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1 – 10 of over 18000Laura Barasa, Patrick Vermeulen, Joris Knoben, Bethuel Kinyanjui and Peter Kimuyu
Countries in Africa have a common goal policy of industrialisation that is expected to be driven by investing in innovation that yields efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Countries in Africa have a common goal policy of industrialisation that is expected to be driven by investing in innovation that yields efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the technical efficiency effects arising from innovation inputs including internal R&D, human capital development (HCD), and foreign technology adoption in manufacturing firms in Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses cross-sectional firm-level survey data from the 2013 World Bank Enterprise Survey and the linked 2013 Innovation Follow-up Survey. A heteroscedastic half-normal stochastic frontier is used for analysing the technical efficiency effects of innovation inputs of 418 firms.
Findings
This study reveals that internal R&D, and foreign technology have negative effects on technical efficiency. Notwithstanding, the combination of foreign technology and internal R&D, and foreign technology and HCD reinforce each other’s effects on technical efficiency.
Practical implications
This study provides evidence that whereas individual innovation inputs may not yield positive efficiency outcomes, the combination of absorptive capacity enhancing inputs comprising internal R&D and HCD with foreign technology is vital for enhancing technical efficiency in manufacturing firms in Africa. This study offers important lessons for managers in manufacturing firms in Africa.
Originality/value
This study is virtually the first to investigate the relationship between innovation inputs and efficiency in Africa. This study demonstrates that investing in foreign technology in isolation from absorptive capacity enhancing innovation inputs diminishes efficiency. HCD and internal R&D are imperative for building absorptive capacity that enhances efficiency outcomes arising from foreign technology.
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Alan Kai‐ming Au and Peter Enderwick
In this research, the cognitive process, which determined an attitude towards technology adoption, was found to be affected by six beliefs: compatibility; enhanced value;…
Abstract
In this research, the cognitive process, which determined an attitude towards technology adoption, was found to be affected by six beliefs: compatibility; enhanced value; perceived benefits; adaptive experiences; perceived difficulty; and suppliers’ commitment. The study also found that the individual external environmental forces did not significantly influence the formation of a behavioural intention to adopt. Future research to investigate whether and how these external factors influence the subsequent diffusion process may be useful in order to develop a better understanding of the impact of the external environments on innovation diffusion in the industrial market.
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Constantine Katsikeas, Leonidas Leonidou and Athina Zeriti
The purpose of this paper is to explore the opportunities and challenges facing firms in this new digital era concerning their international marketing strategy and examine how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the opportunities and challenges facing firms in this new digital era concerning their international marketing strategy and examine how international marketing practices can be revisited in the light of these developments. Consideration is given to a range of relevant issues involved in the design and deployment of effective international marketing strategies using internet-enabled technologies. Such factors relate to internal company requirements, the external environmental situation, foreign market selection and entry, international marketing mix programs, and strategy implementation and control aspects.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual paper identifies, structures and presents systematically factors influencing international marketing strategy, implementation and control using digital technologies.
Findings
The authors point to the relevance and potentially important role that the deployment of online organizational resources and capabilities play in influencing foreign market selection and entry decisions and international marketing strategy choices, implementation and control. The authors thus explain how the use of digital technologies can facilitate the firm’s foreign market choices and the adoption of effective marketing programs, and offer insights into the adoption of digital tools in more effectively implementing and controlling the firm’s international marketing strategy.
Originality/value
The originality and value of this conceptual study is reflected in the identification and discussion of factors comprising the organizing framework of an international marketing strategy using internet-enabled technologies and in the examination of fruitful avenues of future investigation as a result of the need to redesign international marketing strategies in a new digital era.
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Daniela Marconi and Francesca Sanna-Randaccio
The purpose of this study is to analyse the role of the clean development mechanism (CDM) established by the Kyoto Protocol in channelling foreign technology to China. Appraising…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse the role of the clean development mechanism (CDM) established by the Kyoto Protocol in channelling foreign technology to China. Appraising the experience of CDM remains of key importance when drawing lessons for the post-2012 climate regime.
