Firms In High-technology Industries Research Articles

INNOVATION AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN EMERGING COUNTRIES: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF KOREAN AND CHINESE FIRMS.

This paper suggests a new way of operationalising innovation capabilities of firms by incorporating intensity, scope and spillover effects of innovation. Based on panel data estimation of Korean and Chinese listed firms in high technology industries over four years, this study shows that innovation output (i.e. patent intensity) rather than innovation input (i.e. R&D intensity) contributed to firm financial performance. It also indicates that the innovation strategy developing the depth of innovation capability in a few specific technological fields may be the source of better performance in Korea, while diversified innovation capabilities over different technology fields might be having positive effects on firm performance in China. The empirical result on the moderating role of the scope of innovation capabilities shows that the effects of R&D investment on firm performance depend on appropriate innovation strategy determining the scope of innovation. This outcome suggests that, when R&D investment does not match the depth and diversity of innovation capabilities of firms and related strategies, this hampers the financial performance of firms. Finally, my empirical evidence documents that technologically related innovation efforts of other firms is a significant predictor of financial performance with the firmsÂiI? own innovation efforts (e.g. in-house R&D).

THE MARKET- AND STAGE-BOUND FIRM-SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES IN DIVERSIFICATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY MNCS.

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings includes abstracts of all papers and symposia presented at the annual conference, plus 6-page abridged versions of the “Best Papers” accepted for inclusion in the program (approximately 10%). Papers published in the Proceedings are abridged because presenting papers at their full length could preclude subsequent journal publication. Please contact the author(s) directly for the full papers. ArticlesTHE MARKET- AND STAGE-BOUND FIRM-SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES IN DIVERSIFICATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY MNCS.Published Online:30 Nov 2017https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2008.33716864AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail AbstractIn this paper, I theoretically identified two kinds of firm-specific advantages: the market-bound firm-specific advantages and stage-bound firm-specific advantages. Based on an analysis of 154 listed firms over the time period 1996 to 2002, I examined the simultaneous impact of product and geographic diversification on the performance. I found that diversification have different impact on performance between firms in high-technology industries and in low-technology industries. It is fruitful for high technology firms to undertake product diversification but low technology firms are better off diversifying geographically.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 2008, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 30 November 2017 Published in print 1 August 2008 InformationCopyright of Academy of Management Journal is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.KeywordsINTERNATIONAL business enterprisesDIVERSIFICATION in industryECONOMIC developmentHIGH technologyBUSINESS planningDEVELOPING countriesDownload PDF

Technological Innovation and Monopolization

This paper, written for an American Bar Association compendium on competition policy, reviews seven of the most important U.S. antitrust cases charging firms in high-technology industries with violations of Sherman Act Section II - i.e., with monopolization. The principal target firms were Standard Oil of New Jersey, General Electric (in lamps), AT&T, du Pont (for cellophane), Xerox, IBM, and Microsoft (both in the United States and Europe). From an analysis of the historical records, it is clear that in most instances, the legal system took far too long to deal with the contested issues. In the interim, firms that had achieved dominant positions through innovation often embraced new technologies slowly, sometimes pursuing an explicit fast second strategy - that is, waiting to innovate until their positions were threatened by outsiders. The stimulating effect of outside challenges suggests that entry should be kept open, among other things by combating the extension over time of blocking patent positions. Procedural reforms for accelerating the adjudication of complaints are proposed.

Harmonizing science and business agendas for growth in new biotechnology firms: Case comparisons from five countries

In seeking to support the longevity of firms in high technology industries, much research effort has been directed at understanding the stages of growth and development of these firms. One industry regarded as vitally important to most national economies is biotechnology. Although our knowledge of the growth of biotechnology firms remains embryonic, we know that it is a multistage process requiring a changing blend of scientific and business skills at points along a developmental path. In this paper data are presented from a multiple case study, in which new biotechnology firms (NBFs) from five different countries were analyzed using in-depth interviews with CEOs, supported by archival and observational research. A conceptual model is developed from the literature which is further refined using the empirical evidence of the multiple case study. The resultant model captures the temporal aspects of the tension between the science and business agendas as the NBF traverses its commercialization pathways. The authors find that a common feature of successful NBFs is their ability to harmonize the changing scientific and business agendas as the company progresses through its development cycle.

Factors for improving the level of knowledge generation in new product development

Globalization and other rapid changes in markets and technologies increasingly require companies to generate new knowledge in order to remain competitive. In order to innovate successfully, firms must generate knowledge faster than their rivals. This study develops and tests a conceptual model that focuses on how managerial controllable variables influence the level of knowledge generation in new product development. Based on literature and ‘theory‐in‐use’ field research in seven knowledge‐intensive organizations, the authors developed research hypotheses and tested the hypotheses using data collected from 277 firms in high technology industries. The findings suggest that information technologies, organizational crisis, individual commitment, the R&D budget, and job rotation increase levels of knowledge generation, whereas lead user and supplier networks are negatively associated with the level of knowledge generation in new product development, and the influence of co‐location of R&D staff is not significant.

