Medium Technology Manufacturing Research Articles

Identification on the common supply chain paths of CO2 and NOx emissions from the manufacturing industry in China

ABSTRACT Since the ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative was proposed, the transformation and upgrading of China’s manufacturing industry towards a high-end, intelligent, and green status has been accelerated, and the climate change and air pollution issues draw immediate attention. This paper investigated the simultaneous control paths of CO2 and NOx emissions throughout the manufacturing transition in China. Based on environmental input-output analysis, the production- and consumption-based CO2 and NOx emissions in 2015 and 2020 were evaluated, indicating that over 70% of production-side emissions were caused by medium-technology manufacturing, and over 50% of consumption-side emissions came from high-technology manufacturing. Then, the structural path analysis was introduced to extract the synergistic emission pathways of CO2 and NOx. The ‘smelting and pressing of metal sector → construction → investment’ pathway, which produced emissions of 347.71 Mt CO2 and 639.9 Kt NOx in 2015, was identified as the most critical path to achieve manufacturing synergistic reduction. Additionally, investment demand in the construction sector seriously affected the collaborative reduction of CO2 and NOx emissions in supply chains of medium-technology manufacturing. The critical supply chain of high-technology manufacturing for achieving coordinated emission reduction was mainly driven by export demand for chemical products.

Effects of manufacturing input servitization on labor income share and income distribution

In recent times, a transformative phenomenon has emerged within the realm of manufacturing known as “manufacturing input servitization.” This concept involves the integration of services into traditional manufacturing processes, and while it has received some attention, its implications for labor income distribution have not been extensively explored. This study embarks on an exploration of the intricate relationship between manufacturing input servitization and labor income share, with a specific focus on its impact on income distribution. Employing rigorous regression analysis techniques, this paper rigorously assesses the relationship between manufacturing input servitization and labor income share. Our analysis also delves into mediation effects, uncovering the pivotal roles played by labor productivity and human capital in driving labor income share improvements. The results consistently reveal a positive correlation between manufacturing input servitization and labor income share, an association that persists even after controlling for various factors. Heterogeneity analysis further showcases that the medium-technology manufacturing sector benefits the most from servitization, closely followed by the high-technology and low-technology sectors. In addition, this research highlights a pronounced impact of manufacturing servitization on labor income in developing economies compared to their developed counterparts. Beyond the empirical discoveries, extended analysis reveals a implication: the enhancement of labor income share in the manufacturing sector contributes significantly to reducing income inequality across the broader economy. These findings hold substantial implications for both policymakers and manufacturing firms. Encouraging the adoption of servitization strategies within manufacturing not only fosters labor income growth but also aligns with the broader societal goal of reducing income inequality. As such, this research provides invaluable insights for stakeholders committed to nurturing inclusive economic growth.

Global Value Chains Embedding and Carbon Productivity of China’s Manufacturing Industry: Direct Influence, Adjustment Effect, and Heterogeneity Analysis

In the context of the deepening division of labour in global value chains (GVC) and the goal of “double carbon”, it is important to promote China’s manufacturing industry to break away from the unfavourable situation of “big but not strong” so as to achieve low-carbon transformation and value chain upgrading. Based on the panel data of China’s manufacturing industry from 2006 to 2018, this paper adopts a threshold regression model to analyse the marginal impact of GVC embedding position on carbon productivity. It also comprehensively explores the moderating effects of R&D investment, environmental regulation, industrial structure upgrading, and industrial digitisation on the impact of GVC embedding on carbon productivity in three aspects: forward GVC participation, backward GVC participation, and GVC embedding position. The research shows that forward and backward GVC participation have negative direct effects on carbon productivity in China’s manufacturing sector, but the results of the heterogeneity analysis show that both forward and backward GVC participation are positively associated with carbon productivity in low- and medium-technology manufacturing industries. Improving the GVC embedding position will promote the improvement of carbon productivity, and the promotion effect will be increased and then decreased. Both R&D investment and industrial structure upgrading have strengthened the impact of GVC embedding. Environmental regulation weakens the inhibitory effect of backward GVC participation on carbon productivity, while industry digitisation has a negative moderating effect. Further heterogeneity analysis found that forward simple GVC participation was positively related to carbon productivity. The findings of this paper provide a theoretical and practical foundation for analysing the impact mechanism of GVC embeddedness on carbon productivity in China’s manufacturing industries. It is conducive to promoting China’s manufacturing industries to realise low-carbon transformation and climb up to the high end of the GVC, and it provides certain policy insights for the realization of the goals of “carbon peaking” and “carbon neutrality”.

