Industry and country effects on innovation effort

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Nieto ◽  
Daniel Alonso-Martínez ◽  
Nuria González-Álvarez

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to study the determinants of firms' innovation effort using the main approaches in strategic management. The authors specifically analyze the joint effects of industry structure and country characteristics on innovation effort while controlling for firm resources.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses proposed are tested using a data set that includes firms registered in the EU Industrial R&D Investment (IRI) Scoreboard (European Commission, 2011). Specifically, the authors designed and applied a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) method to perform an empirical analysis using a panel of 1,211 innovative firms in 55 industries and 26 countries between 2004 and 2012.FindingsCountry factors have significant effects on innovation effort. Results also indicate that the moderating and complementary effects of industry and country factors depend on the geographical area.Practical implicationsAlthough managers have generally tended to take into account only the firm perspective in innovation activities, this paper highlights that institutional factors are also relevant and play a key role in innovation effort. The authors provide suggestions for managers on how to ensure that their investment in innovation is efficient. They also suggest that the effect of some institutional factors may be modified by competitive pressure on firms' innovation effort.Originality/valueThe paper makes an incremental contribution to the literature on the determinants of innovation by providing a different approach to firm innovation determinants and taking into account the complementarities between institutional and industrial factors.


2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 897-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Chen ◽  
Yiwei Jiang ◽  
Chengqi Wang ◽  
Wen Chung Hsu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how firm resources and diversification strategy explain the performance consequences of internationalization of emerging market enterprises. Design/methodology/approach – The paper conducts a regression analysis by using a novel panel data set comprising of 685 listed Chinese firms over the period of 2008-2011. Findings – The results show that the relationship between internationalization and performance is inverse U-shaped. Further, marketing resources play a greater role in enhancing the performance effects of internationalization than technological resources do. Related product diversification enhances the performance effects, while unrelated product diversification does the contrary. Research limitations/implications – The study focusses on listed firms in one country, and as a result, the findings cannot be generalized to non-listed firms and firms in other countries. Practical implications – This paper offers guidelines for international managers to improve performance of internationalization by developing a particular type of resources and diversification strategy. Originality/value – This paper extends the literature on the functional form of the internationalization-performance relationship, and further suggests that the analysis of the performance consequences of internationalization should go beyond the nexus between internationalization and performance, and focusses on firm-specific resources and strategies that may facilitate or constrain the performance effects of internationalization.



2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peinan Ji ◽  
Xiangbin Yan ◽  
Yan Shi

Purpose The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of the effects of information technology (IT) investment on firm innovation performance and examining the investment paradox effect in China. Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of China’ public firms IT investment data between 2010 and 2016, the authors establish a test model of IT investment and innovation performance. Findings The result indicates that IT investment in firms have no effect on innovation performance in the investment period. However, in the full sample and manufacturing sample, the IT investment has a significant positive effect on innovation performance in the post-investment years. In addition, this study finds that large companies and low-age companies may contribute more to innovation when firm investment in IT. Research limitations/implications There are several limitations in this research. First, the authors are failed to obtain a larger sample about the IT investment information data set in China, so this study was compelled to use limited sample data from China, hence, this could lead to errors of too early generalization. Second, the authors use the number of invention patent applications to represent the performance of enterprise innovation, which may not show enterprise innovation effectively. Third, the firms in the sample are all in China Listed Companies, so this may not accurately reflect the entire environment of firm innovation performance, and could possibly. Practical implications The research confirms that there is a paradox and time lag effect in IT investment, which enterprises should pay attention to. Originality/value Existing research confirms that corporate IT investments can bring new products or services. However, the authors still do not know whether IT investment has improved the company’s ability of innovation. This study will fill this gap and the industry effect and time lag effect of the influence of IT investment on innovative performance are also examined.



2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hafiz Mustansar Javaid ◽  
Qurat Ul Ain ◽  
Antonio Renzi

PurposeThis paper empirically investigates whether female CEOs (She-E-Os) have an effect on firm innovation among Chinese listed firms based on patent data. This study also delved further by looking at whether the internal corporate environment moderates the effect of female CEOs on innovation, that is, state ownership. Finally, this study investigates an additional test of financial constraints to examine whether financial constraints also moderate the impact of female CEOs on firm innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis study used the data of all A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges for the period from 2008 to 2017. The authors use ordinary least squares regression as a baseline methodology, along with firm-fixed effect, lagged measure of female CEOs, alternative measures of innovation, Heckman two-step model and negative binomial regression to check and control the possible issue of endogeneity.FindingsThe authors’ findings show that CEO gender plays an important role in producing higher levels of innovation output by improving the governance structure. However, female CEOs have no effect on state-owned enterprises' (SOEs) innovation activities, which suggests that the main goal of SOEs is achieving sociopolitical objectives. Furthermore, female CEOs' influence on innovation output is weaker in firms with financial constraints.Social implicationsThis study adds to the emerging global discussion on gender diversity. Many legislative bodies require a quota for women on corporate boards due to gender inequality. This study's findings reinforce such guidelines by emphasizing the economic benefits of including women in top management positions.Originality/valueThis study provides new insights by highlighting the role of female CEOs in increasing firms' innovation activities. Additionally, this study provides evidence on whether the internal corporate environment (state ownership and financial constraints) moderates female CEOs' effect on innovation.



