Knowledge spillover driven by institutions: evidence from the big science project in China

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingling Zhang ◽  
Chang Gao ◽  
Yoshiteru Nakamori
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Spillovers ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Knowledge Spillover ◽  
Individual Behavior ◽  
Engineering Practice ◽  
Big Science ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions

Purpose This study aims to explore the knowledge spillover mechanism in big science projects (BSP) from an institutional perspective by elaborating on the dynamic relationship between institutional dualism and legitimacy. Design/methodology/approach The study conducts an exploratory research and adopts the grounded theory methodology in the context of BSP. Data draw mainly upon nine semi-structured interviews. Findings The knowledge spillovers in BSP are driven by institutions, which work through mechanisms of legitimacy perception. Formal and informal institutions influence organizational and individual behavior through legitimacy pressure and support. Formal institutions impose legitimacy pressure on organizations and individuals, forcing them to cooperate closely to solve problems; informal institutions enable them to adopt innovative strategies and positive attitudes through legitimacy support; all these promote knowledge spillovers in research and development (R&D) activities, engineering practice and regional interaction. Knowledge spillovers enable stakeholders to realize their R&D advancement, manufacturing promotion and management sophistication. Further, regional knowledge diffusion and culture transmission promote regional innovation and social capital accumulation. Research limitations/implications The study develops a theoretical model that shows how knowledge spillover mechanisms happen in BSP from an institutional perspective (the trigger, the channels/process and the impacts). More specifically, this explanation is provided by explaining how formal and informal institutions influence organizational and individual behavior through legitimacy perceptions. Practical implications First, policymakers should recognize and value the guiding, supporting and coordinating role of formal institutions and enrich capital forms to release the legitimacy pressure of stakeholders. Second, management of BSP needs to be capable of coordinating stakeholder relationships and interactions, while management should focus their attention on fostering good organizational routines and shared group value. Third, the local culture and customs should be taken into consideration since it can be an enabling or constraining of BSP. Finally, industries can take advantage of the opportunity to coordinate their R&D efforts to gain competitiveness. Originality/value First, the authors introduce the institutional perspective to analyze the construction process of BSP, which helps to better understand the interactions of stakeholders under the influence of institutions, the dynamic process and impacts of knowledge spillovers. Second, the authors are committed to contributing to the development of knowledge spillover theories by adopting an institutional perspective. The authors furthermore explore and propose the presence of a dynamic mechanism between institutional dualism and knowledge spillovers. In consequence, the authors introduce the concept of legitimacy perceptions, which is a bridge to understanding the interaction between them. Third, by explicitly discussing the actual meaning of our framework, the authors explore the unique potential of institutional arrangement in promoting the knowledge management of complex cross-border cooperation, while seeking to promote its management and administrative practices.

scholarly journals Formal institutions and the development of entrepreneurial activity – the contingent role of corruption in emerging economies

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arezou Harraf ◽  
Hasan Ghura ◽  
Allam Hamdan ◽  
Xiaoqing Li
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Corporate Entrepreneurship ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Business World ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Control Of Corruption

PurposeThe paper aims to analyse the interplay between formal and informal institutions' and their impact on entrepreneurship rates in emerging economies.Design/methodology/approachThis study expands previous research in examining the moderating effect of control of corruption on the relationship between formal institutions and the development of the entrepreneurial activity. The study utilizes longitudinal analyses of a dataset from 41 emerging economies over 11 years (2006–2016).FindingsFindings provided robust support for the study's hypotheses. The results suggested lower levels of corruption positively moderate the effects of a country's number of procedures and education and training on the rates of entrepreneurial activity, while negatively moderating the effects of firm-level technology absorption on the rates of entrepreneurial activity.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has considered only one particular aspect of high-growth entrepreneurship, which is newly registered firms with limited liability. Although newly registered firms are recognized as one of the critical drivers of entrepreneurial activity. Future research should seek to examine other aspects of growth-oriented entrepreneurship such as activities involving a high level of innovation, corporate entrepreneurship or technology developments.Practical implicationsThis study advanced the existing theories in the field of entrepreneurship and institutional economics as it merged the two theories as a driving framework in the design of the study in the context of emerging economies.Social implicationsThe study tested a theoretical model by expanding the number of emerging economies in the study and found comparable findings that explain factors that may influence the likelihood of individuals entering entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThis article adds to the current literature as it highlights the importance of the interplay of formal and informal institutions in determining their impact on entrepreneurship rates in emerging economies. This is of particular importance to policy-makers, and the business world as the empirical results of this study show the benefits of control of corruption in boosting entrepreneurial rates in these economies, which strive for economic diversification in their developmental endeavours.

