Low-technology Industries Research Articles

Preliminary Earnings Estimate and Dividends Payout Ratio: A Comparison Study on High-Tech vs. Low-Tech Industries

본 연구는 2012년부터 2017년까지 국내 상장기업들을 대상으로 첨단산업군 기업(이하 첨단기업)들과 비첨단산업군 기업(이하 일반기업)들을 구분하여 기업의 배당성향을 비교 분석하였다. 아울러 첨단기업들이 사전공시한 잠정이익과 회계감사 이후 확정되는 확정이익의 차이인 잠정이익공시오차에 따라 기업의 배당성향이 어떻게 다른지 실증 분석하였다. 분석결과, 일반기업들은 잠정이익을 확정이익보다 과대하게 공시하고, 첨단기업들은 오히려 축소하여 공시하는 경향이 있는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 첨단기업들이 잠정이익을 과대공시하여 확정이익이 잠정이익에 미달하는 경우, 부정적 어닝 서프라이즈(negative earnings surprise)에 상대적으로 더 큰 부담을 갖는다는 것을 시사한다. 첨단기업은 일반기업보다 투자에 대한 욕구가 강하고 외부자금 조달비용이 많이 들어서 될 수 있으면 현금배당을 줄여 초과현금을 사내에 보유하려는 경향이 있다는 사실도 확인할 수 있었다. 첨단기업의 잠정이익공시오차와 배당성향의 인과관계를 분석한 결과, 기업이 잠정이익을 과소하게 공시할수록 현금배당금이 감소하는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 새로운 투자수요가 상대적으로 큰 첨단기업들이 사전에 잠정이익을 보수적으로 공시하면서 주주들의 배당에 대한 기대심리를 낮추어 현금배당을 적게 하려는 의사결정으로 판단된다. 본 연구는 일반기업의 잠정이익 과대공시 경향에 대한 기존연구들의 관점에서 벗어나 첨단기업의 배당성향과 잠정이익 과소공시 수준의 인과관계를 규명하였다.This paper examines firms’ dividends payout ratios and preliminary earnings in high and low-technology industries. Furthermore, this paper studies how errors in preliminary earnings of high-tech companies, which is a difference between the finalized actual earnings and preliminary earnings estimate, affect their dividend payout ratios. From the study of Korean public companies between 2012 and 2017, it is revealed that high-tech firms tend to understate their preliminary earnings while low-tech firms tend to report higher preliminary earnings than their actual earnings. The implication is that, compared to low-tech corporations, high-tech firms are more vulnerable to negative earnings surprises due to overly optimistic preliminary earnings disclosure. Moreover, because high-tech firms are more likely to have greater investment opportunities and to incur increased external funding costs, they are thereby incentivized to maintain more cash within the company. They achieve this by decreasing their cash dividends to lower market expectations based on conservative preliminary earnings announcements. On the basis of empirical tests, this paper presents the amount of cash dividends decreases as firms understate their preliminary earnings.

Intellectual property rights and Korean economic development: the roles of patents, utility models and trademarks

ABSTRACT This analysis of trends in the number of filings for patents, utility models and trademarks in Korea from 1962 to 2009 identifies a close relationship between the evolution of the mix of these three types of intellectual property rights and the development pathway of the Korean economy, characterized by the successive leading roles of low-technology domestic market-oriented consumer goods industries, assimilation of advanced technologies through imitation, and the development of research- and innovation-intensive, high-technology export-oriented industries. The research provides empirical support for Schumpeterian analyses of technological catch-up starting from production and passing through imitation to innovation, and highlights the role not just of patents but also of other types of intellectual property rights in explaining economic and technological development.

Labor Costs and Localization in Global Value Chains: Comparative Analysis and Conclusions for Poland

Abstract Labor costs in Poland are relatively low in comparison to other European Union (EU) countries. After long period of functioning Poland in closed economy, conditions significantly weakened the level of its competitiveness in the international market. When the boards were opened in 1989, it became clear that cheap work force was one of the most important factors to attract foreign investments. At the same time, globalization and internationalization of production created opportunity for entrepreneurs to establish global value chains. Participation in global value chain (GVC) of Poland can extend international trade and increase gross domestic product (GDP). On the other hand, low wages attract investments in low-technology industries and, moreover, place Poland in the middle of value chains, where semi-products are assembled and new value added is exiguous. The aim of the article is: 1) to present polish participation in global value chain, 2) to analyze how much low labor costs contribute to degree of share in global value chain, and 3) to show how level of labor costs contribute to position in value chain and how does it influence on benefits from participating in GVC. In the article, the quantitative and qualitative assessment of Eurostat (European statistic) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) statistics data and research on labor costs carried out in Poland were analyzed. The research tools include a critical analysis of literature and descriptive analytical method. More than 50% of polish exports takes place within the global value chains. Low labor costs attract investors to allocate part of their production in Poland. Nevertheless, great part of export constitutes semi-products that do not create new value added so benefits from participation in GVC are not so considerable as expected. It is desirable to shift Poland toward beginning or the end of value chains, where profits are higher.

