Innovation in Industrial Districts: Evidence from Italy

The aim of this paper is to show that Italian manufacturing firms belonging to Marshallian industrial districts carry out a higher innovative effort than is usually acknowledged. The empirical analysis makes use of a panel of 1,218 district and non-district firms belonging to traditional sectors. Data refers to the years 1992 and 1995. We have estimated an augmented Cobb-Douglas production function. The estimates make it possible to empirically identify three different determinants of firms' productivity: (i) the intentional innovative activity; (ii) the “district effect”; and (iii) the joint district and innovation effect. The results show that firms' membership in industrial districts and product innovations are key factors in explaining the productivity of firms working in traditional Italian sectors.     

Absorptive Capacity,Proximity in Cooperation and Integration Mechanisms. Empirical Evidence from CIS Data

The paper extends available findings on the antecedents and impact of the firm's absorptive capacity. Innovation cooperation is recognized as a driver of its potential side (PAC). Considering different forms of proximity, we expect to find a higher impact for interactions occurring between close partners. Human capital (HC) is expected to be as important as other organizational mechanisms for the innovation impact of PAC. An empirical application with Community Innovation Survey data confirms these arguments only partially. The firm's cooperation with geographically closer partners (i.e., in the same country) increases its PAC, but it is cooperation with institutionally distant ones (e.g., research organizations) that augments it. Among the integration mechanisms of external knowledge, those increasing the firm's HC are the only ones that positively moderate the innovation impact of PAC.     

Innovation and Social Capital: A Cross-Country Investigation

This study explores the impact of social capital on innovation by constructing a more general measure of social capital, which consists of generalized and institutional trust, associational activities and civic norms. We test the hypothesis that social capital has a positive impact on innovation at the national level. After controlling for research and development expenditure and human capital, we find that there is a positive relationship between social capital and innovation. Social capital interacts with entrepreneurship; the strongest relationship is between associated activities and entrepreneurship. This study supports the need to build strong social relationships in today's networked economy.     

Patterns of Innovation in Industrial Districts: An Empirical Analysis

Research has proved how the industrial district model can deliver sustained economic growth and sustains firms' competitiveness. Studies have also shown how spatial proximity helps in the process of knowledge generation and diffusion. Indeed, the literature on industrial districts since the earliest studies has stressed how districts are “loci” where sustained innovation activity is undertaken. However, this innovative dimension of districts' activities has not yet been fully explored. Sufficient theoretical background and empirical evidence as to whether the peculiar socio-economic characteristics of the industrial district model influence firms' innovation performance and the way innovation activity is carried out is lacking. The aim of this paper is thus to explore the determinants of innovation activities in firms located inside and outside industrial districts in the Italian region of Lombardy, investigating whether the district provides a favourable environment for the development of innovations and identify possible competitive advantages.     

Influence of the Adoption and Use of Social Media Tools on Absorptive Capacity in New Product Development

Abstract:

In this article, we discuss how the adoption and use of social media tools influences new product development (NPD). Our aim is specifically to consider how an organization's absorptive capacity is influenced by using social media tools. Based on a two-phase data collection process comparing the situation before and after adoption of social media tools in three organizations, we conclude that the amount of accessible knowledge and the number of ideas increases as an organization's ability to find and access various sources of intra-organizational expertise increases, thus, increasing knowledge acquisition and assimilation. Consequently, we infer that organizational absorptive capacity rises and is linked to improvement in new product development.     

Service Innovativeness and Innovation Success in Technology-based Knowledge-Intensive Business Services: An Intellectual Capital Approach

This paper analyzes the influence of the three components of intellectual capital (human, social and organizational) and intensity in collaboration with clients on service innovativeness in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). It also includes a discussion on the impact of both service innovativeness and intensity in collaboration with clients on innovation success. An empirical study is conducted on a sample of companies belonging to two technology-based KIBS industries: software and R&D services. The results suggest that the positive effect of human capital on service innovativeness is moderated by intensity in collaboration with clients, being human capital enhanced by organizational and social capital. The effect of social capital on service innovativeness is partially mediated by human capital and also moderated by intensity in collaboration with clients. Finally, service innovativeness positively affects innovation success, while intensity in collaboration with clients has a higher effect.     

