Lara Agostini

Does patenting influence SME sales performance? A quantity and quality analysis of patents in Northern Italy

Purpose – In today’s economy, intangibles have become more important than physical assets for firm success. In particular, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) registered an increasing trend in patenting, exceeding large firms in the number of patent registrations. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between patents and SME sales performance, taking into consideration also patent quality. Design/methodology/approach – The approach uses panel regression model to investigate the relationship between patenting and sales, controlling for firm size and firm age. The authors adopt a purposive sampling technique focusing on a sample of Italian SMEs in the mechanical industry. Findings – The results show that the count of patents do not have any effect on sales performance, while the number of jurisdictions where the protection is extended produces a positive and significant result. Practical implications – The main implication for SME entrepreneurs and managers is that rel...

Brand‐Building Efforts and Their Association with SME Sales Performance

The objective of this paper was to investigate the association between branding, captured by the combined use of the number of corporate and product trademarks and marketing expenses, and small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise () sales performance in the fashion industry. The results of the panel regression model indicate that corporate trademarks and marketing expenses do have a positive association with s sales performance, and in particular, marketing expenses show the highest estimates. These results suggest that branding may also play a relevant also in the context, thus opening new paths for research within this field.

The impact of formal and informal appropriability regimes on SME profitability in medium high-tech industries

Innovation is assuming increasing relevance in current economies, but being able to complete the innovation process is not enough for firms if they could not appropriate the value of their investments. Within this context, the aim of this paper is to understand whether SMEs may reap higher economic benefits while relying on formal regimes, in terms of patents, or informal ones in order to protect their innovations, which represents an under-investigated issue. On the basis of a panel regression and a cluster analysis on Italian SMEs, results suggest that firms relying more on informal mechanisms, in particular time-to-market and unique skills of employees, over patents, register superior performance.

Interorganizational Relationships in Marketing: A Critical Review and Research Agenda

Over recent decades, the area of marketing interorganizational relationships (IORs) has received increasing attention from both academics and practitioners, even if a comprehensive portrayal of past research is still lacking. Hence, the aim of the present paper is to review the literature on marketing IORs in order to develop a framework meant to organize the different contributions in this area and suggest new paths for future research. The analysis suggests that three main streams of research can be identified with regard to the type of relationship between variables investigated by each article. Moreover, taking into account the purpose of the IOR, common patterns within each stream may be identified. A critical analysis of articles grounded on both the streams and the purpose of marketing IORs suggests there are still substantial gaps in knowledge, which open new paths for future research regarding both methodological issues and hot topics.

Does intellectual capital allow improving innovation performance? A quantitative analysis in the SME context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between the strength of intellectual capital (IC) and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach Primary data of 150 SMEs belonging to manufacturing medium-high tech industries were collected through a survey. The methodology consists of a confirmatory factor analysis and a cluster analysis, complemented by a t-test, to assess whether there is a significant difference in terms of innovation performance of SMEs characterized by a different strength of IC. Findings Overall, the findings show that SMEs of the sample can be divided into two groups characterized by a different strength of IC, and those SMEs disclosing a higher strength of IC, in terms of human capital, innovation capital and relational capital, exhibit a significantly higher radical and incremental innovation performance. Practical implications The present study provides SME entrepreneurs and managers with an empirical evidence that possessing strong IC in its three dimensions seems to help SMEs reinforce their ability to generate both radical and incremental innovation. This calls that SME entrepreneurs and managers need to identify and effectively manage IC in order to strengthen and effectively leverage their investments on IC. Originality/value This study is particularly relevant because, instead of focusing on single categories of IC as previous studies mainly do, it adopts an overarching perspective of the dimensions of IC and their impact on both radical and incremental innovation performance. Moreover, it focuses on the SME context which has been less investigated than large firms within the domain of IC.

Protecting intellectual property to enhance firm performance: does it work for SMEs?