The Determinants of R&D and Product Innovation Pattern in High-Technology Industry and Low-Technology Industry: A Hurdle Model and Heckman Sample Selection Model Approach

The Determinants of R&D and Product Innovation Pattern in High-Technology Industry and Low-Technology Industry: A Hurdle Model and Heckman Sample Selection Model Approach

Output, Employment and Productivity: Contribution of different technology intensive manufacturing industries of India

Structural shift in manufacturing sector from low-technology intensive industries towards high-technology intensive industries is seen as critical for the development process. This is based on the argument that high-tech industries are highly innovative and have potential of high growth and productivity. The study has examined the same argument by analysing the real contribution of different technology intensive manufacturing sub-sectors in terms of output, employment and productivity by using firm level data drawn from CMIE Prowess for the period 1999–2000 to 2015–2016. Results show that high-tech oriented structural change is present in Indian manufacturing sector but it is very slow and small. There is not much variation in growth rates of high-tech industries and its counterparts. The finding casts doubt on the wisdom of targeting high-tech industries only because high-tech industries are overrepresented as high growth industries but in Indian context other sub-sectors (medium low-tech and low-tech industries) are also contributing to substantial portion of aggregated growth of Indian manufacturing sector in terms of output, employment and productivity.

Looking into global value chains: influence of foreign services on export performance

Using data from the OECD Inter-Country Input–Output database, we explore the impact of foreign services value added content of exports on export performance, specifically on duration of trade. Our data show that the share of foreign services content in manufacturing exports grows from 1995 to 2011, in a way similar to foreign goods content, and in contrast to the decreasing share of domestic services. Moreover, the share of foreign services value added content is larger for developing and emerging countries than for advanced countries. Our econometric findings confirm that foreign services value added embodied in manufacturing exports contribute positively to more resilient exports relationships, a positive effect which occurs for the three groups of manufacturing industries (high, medium and low technology industries) and, for each group, it is more pronounced for developing and emerging economies.

Balancing Internal and External R&D Strategies to Improve Innovation and Financial Performance

Abstract This research investigated the complementarity of internal and external R&D for innovation development and the effect of innovation on the financial performance of European manufacturing firms. Using multigroup structural equation modeling, this study partially supported that internal and external R&D are complementary in firms from high-technology industries, whereas they are not in firms from low-technology industries. For the two groups of firms, both internal and external R&D separately had a positive effect on innovation performance. These results suggested that if low-tech firms, which had lower absorptive capacity than high-tech firms, want to improve their innovation performance in the long term, they should start prioritizing internal R&D to improve their absorptive capacity while achieving a short-term satisfactory innovation outcome. As absorptive capacity rises, more complex strategies balancing internal and external R&D should be adopted. Contrary to expectations, the empirical analysis indicated that innovation performance did not influence short-term financial performance for the whole sample. However, in countries more affected by the 2008 crisis (for instance, Baltic countries, Portugal and Spain), this effect was detected, indicating that innovation helped firms to recover faster.

Technological Change, Skill Supply and Wage Distribution: Comparison of High-Technology and Low-Technology Industries in India

The technological inflows on the one hand and the increase in skill supply on the other have influenced not only the production structure of Indian manufacturing industries, but also the distribution of wages among the skilled and unskilled workers. The present study examines the wage disparity scenario in high-technology and low-technology industries in India. With the help of industry-level panel data from 2000–2001 to 2015–2016, the study finds the important role of skill intensity in determining wage disparity between and within the groups of skilled and unskilled workers. Skill has greater concentration in high-technology industries. Wage disparity between the skilled and unskilled workers and also within the skilled workers is high in high-technology industries as compared to low-technology industries. Skill intensity increases wage disparity in the beginning, but later on due to trickle-down effect, the trend is reversed. The study suggests that enhancement of skills through expansion of higher education and training will improve both the observed and unobserved abilities. This will increase productivity on the one hand and decrease wage disparity on the other. There is also a concern for the promotion of research and development activities to develop skill further.

