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Article
Publication date: 14 March 2008

Ma Concepción López‐Fernández, Ana Ma Serrano‐Bedia and Gema García‐Piqueres

This paper sets out to examine the factors that influence Spanish manufacturing and service firms to cooperate with universities on R&D.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper sets out to examine the factors that influence Spanish manufacturing and service firms to cooperate with universities on R&D.

Design/methodology/approach

A LOGIT regression model is used to verify the importance of certain variables, selected and constructed according to the literature review, to the decision to cooperate with universities. An empirical study is carried out using data from the Spanish 2000 Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The sample of study is 3,964 innovative manufacturing and service firms.

Findings

Firm size, spillovers, R&D intensity and operating costs influence both manufacturing and service firms in the same way in their decision to cooperate with universities on R&D activities. However, the variables relating to strategic and legal protection of innovations, as well as belonging to a foreign group have been shown to affect manufacturing and service companies differently.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis of the cooperation decision from the transaction cost economics approach is limited to operational costs and risks because of the type of data supplied by the CIS. A second limitation relates to the inability to use more recent data as, to date, the only CIS microdata published are from the year 2000.

Practical implications

The empirical results allow one to identify the characteristics of Spanish manufacturing and service firms that cooperate with universities.

Originality/value

The paper has explored the differences between manufacturing and service companies relating to the determinants of establishing R&D cooperation agreements with universities.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 September 2008

Concepción López‐Fernández, Ana Ma Serrano‐Bedia and Gema García‐Piqueres

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence innovative firms in the manufacturing and service sectors in Spain to cooperate with research institutions in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence innovative firms in the manufacturing and service sectors in Spain to cooperate with research institutions in their innovation activities, and to examine the differences between types of firm.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review is used to identify variables likely to influence a decision to cooperate with research institutions. A logit regression model is then used to verify the importance of those variables. The empirical study was carried out using 2,000 Spanish community innovation survey data. The study sample was 3,964 innovative service and manufacturing firms.

Findings

It is found that spillovers, R&D intensity, costs, risks and alternative cooperation strategies influence both manufacturing and service firms in the same way in their decision to cooperate with research institutions in R&D. However, the variables relating to firm size, being part of a larger group of companies and type of innovation were shown to affect manufacturing and service companies differently.

Research limitations/implications

There was no control over the possible bias introduced into the study by not including firms that were not innovative. The variables included in the study were constrained by the availability of information supplied by the Technological Innovation Survey. And finally, the comparative study of innovative behaviour in manufacturing and services is exploratory in nature.

Practical implications

The empirical results make it possible to identify a profile of the Spanish manufacturing and service firms that cooperate with research institutions.

Originality/value

This paper is original in exploring the differences between manufacturing and service firms in relation to the determinants of establishing institutional cooperation in R&D.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 31 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2012

Ana Ma Serrano‐Bedia, Ma Concepción López‐Fernández and Gema García‐Piqueres

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the existence of complementarity between innovation activities (internal innovation, external innovation and cooperative R&D), as well as…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the existence of complementarity between innovation activities (internal innovation, external innovation and cooperative R&D), as well as their impact on firms' innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the Third Community Innovation Survey (CIS‐3) for Spain, a multiple regression model is used to study the existence of complementarity between innovation activities and their impact on innovation performance. The sample for the study is 3,964 innovative firms.

Findings

First of all, the empirical results propose that the complementarity appears only between internal innovation and either external or cooperative innovation – but not with both together, which is in‐line with the “absorption capacity” notion. Second, the use of external and cooperation innovation in isolation does not yield positive effects on innovation performance. This finding contradicts the substitution argument and supports the absorptive capacity argument. Finally, innovation strategies do not seem to be dissimilar between industries.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of the paper is the use of cross‐section data, which implies less robust results as an empirical test.

Practical implications

The empirical results allow the authors to recommend company managers and public administration officials to improve and support internal innovation. These activities should be combined with the high levels of external acquisitions that Spanish firms have in order to increase their innovation performance as the absorption capacity theory and this paper's empirical results suggest.