In this century, characterized by increasing level of global competition and high technological development, the ability of firms to develop and exploit their innovative capabilities is widely recognized as a critical determinant of firm performance and competitive advantage. Intellectual Property represents knowledge that can be protected by recognized rights, called intellectual property rights (IPRs) that encompass patents, trademarks, design and copyrights. Our paper aims at studying the relationship between two different IPRs, patents and trademarks, and economic and financial performance of SMEs in two different Italian industries. It helps fill the gap about the use of IPRs by SMEs, which is still under-researched. In line with previous studies, we propose an approach that uses a panel regression model, supported by a t-test, to investigate the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Drawing on the results, we hypothesize explanations of our findings and suggest directions for future research.

R&D collaboration in the automotive innovation environment: An analysis of co-patenting activities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: to analyze to what extent innovation output of R & D collaborations, proxied by co-patenting activities in terms of quantity, characteristics and value, differs depending on whether the engaged R & D partners have a certain type of relationship (allies, suppliers and subsidiaries); to identify possible automakers co-patenting patterns taking into account the differences in the innovation output with their R & D partners. Design/methodology/approach – To reach the aims, the authors matched two types of data: co-assigned patent portfolio of four automakers and relationship type between automakers and their co-assignees. Matching the company names of the two data sources allowed the authors to obtain the final data set used to carry out extensive descriptive and regression analysis, both on a firm- and patent-level. Findings – Results show differences in the characteristics and the technological value of patented inventions in relation with the type of collabor...

Enhancing radical innovation performance through intellectual capital components

Purpose In today’s knowledge economy the ability to innovate and develop new products is a key factor to sustain firm performance. Within this context, analysing the role of different components of intellectual capital (IC) becomes of foremost importance, as well as an under-investigated issue for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of human, organisational and relational capital (RC) on radical innovation performance (RIP), as well as to examine whether organisational capital (OC) and RC mediate the relationship between human capital (HC) and RIP and whether OC moderates the relationship between RC and RIP. Design/methodology/approach The methodology consisted of a factor analysis and different regression models to test for mediation and moderation. The analyses are carried out on a sample of 150 micro firms and SMEs involved in the production of machinery or instruments and located in Italy. Findings Results show that HC is directly associated to RIP, as well as OC and RC that totally mediate the relationship between HC and RIP. Moreover, OC positively moderates the relationship between RC and RIP. Originality/value This study is particularly interesting because it adopts an overarching perspective on IC testing the interplay between the different components of IC. In addition, it focusses on the SME context which is under-investigated as far as IC and performance measurement is concerned.

Measuring the impact of relational capital on customer performance in the SME B2B sector: The moderating role of absorptive capacity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence that different components of relational capital (marketing capability, open innovation with business and scientific partners, technological reputation, brand) have on customer performance (CP). Moreover, the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on such relationships is tested. Design/methodology/approach First, the direct relationship between the different components of relational capital and CP is analyzed through a linear regression model. Then, to test the moderating effect, two distinct regression analyses are conducted into two sub-samples, defined according to the level of absorptive capacity. The authors carried out these analyses on a sample of 150 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the medium- and high-tech B2B context. Findings Results of this study prove that CP is enhanced through firm marketing capability, open innovation with business partners and technological reputation, while brand and open innovation with scientific partner do not have an association with CP. In particular, the impact of marketing capability and open innovation with business actors on CP is greater for firms with higher absorptive capacity. Research limitations/implications This paper, highlighting the relevance of relational capital and absorptive capacity in improving CP, enhances our knowledge about the factors that help to strengthen the relationships with customers, which is an under-investigated issue especially for SMEs competing in B2B industries, and extends our knowledge on open innovation practices. Practical implications Findings of this paper suggest that, to achieve better CP, managers should pay special attention to nurturing their marketing capability and high-quality relationships with external actors and invest in absorptive capacity to enhance the positive effect of such linkages. Originality/value This work, combining the external perspective of relational capital and the internal organizational dimension of absorptive capacity, provides valuable insights about the knowledge and resource mix that firms might rely on to achieve better customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Users and radical innovation performance: the moderating role of the organisational context

ABSTRACT This study investigates four key factors of the internal organisational context that moderate the relationship between connecting with users and radical innovation performance: performance management, autonomy, internal networking and organisation and culture to support innovation. These components define a firms organisational context. A sample of Austrian- and Italian-based firms shows that the connecting with users–radical innovation performance relationship is amplified at higher levels of all the investigated elements of the organisational context. The authors discuss the studys implications as well as future research directions.