Bruce Tether

Who co-operates for innovation, and why: An empirical analysis

Abstract In recent years, there has been growing interest in co-operative arrangements for innovation, with some commentators arguing innovation is no longer the province of individual firms, but depends increasingly on collective action. This paper examines the response to the UK’s version of the second European community innovation survey (CIS-2) to investigate the patterns of co-operation between innovating firms and external partners. The analysis shows the relationship between innovation and co-operation is not straightforward. From a subjective (i.e. firm based) perspective, it is clear that most firms still develop their new products, processes and services without forming (formal) co-operative arrangements for innovation with other organisations. However, firms that engage in R&D and that are attempting to introduce higher level innovations, i.e. ‘new to the market’ rather than ‘new to the firm’ innovations—are much more likely to engage in co-operative arrangements for innovation. Consequently, if an objective (i.e. innovation-based) perspective is taken, which weighs innovations by their significance, then it is likely that a significant proportion of high-level innovations are developed through co-operative arrangements, although unfortunately the CIS-2 does not indicate the direct significance of these arrangements to the development of the innovations. In summary, the extent of co-operative arrangements for innovation appears to depend on the type of firms being considered and on what is meant by innovation.

Do Services Innovate (Differently)? Insights from the European Innobarometer Survey

Although advanced economies are increasingly dominated by services, relatively little is known about whether and how services innovate. Instead, our understanding of innovation and innovation processes has been very largely derived from studies of manufacturing, and the production of technologically advanced artefacts. As services do not generally produce technologically advanced artefacts, they are often considered to be non‐innovative, or “supplier‐dominated” recipients of technologies rather than “true innovators”. An alternative perspective is that services tend to innovate differently from manufacturers, or at least that innovation in services brings to the fore “softer” aspects of innovation based in skills and inter‐organisational cooperation practices which are pervasive across the economy but which do not tend to be prominent amongst manufacturers, and are therefore neglected. We examine these issues through an empirical analysis of a survey of European firms which was carried out in 2002.

New technology-based firms in the European union: an introduction

This paper introduces the Special Issue on New Technology-Based Firms in Europe. It provides an overview of the issues. The role of smaller firms in the development of Europes high technology sectors is summarized, as are the policy issues, but the paper mainly discusses the characteristics of European NTBFs and their founders. This includes a review of the evidence with regard to the survival, growth and geographical clustering of NTBFs in Europe, as well as the factors facilitating and inhibiting their creation and development.

Public policy measures to support new technology-based firms in the European Union

Reviews empirical data related to public policy actions undertaken by European governments to provide support to new technology-based firms (NTBFs) in the 1980s and early 1990s. Five specific policy areas are examined: science parks (often nearby commercial spaces having formal and operational links with a university), the supply of science and technology PhDs, relationships between NTBFs and universities and research institutions, direct financial support to NTBFs, and technological advisory services. Science parks are a new development in Europe, but the authors find that their effect on the formation of NTBFs has been modest. Moreover, the degree to which they have facilitated technology transfer is hard to assess. Most NTBFs have been founded by a PhD-holder in science or technology and their proportion among NTBF founders is increasing. Although many PhD-holders in less prosperous countries seek employment abroad rather than found an NTBF in their home country, increasing the supply of science and technology PhDs is thought to foster their formation. Empirical data reveals that the number of European science and technology PhDs is increasing. The authors hold that this is an encouraging sign, provided that governments implement policies that encourage new business formation. European universities and research institutions also show increasing willingness to forge various bonds with private firms. Although the academic entities favor larger, better-known businesses to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), NTBFs may prove to be an important exception to that trend. Traditional governmental financial support programs for SMEs generally are of little assistance to the NTBF, given their unique financing needs. The authors suggest establishing programs exclusively for these types of businesses. Lastly, the impact of technological advisory services is investigated. The effectiveness of these programs is difficult to determine, but the NTBF owners appreciate these services. An extensive range of support for small firms arose in the European Union in the 1980s and early 1990s. However, these are not yet tailored effectively for the particular needs of technology-based firms. (CAR)

Knowledge intensive, technical and other services: Patterns of competitiveness and innovation compared

Drawing on empirical evidence from a wide-scale survey, this paper examines patterns of innovation and sources of competitiveness amongst German service firms. The purpose is to investigate how these patterns differ across services, and in particular how knowledge intensive and technical service firms differ from services more generally. The analysis finds a high degree of customization in the output of service firms, especially amongst the knowledge intensive and technical service firms, the innovation activities of which are also relatively more oriented to product innovation. Knowledge intensive and technical service firms also invest more heavily in information communication technologies, whilst other services invest heavily in non-ICTs. Thus significant diversity is found between the groups of firms examined, but much diversity also exists within the groups. A serious challenge for research on services is to improve our understanding of this diversity.

