Contenu du sommaire : Innovation Nexus Policies & Strategies

By addressing the effectiveness of entrepreneurship policy this paper attempts to fill a gap in the literature. By using a dataset of highly innovative start-ups in the East German state of Thuringia the impact of R&D subsidies on start-ups' employment growth and their patent output is analyzed. Presumed selection biases between subsidized and non-subsidized start-ups are accounted for by conducting propensity score matching. We find that R&D subsidies lead to an increase in employment growth of about 66%. Furthermore, subsidized start-ups show a 2.8 times higher patent output. These estimates provide evidence for the additionality of R&D subsidies within the first three business years. Moreover, our analysis points to a successful policy targeting of academic spin-offs. JEL Codes: O38, H59, C14

This paper proposes a framework to analyze knowledge creation in traditional sectors and empirically test innovation probability and intensity in small and medium firms (SMEs). The underlying hypothesis is that human capital and networks favour ease of learning and promote absorptive capacity and knowledge, which in turn fosters innovation in SMEs in traditional sectors. The empirical evidence is based on an ad hoc survey of a representative sample of 462 manufacturing firms in a province in Southern Italy. A probit model is used to investigate the determinants of innovation while the intensity is analyzed with a Poisson regression. The results confirm that the human capital of entrepreneurs and workers as well as the networks inside the firm has a positive effect on innovation, and the firm's production chain constitutes the most important external network in terms of knowledge and innovation. JEL Codes: D83, O31, J24, L1, C25

This study explores the relative contributions of large incumbent and small innovative firms in explaining the different structures and dynamics of interorganizational networks across multi-levels of analysis, egocentric, sectoral, and industrial. Empirically, we study alliance network evolution in the pharmaceutical industry and one of its major market segments, the antibody sector, from 2000 to 2007. Results show that small biotech and large pharmaceutical firms have opposite behavior and can both occupy central positions, though not at the same network level and for different durations. Key findings are that two distinct types of firms, with markedly dissimilar sizes and economic assets, shape the form and stability of alliance networks albeit each at a given level, industrial or sectoral. Consequently, network structure and stability are different at these different levels of aggregation. JEL Codes: D85, L14, L16, L20, L24, L26

In the context of technological transitions, the influence of innovative entrants on incumbents is a major driving force. Using worldwide patent data, the present study analyzes this influence for the case of the transition from combustion engine vehicles towards electrically powered alternative technology vehicles (ATVs). Lateral entrants and start-ups play a key role in developing ATV-related patents, whereas automotive incumbents are considered as being less motivated in pursuing this new technology. The empirical results indicate that innovative entrants have an influence on incumbents' innovation activities, and also underline the importance of cross-country entry. The findings further suggest that entrants stimulate ATV-related innovations in those incumbents that show low ATV-related patent productivity whereas incumbents with high ATV-related patent productivity react with a decrease in ATV-related patenting, which is assumed to be a sign of outsourcing research and development activities. JEL Codes: Q550, O3, Q520, R490, L910, L260, O310

This paper attempts to give explanations of environmental collaborations, as few works have focused empirically on this topic, given the lack of precise data. We aim to explain what, why, where, and with whom firms collaborate (or not)? We used more than 300 data on environmental innovations (EI) collected through semi-directive interviews and analyzed them with a mixed method. In line with the work of De Marchi (2012), we tested the specificity of EI in comparison with innovation in general. First, a probit model reveals the importance of the type of EI in the probability of collaborating when a company produces an EI. Next, statistics and verbatim transcripts emphasize the relevance of private companies as partners to EI and the frequent requirement for technical support during collaborations. These last two results nonetheless depend on the type of EI achieved. Partners are selected mainly for their geographical proximity and the trust granted to them, whereas costs and competences appear to be secondary criteria of choice. Lastly, we observe that partners are mainly located within the region irrespective of the type of EI. JEL Codes: L19, O31, Q55

This article analyzes the constraints on innovating public services in the context of the clean development mechanism (CDM). We use two methodological procedures: First, the public-private innovation networks in services (ServPPIN) concept is used to identify the stakeholders involved in the CDM projects in São Paulo, Brazil (Bandeirantes and São João landfills); the second procedure is carried out by adapting the social carbon methodology (SCM) indicators. SCM is a specific instrument used to evaluate the social and environmental co-benefits of carbon market projects. The proposed indicators were presented to and discussed with the stakeholders. The use of evaluation indicators facilitates the recognition that opportunities for service innovation are related to the establishment of new institutional and organizational arrangements. These new arrangements involve municipal governments, concession-holders, and the communities surrounding the landfills. In order to attain positive results they have to be able to work together, thus making the best use of their combined potentials. JEL Codes: O33, Q52, Q55, Q56

This article illustrates how open innovation can be applied to understand renewal processes in complex sectors of society that involve many public, private and collective actors. The article discusses how a city renewal project can be conceptualized as ‘open city innovation'. A natural experiment of a process of “open city innovation”, involving a number of private and public actors is presented. Findings suggest that attractive and capital rich urban environments can be successfully created through open city innovation facilitated by 1) a clear focus of private actors on long-term benefits of the city development project, and 2) public organisational set-ups securing involvement of many actors, interactions and knowledge distribution among them. Furthermore, the article illustrates how the “natural experiment” as research method is a promising approach for analyzing complex city renewal projects. JEL Codes: M1

The paper develops a multi-sectoral growth model that links a Post-Keynesian macro-framework to an evolutionary modelling of technical change and industrial dynamics. Following Pasinetti 1981 and Verspagen 1993, we assume that sectors are integrated such that the dynamics of each sectors' demand are interdependent, and co-evolving. Technical change mechanisms are directly inspired by evolutionary models of growth and industrial dynamics. Lorentz 2007 shows that the structure of the demand characteristics shape the structure of the economies influencing directly specialization patterns and growth rates differences among economies. The aim of this paper is to show that the introduction of satiation levels à la Pasinetti limits this effect. Hence both sectorial specialization and growth rates differences tend to disappear when the satiation levels are reached. In other words, these macro-patterns appear to be highly dependent on the persistence of structural change. JEL Codes: O41, O33, E11, F43

Pay What You Want (PWYW) pricing has received considerable attention recently. Empirical studies show that a PWYW pricing mechanism is able to increase a seller's turnover and profit. This paper addresses PWYW pricing for bundles of experience goods. The paper shows that a PWYW pricing mechanism, if applied to ex post consumption, separates the decision to buy from the decision how much to pay. Information asymmetries about the quality of the good are reduced during the act of consumption so that buyers are informed about the product's quality when they decide how much to pay. As a consequence, risk-averse buyers who would otherwise refrain from purchasing under a fixed price mechanism can be attracted to purchase under a PWYW pricing ex post consumption (PWYW-EPC) mechanism. In this case, the pricing mechanism itself constitutes a signal. The paper concludes that a PWYW pricing mechanism, applied to ex post consumption, can be a profitable strategy for a seller if she sells bundles of experience goods and if she wants to attract risk-averse buyers for realizing economies of scale in production. JEL Codes: D4 D49 D8 M31