ICT in Industrial Districts: An Empirical Analysis on Adoption, Use and Impact

The aim of this study is to analyse the main determinants of the adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the relationship between ICT and the patterns of innovation in an Italian industrial district. The analysis is carried out on a database of 118 textile enterprises located in Biella, a well-known industrial district specialized in medium to high quality woollen yarns and textiles, that have been interviewed following a structured questionnaire. On the whole, the rate of adoption and use of ICT in Biella is rather low and this confirms the results of other studies on industrial districts that are specialized in traditional sectors. Nevertheless, our analysis also shows that considering ICT as a general technology may be misleading. Instead, it is useful to disentangle the different ICT; in particular, there are significant differences between IT involving production, administration and logistic processes and the communication technologies (CT). Moreover, on a smaller sample of 50 firms we have tested the hypothesis that adoption and use of ICT may positively influence innovation. In this case, we find that different types of innovations, for instance, product, process and organizational innovations, are influenced by very different variables.     

创新 风险与我国风险投资管理

由于市场不确定性的影响，风险投资管理迅速兴起，尤其在美国兴起并在全球发展，我国自20世纪80年代开始发展风险投资，对我国工程技术的发展起到很大作用，但也出现了一些的问题。     

社会创新设计研究进展可视化分析

目的 为了更好地了解和把握国内外社会创新设计研究进展,对相关文献产出分布、研究热点、基础知识及前沿趋势进行分析。方法 以CNKI数据库及Web of Science核心合集数据库作为国内外数据来源,通过可视化文献分析软件VOSviewer及Citespace对国内外相关文献进行分析。结论 国内外研究基本同步,主要以DESIS网络中的院校合作为主,国外研究热点集中于以社区为对象,设计管理、社会创新设计方法、生态设计、可持续设计;国内主要以城市和乡村社区服务设计、设计教育、设计战略、社会创新设计方法为主要对象。社会创新设计的演进经历了设计思维的发展及设计对象的转变两个阶段。国外研究前沿趋势为以社区为对象的可持续设计,国内前沿趋势为以乡村为对象的社会创新设计、可持续设计、服务设计等。在突发的全球疫情背景下,医疗健康、公共卫生也是国内外的前沿趋势。     

Industrial Knowledge Bases as Drivers of Open Innovation?

The article presents an analysis of a large-scale survey with the aim of understanding differences in the open, interactive and distributed nature of external innovation relations amongst firms belonging to different industrial knowledge bases. The thesis is that the source of critical innovation relevant knowledge differs between industrial knowledge bases, making the character and the need of openness contingent on these specificities. Accordingly, we anticipate that we will observe systematic variations in how industries access and combine innovation-related external knowledge. In our analyses we attempt to address a gap in the literature by examining how industrial knowledge bases affect the recombination of knowledge by analysing the different extents, forms (formal and informal) and geography of inbound open innovation. The article illustrates that features and structures of inbound open innovation align, to a large extent, with the industries' knowledge bases and that there is a interplay between an industry's knowledge base, the internal organisation of innovation processes and the channels and geography of inbound open innovation.     

人力资本与社会资本对创新行为的影响——跨层次模型研究

本研究以科研机构448名科研人员共87个科研团队为样本,构建团队与个体的多层线性模型,跨层次实证研究人力资本与社会资本对创新行为的影响,结果显示:个体人力资本与社会资本对其创新行为具有显著的正向影响;团队社会资本对其成员创新行为有直接显著的正向影响;团队社会资本可强化其成员社会资本与创新行为之间的正相关,而团队社会资本对其成员人力资本与创新行为之间正相关关系的调节未得到实证结果的支持;论文研究建议加强科研团队与个体成员人力资本与社会资本的培育与整合、重视成员之间的资源交换,以提高成员的创新行为.     

Knowledge Networks and Innovative Performance in an Industrial District: The Case of a Footwear District in the South of Italy

The traditional district literature tends to assume that: (1) the competitiveness of firms depends on external sources of knowledge; (2) all firms in a district benefit from knowledge externalities; (3) relying on external knowledge relationships necessarily means these are confined to the district area. Our case study of the Barletta footwear district in the South of Italy suggests otherwise. Based on social network analysis, we demonstrate that the local knowledge network is quite weak and unevenly distributed among the local firms. A strong local network position of a firm tended to increase their innovative performance, and so did their connectivity to extra-local firms. So, it mattered being connected either locally or non-locally: being co-located was surely not enough. Having a high absorptive capacity seemed to raise only indirectly, through non-local relationships, the innovative performance of firms.     

