Showing papers by "Keld Laursen published in 2012"
TL;DR: It is argued that geographically localized social capital affects a firm's ability to innovate through various external channels and that being located in a region characterized by a high level of social capital leads to a higher propensity to innovate.
Abstract: To introduce new products, firms often use knowledge from other organizations. Drawing on social capital theory and the relational view of the firm, we argue that geographically localized social capital affects a firm's ability to innovate through various external channels. Combining data on social capital at the regional level, with a large-scale data set of the innovative activities of a representative sample of 2,413 Italian manufacturing firms from 21 regions, and controlling for a large set of firm and regional characteristics, we find that being located in a region characterized by a high level of social capital leads to a higher propensity to innovate. We find also that being located in an area characterized by a high degree of localized social capital is complementary to firms' investments in internal research and development (R&D) and that such a location positively moderates the effectiveness of externally acquired R&D on the propensity to innovate.
340 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the advantages and disadvantages of local and non-local search, discusses organizational responses, and identifies potential exogenous triggers for different kinds of search, concluding that the initial focus on local search was a consequence, in part, of the attention in evolutionary economics to path-dependent behavior, but that as localized behavior was increasingly accepted as the standard mode, studies began to question whether locally search was the best solution in all cases.
Abstract: This article critically reviews and synthesizes the contributions found in theoretical and empirical studies of firm-level innovation search processes. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of local and non-local search, discusses organizational responses, and identifies potential exogenous triggers for different kinds of search. It argues that the initial focus on local search was a consequence, in part, of the attention in evolutionary economics to path-dependent behavior, but that as localized behavior was increasingly accepted as the standard mode, studies began to question whether local search was the best solution in all cases. More recently, the literature has focused on the trade-offs being created, by firms having to balance local and non-local search. We account also for the apparent “variety paradox” in the stylized fact that organizations within the same industry tend to follow different search strategies, but end up with very similar technological profiles in fast-growing technologies. The article concludes by highlighting what we have learnt from the literature and suggesting some new avenues for research.
260 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that domestic geography, in terms of localized potential social capital, facilitates individual firms' awareness of business opportunities, including knowledge related to involvement in the foreign markets for goods and technology, thereby enhancing firms' involvement in those foreign markets.
Abstract: Drawing on social capital theory and the international business literature, we argue that domestic geography, in terms of localized potential social capital, facilitates individual firms’ awareness of business opportunities, including knowledge related to involvement in the foreign markets for goods and technology, thereby enhancing firms’ involvement in those foreign markets. When potential social capital reaches a certain threshold, it may work to trap firms into operating only within their home regions, thus reducing involvement in foreign markets. We conjecture that firms’ research and development investment moderates the relationship between potential social capital and degree of involvement in foreign markets, but given the very different properties of the two markets, with different signs for each market: a positive moderation effect for the markets for goods, and a negative effect for the markets for technology. We find empirical support for our arguments based on a representative sample of around 2000 Italian firms. Journal of International Business Studies (2012) 43, 783–807. doi:10.1057/jibs.2012.27
94 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the organizational and managerial challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises encounter in networked innovation are discussed, and the authors present the main findings of these articles and highlight their novel contributions.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to provide an introduction to the special issue. We briefly consider the organizational and managerial challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises encounter in networked innovation, thereby building a background to the articles included in the special issue. We then present the main findings of these articles and highlight their novel contributions.
81 citations
01 Jul 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the authors draw on the literature on the relationship between science and technology, organizational learning theory, and the abso-freeness of knowledge in the innovation process.
Abstract: Scientific knowledge is an important ingredient in the innovation process. Drawing on the literature on the relationship between science and technology, organizational learning theory, and the abso...
5 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the tension between cooperation and competition in technology licensing agreements is disentangled, and it is shown that the tension swings towards competition rather than cooperation only when the licensed technology is core to their business, when they are competing in the same market or when both circumstances are met.
Abstract: This paper disentangles the tension between cooperation and competition that exists in technology licensing agreements. The grant-back clause is designed to manage the potential loss of competitive position experienced by the licensor due to learning and follow-on invention effects of the licensee. The clause may, however, also lead to lowering of the licensee?s incentives to further invest in the licensed technology thereby inducing a loss in overall benefits of technology licensing. We seek to uncover whether the tension between cooperation and competition leads to a grant-back clause when the licensed technology is core to their business, when they are competing in the same market or when both circumstances are met. We employ a nested logit model in which the decision to include a grant-back is nested in the decision to be on the demand or supply side of the market for technology. Our results indicate that the tension swings towards competition rather than cooperation only when both circumstances are met.
2 citations
01 Jul 2012
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of research and development offshoring from high-income regions to prominent emerging economies was investigated, and the authors investigated whether there is a complementary relationship between a region's home and foreign investments in R&D that affects home's regional knowledge production.
Abstract: We investigate the effect of research and development (R&D) offshoring from highincome regions to prominent emerging economies. Specifically, we examine whether there is a complementary relationship between a region’s home and foreign investments in R&D that affects home’s regional knowledge production. Using a theoretical framework based on economic geography and the literature on international knowledge sourcing, we conjecture that high-income regions would have a comparative advantage in high-tech R&D, while emerging economies would have an advantage in medium/low R&D. Complementarity should obtain when the comparative advantages of the geographical areas are utilized. We find overall empirical support for this prediction.
1 citations
01 Jan 2012
1 citations
31 Oct 2012
1 citations