Knowledge-intensive Sectors Research Articles

Bioeconomy related perspectives for boosting agriculture development in Romania

Abstract Situated at the crossroads between several sectors, from biology, biochemistry, agronomy, management and economy to technology, the bioeconomy represents all uses of bio-resources, whether they come from agricultural land, sea, forest or waste materials. The current bioeconomy strategy of European Union identifies agriculture as one of the sectors mainly supplying biomass. In the last decades, agriculture was constantly transforming towards a knowledge intensive sector. Being almost entirely the physical support for agriculture, the rural regions are expected to become a key player in the development of the bioeconomy activities of the near future. In the modern biobased economies, the rural regions represent more than just a source of raw materials to bioeconomy industries. Future opportunities for the development of the agricultural sector in Romania, thus boosting rural development were identified by conducting a SWOT analysis of the domain through agriculture development.

Enriching SME Learning and Innovation Through Inter-Organizational Knowledge Transfer

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are today considered a driving force in several nations' economies. Inter-organizational knowledge transfer (IOKT) enables organizations including SMEs to improve operational and strategic performance. To enhance SMEs' competitive advantages, they need external knowledge to enrich learning capabilities. This study uses qualitative methodology to examine the values that can be generated from the IOKT process in SMEs. Participants were 10 Omani SMEs from the ICT sector, a knowledge-intensive sector. Based on face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, the results confirmed that inter-organizational knowledge transfer is considered important to SMEs. Results indicated that learning benefits are gained from informal IOKT activities at those SMEs, but they do not yet show a strong impact on the innovation performance of organizations. Thus, this study provides valuable insights for researchers and practitioners interested in the SME domain to use as a basis for their investigations.

Influence of Regional Conditions on the Development of High-Tech Companies in Russia

The article analyzes regional factors that influence the development of high-tech business in Russia. The empirical basis of the study was the revenue indicators of companies in high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors in the SPARK database, and regional economic development indicators published by Rosstat. The results of the analysis of the general characteristics of the sampling of companies showed that Russian high-tech business is mainly represented by knowledge-intensive services and is characterized by territorial unevenness. Significant territorial differentiation is also illustrated by the coefficient of regional localization of high-tech business, comparing regional relative indicators with the national value. The impact of regional conditions was assessed by five groups of factors reflecting the “regional profile,” the human resources of the region, its investment potential, scientific and innovative potential, and characteristics of digital infrastructure. Using econometric methods, it has been shown that the development of high-tech business in the region is positively influenced by factors such as a high share of manufacturing in the economy, the availability of personnel with secondary vocational education, the availability of computers for employees, staff involvement in research and development, and technological innovations. According to the calculation results, the characteristics of the scientific and innovative potential have the most significant impact on the high-tech sector.

Creating a conceptual framework enterprise human resource management knowledge-intensive sector of domestic industry taking into account the information technology component

Creating a conceptual framework enterprise human resource management knowledge-intensive sector of domestic industry taking into account the information technology component

FDI in hot labour markets: The implications of the war for talent

This paper highlights an inherent contradiction that exists within investment promotion activities in rich countries. Since the financial crisis, many inward investment agencies have shifted their activities from job creation per se to seeking to attract investment in high-tech activities. Such knowledge-intensive sectors are engaged in what has become referred to as “the war for talent”, so locations need to understand their value proposition to firms, especially where labour is tight. This paper explores the implications of this, in terms of the impact on employment and earnings of high skilled labour. We show that, because skill shortages already exist in many of these sectors, seeking to attract inward investment in these sectors simply causes the earnings of such workers to be bid up, and employment in the incumbent sector to fall. We highlight the over-riding importance that firms place on the availability of skilled labour when determining locations, and how policies which promote labour market flexibility, particularly through investment in skills to address skill shortages, can significantly mitigate the adverse effects, which tend to be more keenly felt in poorer regions of Europe where skilled labour is in even shorter supply.

Emerging trends and drivers for knowledge-intensive economy

Abstract Innovation and knowledge-intensive economy are considered crucial for addressing challenges and opportunities currently faced by Europe. The present paper aims to provide inputs for building a long-term vision aiming to promote innovation and knowledge economy for fostering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. We analyze microdata from the 2016 Innobarometer “EU Business Innovation Trends” (Flash Eurobarometer 433), covering 14,112 companies from 30 countries in order to shed light on main drivers and results of business investments in innovation. We focus our analysis on high-tech industries and knowledge-intensive services. Additionally, expected positive impacts of innovation in knowledge-intensive sectors are explored in terms of job creation, digital economy, environment protection, health, transport, food quantity and quality, development of smart cities, etc. Our results are useful for designing an improved support for the emergence and impact of knowledge-intensive economy.

State Neutrality, Business Elite and the Lack of Export Services Development in Chile: an Exploratory Qualitative Analysis

The process of economic development implies, among other things, the expansion of exports beyond natural resources and towards more knowledge intensive sectors. However, a common situation in developing countries is the lack of an ‘entrepreneurial push’ from economic and political elites in order to diversify such exports. The Chilean economy is not an exception as it is still characterized by an export basket anchored in natural resources, regardless the consensus among society on the importance of diversifying the Chilean economy towards new industrial and service sectors, both beyond and within natural resources. This paper focuses on the causes of the absence of such an ‘entrepreneurial push’ towards export service sector in Chile and, through a qualitative exploratory analysis of elite perceptions, presents the predominant hypothesis among key stakeholders.

Knowledge Management and Performance Measurement Systems for SMEs’ Economic Sustainability

This paper aims to explore the relationships between knowledge management (KM), performance measurement systems (PMSs), and small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) economic sustainability in knowledge-intensive sectors. The literature demonstrates that SMEs are often characterized by unstructured KM approaches and limited PMS implementation, being at the same time affected by scarce profitability and financial issues. Adopting the knowledge-based view of the firm and the contingency theory of PMSs, we tested the impact of two alternative KM approaches (exploitation and exploration) on SMEs’ economic sustainability, measuring the moderating effect of PMS use (diagnostic and interactive). Through an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression of data collected for 219 Italian medium firms operating in knowledge-intensive sectors, this study provides evidence on how a specific KM approach supports the SME economic sustainability and how a consistent implementation and use of PMS amplify the relationship between KM and economic sustainability. Data analysis confirms the relevance of some key concepts of the knowledge-based view of the firm, especially the positive impact of the KM exploration approach on economic sustainability. Additionally, the paper extends empirical evidence for the PMS moderating effect on the KM–performance relationship. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a study provides evidence for the relationships among KM, PMSs, and economic sustainability in the SME setting. Moreover, our findings lead to some managerial implications, especially they encourage SME entrepreneurs and managers to design a coherent KM approach and to implement an adequate PMS in order to support economic sustainability.

Modelling sectoral spillovers in the USA (1992–2015)

PurposeThis research paper uses a novel methodological approach to investigate the spillover effects among the key sectors of the US economy.Design/methodology/approachThe paper links the US sectors via a node theoretic scheme based on a general equilibrium framework, whereas it estimates the general equilibrium equation as a Global Vector Autoregressive process, taking into consideration the potential existence of dominant units.FindingsBased on our findings, the dominant sector in the US economy, for the period 1992–2015, is the sector of information technology, finance and communications, a fact that gives credence to the view that the US economy is a service-driven economy. In addition, the US economy seems to benefit by the increased labour mobility across knowledge-intensive sectors, thus avoiding the ‘employment trap’ which in turn enabled the US economy to overcome the financial crisis of 2007.Originality/valueFirstly, the paper models by means of a network approach which is based on a general equilibrium framework, the linkages between the US sectors while treating the sector of information, technology, communications and finance as dominant, as dictated by its degree of centrality in the network structure. Secondly, the paper offers a robustness analysis regarding both the existence and the identification of dominant sectors (nodes) in the US economy. Thirdly, the paper studies a wide period, namely 1992–2015, fully capturing the recent global recession, while acknowledging the impact of the global crisis through the introduction of the relevant exogenous dummy variables; Lastly and most importantly, it is the first study to apply the GVAR approach in a network general equilibrium framework at the sectoral level.

National Culture, Trust, Social Networking and Knowledge Sharing Within a Knowledge-Intensive Sector: A Mediation Analysis

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the four national culture (NC) dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, collectivism, power distance and masculinity on knowledge sharing. In addition, this study aims to examine the mediating effects of trust and social networking on the relationships between the four NC dimensions and knowledge sharing (KS). A theoretical model was developed, and a questionnaire-based survey was designed and targeted a 'knowledge intensive' sector, namely the healthcare sector in Jordan. Findings show that collectivism and uncertainty avoidance were the only two dimensions found to have a positive and significant effect on knowledge sharing, trust as well as social networking. Both trust and social networking were found to have positive and significant effects on knowledge sharing. Trust fully mediated the effect of collectivism on knowledge sharing and partially mediated the effect of uncertainty avoidance, whereas social networking was found to have a partial mediating effect. In conclusion, the study has contributed to the extant NC and KS literature by complementing studying a nation's distinctive cultural traits' on an organisational-level routine.

Gestão do Conhecimento no setor da saúde: mapeamento de ativos de conhecimento com o CommonKADS

This study aimed to understand how knowledge assets are embedded in the patient care process in a healthcare organization. We conducted a case study in a organization from health sector and we used observation and interviews from collecting data. We follow guidelines from CommonKADS for analyzing and organizing the results. The results showed that of the six knowledge assets identified, the knowledge asset related to the study group is not in the correct form, place, time and quality. This directly influences the process of knowledge creation, which is impaired, since only socialization happens properly. Thus, for this case it was suggested the use of computational agents so that all stages of knowledge creation can happen, and the feasibility of this proposal was demonstrated in the study. Moreover, the results showed that the organizational culture, guided by the leader, favors the sharing of knowledge in the studied organization, as well as the provision of quality care to patients. Our findings contribute to the knowledge-based view, empirical research related to Knowledge Management in health organizations in emerging countries and exemplify the application of CommonKADS. Future research may explore cases in other knowledge-intensive sectors, and may use methods for analyzing the dynamic aspects of organizational knowledge creation.

Priorities of the State Policy for the Development of the Knowledge-Intensive High-Tech Sector of Kazakhstan in the Conditions of the Eurasian Economic Union

Priorities of the State Policy for the Development of the Knowledge-Intensive High-Tech Sector of Kazakhstan in the Conditions of the Eurasian Economic Union

Факторы привлекательности регионов России для мигрантов с высшим образованием

Attracting and preserving human capital is one of the key tasks of regional development. It is believed that only Moscow successfully solves it. But in times of crisis, Moscow’s share of the number of migrants arriving decreases, including due to a drop in the ratio of income to the cost of living in the capital. As a result of the pandemic and expanding opportunities for remote work, some professionals will think about moving to less densely populated, but comfortable cities. We study the factors that contribute to the attraction of highly qualified personnel. Econometric calculations have confirmed the importance of the presence or proximity of a large labor market, a high quality of life, a favor- able institutional environment, and comfortable bioclimatic conditions. Based on the identified factors, an index of attractiveness of regions is proposed; Among the leaders in 2018: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow Region, Tatarstan, Krasnodar Territory, Samara, Voronezh Regions. In the top 10 regions in 2011-2018. accounted for more than 40% of all attracted highly qualified personnel. Regions that will be able to attract professionals in the post-crisis period to develop digital technologies and related knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy will benefit in the long run. This will require measures to develop the rental housing market, improve the urban environment, and create favorable conditions for entrepreneurs and investors.

Potential for development of innovative processes in the high-tech sector of the region’s economy

The development prospects of innovative processes in the economy of the region, characterized by technological diversity and diversified specialization, are considered. The development areas were prioritized on the basis of the need to develop high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy, which are the locomotives of growth for basic and infrastructural ones. Assessment of strategic opportunities was based on an analysis of the development trends of world commodity markets, taking into account the potential of the region and the competitive positions of industries. The development of world markets was considered in the aspect of “global challenges” and national trends in two types of challenges, which determined the possibilities for their development and impact on national and local markets. At the same time, the emergence of new conditions for the development of commodity markets, which must be taken into account in the evaluation processes. The phasing of the study is determined. The prospects for the development of a high-tech sector of the economy in the field of high production redistribution in the context of traditional and new markets are presented. A positioning map has been compiled and the transition from local (niche) competitiveness to international. Potential elements of the region’s scientific and technical system in the form of R&D, production and consumption centers that accompany the process of technological development along the entire life cycle are identified.

ПОДХОДЫ К ФОРМИРОВАНИЮ СИСТЕМЫ ИНВЕСТИЦИОННОЙ ПОДДЕРЖКИ ИННОВАЦИОННОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ

The article deals with the problems of loss of competitiveness of the knowledge-intensive sector of the domestic economy, which consist in insufficient funding for research and development. Approaches to building a system of economic protection of investments in the real sector of the economy, which will help to attract private capital, are proposed. A system of investment support for projects of strategic importance for the Russian economy has been developed.

Компетенции человеческого капитала в высокотехнологичных и наукоемких отраслях экономики

Компетенции человеческого капитала в высокотехнологичных и наукоемких отраслях экономики

Crimean Tatars in exile: community belonging and being the Others

As a result of the deportation, the Crimean Tatars became an “unnation” for the regime and unwanted neighbors for local population, particularly the Uzbeks. The deportation ruined the traditional way of life, social structure and cultural institutes of Crimean Tatars. Among the factors that played an outstanding role in the process of preserving the nation identity, religion, traditions, and holidays have constituted the core elements. At the same time, merging of completely different traditions occurred. Narratives recounted within families played a crucial role in both the maintenance of Crimean Tatar memory about their lost Homeland and creation of the image of the promised land. The family was considered as the last stronghold against Russification. Although the Uzbek language is similar to the Crimean Tatar language and was considered as an option of preserving native language, the level of education in Uzbek schools was much weaker than in Russian ones. After 1956, Crimean Tatars began leaving distant places of exile. They were valued as specialists due to their education, knowledge of the Russian language, and experience in working on leading positions in Crimea before the deportation. Due to these changes in the life of Crimean Tatars, they became the ordinary Soviet citizens, if only they had not been stigmatized as traitors and had the right to return home. An accusation of betrayal, the core component of the life of Crimean Tatars in exile, used to take place in the first years of exile and even later. Nevertheless, Crimean Tatars did not assimilate with Uzbeks due to the differences in faith, socio-economic background, education and culture. Crimean Tatars greatly increased their education level and forced the knowledge of Russian language. By the end of the 1980s, Crimean Tatars along with Russians occupied the majority of knowledge-intensive sectors of industry. However, despite the rapid change in their social status, Crimean Tatars remained second-class citizens, being still labeled as traitors. Due to Soviet propaganda that provoked aggressive othering and dehumanization of Crimean Tatars in exile, as well as socio-economic, cultural difference, and colonial status of Uzbekistan, Crimean Tatars were treated as Others by Uzbeks. Article received 10.03.2019

The interplay among entrepreneur, employees, and firm level factors in explaining SMEs openness: A qualitative micro-foundational approach

This paper seeks to investigate the micro-foundations of engaging in open innovation (OI) in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). More specifically, the study aims to understand the characteristics of entrepreneurs managing small companies and whether these influence the proclivity towards openness. A theory building approach is applied with an exploratory multiple case-study analysis consisting of eight Italian SMEs operating in knowledge intensive sectors. The information gathered through interviews indicate that several factors and variables related to the entrepreneur, employees and firm level have an impact on the propensity towards engaging in OI. Regarding the entrepreneur, delegation, trust in internal and external partners, individual ties and risk taking approach increase the approach towards OI. Moreover, it has emerged that several factors regarding employees contribute to establishing OI strategies. The interviews have also underlined that entrepreneur level factors have an impact on employee level factors in the sense that their joint effect leads to increased openness. These factors are also influenced by firm level factors. In terms of implications, this is one of the first studies on the micro-foundations of OI and, to the best of our knowledge, the first taking the entrepreneur perspective.

Start-up subsidies: Does the policy instrument matter?

New knowledge-intensive firms contribute to innovation, competition, and employment growth, but externalities like knowledge spillovers can prevent entrepreneurs from appropriating the full returns from their investments. In addition, uncertainty and information asymmetry pose challenges for financing. Public policy programs therefore aim to support start-ups. This study evaluates the effects of participation in such programs on the performance of start-ups in high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors that were founded in Germany between 2005 and 2012. Distinguishing between grants and subsidized loans and after matching recipients and non-recipients based on a broad set of founder and company characteristics, we find that both grants and subsidized loans facilitate tangible investment, employment and revenue growth. Grants are, however, better suited to increasing R&D investments than loans are. Combined with grants, subsidized loans facilitate turning research results into marketable products by means of investments in tangible assets. Start-ups that participate in both types of programs outperform grant-only recipients in terms of innovation performance, employment and future revenues. Finally, program participation does not crowd out private venture capital.

Workforce Ageing and Labour Productivity in Europe

This article analyses the influence of workforce ageing on labour productivity in Europe. This question is relevant because of the impact it may have on economic activity, social security systems sustainability and the wellbeing of the population. The method applied is a quantitative contrast using the panel data technique for 24 countries in the period 1983–2014. This research is framed in the open conversation in the literature on the possible impact of ageing on productivity and takes as reference the seminal work of James Feyrer and the contrast model developed by Shekhar Aiyar, Christian Ebeke, and Xiaobo Shao. The results obtained show how a 1% increase in the workforce between the ages of 55 and 64 is related to a decrease of the annual increase in productivity between −0.106% and −0.479%. The main contribution of the article is to provide, as far as the authors are aware, the first evidence of this negative relationship for the period 1983–2014, in addition to suggesting that the influence of ageing on productivity may be reduced by the evolution of the economies in question toward capital and/or knowledge-intensive sectors.