IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aae/journl/v15y2019i3p103-130.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An innovation policy framework for upgrading firm absorptive capacities in the context of catching-up economies

Author

Listed:
  • Agnė Paliokaitė

    (Visionary Analytics, M. Valančiaus St. 1A, 03155 Vilnius, Lithuania, e-mail: agne@visionary.lt)

Abstract

The paper addresses the ‘regional innovation paradox’ referring to the lower capacity to absorb public funds earmarked for the promotion of innovation in the peripheral regions. The key aim is thus to propose and test a conceptual framework of tailored innovation policy routes that aim at stimulating absorptive capacities of firms. Literature analysis helps to distill determinants of absorptive capacity at firm and system levels. Analysis of innovation policies applied by the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in 2007-2013 is used to determine the gap between mainstream innovation policies and business capacity building needs. The paper presents an integrative conceptual ‘stairway of competence’ framework, mapping four innovator types with alternative policy routes. An assessment of innovation policies in the selected CEE countries is provided. We find that mainstream innovation policies in the selected countries mainly focused on two routes: strengthening the capacities of mature innovators and the uptake of existing technology. There is little evidence that this approach had any clear effects on structural change in the CEE economies. These findings suggest that a more tailor-made approach to innovation capacity building is needed, taking into account the current capacity levels within the target groups. These findings are especially relevant to the use of European Union cohesion policy funds and the implementation of the smart specialization strategies. Although the CEE is the main context for the framework, its implications are applicable to other catching-up and peripheral regions more widely.

Suggested Citation

  • Agnė Paliokaitė, 2019. "An innovation policy framework for upgrading firm absorptive capacities in the context of catching-up economies," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 15(3), pages 103-130.
  • Handle: RePEc:aae:journl:v:15:y:2019:i:3:p:103-130
    DOI: 10.7341/20191534
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://jemi.edu.pl/uploadedFiles/file/all-issues/vol15/issue3/JEMI_Vol15_Issue3_2019_Article4.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.7341/20191534?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anil K. Gupta & Vijay Govindarajan, 2000. "Knowledge flows within multinational corporations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 473-496, April.
    2. Alessandro Muscio & Alasdair Reid & Lorena Rivera Leon, 2015. "An empirical test of the regional innovation paradox: can smart specialisation overcome the paradox in Central and Eastern Europe?," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 153-171, April.
    3. Alessandro Muscio & Alasdair Reid & Lorena Rivera Leon, 2015. "An empirical test of the regional innovation paradox: can smart specialisation overcome the paradox in Central and Eastern Europe?," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 153-171, June.
    4. Attila Havas, 2015. "The persistent high-tech myth in the EC policy circles - Implications for the EU10 countries," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1517, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    5. Peter J. Lane & Jane E. Salk & Marjorie A. Lyles, 2001. "Absorptive capacity, learning, and performance in international joint ventures," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(12), pages 1139-1161, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nancy J. Miller & Carol Engel-Enright & David A. Brown, 2021. "Direct and moderation effects on U.S. apparel manufacturers’ engagement in network ties," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 17(3), pages 67-113.
    2. Andrei Coca & Manuela Rozalia Gabor & Irina Olimpia Susanu, 2023. "Do Innovation Metrics Reflect Sustainable Policy Making in Europe? A Comparative Study Case on the Carpathian and Alpine Mountain Regions," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-31, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emre Yildiz, H. & Murtic, Adis & Klofsten, Magnus & Zander, Udo & Richtnér, Anders, 2021. "Individual and contextual determinants of innovation performance: A micro-foundations perspective," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Xin Liu & Lin Zhang & Abhinav Gupta & Xiaoming Zheng & Changqi Wu, 2022. "Upper echelons and intra‐organizational learning: How executive narcissism affects knowledge transfer among business units," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(11), pages 2351-2381, November.
    3. Maria José Sousa, 2022. "Digital Technologies for Urban Greening Public Policies," GEE Papers 0166, Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos, Ministério da Economia, revised Jun 2022.
    4. Chien-Hsing Wu & Shu-Chen Kao, 2016. "Appraisal of Knowledge Object Use via a Three-Phase Flow Profile," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(02), pages 1-22, June.
    5. Rabbiosi, Larissa, 2011. "Subsidiary roles and reverse knowledge transfer: An investigation of the effects of coordination mechanisms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 97-113, June.
    6. Švarc, Jadranka & Dabić, Marina, 2021. "Transformative innovation policy or how to escape peripheral policy paradox in European research peripheral countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    7. Heather Berry, 2017. "Managing valuable knowledge in weak IP protection countries," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(7), pages 787-807, September.
    8. von Ledebur, Sidonia, 2006. "A Game Theoretic Analysis of the Conditions of Knowledge Transfer by New Employees in Companies," IWH Discussion Papers 3/2006, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    9. Khavul, Susanna & Pérez-Nordtvedt, Liliana & Wood, Eric, 2010. "Organizational entrainment and international new ventures from emerging markets," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 104-119, January.
    10. Park, Chansoo & Vertinsky, Ilan, 2016. "Reverse and conventional knowledge transfers in international joint ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 2821-2829.
    11. Colakoglu, Saba & Yamao, Sachiko & Lepak, David P., 2014. "Knowledge creation capability in MNC subsidiaries: Examining the roles of global and local knowledge inflows and subsidiary knowledge stocks," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 91-101.
    12. Ming Pu & Pek-Hooi Soh, 2018. "The role of dual embeddedness and organizational learning in subsidiary development," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 373-397, June.
    13. Pei Wang & William Gonzalo Vega Salas, 2020. "Shareholder internationality and importing activities of emerging market firms," Frontiers of Business Research in China, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-20, December.
    14. Najafi-Tavani, Zhaleh & Robson, Matthew J. & Zaefarian, Ghasem & Andersson, Ulf & Yu, Chong, 2018. "Building subsidiary local responsiveness: (When) does the directionality of intrafirm knowledge transfers matter?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 475-492.
    15. Demeter, Krisztina & Szász, Levente & Rácz, Béla-Gergely, 2016. "The impact of subsidiaries’ internal and external integration on operational performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 73-85.
    16. George Papamichail & Alessandro Rosiello & David Wield, 2023. "Addressing Public Policy Implementation Challenges in Lagging Regions Through the Analytical Lens of Smart Specialisation," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(1), pages 356-381, March.
    17. B. Elango & Chinmay Pattnaik, 2011. "Learning Before Making the Big Leap," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 461-481, August.
    18. Fang, Yulin & Wade, Michael & Delios, Andrew & Beamish, Paul W., 2013. "An exploration of multinational enterprise knowledge resources and foreign subsidiary performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 30-38.
    19. Zhaleh Najafi-Tavani & Axèle Giroud & Rudolf R. Sinkovics, 2012. "Mediating Effects in Reverse Knowledge Transfer Processes," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 461-488, June.
    20. Allan O’Connor & David Audretsch, 2023. "Regional entrepreneurial ecosystems: learning from forest ecosystems," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1051-1079, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    peripheral and catching-up regions; technological upgrading; regional innovation paradox; absorptive capacities; innovation policies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • L53 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Enterprise Policy
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aae:journl:v:15:y:2019:i:3:p:103-130. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Anna Ujwary-Gil (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://fundacjacognitione.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.