José Molero

Patterns of technological change among Spanish innovative firms: the case of the Madrid region

Abstract This study is concerned with the examination of the configuration of the innovatory process of a very significant group of firms located in the Madrid region. The analytical perspective has its basis on the existence of a wide variety of possibilities in the innovation process and is linked to the recent tradition of evolutionary theories of technological change. The empirical research starts by identifying the firms which can be classified as innovatory; the analysis, basically made from the findings of a questionnaire sent to these firms, contains three basic elements: first, a study of the main structural characteristics of the firms; second, an analysis of the way in which technological activities are developed in those firms; and, third, a taxonomy of cases following the concept of ‘technological regimes’.

PATTERNS OF INTERNATIONALIZATION OF SPANISH INNOVATORY FIRMS

Abstract The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate about the factors determining the growing internationalization of small and medium firms originating from intermediate countries. The reason for selecting the Spanish innovating firms consists of the interest they have for analysing the interaction between the characteristics they have as innovatory agents and their behaviour regarding the global economy. The paper is developed from the following hypothesis: first, in the case of firms of countries with a more recent history of opening up to the international economy, the patterns of overseas expansion combine different kinds of elements such as factors included in the eclectic theory and tacit components of the company advantages. Second, in the trajectories followed by those firms some accumulative learning patterns can be found. The starting point of this research is a previous one carried out on the patterns of technological innovation of Spanish innovatory firms. On this basis, I have combined two sources for obtaining relevant data. The first consists of the creation of a data bank of innovatory firms with 814 innovating companies.The second source is a survey carried out with those firms. The statistical analysis is made through the application of discriminant analysis and logit models. They are good tools for systematic comparison between clusters and allow me to follow a stepwise method for a close study of increasing complex international activity.

Foreign technology in the Spanish economy: An analysis of the recent evolution

Abstract The discussion about the future role to be played by countries like Spain in the new international division of labor has a crucial point in the availability of technological inputs in such a way that allows us to deal with the accumulation process better than we did in the past. In the 1960s and even the 1950s, the very important growth of the Spanish economy depended very much on the massive importation of foreign technology, as we show in the first part of the work. The deficiencies of the inner innovation system made access to the foreign technology a vicious circle ruling any movement towards more complex stages of industrialization. Several important events took place throughout the 1970s (the international crisis, the political change in Spain, etc.) and this is why we are trying to find signs of change in the conditions of the innovation process. Even though the available data is not as good as the question requires, analysis of the recent information allows us to reach the conclusion that the general framework still remains the same. The R&D effort continues to be very poor and the importation of foreign technology dominates the industrial production even during a very dramatic stagnation of the economic activity.

Foreign Technology and Local Innovation: Some Lessons from Spanish Defence Industry Experience

The subject to be dealt with here technology imports as against local production is a question open to debate within the recent industrial experience of countries such as Spain, with a medium level of development. Placed in the general framework of this volume, this subject takes shape through the simultaneous discussion of two problems.

Firm Segmentation as a Tool for R&D Policy Evaluation: Revisiting the Taxonomy of Firms Engaged in International R&D Networks

As we have addressed in an earlier article, quantitative evaluation of R&D policies often approaches the outcomes of initiatives without effectively considering differential impacts on economic agents. Our goal is to confirm the existence of “segments” of firms according to their outcomes arising from participation in a given R&D program. Data is gathered from Eureka Program’s Final Reports (2000-2005 and 2006-2008) from Spanish, Italian, French, British, and German firms. Classification focus is directed towards variables related to innovation projects’ outcomes. Log-likelihood clustering method was used. Tests for differences between clusters in terms of some variables of interest were performed. Results are consistent with the hypothesis of marked heterogeneity in firms’ outcomes. This methodology offers a valuable instrument for RTD policymakers in terms of monitoring and ex post intervention.

Transactional dynamics in European R & D networks: an assessment of Eureka

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to verify the impacts of the transaction costs rationale on economic agents’ innovative results when they engage in European R & D networks, supplying both firms and policymakers with empirical support for improved decision making toward economic competitiveness and construction of the European research area. Furthermore, unlike many transaction cost economics assessments, the authors evaluate the existence of transaction costs following a dynamic framework of analysis (instead of using solely ex ante governance choice as a driver of inter-firm “friction” management), offering a novel perspective on these phenomena. Design/methodology/approach – Data consist of firm-level information from Eureka’s Final Reports (1995-2006) for Spanish, Italian, French, British and German firms. Empirical assessments were performed through a two-step approach of direct and indirect effects of network management and potential sources of disturbances. Ordinal regressions were applied in...