Whether analogue countries exhibit similar women entrepreneurial activities?

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 759-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danish Junaid ◽  
Zheng He ◽  
Amit Yadav ◽  
Lydia Asare-Kyire
Keyword(s):  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Entry ◽  
Normative Dimension ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities ◽  
Gem Data

Purpose While there are many studies on the impacts of formal institutions such as government financial supporting and tax preferential policies on women entrepreneurial entry, few attempted to explore how informal institutions causes cross-country differences in women entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether countries (Pakistan and Malaysia) with similar religious belief, political system and government policies exhibits similar level of women entrepreneurial activity from an informal institutional perspective. Design/methodology/approach This study used Global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) data for the years 2010–2012 and employed probit regression analysis to examine the impacts of cultural-cognitive and social-normative institutions on women entrepreneurial activity. Findings The findings reveal profound differences of women’s entrepreneurial activities between Pakistan and Malaysia. While cultural-cognitive dimension shows substantial impact for both nations, social-normative dimension explains the main differences in women’s entrepreneurial activity. Practical implications This study proposes that policymakers may craft policies to enhance women skills, knowledge and networking as well as positive societal attitudes to foster women entrepreneurial activities. Originality/value This study shows that countries with the same religion and similar formal institutions can also exhibit different level of women entrepreneurial activity. In Pakistan, the negative societal attitudes in the form of deep rooted traditional beliefs as well as misinterpreted religious concepts for women role create formidable challenges and inhibit business opportunities for them. By contrast, favorable social perception and societal attitudes in Malaysia encourage women to pursue their entrepreneurial activities.

Network centrality and innovation performance: the role of formal and informal institutions in emerging economies

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1388-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifeng Wang ◽  
Yapu Zhao ◽  
Beilei Dang ◽  
Pengfei Han ◽  
Xin Shi
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Network Centrality ◽  
Entrepreneurial Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Growth Enterprise Market ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The impact of network centrality on innovation performance is inconclusive. The purpose of this paper is to examine how formal and informal institutions affect the influence of network centrality on firms’ innovation performance in emerging economies by integrating social network theory and institutional theory. Design/methodology/approach Multisource and lagged data from 234 technology-based entrepreneurial firms listed on the Chinese Growth Enterprise Market were leveraged to test a proposed research model. Findings Results suggest that formal institutions (marketization) positively moderate the relationship between network centrality and innovation performance, whereas informal institutions (social cohesion) negatively moderate this relationship. Moreover, formal and informal institutions have a strong joint impact on such relationship, that is, the effect of network centrality on innovation performance is most positive when marketization is high and social cohesion is low. Originality/value This empirical research provides new insights into whether and how firms can grasp the innovation benefits of network centrality by exploring institutional contingencies. It further sheds on light the scope of the network centrality–innovation issue by extending its research context to Chinese entrepreneurial firms.