Originality/value

The first contribution of the paper is the inclusion of the third form of innovation: cooperation. The second contribution refers to the inclusion of the service sector in the authors' sample.

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2010

Ana Ma Serrano‐Bedia, Ma Concepción López‐Fernández and Gema García‐Piqueres

The paper aims to examine the differences between manufacturing and service sector firms regarding the determining factors for the decision to cooperate with research institutions…

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to examine the differences between manufacturing and service sector firms regarding the determining factors for the decision to cooperate with research institutions to perform R&D activities. The second key contribution provided is the identification of institutional cooperation profiles, based on the determining variables of institutional cooperation.

Design/methodology/approach

On the one hand, drawing on the Community Innovation Survey for Spain, a Logit Regression Model is used to study the determining factors for institutional cooperation decision. On the other hand, in order to identify institutional cooperation profiles a confirmatory analysis was carried out applying the cluster methodology.

Findings

The empirical study confirms that the differences are fundamentally related to transaction cost theory and resource‐based view with respect to the costs. Specifically, these theories' proposal dealing with the variable cost is not empirically confirmed for firms in the service sector.

Research limitations/implications

The principal limitation of this paper derives from the data available, which made it impossible to extend the research to cover a longer time period and affected the manner in which some variables were constructed.

Practical implications

The main implication of the paper can be understood in terms of managerial implications due to the importance of the institutional cooperation on R&D as an innovation management decision. Along this line, the results of the study indicate the existence of various options associated with the active posture on institutional cooperation.

Originality/value

The contribution of the paper is the identification of institutional cooperation profiles, based on the determining variables of cooperation with institutions on R&D activities as well as the identification of the differences between manufacturers and services related to them.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 30 September 2014

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Abstract

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 25 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2010

Ana M. Serrano

This paper focuses on how one Student Teacher (ST) shifted his planning from teacher activities to student learning during a semester-long student-teaching practicum course in…

Abstract

This paper focuses on how one Student Teacher (ST) shifted his planning from teacher activities to student learning during a semester-long student-teaching practicum course in social studies. The study of this shift provides a glimpse of the enormity of the ST’s task and the ways in which he responds to the complexity of the work. Data include: lesson plans, providing a written record of activities, and classroom discourse. Analyses of the data rendered three areas relevant to the shift, including: 1) evidence of initiation-response-evaluation [IRE] script as a default script before the shift, 2) evidence of a shift to planning for student learning, and 3) evidence of movement away from the IRE to increasingly open-ended questioning. Preliminary evidence indicates increments that appear inconsequential taken individually, combine to present a picture of an incipient, developmental shift by the ST from planning for teacher activities to planning for student learning.

Details

Social Studies Research and Practice, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1933-5415

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 December 2021

Marta Pérez-Pérez, Ana-María Serrano-Bedia and María-Concepción López-Fernández

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a research model exploring the complex links between internal and external manufacturing flexibility capabilities (IF and EF) and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a research model exploring the complex links between internal and external manufacturing flexibility capabilities (IF and EF) and competitive advantage (CA).

Design/methodology/approach

A survey approach with responses from 266 Spanish manufacturing firms from different industries was used. Structural equation modelling and SPSS macro PROCESS were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Manufacturing flexibility (MF) is a dual-dimensional concept composed by IF and EF, which are complementary and hierarchical in its development. Contrary to previous assumptions, IF does not always express its final competitive effect through EF, which only partially mediates the IF–CA relationship. Thus, IF and EF independently can positively enhance a firm's CA, being the direct effect of the IF being stronger than EF.

Practical implications

This study offers practical insights supporting a guide for prioritising flexibility capabilities through the holistic MF implementation, thus assisting managers wishing to formulate MF strategies seeking efficiency and customer value advantages relative to competitors.