Reconceptualizing Nigerian Copyright Law to Protect Nollywood

Reconceptualizing Nigerian Copyright Law to Protect Nollywood

Changes in Global Trade Patterns and Women's Employment in Manufacturing, 1995–2011

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the feminization and defeminization trends in manufacturing employment in thirty countries from 1995 to 2011. Utilizing two separate methods, structural decomposition analysis (SDA) and factor content analysis (FCA), the study identifies the major industries and trade partners behind the structural shifts in trade that have induced changes in employment and thus in the rates of women’s employment. The findings highlight that, as a general trend, defeminization in manufacturing has persisted in the Global North, led by a negative trade impact in low-technology industries. In the Global South, feminization and defeminization trends are not as straightforward. Despite positive changes in women’s share of employment in medium-high- and high-technology industries, negative gender bias effects of trade changes are found particularly in high-technology industries, where occupations are notably gendered.

Impact of technology-intensive exports on GDP of Western Balkan Countries

This paper aims to determine, by means of regression analysis, which exported product groups, categorized according to their technological intensity, have the greatest effect on the movements in the volume of GDP p/c of the Western Balkan Countries (WBCs). The analysis, based on statistical-econometric methodology, includes 16 commodity groups per each WBC (Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatia; FYR Macedonia; Montenegro; Serbia). The data were collected and presented in accordance with the HS4 system classification, which is also used for development of the ITC’s Trade Map. The results of the analysis show that those commodity groups produced by medium-low and low technology industries have the greatest effect on the change in the volume of GDP p/c in all WBCs in the period 2005–2015.

Independent R and D, Technology Introduction, and Green Growth in China’s Manufacturing

An analysis of not only the effects of independent research and development (R and D), but also of the effects of the introduction of domestic and foreign technology on the growth of green manufacturing, can help China achieve the green transformation of manufacturing. In this paper we first use a non-directional distance function (NDDF) and meta-frontier methods to calculate a green growth index. Then, using 2003 to 2015 manufacturing panel data, we empirically test the effects of three different types of R and D investment on the green growth of China’s manufacturing. The regression results show that there is significant industrial heterogeneity in the effects of independent R and D, in the introduction of domestic technology and in the introduction of foreign technology on the green growth of China’s manufacturing. Independent R and D is conducive to the green growth of the three types of technological industries, but the contribution of independent R and D to green growth has gradually weakened with improvements in industrial technology. Domestic technology introduction is conducive to green growth in low and middle-technology industries, but its effect on high-technology industries is not significant. On the other hand, foreign technology introduction is conducive to the green growth of middle and high-technology industries, but its effect on low-technology industries is not significant.

The Antecedents and Consequences of Small Enterprise Organizational Ambidexterity: An Empirical Analysis of Italian Manufacturing Firms

This study contributes to the emerging dialogue on the relationships between top management team (TMT) functional background diversity, organizational ambidexterity and company performance. Although small firms (SEs) represent a fundamental component of every nation’s economy, to our knowledge SEs have never been considered as specific units of analysis in the context of this dialogue. Therefore, logistic regression was applied to a sample of 502 Italian manufacturing SEs, 244 operating in the fashion industry and 258 operating in other low technology industries. The principal findings are the following: i) there is a significant and positive relationship between SE TMT diversity and SE organizational ambidexterity; ii) the chief executive officer’s (CEO’s) functional background and power act as moderators in this relationship; iii) there is a significant and positive relationship between SE organizational ambidexterity and SE performance and this relationship is positively moderated by the level of complexity of the industry environment.

How Urbanization Economies Impact TFP of R&D Performers: Evidence from China

There have been extensive studies exploring the relationship between agglomeration economies and economic growth. However, far less attention is paid to the nonlinear relationship of urbanization economies–firm productivity nexus, especially in developing countries. This paper aims to explore how urbanization economies impact the total factor productivity (TFP) of research and development (R&D) performers using a large sample of Chinese manufacturing firms. The generalized propensity score matching methodology is employed to not only address the selection-bias and endogenous issues, but also quantitatively investigate how firm TFP responds to urbanization economies at each urbanization level. Based on the full data sample, our results show that there exists an S-shaped relationship between urbanization economies and TFP of Chinese R&D performers. Importantly, there is an optimal interval in which urbanization economies’ impact on firm TFP can be maximized. There is also a threshold value, only beyond which a further increase in urbanization economies improves firm TFP, and a saturation point, beyond which a further increase in urbanization economies does not increase and even decrease firm TFP. The relationship between urbanization economies and TFP of Chinese R&D performers presents a consistent pattern for firms in high- and medium–low-technology industries, as well as in Eastern and North East China. However, for firms in Central and Western China, there is a much smaller and even no range of optimal interval of urbanization economies, respectively. Our research helps provide insights into policy makers to maximize urbanization economies’ positive impact on firm TFP.