Capitalising on knowledge from big-science centres for internationalisation

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tõnis Eerme ◽  
Niina Nummela
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Spillovers ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
Big Science ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Resource Constrained ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how resource-constrained, knowledge-intensive firms capitalise on the knowledge from collaboration with big-science centres. It pays particular attention to what kind of knowledge a firm obtains and how it can be efficiently used in exploring and exploiting opportunities in international markets.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical basis for the study is a longitudinal case study of knowledge-intensive Estonian companies that collaborate with the European Space Agency (ESA). A rich data set was collected over three years.FindingsBy studying the inward and outward activities of the two case companies collaborating with the ESA, the authors found that the internationalisation process of these firms had unique characteristics. Their international expansion was not driven by increasing market knowledge and reducing risk or uncertainty, but by resource seeking for research and development efforts. It was a cyclical, non-linear process, which was advanced by co-creation, learning and exploitation of the emergent knowledge, leading to an improved network position and identification of further opportunities.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus was on knowledge-intensive, resource-constrained firms and their collaboration with big-science centres. The transfer of the proposed framework to another context may not be straightforward. The authors relied on informants from the firms, thus ignoring the view of their partner, the big-science centre. It may be that because of this perspective, the authors did not capture some aspects of the collaboration. A broader range of cases would have provided more powerful support to the findings. Although the cases were sufficient for theory refinement and building a tentative framework, they also call for further cases that would clarify whether these conclusions would be valid for other companies.Practical implicationsCollaboration with big-science centres provides companies with access to diverse types of knowledge. However, its impact on the future success in internationalisation also depends on other factors, such as the firm’s absorptive capacity and technological competence.Social implicationsGovernments invest substantially on the development of big-science centres with the expectation that they would have significant knowledge spillovers on the technology development. A more qualitative approach to impact assessment opens new ideas how to develop their activities and in particular their collaboration with SMEs.Originality/valueThe study reassesses the theory on the internationalisation process of the firm and gives voice to companies which have been marginalised in earlier research.

scholarly journals Explaining the Undeclared Economy in Bulgaria: an Institutional Asymmetry Perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin C. Williams ◽  
Josip Franic ◽  
Rositsa Dzhekova
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
East Europe ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
South East Europe ◽  
The Social ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Values And Beliefs ◽  
Civic Morality

Abstract This paper proposes a way of explaining the undeclared economy that represents participation in undeclared work as a violation of the social contract between the state and its citizens, and as arising when the informal institutions comprising the norms, values and beliefs of citizens (civic morality) do not align with the codified laws and regulations of a society’s formal institutions (state morality). Drawing upon evidence from 1,018 face-to-face interviews conducted in Bulgaria during 2013, the finding is that the greater is the asymmetry between formal and informal institutions (i.e., citizens’ civic morality and state morality), the greater is the likelihood of participation in the undeclared economy, and vice versa. The outcome is that tackling the undeclared economy requires a focus upon reducing this lack of alignment of formal and informal institutions. How this can be achieved in Bulgaria in particular and South-East Europe and beyond more generally, is then discussed.

scholarly journals Tax morale and institutional theory: a systematic review

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 868-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Tax Morale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
Salient Factor ◽  
Library Catalogue

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of the factors that shape tax morale. A large range of random explanatory variables identified in the literature as determinants of tax morale are synthesised and structured by drawing inspiration from the institutional theory.Design/methodology/approachTo do this, a systematic search has been conducted using a library catalogue which provides access to more than 400 databases.FindingsThe finding is that the institutional theory provides a suitable theoretical basis to explore tax morale. Indeed, all the factors until now identified as determinants of tax morale (except the control variables/socio-demographic characteristics) can be categorised either as belonging to formal institutions or to informal institutions. The most salient factor is trust, with both vertical and horizontal trust positively related to tax morale.Research limitations/implicationsThe outcome is a call for a more nuanced understanding of not only the effect of formal and informal institutions on tax morale but also how formal and informal institutions interact and alter each other and, consequently, affect tax morale.Practical implicationsThe paper seeks to encourage governments to start recognising that as low tax morale arises when a gap exists between formal and informal institutions, they need to design policy measures aimed to reduce this gap, rather than persisting with deterrence measures.Originality/valueThis is the first systematic review of the factors that influence tax morale using an institutionalist lens.

scholarly journals The Impact of Institutions on the Evolution of Tourism Accommodation Format: Evidence from Wulingyuan, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2882
Author(s):  
Ting Jiang ◽  
Shaobing Zhuo ◽  
Chaozhi Zhang ◽  
Jun Gao
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Evolution Process ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Industry Needs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Current Stage

This paper examines the impact of institutions on evolution of tourism accommodation format in Wulingyuan, a well-known tourist destination in China, from the perspective of institutional cluster embeddedness. Data were primarily collected through interviews and participant observations. The findings show a five-stage evolution process starting from introduction (1982–1988), through growth (1989–2000), adjustment (2001–2004), and upgrade (2005–2010) to the current stage of individualization (2011–present). During the process, the informal institutions work to suppress, conflict with the formal institutions, yet transform into formal institutions in the end. In such a process, institutional loopholes and frictions are the norm, and tourism accommodation format evolves from extensive development to sustainable development. It suggests that the sustainable development of the tourism accommodation industry needs the synergy of formal and informal institutions.