Originality/value

The main novelty of this work is to explore for the first time the direct and indirect role of IF on CA, enlarging the assumptions of the flexibility funnel framework (FFF) and the strategic view of MF. The study is also unique due to both the depth and breadth of the investigation of the basis of the use of resource-based theory (RBT) and by employing a recent and comprehensive MF conceptual systematisation to guide the measurement approach.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 33 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 January 2023

Mônica Fitz-Oliveira and Alexsandra Maria Wasgen

Currently, studies involving innovation capability and sustainability have been gaining prominence. This logic is also permeating the firms, which need to adapt their innovation…

Abstract

Purpose

Currently, studies involving innovation capability and sustainability have been gaining prominence. This logic is also permeating the firms, which need to adapt their innovation capabilities to sustainability. Therefore, the objective of this article is to map the field of innovation capability and sustainability to observe how these two areas have evolved over time.

Design/methodology/approach

The bibliometric method was used to conduct this study from the Scopus database.

Findings

The authors verified in their research that the theme appears in the literature in the mid-2000s, however as of 2013 it has gained strength, opening discussions on different fronts. The results show that theoretical and empirical research does not dissociate the fundamental logic of the firm that is to produce and remain competitive from the new logics of generating innovation capability for sustainability, on the contrary, sustainability is an important component for its economic performance.

Originality/value

No other studies are found in the literature that search for the state of the art of the evolution of the innovation capability and sustainability.

Details

Technological Sustainability, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-1312

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 February 2019

Raquel Gómez-López, Ana Maria Serrano-Bedia and María Concepción López-Fernández

The implementation of business excellence models is becoming a key competitive priority for companies, but the type of results they obtain by implementing such models and the…

Abstract

Purpose

The implementation of business excellence models is becoming a key competitive priority for companies, but the type of results they obtain by implementing such models and the importance of such results remain open issues. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the results obtained by companies that implement the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model, with a focus on their importance and nature.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study was conducted in 68 Spanish firms that were immersed in the process of implementing EFQM. The methodology consists of a descriptive analysis and factor analysis in order to determine which groups of results are the most important. Finally, clusters of firms are analyzed to establish their profile in relation to these groups, using cluster analysis.

Findings

This study shows that the main results of the implementation of EFQM are an improvement in the external image of the company and an increased efficiency of internal processes. In addition, the results can be grouped into internal results, human resources results and economic results, with the first group being the most important. Finally, the results show that there are three groups of firms, categorized according to their results orientation: highly results-oriented, moderately results-oriented and minimally results-oriented.

Practical implications

Companies are in a better position to anticipate and solve the problems that may arise during the implementation process if they understand the results of the implementation of EFQM, along with the motivations for and barriers to the implementation. Also, this research shows that the bodies promoting and motivating quality should make a special effort to emphasize the importance of non-financial results in companies that implement EFQM.

Originality/value

This paper extends the knowledge in the field of business excellence models by developing an instrument to measure implementation results from the perspective of quality managers who were specifically appointed to lead the implementation of the EFQM excellence model in companies.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 February 2010

Manuel Soriano and Ana Miranda

Spanish-speaking children learn to read words written in a relatively transparent orthography. Variations in orthographic transparency may shape the manifestation of reading…

Abstract

Spanish-speaking children learn to read words written in a relatively transparent orthography. Variations in orthographic transparency may shape the manifestation of reading difficulties. This study was intended to help clarify the nature of developmental dyslexia in Spanish. Developmental dyslexic group (DD) were compared to two control groups, a chronological age-matched control group (CA) and a reading level-matched control group (RL). Measures included naming speed, verbal working memory (WM), phonological short-term memory (STM), phonemic awareness, and different reading subtests (letter, word and pseudoword reading, punctuation mark, reading skills). On the reading subtests, accuracy and reading speed were measured. Results demonstrated that developmental dyslexics show a severe deficit in lexical access on accuracy and speed measures, in addition to reading-related cognitive deficits in areas such as naming speed, verbal WM, phonological STM, and phonemic awareness. Hierarchical cluster analysis demonstrated that a subgroup of children with DD showed lower IQs and more severe reading-related cognitive deficits in naming speed, verbal WM, and phonological STM. Our results are consistent with studies conducted in the Spanish language and in other transparent orthographies.

Details

Literacy and Learning
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-777-6

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