Offshoring, industry heterogeneity and employment

This paper assesses the employment impact of offshoring in five European countries (Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom), distinguishing between different types of inputs/tasks offshored, different types of offshoring industries and types of professional groups. The empirical evidence shows that offshoring activities are mainly driven by a cost reduction (labour saving) rationale. This is particularly the case for the manufacturing industry where offshoring is found to exert a negative impact among the less qualified or more routinized types of jobs, while the main difference between high- and low-technology industries has to do with the type of labour tasks that are offshored and the types of domestic jobs that are affected. In high-technology industries the negative effects of offshoring on employment are concentrated among managers and crafts. A specular pattern is found in the case of the low-technology industries where job losses are found among manual workers.

The effect of technological intensity of exports on the economic growth of Brazilian microregions: A spatial analysis with panel data

Abstract The objective of this study was to analyze empirically the effects of exports segmented into technological levels on the economic growth of Brazilian microregions during the period 2000–2010 in light of the Crespo-Cuaresma and Worz’s (2005) model. The hypothesis is that exports increase economic growth due to the productivity differential existing between the exporting and non exporting sectors and the positive externality generated by the exporting in the non exporting sector. Theoretically, the higher technology the exported goods have, the stronger these effects are. By classifying the exports into technological levels and estimating the empirical model using the spatial data panel technique, with fixed effect, the two central hypotheses in the Crespo-Cuaresma and Worz’s (2005) model were validated, with a productivity differential in all exporting segments, and also with a subsequent effect of externalities on the economic dynamism. This effect might go beyond territorial limits mainly when the goods exported belong to the low and mid-low technology industry. Also, a differentiated effect was observed regarding the external insertion in the economic growth of the regions with high exports vs. those with low participation in the international trade. In the former, the most intense indirect effect is mainly related to products with higher aggregated value, while in the latter more effects are seen mainly linked to the exportation of non-industrial products.

Problems of Increasing the Regional Development Innovative Sustainability

The article gives a comparative analysis of the innovation and technological development in Russia and foreign countries. The paper shows that in the innovation sector, Russia lags behind most of the developed and developing countries: Russia has almost left the market of high technologies; main costs for innovations are implemented in the sectors of low and medium technology industries. Self-sufficiency of Russian economy for a number of the major types of production equipment is significantly below than the threshold marks determined by the requirements of national security. The article demonstrated the differentiation in the innovative development of the Russian regions. The study of the Russian innovation space has shown that in the periphery, there are sufficiently intense processes of the attenuation of science, which creates serious problems for the growth of innovative impulses across the country. The authors present the methodology for integrated assessment of regional innovative security. The appropriate calculations for regions of the Ural Federal District are performed. The article identifies the most critical factors for innovative sustainability of these regions. The authors have made a forecast as well as built the projected trajectories of the innovative security level of the Ural Federal District using the modernized method of Hurst. We have formulated the main barriers to the innovative development of the Russian regions. The article presents the methodological approaches to the substantiation of the priorities for the formation of the innovative system of regions including the specific features of their science and industry. The authors propose the methodology for the formal evaluation of the creation of a regional innovation activity centers aimed at supporting the competitiveness of the enterprises of different technological level. The paper presents calculation results for the priority of the formation of the centers of innovation activity aimed at supporting the development of industries of different technological level on the example of the regions of the Ural Federal District which is one of the leading Russian regions in the innovative and productive potentials.

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.

Did US regions with manufacturing design generate more production jobs in the 2000s? New evidence on innovation and regional development

US manufacturing policies increasingly steer resources toward the act of innovation. Emerging case-study evidence suggests that this innovation leads to manufacturing job growth. However, the case-study evidence from which this claim is assembled is incomplete and selective. Using regional-level industry-occupation data for US manufacturing sectors, we test the contribution of manufacturing innovation activities to production employment growth within US regions, for the 2000–2006 and 2006–2010 periods. While production employment continued to disperse from sites of historical manufacturing concentration over both time periods, innovation activities provided some advantages. From 2000 to 2006, regions with higher innovation concentrations in high-tech and medium–low technology industries, experienced slower rates of production employment decline. From 2006 to 2010, a period spanning the Great Recession, innovation activities were associated with reduced production job losses for industries of all technology levels. These results indicate that innovation has benefits beyond high-technology industries, but that those benefits are limited and selective.