An Overview of Current Challenges in New Food Product Development

New product development (NPD) is essential for business success and growth. High- to medium-technology manufacturing sectors have introduced standard models. The adaptation of these systematic NPD procedures supported by appropriate decision support tools has provided significant benefits in production cost, product quality and supply chain availability. However, the challenges involved in NPD of food are rapidly increasing due to consumer demand for organic and healthy diets, in particular, more nutritious low-calorie food, and preference for customised and personalised food products. This has resulted in a proliferation of new varieties, types and shapes of food products that are constantly introduced. Most of these new products are developed based on company-specific ad hoc NPD procedures, within small to medium enterprises that form the biggest proportion of food producers in most developed countries. This highlights a need for further research into novel NPD methods and tools in the food sector. This communication provides an overview of the NPD processes, analyses their strengths and shortcomings and outlines critical missing capabilities for food manufacturers in specific.

The role of entrepreneurial orientation and family control of the firm in the economic recovery of underperforming firms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse how entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and the family control of the company influence the performance of underachieving firms and how they contribute to economic recovery.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test the authors’ predictions on a unique and representative sample of 1,500 Spanish small firms in high and medium technology manufacturing and service industries. Given the nature of the dependent variable, the authors estimate a series of regression models to test the hypotheses. In addition, the authors consider two interaction terms where the underperforming firms’ variable is interacted with family firms and EO.FindingsThe results of analyses show that both EO and family ownership separately increase subsequent performance for underachieving firms.Originality/valueThe study contributes to expand the literature on underperforming firms analysing how strategic and structural factors affect the performance of firms that face an economic downturn. It also provides some guidance for practitioners on the decision and contexts that better serve the economic recovery of underperforming firms.

How collaborative innovation networks affect new product performance: Product innovation capability, process innovation capability, and absorptive capacity

The current literature has investigated the direct relationship between collaborative innovation networks and new product performance, but the results are inconsistent. This research aims to explore the role of product and process innovation capabilities as two distinct mechanisms through which collaborative innovation networks improve new product performance. The study also examines the contingent effects of absorptive capacity on the relationship between collaborative innovation networks and the two innovation capability dimensions (i.e. product and process innovation). Survey data from 258 respondents from the Iranian high and medium technology manufacturing industries indicates the need for caution when developing collaborative innovation networks. We found that the effects of collaborative innovation networks on either product or process innovation capability are significant only in the presence of absorptive capacity. This finding suggests that the level of collaboration with different partners can enhance firms' innovation capabilities only if the focal firm's managers have developed the capacity to scan and acquire external knowledge. Our analyses further indicate that in the presence of absorptive capacity, only collaboration with research organizations and competitors have a positive effect on product innovation capability. In the case of process innovation capability, collaboration with research organizations and suppliers are the most important factors.

The impact of Chinese competition on third markets: An analysis by region and technological category

AbstractThis article seeks, through the use of a gravity model, to verify if in the 2000‐2009 years Chinese exports have displaced exports from other countries in third markets. The contribution of this article is to provide an overview of Chinese competition, covering different regions and technology categories in a comparative way. The evidence shows that the effect of Chinese exports on global exports is mainly negative. The medium technology manufacturing sector is the segment most affected by Chinese competition. The results also indicate that developing economies are experiencing the most negative effect of Chinese competition, especially the emerging Asian countries.

Technological structure of trade and BOP-constrained growth in Turkey

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the empirical validity of the Multisectoral Thirwall's Law for Turkey over the last half century. Multisectoral Thirwall's Law facilitates the discussion of the effects of the sectoral composition of trade on the extent of the balance of payments (BOP) constraint and consequently on the long run growth prospects of an economy. In particular, structural change favoring sectors with Schumpeterian and Keynesian efficiencies is expected to improve these prospects. Lall's commodity classification on a technology basis is adequate for delineating such sectors. In this study, distinct export and import functions are estimated for primary production, low technology manufacturing, medium technology manufacturing and high technology manufacturing industries using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test and Johansen approaches to cointegration. Resulting income elasticities are used to discuss the structural change in the technological content of Turkish trade and the validity of the Multisectoral Thirwall's Law. Results suggest that Turkey has come a long way in terms of improvements in Schumpeterian and Keynesian efficiency over the last 50 years and that the Multisectoral Thirwall's Law is empirically valid in the case of Turkey.

Multinationals and domestic firms in France: who gains from knowledge spillovers?