2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 2414-2435
Author(s):  
Wenge Zhang ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Yiyuan Mai

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between industry association membership and firm innovation in Chinese private ventures. A secondary objective is to investigate potential moderating effects of firm learning practices and founder characteristics on the above relationship, and to draw out implications for policymakers and practitioners. Design/methodology/approach The paper utilizes data from a sample of 567 Chinese entrepreneurial firms operating in 9 designated emerging industries. Hierarchical regression models were employed to analyze the effect of industry association membership on firm innovation, and the potential moderating effects. A 2SLS procedure was adopted to control for potential endogeneity issue. Supplemental analyses were conducted to ensure the robustness of the findings. Findings The paper provides empirical insights about how industry association membership, along with firm learning practice and founder leadership, affect firm innovation in Chinese private ventures in emerging industries. It suggests that industry association membership positively affects firm innovation. Further, there is a three-way interaction effect of industry association membership, learning practice and founder power on innovation. Research limitations/implications Due to the design of the data set, there are some limitations. First, the study only considered whether a firm belongs to an industry association, but not the nature of such membership (length, firm status in the association, etc.). Second, the cross-sectional design may limit the power of the study to make casual implications about the tested relationships. Practical implications The paper provides important practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs in China. In general, the results suggest that private ventures pursuing innovation in emerging industries can benefit from industry associations, and entrepreneurs shall actively engage in firm-level and personal-level learning. For policymakers, the study suggests that to foster innovation in an emerging industry, special attention shall be paid to building necessary institutional support to develop and to strengthen the role of industry association in the industry. Originality/value This paper fulfills an important gap in the literature in that it is one of the first, which investigates the role of the industry association in firm innovation, especially in a non-western context. This paper provides new insights into the role of industry association and firm innovation in an under-researched developing economy context.



2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Quoc Hoi ◽  
Hương Lan Trần

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the credit composition and income inequality reduction in Vietnam. In particular, the authors focus on the distinction between policy and commercial credits and investigate whether these two types of credit had adverse effects on income inequality. The authors also examine whether the impact of policy credit on income inequality is conditioned by the educational level and institutional quality.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the primary data set, which contains a panel of 60 provinces collected from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam from 2002 to 2016. The authors employ the generalized method of moments to solve the endogenous problem.FindingsThe authors show that while commercial credit increases income inequality, policy credit contributes to reducing income inequality in Vietnam. In addition, we provide evidence that the institutional quality and educational level condition the impact of policy credit on income inequality. Based on the findings, the paper implies that it was not the size of the private credit but its composition that mattered in reducing income inequality, due to the asymmetric effects of different types of credit.Originality/valueThis is the first study that examines the links between the two components of credit and income inequality as well as constraints of the links. The authors argue that analyzing the separate effects of commercial and policy credits is more important for explaining the role of credit in income inequality than the size of total credit.



2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Nderitu Githaiga

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether revenue diversification affects the financial sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs).Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a worldwide panel data set of 443 MFIs in 108 countries for the period 2013–2018 and two-step system Generalized Method of Moments estimation model.FindingsThe study finds that revenue diversification has a significant and positive effect on the financial sustainability of MFIs.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study actually offer important managerial and policy lessons on MFIs’ financial sustainability. Microfinance managers and policymakers should consider revenue diversification as a strategy through which MFIs can attain financial sustainability instead of overreliance on donations and government subsidiesOriginality/valueUnlike previous studies that examined revenue diversification in the context of banking firms, this study contributes to literature by examining the impact of revenue diversification of the financial sustainability of MFIs.



2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Navaz Naghavi ◽  
Saeed Pahlevan Sharif ◽  
Hafezali Bin Iqbal Hussain

PurposeThis study seeks to add more insights to the debate on “whether”, “how”, and “under which condition” women representation on the board contributes to firm performance. More specifically, the current study aims to investigate if the effect of board gender diversity on firm performance is dependent on macro factors of national cultures.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the generalized method of moments regression and a data set consists of 2,550 company year observations over 10 years.FindingsThe results indicated that cultural variables interact with board diversity to influence firm performance. Having women on the board in countries with high power distance, individualist, masculine and low-uncertainty avoidance culture influences the firm performance negatively.Originality/valueThe findings indicate that the effects of corporate governance structure on firm performance depends on culture-specific factors, providing support for the argument that institutional norms that are governed by cultural norms affect the effectiveness of corporate governance structure.



