Horizon problem and firm innovation: The influence of CEO career horizon, exploitation and exploration on breakthrough innovations

Cho, S.Y.,Kim, S.K. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland) 2017 RESEARCH POLICY Vol.46 No.10

Building on labor market evaluations and legacy conservation motivation perspectives, we propose a mechanism to explain the relationship between CEO career horizons and breakthrough innovations. Using 10-year panel data from 681 U.S. firms, we find that firms that have a CEO with a short career horizon tend to produce fewer breakthrough innovations. We also find that the relationship between CEO career horizon and breakthrough innovation is partially mediated by R&D spending, and also moderated by organizational learning behavior (exploration vs. exploitation). This study highlights how a CEO's motivation to protect success in the short term affects the firm's innovativeness.

New J and COD estimates for thin-walled pipes with axial through-wall cracks and high strain hardening exponents

Surh, H.B.,Jang, Y.Y.,Kim, S.C.,Shim, D.J.,Huh, N.S. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland) 2017 Theoretical and applied fracture mechanics Vol.90 No.-

<P>In this study, the approximate estimates of elastic-plastic J and COD for thin-walled pipes with axial through-wall cracks (TWCs) and high strain hardening exponents under internal pressure are developed based on the GE/EPRI and enhanced reference stress (ERS) methods. For the estimations based on the GE/EPRI method, the proposed tabulated plastic influence functions for fully plastic J and COD are derived from three-dimensional finite element(FE) analyses. On the basis of these plastic influence functions, an optimized reference load (which plays an important role in the ERS method) is newly suggested. Finally, the present elastic-plastic J and COD estimations are verified by comparing the predicted results with the FE results using actual tensile behavior of SA312 type 304 SAW stainless steel. The estimations based on both GE/EPRI and ERS methods provide better approximations for thin-walled pipes with axial TWC and high strain hardening exponent, than do the existing estimations. The importance of the elastic plastic fracture mechanics assessment, using the present solutions for thin-walled pipe with axial TWC and high strain hardening exponent, are also discussed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</P>

Win, lose or draw? The fate of patented inventions

Walsh, J.P.,Lee, Y.N.,Jung, T. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland) 2016 RESEARCH POLICY Vol.45 No.7

Using information from a survey of US inventors, this study explores the reasons for patent non-use and different types of non-use at the patent level, and how this varies by industry and firm characteristics. We find that 55% of triadic patents are commercialized. We also find that 17% of all triadic patents are not commercialized but are at least partially for preemption, though only 3% of all triadic patents are purely preemptive patents. We find that preemptive non-use is less common than failed patents. We then test the discriminating effects of patent effectiveness, competition, firm size and fragmentation of patent rights on the likelihood of preemptive patents. We find that greater patent effectiveness, more competition, and large firm size are associated with greater preemptive non-use relative to commercial use of patents. We conclude with the policy implications of our results.

How does information technology improve aggregate productivity? A new channel of productivity dispersion and reallocation

Chun, H.,Kim, J.W.,Lee, J. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland) 2015 RESEARCH POLICY Vol.44 No.5

Using U.S. firm-level data from 1971 to 2000, this paper quantifies the importance of production input reallocation in explaining the information technology (IT) driven productivity growth. We find that cross-industry variation in input reallocation explains more than 30% of differences in the 5-year productivity growth rates of industries utilizing similar levels of IT. Our findings illustrate a new channel through which IT affects the aggregate productive growth and are consistent with recent papers that emphasize the destructive nature of technology innovation and the importance of firm-level reallocation in explaining aggregate productivity growth. Our paper implies that policy makers should focus not only on implementing IT but also on instituting policies aimed at improving reallocation efficiency to maximize the effect of IT on the productivity growth.

Catch-up cycles and changes in industrial leadership:Windows of opportunity and responses of firms and countries in the evolution of sectoral systems

Lee, K.,Malerba, F. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland) 2017 RESEARCH POLICY Vol.46 No.2

This study proposes a framework that aims to explain why successive changes in industry leadership (called also the catch-up cycle) occur over time in a sector. In catch-up cycles, latecomer firms and countries emerge as international leaders, whereas incumbents lose their previous positions. New leaders are then dethroned by newcomers. To identify factors at the base of catch-up cycles, this article adopts a sectoral system framework and identifies windows of opportunity that may emerge during the long-run evolution of an industry. This study proposes three windows related to the specific dimensions of a sectoral system. One dimension is related to changes in knowledge and technology. The second dimension pertains to changes in demand, and the third includes changes in institutions and public policy. The combination of the opening of a window (technological, demand, or institutional/policy) and the responses of firms and other components of the sectoral system of the latecomer and incumbent countries determines changes in industrial leadership and catch-up. Sectors differ according to the type of windows that may open and the responses of firms and other components of systems. Empirical evidence of catch-up cycles is presented from six sectors, namely mobile phones, cameras, semiconductors, steel, mid-sized jets, and wines.

Rise of latecomers and catch-up cycles in the world steel industry

Lee, K.,Ki, J.h. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland) 2017 RESEARCH POLICY Vol.46 No.2

This study analyzes the sources of changes in industrial leadership and catch-up by latecomers in the world steel industry since World War II. The shift of leadership from the United States to Japan in 1980 and the subsequent rise of Korea, with POSCO's output surpassing that of Nippon Steel in 1998, is explained on the basis of a single theoretical framework. We rely on the neo-Schumpeterian concepts of sectoral innovation systems and windows of opportunity for latecomers in catching up with leading countries. These windows include changing generations of technologies, business cycles and demand shifts, and government regulations and other interventions. Japan realized a path-creating catch-up by taking advantage of the opportunity window associated with the emergence of new technologies. Entering as a state-owned enterprise, POSCO engaged in stage-skipping catch-up by utilizing the downturn as a window of opportunity to pay low prices for expanding its facilities and updating its technologies.