National systems of economic learning: the case of technology diffusion management in East Asia

The success of East Asian firms in high technology industries, such as semiconductors and information technology products, is now an established fact. Against all the advantages of incumbents, these latecomer firms have found ways to insert themselves in worldwide production systems and to compete in advanced markets. But this very success poses a number of challenges for organisational and management theory. According to the conventional view, firms ground their success in R&D and innovation. When the firm wishes to expand abroad, it exports its technology. Yet it is clear that successful firms from East Asia have not built their competencies on conventional foundations through R&D, nor have they been recipients of technologies transferred by advanced firms for reasons to do with product cycles. On the contrary, the East Asian firms and agencies act as instigators of the processes of technology acquisition, acting in accordance with their own strategic impulses. Nevertheless a coherent and plausible account of East Asian success in knowledge intensive industries can be built on the basis of a "competence" or "dynamic capabilities" approach, where the focus is not on individual firms' own competence development, but on the processes of collective competence acquisition, through technology diffusion management, where firms and public agencies utilise various technology leverage devices. The goal of such an account is the construction of a "mapping" of the processes of diffusion, so that the degrees of leverage involved may be displayed, and the firms' own efforts to "internalise" the acquired capabilities may be captured. The paper presents a model of technology diffusion management, couched in terms of the strategic goals of the process, the pathways of diffusion, the dynamics of the process, and the institutional vehicles involved. The paper examines the limits to applicability of such an approach to industry creation, and the uptake of technology leverage processes in advanced environments, in conditions of rapid technological change, or "hypercompetition". The paper draws on these ideas to develop the notion of a "national system of economic learning" where the focus is on technology diffusion management, in contrast to the conventional notion of a "national system of innovation.&quot

Innovations and geographic focus: A comparison of US and Japanese firms

We investigate the relationship among R&D expenditures (corporate and industry), firm size, and sales performance, considering large US and Japanese firms in the 1980s. The elasticity of international sales with respect to corporate R&D expenditures is higher for the US firms than for the Japanese firms in the sample. In addition, the US firms in high-technology industries seem to be less internationally oriented than corresponding firms in Japan. Overall, the US firms do not appear to benefit consistently from the innovations of competitors within their own industry, while the Japanese firms in the sample appear to obtain benefits from the innovations of other firms, particularly with respect to export sales.

The utilization of international joint ventures by United States firms in high technology industries

Although international joint ventures have been widely studied for many years, very little is known about such alliances as used by high technology firms based in the United States. Therefore, this study surveys 9 U.S. high technology firms regarding 14 of their international joint ventures. The rationale for these alliances, the control of key resources, and the successfulness of high tech international joint ventures are explored. Based on this preliminary study, it appears that these operations, if established with a trustworthy partner, can be successful while requiring only minimal transaction costs and minimal control efforts.

Content and performance of growth-seeking strategies: A comparison of small firms in high- and low technology industries

The question of how to grow and gain market share is repeatedly asked by small firm managers. Yet little help exists in the academic literature in terms of identification of specific business practices and competitive tactics associated with the pursuit of market share growth. Rather, most discussion of appropriate strategies for small firm growth centers around the prescription of broad strategy types (e.g., the often recommended niche strat- egy). Furthermore, the environment's potential effects on the viability of growth strategies seldom receive adequate treatment in the small firm strategy literature despite the long-acknowledged influence of environmental conditions on strategy content. This paper describes a study of the business strategies used by small, growth-seeking firms in high- and low-technology industries. The construct of strategy was examined from both a micro level, focusing on individual strategy dimensions, and a macro level, focusing on the firms' overall strategic postures and patterns of strategy-related variables. Data were collected from the senior executives of 57 small manufacturing firms whose mission strategies were to aggressively increase sales and market share. The data indicate that growth-seeking firms in high-technology industries, relative to those in low-technology industries, (1) rely more heavily on advertising, (2) place more emphasis on product-related issues (e.g., new product development, superior product warranties) as a basis for building market share, (3) rely more heavily on formal planning activities, (4) place more emphasis on customer service/support, (5) rely more heavily on external financing, (6) rely more heavily on premium pricing strategies, and (7) have more entrepreneurial strategic postures. The data also indicate that an entrepreneurial strategic posture is more positively associated with firm performance among growth-seeking firms in low-tech industries than among those in high-tech industries, although there are exceptions to this finding. Cluster analysis was used to identify the content and performance of various strategies (operationally defined as patterns of strategic variables) associated with growth-seeking firms in high- and low-technology industries. Four strategies were identified through this technique — two of which are most common among firms in low-tech industries, one of which is most common among firms in high-tech industries, and one of which is equally prevalent in both industry types. These results corroborate several of the aforementioned findings regarding the effects of industry technological sophistication on dimensions of firm strategy. For example, they demonstrate the general aversion among growth-seeking firms in low-tech industries to premium pricing. Furthermore, they suggest that, overall, growth-seeking firms in low-tech industries may be somewhat more disposed to pursuing cost-leadership strategies and less disposed to pursuing differentiation strategies than growth-seeking firms in high-tech industries. There were no overall performance differences across the four strategy types identified through the cluster analysis. However, the data suggest that an entrepreneurial strategic posture is most strongly associated with high performance among firms that have a cohesive and focused strategic mix or pattern of strategic decisions. This finding holds for growth-seeking firms in both industry types.

Corporate research and development expenditures and share value

Share-price responses to 95 announcements of increased research and development (R & D) spending are significantly positive on average, even when the announcement occurs in the face of an earnings decline. High-technology firms that announce increases in R & D spending experience positive abnormal returns on average, whereas announcements by low-technology firms are associated with negative abnormal returns. Further, in our cross-sectional analyses we find that higher R & D intensity than the industry average leads to larger stock-price increases only for firms in high-technology industries.