scholarly journals Innovation indicators based on firm websites—Which website characteristics predict firm-level innovation activity?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249583
Author(s):  
Janna Axenbeck ◽  
Patrick Breithaupt

Web-based innovation indicators may provide new insights into firm-level innovation activities. However, little is known yet about the accuracy and relevance of web-based information for measuring innovation. In this study, we use data on 4,487 firms from the Mannheim Innovation Panel (MIP) 2019, the German contribution to the European Community Innovation Survey (CIS), to analyze which website characteristics perform as predictors of innovation activity at the firm level. Website characteristics are measured by several data mining methods and are used as features in different Random Forest classification models that are compared against each other. Our results show that the most relevant website characteristics are textual content, the use of English language, the number of subpages and the amount of characters on a website. In our main analysis, models using all website characteristics jointly yield AUC values of up to 0.75 and increase accuracy scores by up to 18 percentage points compared to a baseline prediction based on the sample mean. Moreover, predictions with website characteristics significantly differ from baseline predictions according to a McNemar test. Results also indicate a better performance for the prediction of product innovators and firms with innovation expenditures than for the prediction of process innovators.

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (Special Edition) ◽  
pp. 129-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waqar Wadho ◽  
Azam Chaudhry

In a knowledge-based economy, it has become increasingly important to better understand critical aspects of the innovation process such as innovation activities beyond R&D, the interaction among different actors in the market and the relevant knowledge flows. Using a sample of 431 textiles and apparel manufacturers, this paper explores the dynamics of firms’ innovation activities by analyzing their innovation behavior, the extent and types of innovation, the resources devoted to innovation, sources of knowledge spillovers, the factors hampering technological innovation and the returns to innovation for three years, 2013–15. Our results show that 56 percent of the surveyed firms introduced technological and/or nontechnological innovations, while 38 percent introduced new products, these innovations were generally incremental as the majority of innovations were new only to the firm. Furthermore, the innovation rate increases with firm size; large firms have an innovation rate of 83 percent, followed by medium firms (68 percent) and small firms (39 percent). Technologically innovative firms spent, on average, 10 percent of their turnover on innovation expenditure in 2015. Acquisition of machinery and equipment is the main innovation activity, accounting for 56 percent of innovation expenditures. Large firms consider foreign market sources (clients and suppliers) and small firms consider local market sources their key source of information and cooperation. 63 percent of technological innovators cite improving the quality of goods as their most important objective. Lack of available funds within the enterprise is the single most important cost factor hampering innovation, followed by the high cost of innovation. Our results show that 67 percent of the turnover among product innovators in 2015 resulted from product innovations that were either new to the market or new to the firm.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-171
Author(s):  
Fatma Nur Karaman Kabadurmus

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine organizational and environmental (competition, capital scarcity and organization of labor) factors that affect firms' innovation activities within the supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically examines the factors that affect firms' innovation activities using firm-level data from the last round of Business Environment Enterprise Performance Surveys (BEEPS). The analysis covers major supply chain functions: production, delivery and support systems.FindingsThe study shows that drivers of innovation vary with the type of innovation activity; as such, innovation efforts across supply chain functions should prioritize strategic resources that will create competitive advantages. Our results also reveal that sustainability efforts in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region should prioritize labor market reforms over capital market reforms.Originality/valueCurrent research on innovation and supply chain issues does not explicitly analyze innovations that occur in different sustainable supply chain functions, and empirical studies that focus on the determinants of innovations in the supply chain network are very limited. The data used in this study cover 30 economies in EECA, many of which are low- and middle-income countries, and thus contribute to the implementation of sustainable practices in developing countries.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Stefania Lewandowska

In recent years, EU countries, including these from the Central Eastern European (CEE) region has recognised, that eco-innovation should be treated as strategic priority of their economies. The aim of this paper is to present a cross-country analysis of the connection between eco-innovation and its main drivers within firms from selected CEE countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania) and Germany. The empirical part is based on micro-data for Community Innovation Survey (CIS) 2006–2008. Based on the results of stepwise regression between main policy actions sustaining innovation activity and eco-innovation performance we can conclude, that financial support for innovation activities has a rather limited role in promoting eco-innovation. At the same time enterprises from the CEE region regard environmental regulations as the most important drivers of eco-innovation. In Germany, a country ranked in the highest category in the Eco-Innovation Scoreboard, the variety of forces that influence eco-innovation is much more wide-ranging. This indicates that government actions should take a broader look and lay the more general bases fostering the model of a green growth.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 100-114
Author(s):  
Nuša Erman

Abstract In 2004, the European Commission implemented the Decision No 1608/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the production and development of Community statistics on innovation. This triggered the awareness of the role of innovation and R&D on national and European level and thus the opportunity to step towards in-depth monitoring innovation performance through various indicators. The paper aims to investigate the trends in the selected innovation indicators (i.e., public funding, expenditures and innovation activities, types of innovation and products introduced, hampered innovation activities) to outline the development direction on the enterprise level using the Community innovation survey data for the 2002–2016 period. Using the basic time series analysis, the paper evaluates the progress according to the European Strategy on research and innovation. Furthermore, using the autocorrelation and autoregression methods, the paper also outlines the future direction in innovation performance on European level.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoaib Abdul Basit ◽  
Thomas Kuhn ◽  
Mumtaz Ahmed

