Max Planck

Bio: Max Planck is an academic researcher from Max Planck Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Entrepreneurship & German. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 44 publications receiving 371 citations.

Cluster life cycles: dimensions and rationales of cluster development

Abstract: We present a model that explains how a cluster moves through a life cycle and why this movement differs from the industry life cycle. The model is based on three key processes: the changing heterogeneity in the cluster describes the movement of the cluster through the life cycle; the geographical absorptive capacity enables clustered companies to take advantage of a larger diversity of knowledge and the stronger convergence of clustered companies compared to non-clustered companies results in a reduction of heterogeneity. We apply these processes to four stages of the cluster life cycle: emergence, growth, sustainment and decline.

BRIEF REPORT The Affect Gap in Risky Choice: Affect-Rich Outcomes Attenuate Attention to Probability Information

Abstract: It has been suggested that people decide differently when faced with affect-rich prospects (e.g., medical side effects) than with prospects triggering more moderate amounts of affect (e.g., monetary losses). Does this potential impact of affect on risky decision making even result in preference reversals? And if so, how do the cognitive processes underlying the respective decisions differ? Using a within-subjects design, the current research contrasted choices between prospects with relatively affect-rich outcomes and choices between prospects with relatively affect-poor but monetarily equivalent outcomes. Across three studies, findings consistently showed a substantial divergence in participants’ affect-rich and affectpoor choices, resulting in systematic within-subject preference reversals. This “affect gap” held for outcomes associated both with negative affect (Studies 1 and 3) and with positive affect (Study 2). Furthermore, computational modeling suggested that in affect-poor choice people commonly rely on a compensatory process that trades off outcome and probability, whereas in affect-rich choice (in particular between outcomes invoking negative affect) people more often rely on a noncompensatory, heuristic process that compares outcomes between options while disregarding probabilities. This interpretation is also supported by process data (Study 3) showing that people pay less attention to probability information and conduct more intradimensional comparisons in affect-rich choices than in affect-poor choices.

Corruption and Innovation: A Grease or Sand relationship?

Abstract: This paper provides a firm-level empirical analysis on the ways in which corruption affects innovative activity. Particularly with respect to the African continent that is striving to reconcile with instability and poverty, this issue seems to be of utmost importance. Using a newly available dataset on African firms, it is shown that corruption has a negative effect on product innovation and organisational innovation. Corruption does not affect process innovation while it facilitates marketing innovation.

The impact of union formation dynamics on first births in West Germany and Italy: Are there signs of convergence?

Abstract: In this paper we investigate the changing impact of union formation on the transition to parenthood in West Germany and Italy using FFS data. We first draw attention to overall cohort patterns in union formation and first births, and then describe the mutual relationships between union formation, first marriage and first births. On the basis of event-history models, we then evaluate the impact of union formation behaviour on the transition to motherhood. In particular, we test whether the impact of union status has been changing for younger and older cohorts, thus investigating whether the varying spread of non-marital childbearing is gaining relevance as we would expect from a Second Demographic Transition pespective. The findings from these analyses allow us to make a first assessment the convergence of demographic behaviour from a cohort perspective.

IDL, the International Database on Longevity

Abstract: Since the first symposium, "Living to 100 and Beyond: Survival at Advanced Ages," held in 2002, a collaborative effort has been made to assemble an international database on longevity, gathering validated longevity records for people having reached at least their 110th birthday. More than 15 countries, including the United States of America, Canada and Japan, along with European countries, have been participating in this "supercentenarian" project. Collaboration with national statistical offices or health departments has allowed the investigators to obtain complete lists of alleged supercentenarians in most countries. Different validation processes were then undertaken by the participating teams. By March 2004, more than 500 validated records had been gathered. This paper first evaluates the quality of data according to several criteria, such as the country of residence or the validation process undertaken, and then provides an estimation of the mortality trajectory up to age 114.

Governance in global value chains

Abstract: This book opens a fresh chapter in the debate on local enterprise clusters and their strategies for upgrading in the global economy. The authors employ a novel conceptual framework in their research on industrial clusters in Europe, Latin America and Asia and provide new perspectives and insights for researchers and policymakers alike.

Roepke Lecture in Economic Geography—Rethinking Regional Path Dependence: Beyond Lock‐in to Evolution

Abstract: This article argues that in its “canonical” form, the path dependence model, with its core concept of lock-in, affords a restrictive and narrowly applicable account of regional and local industrial evolution, an account moreover that is tied to problematic underpinnings based on equilibrist thinking. As such, the canonical path dependence model actually stresses continuity rather than change. The article explores recent developments in political science, in which there have been active attempts to rethink the application of path dependence to the evolution of institutions so as to emphasize change rather than continuity. These developments are used to argue for a rethinking of path dependence ideas in economic geography.

University Patenting and its Effects on Academic Research: the Emerging European Evidence

Abstract: This paper surveys the existing fragmentary data on the growth of university-owned patents and university-invented patents in Europe. We find evidence that university patenting is growing, but this phenomenon remains heterogeneous across countries and disciplines. We found some evidence that university licensing is not profitable for most universities, although some do succeed in attracting substantial additional revenues. This might be due to the fact that patents and publications tend to go hand in hand. In a dynamic setting however, we fear that the increase in university patenting exacerbates differences across universities in terms of financial resources and research outcome.