Standardisation and particularisation in services: Evidence from Germany

Abstract Services have been widely neglected by economists and analysts of innovation, who have instead focused on manufacturing. One of the widely supposed features of services outputs is that they are often highly tailored to their clients. In practice, however, services are sometimes mass-produced and sometimes customised versions of standard products, but can also be produced on a one-off basis. This paper examines the pattern of service activities using German evidence with respect to the structure of service firms’ income from ‘standardised’, ‘partially customised’ and ‘bespoke’ services. The analysis then relates the revealed patterns of ‘standardisation–particularisation’ in the output of the firms to their size and broad sector of activity, and considers the relationship with innovation. Our analysis lends support to previous theoretical studies which provide useful taxonomies of service activities and innovation processes in services. However, our analysis also confirms that services are tremendously diverse both between and within sectors. Mapping and understanding this diversity is a major challenge for future research on service firms and their (innovative) activities.

Sectoral Systems of Innovation: Services and systems of innovation

Introduction This chapter provides an overview of findings and conceptual arguments with respect to services, and innovation in services, especially from an SI perspective. It draws especially on the work undertaken on innovation at airports, in healthcare and in retailing, but it will also be informed by wider considerations of services and their innovation activities. By “services,” we mean all sectors conventionally identified as services, although telecommunications and computer software – which are especially technological – are examined more fully and separately in other chapters of this book. This study begins, in section 2, by outlining the economic significance of services and discussing what is meant by services. Section 3 concerns the SI perspective with regard to services, and summarizes the work undertaken on services within the ESSY project. Section 4 then draws on these studies to provide summary answers to the main questions raised by the SI perspective in relation to services. Finally, section 5 provides a new perspective on SIs that has evolved out of our work within ESSY. The main points of the chapter are the following: Services are not (normally) engaged in the production of tangible products but cover a huge range of diverse activities, associated with various types of transformation (i.e. physical, spatial and temporal transformations, affecting people, things and information). The great diversity of service activities is not reflected in a comparable depth in the understanding of innovation in services, which has been neglected in favor of studies on manufacturing. […]

Employment Creation in Small Technological and Design Innovators in the U.K. during the 1980s

This paper provides rare empirical evidence on employment creation by innovative small firms in the U.K. over the eleven years between 1980 and 1991. Drawing on a database of firms which were recognised as having introduced important innovations, the paper examines the extent of employment growth in these companies and compares their growth with that discovered by other studies of small firms in the U.K. This shows that the innovative firms have grown at a significantly faster average rate than small firms generally. Some of the factors associated with employment change in small firms are assessed. This shows that the initial size, age, sector of activity and type of innovation introduced by the firms were all associated with differences in their average rate of growth. The employment created was, however, highly concentrated in a few firms, but even the fastest growing of these companies (directly) created hundreds rather than thousands of new jobs over the period of analysis.

Small firms, innovation and employment creation in Britain and Europe: A question of expectations …

Abstract It is an abiding perception, with considerable currency amongst politicians and policy-makers in London, Brussels and elsewhere, that new and small firms are an important source of innovation , new technology and employment creation , three of the crucial dynamics of economic development, but areas in which the UK and Europe have struggled against world-wide competition. Despite this, relatively little evidence is available on the contribution of new and small firms to these economic phenomena. This paper provides a succinct review of the evidence on the contribution of new and small firms to technological innovation, and the extent of employment creation amongst innovative or technology based new and small firms. Our contention is that expectations of small firms as “atomistic” innovators and employment creators have become over-inflated, which is important given the amount of attention they have received, and continue to receive, from policy-makers in London, Brussels and elsewhere.

Information technology research in the UK: perspectives on services research and development, and systems of innovation

This paper reports on a survey of information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) in the UK, representing around two-thirds of the total population of IT R&D employees in the UK private and public sectors. The firm-level survey identified that the UK is particularly strong in communications R&D, and in the internet, user applications software, middle-ware, photonic components and microelectronics. More especially, services R&D in the form of systems and software R&D accounted for well over half the total R&D effort within the surveyed IT firms and organisations. The paper concludes by exploring some of the key conceptual and policy issues arising from the research. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.