IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v38y2009i7p1172-1180.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of new technologies on productivity: An intrafirm diffusion-based assessment

Author

Listed:
  • Fuentelsaz, Lucio
  • Gómez, Jaime
  • Palomas, Sergio

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of new technologies on productivity from the perspective of the technological diffusion literature. We argue that several stylised facts about the intrafirm diffusion process are not taken into account in most current research, which results in potentially erroneous conclusions. We critically assess different approaches that have been taken when studying the effects of technology adoption on productivity, and relate them to the main findings of the literature on technology diffusion with the aim of identifying the advantages of an intrafirm diffusion approach. We then conduct an empirical analysis on a sample that describes the diffusion of an innovation - the Automated Teller Machine - among Spanish savings banks from 1986 to 2004 in both its extensive (interfirm) and intensive (intrafirm) dimensions. Our results show that only the consideration of the intrafirm diffusion process is able to account for the contribution of the technology to productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Gómez, Jaime & Palomas, Sergio, 2009. "The effects of new technologies on productivity: An intrafirm diffusion-based assessment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1172-1180, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:38:y:2009:i:7:p:1172-1180
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048-7333(09)00096-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geroski, P. A., 2000. "Models of technology diffusion," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 603-625, April.
    2. Nancy Staudenmayer & Marcie Tyre & Leslie Perlow, 2002. "Time to Change: Temporal Shifts as Enablers of Organizational Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(5), pages 583-597, October.
    3. Stoneman, Paul & Kwon, Myung Joong, 1996. "Technology Adoption and Firm Profitability," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 952-962, July.
    4. Kleibergen, Frank & Paap, Richard, 2006. "Generalized reduced rank tests using the singular value decomposition," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 97-126, July.
    5. Massini, Silvia & Lewin, Arie Y. & Greve, Henrich R., 2005. "Innovators and imitators: Organizational reference groups and adoption of organizational routines," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 1550-1569, December.
    6. Brian L. Dos Santos & Ken Peffers, 1995. "Rewards to Investors in Innovative Information Technology Applications: First Movers and Early Followers in ATMs," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(3), pages 241-259, June.
    7. Rachel Griffith & Elena Huergo & Jacques Mairesse & Bettina Peters, 2006. "Innovation and Productivity Across Four European Countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 22(4), pages 483-498, Winter.
    8. Davidson, Russell & MacKinnon, James G., 1993. "Estimation and Inference in Econometrics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195060119.
    9. Michelle Haynes & Steve Thompson, 2000. "The Productivity Impact of IT Deployment: An Empirical Evaluation of ATM Introduction," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 62(5), pages 607-619, December.
    10. Garth Saloner & Andrea Shepard, 1995. "Adoption of Technologies with Network Effects: An Empirical Examination of the Adoption of Teller Machines," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(3), pages 479-501, Autumn.
    11. Thomas Åstebro, 2004. "Sunk Costs and the Depth and Probability of Technology Adoption," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 381-399, September.
    12. Goddard, John & Molyneux, Philip & Wilson, John O.S. & Tavakoli, Manouche, 2007. "European banking: An overview," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1911-1935, July.
    13. Dosi, Giovanni, 1993. "Technological paradigms and technological trajectories : A suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 102-103, April.
    14. Tyre, Marcie J., 1991. "Managing the introduction of new process technology: International differences in a multi-plant network," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 57-76, February.
    15. Adrian Gourlay & Eric Pentecost, 2002. "The Determinants of Technology Diffusion: Evidence from the UK Financial Sector," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 70(2), pages 185-203, March.
    16. Sunil Sharma, 1992. "Behind the Diffusion Curve: An Analysis of ATM Adoption," UCLA Economics Working Papers 686, UCLA Department of Economics.
    17. Parisi, Maria Laura & Schiantarelli, Fabio & Sembenelli, Alessandro, 2006. "Productivity, innovation and R&D: Micro evidence for Italy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(8), pages 2037-2061, November.
    18. Randolph B. Cooper & Robert W. Zmud, 1990. "Information Technology Implementation Research: A Technological Diffusion Approach," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(2), pages 123-139, February.
    19. Battisti, Giuliana & Stoneman, Paul, 2005. "The intra-firm diffusion of new process technologies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(1-2), pages 1-22, February.
    20. Hannan, Timothy H & McDowell, John M, 1990. "The Impact of Technology Adoption on Market Structure," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(1), pages 164-168, February.
    21. Massoud Karshenas & Paul L. Stoneman, 1993. "Rank, Stock, Order, and Epidemic Effects in the Diffusion of New Process Technologies: An Empirical Model," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(4), pages 503-528, Winter.