Institutional outlook of the entrepreneurial climate in Ghana

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 566-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Adomako ◽  
Albert Danso ◽  
Ernest Ampadu
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions ◽  
Entrepreneurial Climate

Purpose – Previous scholarly studies on institutions tend to create a sombre picture of institutions by ignoring to examine the antecedents of formal and informal institutions. The purpose of this paper is to overcome this limitation by proposing a conceptual framework of the antecedents of formal and informal institutions of entrepreneurial climate in a less developed market setting. Design/methodology/approach – This study builds on a comprehensive survey of the literature on institutions by using a synthesis thematic methodology to identified key scholarly studies which have been published in previous theoretical and empirical studies and proposes a conceptual framework of the role of formal and informal institutions in defining entrepreneurial climate in a developing economy’s context. Findings – The findings of the paper suggest that political factors and economic factors define formal institutions whilst socio-cultural factors define informal institutions. These factors rooted in political, economic and socio-cultural factors have a major influence on the rate and nature of entrepreneurial activity in a developing country setting. Practical implications – This paper contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship and intuitional theory by focusing on the antecedents of formal and informal institutional factors that shape entrepreneurial climate in Ghana. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first review that explores the nature of entrepreneurial climate and proposes a conceptual framework of the role of formal and informal institutions in defining entrepreneurial climate in Ghana.

scholarly journals Informal Payments by Patients in Central and Eastern Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Institutional Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10914
Author(s):  
Adrian V. Horodnic ◽  
Colin C. Williams ◽  
Răzvan Ionuț Drugă ◽  
Cristian Incaltarau
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Quality Of Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Informal Payments ◽  
Formal And Informal Institutions

Confronted with a global pandemic, public healthcare systems are under pressure, making access to healthcare services difficult for patients. This provides fertile ground for using illegal practices such as informal payments to gain access. This paper aims to evaluate the use of informal payments by patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and the institutions that affect the prevalence of this practice. Various measurements of formal and informal institutions are here investigated, namely the acceptability of corruption, the level of trust, transparency, and performance of the healthcare system. To do so, a logistic regression of 10,859 interviews with patients conducted across 11 Central and Eastern Europe countries in October–December 2020 is employed. The finding is that there are large disparities between countries in the prevalence of informal payments, and that the practice is more likely to occur where there are poorer formal and informal institutions, namely higher acceptability of corruption, lower trust in authorities, lower perceived transparency in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, difficult access to, and poor quality of, healthcare services, and higher mortality rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggest that policy measures for tackling informal payments need to address the current state of the institutional environment.

Cross-country variations in the participation of small businesses in the informal economy

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin C Williams ◽  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
Keyword(s):  
Informal Economy ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Laws And Regulations ◽  
Civic Morality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance a new explanation for cross-country variations in the participation of small businesses in the informal economy. Drawing upon institutional theory, it proposes that the greater the asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of formal institutions (state morality) and the unwritten socially shared rules of informal institutions (civic morality), the greater is the propensity of small businesses to participate in the informal economy. To analyse this, the extent to which small businesses evade payroll taxes by paying employees an undeclared (envelope) wage in addition to their official declared salary is analysed. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate this, data are reported from a 2013 Eurobarometer survey involving 5,174 face-to-face interviews with employees in small businesses across the 28 member states of the European Union (EU-28). Findings – The finding is that small businesses display a greater propensity to engage in this informal wage practice in countries where there is a higher degree of asymmetry between the codified laws and regulations of formal institutions (state morality) and the unwritten socially shared rules of informal institutions (civic morality). A multi-level logistic regression analysis reveals these to be countries which have lower qualities of governance, lower levels of taxation and intervention in the labour market and less effective social transfer systems. Research limitations/implications – The major limitation of this study is that it has only examined whether employees in small businesses receive informal wages. Future cross-country surveys should analyse a wider range of ways in which small businesses participate in the informal economy such as under-reporting turnover. Originality/value – This is the first known analysis of cross-country variations in the participation of small businesses in the informal economy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document