms enter the network later than small-sized or large firms. An in-depth analysis of the size effects for medium-sized firms provides some unexpected findings. The choice of cooperation type makes no significant difference for the firms’ timing to enter the network. Finally, the analysis of geographical determinants shows that cluster membership can, but do not necessarily, affect a firm’s timing to cooperate.
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Do Manufacturing Firms Benefit from Services FDI? – Evidence from Six New EU Member States
J. Damijan, Crt Kostevc, Philipp Marek, Matija Rojec
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 5,
2015
Abstract
This paper focuses on the effect of foreign presence in the services sector on the productivity growth of downstream customers in the manufacturing sector in six EU new member countries in the course of their accession to the European Union. For this purpose, the analysis combines firm-level information, data on economic structures and annual national input-output tables. The findings suggest that services FDI may enhance productivity of manufacturing firms in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries through vertical forward spillovers, and thereby contribute to their competitiveness. The consideration of firm characteristics shows that the magnitude of spillover effects depends on size, ownership structure, and initial productivity level of downstream firms as well as on the diverging technological intensity across sector on the supply and demand side. The results suggest that services FDI foster productivity of domestic rather than foreign controlled firms in the host economy. For the period between 2003 and 2008, the findings suggest that the increasing share of services provided by foreign affiliates enhanced the productivity growth of domestic firms in manufacturing by 0.16%. Furthermore, the firms’ absorptive capability and the size reduce the spillover effect of services FDI on the productivity of manufacturing firms. A sectoral distinction shows that firms at the end of the value chain experience a larger productivity growth through services FDI, whereas the aggregate positive effect seems to be driven by FDI in energy supply. This does not hold for science-based industries, which are spurred by foreign presence in knowledge-intensive business services.
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Isolation and Innovation – Two Contradictory Concepts? Explorative Findings from the German Laser Industry
Wilfried Ehrenfeld, T. Pusch, Muhamed Kudic
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 1,
2015
Abstract
We apply a network perspective and study the emergence of core-periphery (CP) structures in innovation networks to shed some light on the relationship between isolation and innovation. It has been frequently argued that a firm’s location in a densely interconnected network area improves its ability to access information and absorb technological knowledge. This, in turn, enables a firm to generate new products and services at a higher rate compared to less integrated competitors. However, the importance of peripheral positions for innovation processes is still a widely neglected issue in literature. Isolation may provide unique conditions that induce innovations which otherwise may never have been invented. Such innovations have the potential to lay the ground for a firm’s pathway towards the network core, where the industry’s established technological knowledge is assumed to be located.
The aim of our paper is twofold. Firstly, we propose a new CP indicator and apply it to analyze the emergence of CP patterns in the German laser industry. We employ publicly funded Research and Development (R&D) cooperation project data over a period of more than two decades. Secondly, we explore the paths on which firms move from isolated positions towards the core (and vice versa). Our exploratory results open up a number of new research questions at the intersection between geography, economics and network research.
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