Methodology/approach
Descriptive analysis of the sources and the determinants of foreign technology transfer based on the examination of 1,355 registered projects. Econometric analysis of the probability of having a foreign supplier of technology in any project.
Findings
The prominence of German firms as technology providers and the absence of a strong relationship between technology suppliers and credit buyers. The econometric analysis finds that project size and cost, project location, credit buyers’ and consultants’ characteristics, as well as technology diffusion are all relevant factors in determining the probability of having a foreign supplier of technology.
Research implications
China is a particularly interesting case for analysing technology transfer in CDM projects since, after a slow start, the country has become the largest and most dynamic CDM recipient worldwide. Furthermore, the analysis of CDM projects may offer some insights into the complex web of technological links between Chinese and foreign firms.
Practical implications
The transfer of emission-saving technologies to developing countries is expected to play a major role in addressing environmental problems worldwide.
Originality/value
This study analyses the sources and determinants of international technology transfer in CDM projects in China, and offers some insights into how the characteristics of the major players and the links between them affect this phenomenon.
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Ngoc Minh Nguyen, Huong Thu Dang, Minh Khac Nguyen and Mai Lan Mai PHung
This paper aims to examine whether foreign technology acquisition is complementary to internal technology development in the context of a developing country.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether foreign technology acquisition is complementary to internal technology development in the context of a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
The selection model developed by Heckman (1979) was applied with the balanced panel data of manufacturing enterprises from the Annual Enterprise and Technology Surveys from 2012 to 2016 conducted by the Vietnamese General Statistics Organization.
Findings
The results indicate that foreign technology acquisition and internal technology development are complementary innovation options. Particularly, the number of patents granted for manufacturing enterprises positively affects the probability that enterprises acquire foreign technologies. This effect is stronger in cases of high-tech industries than in cases of low-tech industries.
Research limitations/implications
Regarding the relationship between internal technology development and foreign technology acquisition, the findings suggest that adoption of foreign technology acquisition and priority in budget allocation for foreign technology acquisition are different in nature and that budget allocation is a more complex issue and may depend on other factors.
Practical implications
For developing countries, governments should adopt policies supporting domestic enterprises in acquiring technologies from advanced countries that could complement the locally developed technologies. These supports should focus on the high-tech or high-innovation rate industries.
Originality/value
In the context of a developing economy, the complementary effect of internal technology development and foreign technology acquisition is stronger in cases of the high-tech industries than in cases of the low-tech industries.
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Kaustav Misra, Esra Memili, Dianne H.B. Welsh, Surender Reddy and Gail E. Sype
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the total factor productivity (TFP) gap between the USA and eight Latin American countries for the period of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the total factor productivity (TFP) gap between the USA and eight Latin American countries for the period of 1970-2000.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides an explicit application of TFP estimation by employing a growth accounting approach (Solow Residual) in the presence of non-constant returns to scale and a non-parametric approach (DEA – Malmquist Index) while relaxing the scale-related constraint. A macro-based economic model of innovator and follower countries is employed to explore the linkage between technology gaps and innovations, labor productivity, trade openness, foreign direct investment, and adult workforce illiteracy rates. A pooled model and a fixed effects model are used to determine the factors of the technology gap between the innovator and the follower countries.
Findings
The results show that the labor productivity gap, adult work force illiteracy rates, patent filing gap, and trade openness are significant determinants of the technology gap between innovator and follower country.
Practical implications
Latin American countries would benefit from the technology diffusion from an innovator country; but a minimum threshold of human capital, such as adult workforce illiteracy rates and patent filing has to be met. The authors find government policies on trade openness also have large effects on technology limitations in foreign countries.
Originality/value
This paper is of value to researchers, policy makers, and economic development specialists trying to improve the rate of technology adoption and innovation.
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Samuel Amponsah Odei and Michael Karikari Appiah
This paper aims to empirically examine the factors driving the acquisition of patents and foreign technologies in 2,198 firms spanning multiple industries in Visegrád countries.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to empirically examine the factors driving the acquisition of patents and foreign technologies in 2,198 firms spanning multiple industries in Visegrád countries.