2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 521-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rimantas Gatautis† ◽  
Egle Vaiciukynaite ◽  
Asta Tarute

Purpose Business model innovations (BMIs), their drivers and outcomes are attracting increasing attention in academic literature. However, previous studies have mainly focused on large companies, while knowledge of BMI in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to add new insights into how related BMI drivers, practices and outcomes are in relation to SMEs. Design/methodology/approach An extensive review of the existing literature was performed. Consequently, the relationships between BMI drivers, BMI practices and outcomes of BMI were developed as a conceptual framework. An empirical study was carried out. A structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure was used to empirically test the model using a quantitative data set of Lithuanian SMEs (n=73). Findings The study provides insights into the relations between BMI drivers, BMI practices and outcomes of BMI in SMEs. The findings of SEM, four drivers (innovation activities, strategic orientation, market and technology turbulence, respectively) are indicated to contribute to BMI of SMEs. In addition, the results proved that the implementation of BMI practices leads to strategic and architectural changes in firms and has a positive impact on SMEs performance and innovativeness. Research limitations/implications Empirical research is focused on a limited number of internal and external BMI drivers, which have an influence on BMI in SMEs from one geographical region. Consequently, there are many external and internal BMI drivers which also may have an influence on BMI in SMEs, such as industry life cycle, organizational inertia and leadership. Meanwhile, SMEs possess multiple characteristics, i.e. a phase of maturity, gender of CEO, firm size and industry; therefore, the aforesaid aspects are considered to be significant limitations. In addition, the importance of SMEs characteristics as mediators for the effects on a firm’s performance and innovativeness should be considered in future research avenues. Practical implications Findings of this research can be used by SME managers to better understand how firms might actively engage in BMI practices, what drivers lead to BMI and, in turn, affect their firm’s performance and innovativeness. SME managers should be encouraged to pay attention to strategic and architectural changes of BM that can contribute to enterprise performance and innovativeness. Originality/value This paper adds to the stream of BMI research by empirically exploring drivers and outcomes of BMI in SMEs. In addition, this paper fulfills research gaps proposed by Bouwman et al. (2018), Foss and Saebi (2017), Heikkilä, Bouwman and Heikkilä (2018) and Lambert and Davidson (2013), and enhances the current overall understanding of BMIs.



2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Rossi ◽  
Robert Boylan ◽  
Richard J. Cebula

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between financial decisions and ownership structure by using the control contests on a sample of Italian listed companies. Design/methodology/approach The analysis adopts a balanced panel data set of 984 firm-year observations for the period of 2002-2013, with estimation using a generalized method of moments. Findings The results appear to confirm both the hypotheses of the alignment of interests and the entrenchment effect. The entrenchment and alignment effects are not found to be alternatives but rather are found to co-exist. The presence of a coalition of minority shareholders acts as a tool to control agency costs, particularly when the coalition is instrumental in the contestability of corporate control. Practical implications These findings suggest that minority shareholders may have a larger impact than previously identified by strategically aligning with other shareholders to form coalitions. This study provides several practical implications. First, dividend payout is not necessarily a good instrument to control and monitor agency costs. This is because the payout can be used to expropriate benefits from the minority shareholders. Second, high ownership concentration does not always reduce agency costs. Third, a non-collusive coalition can be more useful in the monitoring of agency costs than other tools, such as the debt level. Originality/value This study shows that there is considerable value to the firm when individual blockholders come together in a contestable environment and become instrumental in making business decisions. The results support the contention that contestability is an excellent deterrent to dampen the expropriation of benefits to minority shareholders. This study also provides evidence that cash holding can be a good substitute for dividends and debt in the effort to limit agency costs.



Author(s):  
Diego F. Grijalva ◽  
Mary Lou Ponsetto ◽  
Yelitza Pontón

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the expansionary phase of a business cycle driven by an exogenous commodity price shock (oil) affects R&D expenditures among Ecuadorian firms. Design/methodology/approach Using two rounds of the Ecuadorian National Science, Technology and Innovation Activities Survey (ACTI 2012 and 2015) and a data set on gross value added (GVA) by industry, we run a sample correction model applied to a panel data of 1,023 firms from 2009 to 2014. Findings In deciding whether to invest in R&D, the higher an industry’s GVA, the lower the predicted probability that firms in that industry would invest. Additionally, R&D investments are not procyclical, and there is marginal evidence that they might actually be countercyclical. These findings are consistent with Schumpeter (1939) and Ouyang (2011) and are likely due to an increased opportunity cost of R&D investment during the oil boom. Originality/value In this study, we examine a boom period and not a full business cycle. This boom is driven by an exogenous shock, deviating from much of the current literature, which focuses on endogenously driven business cycles. This paper examines how the oil shock impacted a variety of industries, and not just attractive ones. Additionally, this paper adds to the limited literature around R&D and business cycles in Latin America.



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