社会创新理念下的社区居民资源共享模式设计

目的从社会创新的视角,探讨社会创新对社区环境下资源共享的意义及新模式。方法以分析社会创新理念和案例为基础,立足于社区环境论述社会创新的空间和社区居民资源共享的优势,提出以服务价值交换的社区资源共享模式。通过服务设计方法建立服务系统,为社区资源共享提出实现途径和情景参考。结论社会创新具备挖掘过剩产能的优势,可以发挥其巨大的价值。社区是城市居民生活的聚集地,能够给社会创新提供广阔的应用空间,实现服务价值共创。通过社会创新的理念在社区建立服务系统,可以将居民拥有的无限过剩产能转为解决居民生活多样化需求的服务资源,提升社区社会生活质量,为实现"消费更少生活更好"的愿景提出可行性的解决方案,带动社会的可持续发展。     

产品设计集成创新程序与方法研究

目的通过对一个具体产品集成创新设计流程的分析,就产品设计集成创新中的几个重要环节的核心与关系进行研究,从而试图阐明集成创新在产品设计中的作用与流程。方法通过对城市扬尘处理设备创新设计过程的分析,对产品设计集成创新的特点进行分析并探索创新设计的方法。结论厘清产品设计创新的特点,阐述提升产品设计创新能力的重点是提升其集成创新的能力,提出了产品设计集成创新主要围绕技术、方法、思维与程序4个环节形成迭代循环的产品设计集成创新技术程序,并指出技术集成水平的高低是制约产品设计创新能力提升的关键因素。     

社会资本在大学生就业中的作用及获得途径分析

社会资本对大学生就业起着重要的作用。大学生要在短时间内找到满意的工作，他们必须依靠一定量的社会资本。例如社会、学校、家庭等都可能影响到这一资本的获得。因此，大学生在学习期间，也应该积极扩充自己的社会资本，争取就业优势。     

An Investigation of the Presence and Development of Social Capital in an Electrical Engineering Laboratory

Social capital consists of resources embedded in social networks that are purposefully mobilized through personal interactions. This project examined the factors that affected the development of social capital in an electrical and computer engineering laboratory. Data were collected through participant observation over the course of a term, interviews with students, and a survey. Interview and observational data were analyzed to determine themes or patterns in behaviors and actions that indicated the presence of social capital and affected the development of social capital in this setting. The open‐ended nature of the laboratory assignments and the complexity of a learning tool called TekBot? required students to access information. The lack of relevant information from the teaching assistants, internet, and laboratory assignment handouts required students to mobilize information from each other to succeed. Multiple methods of data collection validate the result that specific factors encouraged the development of social capital in this laboratory.     

基于工业设计系统理论的陶瓷产品创新

目的在分析我国陶瓷产品发展现状的基础上,有针对性地探究如何通过工业设计进行陶瓷产品创新并构建其理论模型。方法通过对陶瓷产品发展现状进行阐述分析,将工业设计创新的要素和陶瓷产品的设计点联系起来,从功能效用、形式、技术、组合系统4个方面出发构建科学的陶瓷产品创新途径模型。结论工业设计是陶瓷产品创新的重要手段,基于工业设计理论对陶瓷产品创新进行探究,为我国陶瓷产品的创新提供一个新的创新模式和参考方向。     

社会资本的测量及其对就业结果的影响

首先回顾了社会资本的各种测量方法,以及社会资本对就业结果的影响;然后指出,未来关于社会资本与就业结果的关系的研究,可以从社会资本的测量方法、跨文化比较研究和细化就业结果的测量指标三个方面人手;最后,文章针对社会资本测量方法中存在的缺陷,从心理测量学角度提出优化的测量方案。     

'Little Ships': The Co-evolution of Technological Capabilities and Industrial Dynamics in Competing Innovation Networks

Recent agenda-setting exercises in the national innovation systems and industrial dynamics literatures have highlighted the unresolved methodological challenges faced by those seeking to explore the innovation process in a co-evolutionary perspective. The paper seeks to contribute to this debate by drawing upon the research methods and presentational conventions of business historians. The empirical study concerns the emergence of radical innovations in the design and manufacture of sailing dinghies in mid-20th-century Britain. This period saw the displacement of small, highly localized firms engaged in traditional craft practices by a new generation of designers, manufacturers and promoters in pursuit of volume production. The findings are presented in the form of a historical narrative, contrasting the configurations and dynamics of two competing innovation networks in this sector. It shows how actors in each network drew differently on newly available platform technologies, probes their distinctive approaches to design, manufacturing and marketing, and assesses their longer-term impact on the sector. The concluding section relates the findings to the previously discussed theoretical constructs and reflects on the potential contribution of historically informed methodologies.