Design/methodology/approach
To fulfil the research objectives, the authors used the binary logistic regression models for the empirical specifications to analyse the various hypotheses to ascertain the factors contributing to patents, foreign technologies and international quality certificate acquisitions in Visegrád countries.
Findings
The results show that technological innovations, in-house and external research and development, intense competition from the informal sector and external knowledge search positively influence firms to acquire patents, foreign technologies and international quality certificates. The study further showed that certain firm characteristics, such as size, having a board of directors, female top managers and top managers’ experience, positively influenced firms’ ability to obtain patents, foreign technologies and international quality certificates.
Originality/value
The authors provide new insights into understanding the factors contributing to international technological linkages in the context of transitional countries such as the Visegrád four group. The authors have shown that international technology linkages through foreign technology licences and international quality certifications are vital for innovations in transition economies.
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Among the prominent economic trends in recent decades is the exponential increase in flows of goods and capital driven by technological progress and falling of restrictions. A key…
Abstract
Among the prominent economic trends in recent decades is the exponential increase in flows of goods and capital driven by technological progress and falling of restrictions. A key driver of this phenomenon has been the cross-border production, foreign investment, and trade both final and intermediate goods by multinational corporations. Research has sought to understand how foreign direct investment (FDI) affects host economies. This paper reviews the main theories and empirical evidence of two streams of literature: the mechanisms by which multinational activity might create positive effects and externalities to countries and the role of complementary local conditions, also known as “absorptive capacities,” that allow a country to reap the benefits of FDI paying particular attention to the role of factor markets, reallocation effects, and the linkages generated between foreign and domestic firms. The survey focuses mainly on work related to developing countries.
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Muhammad Ayat, Sheheryar Mohsin Qureshi, Malikah and Changwook Kang
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the outcome of construction projects and explore the moderating effects of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the outcome of construction projects and explore the moderating effects of emerging technologies on the relationship between COVID-19 and construction project outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the study was collected through a Web-based, semistructured questionnaire. The responses of 62 construction practitioners were analyzed using a hierarchical linear regression model. The model consists of 16 independent variables, three control variables (organization size, organization type and project size), one moderator (adoption level of emerging technologies) and three dependent variables (project time, project cost and project quality).
Findings
The study confirms the negative significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of construction projects. It also identifies the significant moderating effects of emerging technologies in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on construction projects. Further, it shows a significant increase in the application of emerging technologies in construction projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the findings related to the moderating impact of the technology, this study provides a clear set of recommendations for construction firms, public sector and research community in combating the unavoidable situation similar to the COVID-19 pandemic in the future.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to identify the moderating role of technology on the impact of COVID-19 on the performance of the construction sector in Pakistan. The findings can also be used for the construction sectors of other developing countries.
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The purpose of the study is to heighten intrinsic advantages, dis-advantages, being enjoyed by emerging country firms and the motivational factors that influence multinational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to heighten intrinsic advantages, dis-advantages, being enjoyed by emerging country firms and the motivational factors that influence multinational enterprises (MNEs) to establish long-lasting relationship with emerging economies. The study also highlights the steps initiated by India by executing reform friendly foreign direct investment policy to attract foreign investments.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is descriptive in nature, based on secondary data, sourced from various reports of India Government and the Central Bank of India.
Findings
The Indian economy has undergone profound and substantial liberalization and made sweeping reforms in most of its sectors besides adopting internationalization policy agendas to upkeep their domestic firms in “going global”. However, India needs to amend the existing restrictive labour and land laws besides providing efficient employable workforce. India further needs a less cash economy, which ultimately marches into digitized credit system to build India as one of the best attractive countries in the eyes of global investors.
Research limitations/implications
As the study is based on secondary data, it may be general, in explicit and may not be perfect in concluding decision.
Social implications
MNEs play a major force in driving globalization of the world economy. However, MNEs face a variety of complex and multiple challenges in establishing strategic control over emerging economies. In spite of all odds, MNEs generate and capture value to host country firms by applying unique business models besides combining with or buying a foreign business.
Originality/value
Investment flows to India for the past 15 years (2005-2019) are critically analysed to justify research questions. Further, in the literature “Preparedness of India”, a lot of new interesting insights, incorporated.
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