    22. E. Grifell-Tatjé & C. A. K. Lovell, 1999. "Profits and Productivity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(9), pages 1177-1193, September.
    23. repec:bla:obuest:v:62:y:2000:i:5:p:607-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Timothy H. Hannan & John M. McDowell, 1984. "The Determinants of Technology Adoption: The Case of the Banking Firm," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 15(3), pages 328-335, Autumn.
    25. Leonard-Barton, Dorothy, 1988. "Implementation as mutual adaptation of technology and organization," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 251-267, October.
    26. Stoneman, P, 1981. "Intra-Firm Diffusion, Bayesian Learning and Profitability," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 91(362), pages 375-388, June.
    27. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Gomez, Jaime & Polo, Yolanda, 2003. "Intrafirm diffusion of new technologies: an empirical application," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 533-551, April.
    28. Battisti, Giuliana & Stoneman, Paul, 2003. "Inter- and intra-firm effects in the diffusion of new process technology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1641-1655, October.
    29. Erik Brynjolfsson & Lorin Hitt, 1996. "Paradox Lost? Firm-Level Evidence on the Returns to Information Systems Spending," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(4), pages 541-558, April.
    30. Roller, Lars-Hendrik & Sinclair-Desgagne, Bernard, 1996. "On the heterogeneity of firms," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-5), pages 531-539, April.
    31. Sealey, Calvin W, Jr & Lindley, James T, 1977. "Inputs, Outputs, and a Theory of Production and Cost at Depository Financial Institutions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1251-1266, September.
    32. Marcie J. Tyre & Wanda J. Orlikowski, 1994. "Windows of Opportunity: Temporal Patterns of Technological Adaptation in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 5(1), pages 98-118, February.
    33. Geroski, P A, 1991. "Innovation and the Sectoral," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(409), pages 1438-1451, November.
    34. Paul Attewell, 1992. "Technology Diffusion and Organizational Learning: The Case of Business Computing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(1), pages 1-19, February.
    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. Scott, Susan V. & Van Reenen, John & Zachariadis, Markos, 2017. "The long-term effect of digital innovation on bank performance: An empirical study of SWIFT adoption in financial services," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5), pages 984-1004.
    2. Gómez, Jaime & Vargas, Pilar, 2012. "Intangible resources and technology adoption in manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 1607-1619.
    3. Zhang, Qizheng & Qian, Zesen & Wang, Shuo & Yuan, Lingran & Gong, Binlei, 2022. "Productivity drain or productivity gain? The effect of new technology adoption in the oilfield market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    4. Gopane, Thabo J. & Gandanhamo, Tanyaradzwa & Mabejane, John-Baptiste, 2023. "Technology firms and capital structure adjustment: Application of two-step system generalised method of moments," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 70, pages 34-54.
    5. Serge Ky & Clovis Rugemintwari & Alain Sauviat, 2019. "Is fintech good for bank performance? The case of mobile money in the East African Community," Working Papers hal-02155077, HAL.
    6. Kafouros, Mario & Wang, Elizabeth Yi, 2015. "Technology transfer within China and the role of location choices," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 353-366.
    7. Doina Caragea & Theodor Cojoianu & Mihai Dobri & Andreas Hoepner & Oana Peia & Davide Romelli, 2024. "Competition and Innovation in the Financial Sector: Evidence from the Rise of FinTech Start-ups," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 65(1), pages 103-140, February.
    8. Truant, Elisa & Broccardo, Laura & Dana, Léo-Paul, 2021. "Digitalisation boosts company performance: an overview of Italian listed companies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Gómez, Jaime & Palomas, Sergio, 2016. "Interdependences in the intrafirm diffusion of technological innovations: Confronting the rational and social accounts of diffusion," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 951-963.
    10. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Gómez, Jaime & Palomas, Sergio, 2012. "Production technologies and financial performance: The effect of uneven diffusion among competitors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 401-413.

    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. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Gómez, Jaime & Palomas, Sergio, 2012. "Production technologies and financial performance: The effect of uneven diffusion among competitors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 401-413.
    2. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Gómez, Jaime & Palomas, Sergio, 2016. "Interdependences in the intrafirm diffusion of technological innovations: Confronting the rational and social accounts of diffusion," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 951-963.
    3. Gomez, Jaime & Vargas, Pilar, 2009. "The effect of financial constraints, absorptive capacity and complementarities on the adoption of multiple process technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 106-119, February.
    4. Scott, Susan V. & Van Reenen, John & Zachariadis, Markos, 2017. "The long-term effect of digital innovation on bank performance: An empirical study of SWIFT adoption in financial services," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5), pages 984-1004.
    5. Stoneman, Paul & Battisti, