Low-technology Firms Research Articles

Technology transfer challenges in asymmetric alliances between high-technology and low-technology firms

Low-technology firms face an increasingly disruptive innovation landscape as new legislation and changing market demands force them to dramatically reduce emission levels to become more sustainable. However, successfully developing and implementing sustainable technologies frequently presupposes alliances between low-technology firms (such as process industry companies) and high-tech firms (such as their specialized technology providers). Such alliances are asymmetric and problematic because of differences in approaches to learning, knowledge bases, collaboration routines, and high cognitive distance between high- and low-technology firms. Against this background, we performed a multiple case study of six asymmetric alliances operating in the food and food packaging sectors in the UK. The analysis reveals that technology distance asymmetry, technology integration complexity, and innovation capability incompatibilities prohibit technology transfer effectiveness. By mapping these themes across three phases of technology transfer, we identified a total of nine unique problems that hamper technology transfer effectiveness and, therefore, risk delaying or distorting the implementation of novel sustainable technology. The paper provides theoretical implications for the literature on innovation in LMT firms and for the literature on sustainability alliances along with practical implications for improving technology transfer between high-tech and low-tech firms considering climate change.

Digital economy policy and corporate low-carbon innovation: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

We explore whether advances in digitalization of economies further green development by studying the impact of big data policies on low-carbon innovation. Using the low-carbon innovation data of Chinese listed companies from 2011 to 2019, we verify that China's big data comprehensive pilot zones (BDCPZ) policy facilitated corporate low-carbon innovation, especially for state-owned enterprises, low-technology firms, and firms with highly educated CEOs. Findings provide policy insights for the synergistic development of the digital economy and low-carbon innovation.

A hidden risk in climate change: The effect of daily rainfall shocks on industrial activities

This paper examines the impact of extreme precipitation on Chinese industrial output and its total factor productivity (TFP) using data from the annual survey of industrial firms (ASIF) and daily weather data. The findings demonstrate a significant reduction in industrial firm output as a result of precipitation, with extreme daily precipitation decreasing output by approximately 1.22%. We provide an explanation for this precipitation-industrial output relationship from four perspectives: per capita wages, labor productivity, inventory, and depreciation. The effects of extreme precipitation are more pronounced in high-income and high-precipitation regions, as well as among foreign firms and low-technology firms. Our research suggests that extreme daily precipitation poses a serious obstacle to the development of the manufacturing industry. These results are crucial for understanding the economic impact and concealed costs of climate change, highlighting that extreme precipitation should be recognized as one of the primary sources of damage associated with climate change in the future.

Branding advantage of agri-food companies in competitive export markets: a resource-based theory

PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to investigate the antecedents of export performance and branding advantage, as a key type of competitive advantage in export markets among entrepreneurs and managers of agri-food exporters.Design/methodology/approachA sample of entrepreneurs from 182 exporting firms of the agriculture and food industry participated in a cross-sectional survey. The data were collected by a self-reporting questionnaire and partial least squares were used to analyse the data and assess the path model.FindingsResults revealed that experiential resources strongly promote communication capabilities. Also, communication, distribution and product development capabilities contribute to the creation of the branding advantage in export markets. In addition, a positive relationship between the branding advantage and export performance of agri-food products is confirmed.Research limitations/implicationsThe study targets exporters of agri-food products. Hence, the results should be interpreted regarding the context of low-technology firms. Further, this paper delineates branding advantage considerations that managers need to account for to achieve effective exporting. Practitioners can efficaciously exploit resources to achieve a competitive advantage, considering that they focus on building capabilities, and in particular, communication capabilities.Originality/valueThe present study highlights the role of the branding advantage as an important type of competitive advantage in international entrepreneurship and export markets. It attempts to examine the combined relationships of resources and capabilities with branding advantage and export performance.

The Effect of Business Strategy on Risk Disclosure

ABSTRACT For a sample of nonfinancial and non-utility firms from the European Economic Area in 2005–2017, we find that a firm’s business strategy is a determinant of the amount of risk factor information in the annual report. Firms with an innovation-oriented prospector strategy report more about their risk factors than firms with an efficiency-oriented defender strategy. This is because, first, these innovation-oriented prospectors face greater risks and uncertainties and the regulator and enforcement institution expect them to report these accordingly in the annual report. Second, given the discretion the firms have in disclosing risks, prospectors are more likely to engage in voluntary disclosure. It seems that the benefits outweigh the costs of revealing proprietary information. Further, our findings reveal that business strategy influences the coverage of the main risk topics and risk disclosure complexity. Additionally, the influence of business strategy on risk disclosure is stronger for small, young, and low-technology firms.

Managerial Ability and Financial Outcomes of R&D Spending at Korean High-Technology Firms

This paper examines the effect of managerial ability on the relationship between R&D spending and financial performance at high-technology firms. Since R&D activities are more critical for innovation at high-technology firms than at low-technology firms, high-ability managers at technology firms are expected to manage R&D spending effectively in order to improve firms’ financial performance. The analysis of Korean firms’ operating income and valuation over the past decade shows that managerial ability strengthens the association between R&D spending and financial performance at high-technology firms but not at low-technology firms. These findings clarify the interplay between managerial qualities and firms’ innovation processes at driving firms’ performance.

Relationship between market and institutional networks and technological innovation: an analysis of peruvian manufacturing firms

Firms strive to develop technological innovations. This study focuses on two main objectives: to identify the relationship between market and institutional networks and technological innovation; and to analyze the relationship between the obstacles that firms assess when developing innovations. The literature shows that there has been little interest in researching innovation in emerging economies, in which there is a greater presence of low-technology intensity firms that also develop technological innovations. Using data from 705 Peruvian manufacturing firms, a partial structural equation model was applied. The results showed that when firms are linked to networks, their capacity for technological innovation improves.

Participative leadership and unit performance: evidence for intermediate linkages

ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the intermediate links and boundary conditions between unit-level participative leadership and unit-level unit performance. The study collects multiple resource data from 174 units in 75 high, medium, and low technology firms. In particular, unit-level co-worker knowledge sharing is found to partially mediate the relationship between unit-level participative leadership and unit-level performance. Unit-level absorptive capacity also positively moderates the positive relationship between unit-level participative leadership and unit-level co-worker knowledge sharing, as well as positively moderating the concept that unit-level co-worker knowledge sharing mediates the positive relationship between unit-level participative leadership and unit-level performance. The theoretical contributions of this study are in its attempts to use organisational learning theory to comprehensively understand the intermediate links and boundary conditions between participative leadership and performance. This study has two practical implications: 1) human resources practitioners in each firm should arrange specific educational trainings for each unit; and 2) firms should establish a knowledge exchange platform for every unit.

Combining Knowledge to Improve Product and Process Innovation and Performance of SMES in Developing Economies

The aim of this study was to investigate how combining internal and external knowledge sources (KS) may influence product and process innovation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from developing economies in order to improve their financial performances (FPs). Previous research mostly supported that internal KS influence innovation directly as well as indirectly, moderating the relationship between external KS and innovation performance (IP), with this moderation being more prominent in the case of high-technology firms. These studies also supported that innovation influences FP more strongly in this type of firm. The present study proposes that, in developing countries, the opposite occurs. The moderation relationship of internal KS on the relationship between external KS and IP would be stronger in low-technology firms, as well as the positive effect of innovation on FP. We tested our propositions using a sample of 1551 Brazilian manufacturing SMEs controlling by the technological intensity of the industry and confirmed a good part of the proposed hypotheses.

Technology Orientation and Inbound Open Innovation at LMT Firms: An Empirical Study in Sri Lanka

Despite the growing interest in open innovation, previous studies have ignored the role of firms’ strategic capability in evoking open innovation, especially in low and medium-low technology (LMT) firms from technologically less advanced countries. This study rectifies this problem by examining the impact of technology orientation on the implementation of inbound open innovation. Also, assessing the effect of the environment on the relationship between technology orientation and inbound open innovation, this study considers technology turbulence and market potential. The hierarchical regression analysis, based on cross-sectional survey data collected from 272 LMT firms in Sri Lanka reveals that LMT firms adopt inbound open innovation at a moderate level. LMT firms value technology and face above-average level technology turbulence and market potential. Results show that both technology orientation and market potential have a significant positive effect on the implementation of inbound open innovation, but no evidence from technology turbulence. Also, technology turbulence negatively, and market potential positively moderate the relationship between technology orientation and inbound open innovation. The findings indicate that LMT firms in Sri Lanka should exploit technologically superior products to meet customers’ needs and attract the market. Also, technology orientation plays a salient role in attractive markets but not in technologically turbulent environments.

Production technologies and low-technology knowledge-intensive venturing

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how low-technology corporate ventures use knowledge from multiple and often trans-sectoral fields to intensively create and deploy innovative production technologies in order to sustain significant competitive advantages.Design/methodology/approachThe paper primarily draws evidence from an exploratory case study of a low-tech private enterprise operating in the wood processing industry in Greece.FindingsLow-technology firms appear to invest mainly in process innovation and therefore production technologies, in order to secure a position within mature markets. Within the notion of knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE), a creative bricolage of knowledge based on research work and industrial practice results in innovative products and processes covering technologies from a wide range, including high-tech industries. The case indicates that low-tech companies may be something more than just “borrowers” of technology.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations regard the single case study research design and the focus on the wood industry in Greece. Future research may pursue more case studies in different traditional sectors and national contexts.Practical implicationsEntrepreneurs and managers of low-technology firms should focus on technological innovation and more specifically on co-creation of novel production technologies in order to sustain strong competitive advantages and enhance performances.Originality/valueThe analysis challenges the established opinion of common entrepreneurial processes in low-tech sectors. It adds to the ongoing discussion of low-tech, KIE and it contributes to the literature of industrial dynamics since there are only a handful of studies that probe the role of production technologies within a low-tech but knowledge-intensive context.

Intermediary Organizations in Labor Markets

We propose a job matching model of intermediary labor markets by developing the seminal work of Kelso and Crawford. Using this model, we show that for an arbitrary fixed broker-fee rate, the salary-adjustment process converges to a core allocation in intermediary labor markets where high-skilled workers are matched to high-technology firms by the private middleman and low-skilled workers are matched to low-technology firms by the public middleman. This result means that the dual labor market is emerged as a stable outcome of job-matching promoted by the private and public middlemen. Finally, we discuss empirical relevance of our theoretical model by using the data of job placement services in Japan.

Explorando as características da capacidade de inovação de firmas em atividades produtivas de baixa intensidade tecnológica

O artigo analisa a capacidade de inovação de firmas de baixa intensidade tecnológica, com base no ‘Modelo das Capacidade de Inovação’. O Modelo compreende a capacidade de inovação da firma a partir de quatro outras: desenvolvimento, operação, gestão e transação. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo em duas firmas agroindustriais da região dos Campos de Cima da Serra no Rio Grande do Sul/Brasil. As firmas investigadas apresentaram as quatro capacidades previstas no modelo, sendo que uma delas se destacou em cada firma: a capacidade de transação na primeira empresa e a de operação na segunda. Não houve destaque para a capacidade de desenvolvimento, como previsto para firmas de baixa intensidade tecnológica, mas isso não significa que as firmas não tenham rotinas que envolvam a inovação. Essa visão mais abrangente da capacidade de inovação, proporcionada pelo modelo utilizado, contribui para complementar os estudos sobre a complexa natureza do processo inovativo nas firmas. Os resultados apontam também para a necessidade de repensar alguns aspectos do modelo e aplicá-lo novamente no contexto low-tech.

R&D and patents: is it a two way street?

ABSTRACTThis paper provides empirical evidence on the link between firms’ R&D expenditure and patent registrations by applying the Granger causality test. We use a panel of Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990–2013. We first, examine the R&D-patents relationship in the manufacturing firms as a whole and subsequently, manufacturing was broken down into three groups of firms according to the technological level of the industries to which the firms belonged: high and medium-high (HMHT), low medium (LMT) and low (LT) technology firms. For the entire panel, our results provide support for a bidirectional relationship between R&D and patents, supporting both the traditional view and the reverse causality approach (patents cause R&D). When the sample is split into the three technology levels, we also find strong support for a bidirectional relationship in HMHT firms and weak support in LT ones. We found no evidence of this bidirectional link in LMT firms.

Empirical study of effectiveness of construction waste minimization in Bauchi state

This paper critically investigates and analysed the to determine the level of waste minimization practices in Bauchi State, Nigeria. In practice, there has been a tremendous increase in building construction which led to the generation of waste at different stages of construction. The structure of Nigerian construction industry is complex having different types of clients and contractors. This consist of public and private clients, main contractors and sub-contractors, indigenous and foreign companies, low technology firms and sophisticated specialists, builders and civil engineers and a whole range of construction professionals connected within the industry. The growing popularity of Public Private Partnership (PPPs) also means more international construction firms are likely to come into the Nigerian construction industry. The materials and methods was that questionnaire design was undertaken to determine the opinion of contractors on waste minimization practices in the study area. The sample group identified comprises project managers, project engineers, quantity surveyors, site supervisors and the method of distribution and collection of the questionnaire survey is through google by Survey Monkey. The questionnaire was constructed using Likert scale. The respondents were asked to rank on a scale of 1-5 waste minimization strategies on construction sites. The population of this research were construction firms in Bauchi participating on different types of construction projects. In this research, use of census is administered. A total number of 77 construction firms with valid registration in Nigeria. The result of the survey on the level of waste minimization practices in Bauchi construction industry. Reuse on site with the highest mean of 3.86 is in the high category and ranked first. The reuse on site is the most frequent practice on construction site. The second ranked mean is 3.57 also in the High category which represent the proportion of respondents that minimize waste at the source of origin. The finding of the research study shows that the study emphasized the Reuse is the most acceptable way of waste minimization in construction site in the study area. From the findings of this research study, its recommended that the contraction firms should have waste management plan regardless of its size as this will reduce both physical and non-physical waste and increase the profit

Technology transfer as a mechanism for dynamic transformation in the food sector

Traditional industrial sectors generally have been considered low technology (LT) industries according to the standard classification of manufacturing industries which is based on R&D intensity, i.e. R&D expenditure/total output. However, questions are being raised about the limitations imposed by this classification—for both academic research and policy design. LT firms over time can develop rich knowledge related to non R&D activities while simultaneously exploiting new and high technologies to develop new products and processes. Therefore, policies to support innovation should take account of the fact that LT sectors are an important component of the national innovation ecosystem. For instance, the food sector despite its relatively low formal R&D activity, has developed a significant knowledge base related to non-R&D activities. Also, technological change related to other sectors can affect the whole agro-food value chain, and create opportunities related to technological advancements in areas such as information and communication technologies, biotechnologies, nutrition, health-care, etc. In this paper, we investigate the impact of technology transfer on the business performance and competitiveness of young European food and beverages firms, using data from AEGIS—a large-scale survey. We explore whether firms which use technology transfer mechanisms exhibit better business and competitive performance than firms with less open strategies. Our findings contribute to ongoing discussion on the growth and innovation potential of traditional industries.

Types of Innovation in Low-Technology Firms of Emerging Markets: An Empirical Study in Brazilian Industry

Low-technology industry is still commonly regarded as an assistant role in the modern process of innovation and economic change. However, we believe that innovation may happen in all different types of industries and firms, including low-technology firms. The aim of this paper is to analyze the types of innovation in low-tech intensity industries of emerging markets. We conduct an exploratory study in 21 low-tech firms in Brazil. The results suggest that even firms with low technological intensity can be considered innovative, although they presented a different view regarding to changes, innovation and competitive differential. Considering that innovative performance is a result of four capabilities, the operational and transactional capabilities seem to be the most important for low-tech industry.

Exploring innovation success recipes in low-technology firms using fuzzy-set QCA

This study explores the configurations of innovation capabilities (“recipes”) that enable firms in low-technology industries (“low-tech firms”) to achieve high innovative performance. Using a sample of 614 Brazilian low-tech firms, the study employs fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to identify how the four capabilities – development, operations, management and transaction – combine to produce high innovative performance. The analyses identify two recipes for innovation success, both of which include high levels of development and transaction capabilities. However, these two capabilities (while necessary) are not sufficient for achieving high innovative performance: they are meaningful only when combined with either a management or an operations capability. The study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of innovation in low-tech industries by showing that low-tech firms, even with limited research and development capacities, can successfully innovate when they develop and use an appropriate set of capabilities. The study results should help managers uncover potential ways of combining capabilities for innovation success and suggest that low-tech firms could benefit from policy support and training to develop such capabilities.

Growth drivers in low technology micro firms

This study examines the relationship among customer orientation, innovativeness, tenacity, risk taking, growth willingness and growth in low-technology micro firms. A survey was sent to 3,000 CEOs in the Norwegian firewood industry, and 514 usable responses were received. The findings indicate that micro firms differ in how they configure and exploit their strategic resources. Furthermore, the results show that customer orientation, innovativeness and tenacity have a significant effect on growth in micro firms. In contrast with earlier studies, we find no support for interaction effects among innovativeness, tenacity, risk taking and customer orientation. Managers should increase their focus on customer needs with regard to the manner in which goods are delivered.

Southern MNCs in Switzerland and regional productivity spillovers in services/construction industry

As more developing and transition market firms (southern MNCs) are engaged in outward FDI in European advanced economies, a fundamentally important question has to be addressed: whether this investment leads to positive productivity effects for host economies. Our paper addresses this issue by examining whether there are indicators of regional spillovers from the entry and the presence of southern MNCs in the service/construction industry. We suggest that: 1) regional spillovers from southern MNCs are co-determined by local and foreign characteristics, namely, FDI motivation and technological capacity of the local host country firms; 2) possible interaction effects between local technological capacity and FDI motivation would also influence the size and the extent of regional spillovers from southern MNCs. Using firms-level data from Switzerland, we found that knowledge-exploiting FDI (KE FDI) and knowledge-seeking FDI (KS FDI) have different amounts of spillovers. In addition, human capital development in local firms appears to be essential in gaining large regional spillovers. This allows for positive regional spillovers for high technology firms when southern MNCs are assigned KE mandates and for low technology firms when southern MNCs invest in KS FDI.