From valence to emotions: Exploring the distribution of emotions in online product reviews

Ullah, R.,Amblee, N.,Kim, W.,Lee, H. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North Holland) 2016 Decision Support Systems Vol.81 No.-

Word-of-mouth (WOM) in the form of online customer reviews has received considerable attention by practitioners and academics. Prior literature has focused more on the understanding of the phenomenon using the frequency or overall rating/valence information of WOM, while questions on how firms can potentially use or design online WOM platforms and benefit from it based on the content of WOM are still open, and need more attention from researchers. In addition, an important antecedent for the generation of word-of-mouth is a strong emotional imbalance known as schema discrepancy, which is considered to trigger the consumer to post a customer review online. However, only a limited number of studies to date have actually examined the emotional content of reviews to validate this line of reasoning. To fill this gap, we analyzed the emotional content of a large number of online product reviews using Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods. We find that there is a difference in the emotional content of reviews across search and experience goods in the early stages of product launch. However, interestingly, these differences disappear over time as the addition of reviews reduces the information asymmetry gap. This suggests that traditional experience goods are evaluated more like search goods in online environments, because consumers can easily evaluate attributes of products prior to purchase based on the reviews accumulated. In addition, we find that more extreme reviews have a greater proportion of emotional content than less extreme reviews, revealing a bimodal distribution of emotional content, thereby empirically validating a key assumption that underpins much of the extant literature on online WOM. Furthermore, reviews have a greater proportion of positive emotional content within positive extreme ratings as compared to negative emotional content within negative extreme ratings which is a major factor in online WOM generation, and helps explain the commonly observed J-shaped distribution of reviews. Our findings suggest important managerial implications regarding product development, advertisement, and platform design using WOM content.

Examination workloads, grant decision bias and examination quality of patent office

Kim, Y.K.,Oh, J.B. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland) 2017 RESEARCH POLICY Vol.46 No.5

This paper investigates how increased examination workloads at patent office affect the patent examination process and tests whether workloads have any external effect on examiners' decisions. Using novel micro-level data, we provide the first empirical evidence that examiner decisions are systematically biased as workload increases, with examiners being more likely to grant a patent than to reject it. The regression results also indicate that the quality of examinations decreases as workload increases. In appeal trials, the likelihood of grant decision reversal significantly increases as workload increases, while the likelihood of the revocation of a refusal decision exhibits statistically significant negative relationship with increased workloads. These results imply that an examiner who lacks sufficient time for a prior art search tends to grant a patent and, consequently, a large workload decreases the quality of examinations by resulting in unqualified patents.

The effect of the triple helix system and habitat on regional entrepreneurship: Empirical evidence from the U.S.

Kim, Y.,Kim, W.,Yang, T. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland) 2012 RESEARCH POLICY Vol.41 No.1

The 'triple helix' of the university-industry-government relationship and habitat are accepted as important determinants of innovation and entrepreneurship. However, empirical explorations of the effects of these variables and their interrelationships on regional entrepreneurial activities are highly limited. To fill this gap, we investigate the effect of the triple helix system and habitat on birth and death rates of U.S. firms at the state level. As expected, we find that industrial R&D expenditure plays an important role in promoting regional firm birth. However, university and government R&D also generate a synergistic effect that indirectly influences regional firm birth rates. In addition, we find that the synergy between university and industrial R&D enhances the sustainability of firms, while the interactions between (1) university and government R&D and (2) government and industrial R&D are associated with an increase in firm death. Other factors linked to more favorable conditions for firm formation include higher educational attainment in a region, lower tax rate, and habitat factors affecting quality of life, such as lower housing prices and higher rates of health insurance coverage. In regions with high entrepreneurial activity, we find positive synergistic effects of the interactions between (1) university and government R&D and (2) university and industrial R&D on firm birth rate, suggesting that university R&D plays an important role as an 'entrepreneurial mediator' among the three spheres in the triple helix system. In low entrepreneurial regions, the only triple helix system factors significantly influencing firm birth rate were tax rate. This finding suggests that the independent and interdependent components of the triple helix system and habitat are less powerful in low entrepreneurial regions.

Academic paper recommender system using multilevel simultaneous citation networks

Son, Jieun,Kim, Seoung Bum Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North Holland) 2018 Decision Support Systems Vol.105 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Researchers typically need to filter several academic papers to find those relevant to their research. This filtering is cumbersome and time-consuming because the number of published academic papers is growing exponentially. Some researchers have focused on developing better recommender systems for academic papers by using citation analysis and content analysis. Most traditional content analysis is implemented using a keyword matching process, and thus it cannot consider the semantic contexts of items. Further, citation analysis-based techniques rely on the number of links directly citing or being cited in a single-level network. Consequently, it may be difficult to recommend the appropriate papers when the paper of interest does not have enough citation information. To address these problems, we propose a recommendation system for academic papers that combines citation analysis and network analysis. The proposed method is based on multilevel citation networks that compare all the indirectly linked papers to the paper of interest to inspect the structural and semantic relationships among them. Thus, the proposed method tends to recommend informative and useful papers related to both the research topic and the academic theory. The comparison results based on real data showed that the proposed method outperformed the Google Scholar and SCOPUS algorithms.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> We propose a paper recommender system based on multilevel citation networks. </LI> <LI> The proposed method discovers structural and semantic relationships among papers. </LI> <LI> The proposed method can find influential and advantageous papers. </LI> <LI> The proposed method is superior to “Google scholar” and “SCOPUS”. </LI> </UL> </P>