This paper aims to evaluate the direction, nature, and magnitude of spillovers between foreign-owned firms and French firms from firm-level panel data. We estimate production functions at the firm level using the recent structural techniques suggested in Ackerberg et al. (2006). From our results, three main conclusions can be drawn. First, spillovers are at work in all research-intensive sectors, although they have very weak effects in the less knowledge-based sectors. Second, foreign-owned firms belonging to high- and medium-technology manufacturing industries that are set up in France benefit from horizontal spillovers, suggesting a technology sourcing activity of foreign multinationals. Third, inward foreign investment increases the total factor productivity of French firms supplying inputs to multinationals (backward spillovers) only in high- and medium-technology manufacturing industries and after 4 years.

The Triple Helix in the context of global change: dynamics and challenges

Understanding how economies change through interactions with science and government as different spheres of activity requires both new conceptual tools and methodologies. In this paper, the evolution of the metaphor of a Triple Helix of university–industry–government relations is elaborated into an evolutionary model, and positioned within the context of global economic changes. We highlight how Triple Helix relations are both continuing and mutating, and the conditions under which a Triple Helix might be seen to be unraveling in the face of pressures on each of the three helices – university, industry, and government. The reciprocal dynamics of innovation both in the Triple Helix thesis and in the global economy are empirically explored: we find that footlooseness of high technology manufacturing and knowledge-intensive services counteract the embeddedness prevailing in medium technology manufacturing. The geographical level at which synergy in Triple Helix relations can be expected and sustained varies among nations and regions.

Stage-specific effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically demonstrate that drivers of venture capital (VC) investments are different across three broadly defined sectors: high-technology manufacturing, medium-technology manufacturing and services, and low-technology services. Moreover, such differences also exist across industries within each of these sectors. Design/methodology/approach – The basic hypothesis is that “not only different stages of VC investments have different drivers, but VC investments in different sectors of the economy are also driven by different drivers.” The paper tests this hypothesis using a Poterba (1989) type supply and demand framework in the multivariate time-series regression analysis. Findings – This paper empirically demonstrates that drivers of VC investments are different across three broadly defined sectors: high-technology manufacturing, medium-technology manufacturing and services, and low-technology services. Moreover, such differences also exist by stages of investment and across industries within each of these sectors. In particular, the paper finds that the importance of the number of VC-led initial public offering (IPO) transactions as the main driver of VC investment decreases with the level of technology involved in the sector. IPO transactions are particularly important in software, networking and equipment, and business products and services industries. In contrast to earlier literature, however, the paper do not find a more pronounced effect of IPOs for seed and late stages of VC investments. Similarly, the positive impact Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 – which mainly impacts public companies – also intensifies with a decrease in the level of technology involved in the sector, and the paper do not find a negative impact. The Act is important particularly for VC investments in medium- and low-tech sectors and in early or expansion stages. Originality/value – In analyzing the determinants of VC in a supply and demand framework as in Poterba (1989), the paper differentiates between different sectors (17 industries) and stages of VC (four stages: seed, early, expansion, late). Such level of differentiation is novel and allows more refined and better targeted public policy measures.

Swedish business research productivity

Sweden experienced an increase in the ratio of granted patents to research and development spending (R&D) between 1989 and 1998, a period when R&D spending grew rapidly. The ratio of patents granted to R&D spending (research productivity) increased by 40% over the period, and the ratio of quality-adjusted patents to R&D exhibited an even more impressive increase of 60%. Sectors with especially high research productivity and quality-adjusted research productivity include low and medium technology manufacturing, chemicals and transportation. However, the growth in quality-adjusted research productivity was primarily generated by the high-tech pharmaceuticals and electronics industries. The service-based sectors experienced a significant increase in R&D spending over the period, but the research productivity decreased. (Less)

Emerging Russian Multinationals: Innovation, Technology, and Internationalization

This article examines the role of technology and innovation, as ownership advantages, in the internationalization process of Russian companies. It focuses on three distinctive groups of firms—medium-technology manufacturing enterprises, software and IT companies, and state corporations. We identify different roles of innovation in internationalization of these companies and provide corresponding examples. First, medium-technology manufacturing enterprises tend to expand abroad led by a technology-seeking motive, seeking to boost their technological competence through foreign acquisitions. Second, companies in the emerging IT and software sectors internationalize driven by innovation and using their competitive advantage. This international expansion is often organic in terms of establishment of greenfield subsidiaries rather than acquisitions of foreign firms. Third, state corporations engage in international operations, too, and the role of innovation differs. This internationalization may be either technology-driven or technology-seeking. The article concludes with managerial recommendations and policy implications.