Abstract Background: To enhance the innovation activities at the firm level, government subsidies plays an important role. Objectives: The objective of the study is to explore whether firms in service sector that receive government subsidies engage more in marketing and organizational innovation activities than their counterparts. Second, focusing on the subsidized firms in the service sector, the impact of innovations (marketing as well as organizational) on firm performance—measured as the probability of submitted copyright applications by firms, has been analyzed. Methods/Approach: The propensity score matching approach and probit model have been used to analyze the innovation activities of subsidized and non-subsidized firms. The empirical analysis is based on the micro level data from Mannheim Innovation Panel, covering the Community Innovation Survey of 2011. Results: Empirical results show that public subsidy has a significant positive effect on marketing and organizational innovation. In addition, within the firms that have received government subsidy, the impact of only marketing innovation is found to be significant on firm performance. Conclusions: These findings employ that subsidized firms are more likely to perform better than their counterparts. Furthermore, public subsidy programs increase the probability of applying for a copyright in small and medium firms.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Mangiarotti ◽  
Cesare A.F. Riillo

Purpose – The research empirically investigates the firm-level impact of ISO 9000 certification on innovation propensity. The study aims to distinguish between manufacturing and service sectors and adopts different innovation definitions aimed at capturing the peculiarities of innovation in services and small firms. Design/methodology/approach – Relying chiefly on Community Innovation Survey data for Luxembourg, the impact of certification on innovation probability is assessed using a logit model that controls for relevant firms characteristics and market features. Findings – The innovation potential of services and small firms is understated when adopting innovation definitions restricted to technological aspects and more formalised innovation activities. ISO 9000 certification may promote innovation when adopting definitions that captures sectoral innovation specificities. In particular, certification increases innovation propensity in manufacturing when the focus is on technological innovation and formalised innovation expenditures. On the contrary, when non-technological aspects are included and allowance is made for wider innovation activities, the impact of certification on services tends to emerge. However, sharper statistical evidence for manufacturing indicates a more important role of certification for innovation success in this sector. Research limitations/implications – Case-study research could supplement the findings concerning the relative effectiveness of certification in services and manufacturing. The investigation would also benefit from extensions in the econometric analysis to address comparisons across samples and potential causality issues. Practical implications – Findings are interesting to practitioners and registrars in order to identify the specific characteristics of firms for which certification provides higher innovative potential. Originality/value – The study highlights the relevance of sectoral specificities and innovation definitions for the debate about the effect of ISO 9000 certification on innovation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (01) ◽  
pp. 1450008 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTIAN LE BAS ◽  
NICOLAS POUSSING

This paper examines the persistence of innovation behaviour at the firm level (in the manufacturing and services sectors). We attempt to answer the question of whether being successful in past innovation activities increase the probability of being successful in current innovation activities. We contribute to the literature by explicitly distinguishing between single and complex innovation strategies. Using two waves of the Community Innovation Survey (2002–2004, 2006–2008) conducted in Luxembourg, the regressions show that complex innovators are more inclined to remain persistent rather than single innovators. Within the group of single innovators, pure product innovators have an advantage over pure process innovators. The results support the idea that the differences in innovation strategies across firms are important for understanding the firm's innovation dynamics.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (06) ◽  
pp. 1450046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olfa Kammoun ◽  
Mohieddine Rahmouni

This paper documents the relationship between appropriation instruments and the innovation activity in Tunisia. It focuses on the factors that determine the appropriation of innovation activities like the value of sales of the firms, networking, science–industry linkage, competitive pressure and demand pull. To this end, we suggest an econometric analysis of 586 Tunisian firms using simple and bivariate logit regressions. We find significant interaction effects between appropriability and R&D activity. The results confirm that patenting is primarily driven by firm-level factors, not by industry affiliation. Access to external knowledge and firm's specific characteristics are the most linked factors to the innovation protection. Firms that use appropriation instruments have a higher probability of investing in R&D than others. Indeed, the capacity to integrate external knowledge and performing R&D (networking, science–industry linkage, cooperation with other firms, belonging to a group) is related to the use of appropriation instruments. We find that appropriation instruments have a significant effect on product innovation. The effect on process innovation is not significant for Tunisian firms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 1691-1703
Author(s):  
Maciej Kozłowski ◽  
Marek Pawełczyk ◽  
Agnieszka Piotrowska-Piątek

Abstract The article discusses the issue of innovation activities of companies in railway transport in Poland in the context of the development of tourism. Transport infrastructure and organization, along with economic, social, ecological and political factors, are the basic stimulators for the development of tourism. In literature on the subject, this problem is rarely discussed. This article is of a review and research nature. The aim of it is to consider the condition of innovativeness of railway transport companies in Poland in the context of its role in the development of tourism in Poland. To attain the goals of this research, a critical analysis of literature on the subject and desk research have been carried out, the latter drawing on the unpublished data of Statistics Poland, referring to Polish companies from section Transportation and storage, class Passenger rail transport, interurban (according to NACE rev.2). The data derive from the three latest editions of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). In the article, there was used data concerning: innovation activity, types of innovation, co-operation during innovative activity, importance of the source of information for innovation activity, importance of the reasons and barriers to not innovate. The data analysis reveals a rather low level of innovativeness of railway transport companies in Poland. In the authors’ opinion, this state of affairs is connected with historical and political factors: the structure and failed reforms in this sector and granting development priority to other branches of transport during the structural transformation in Poland.


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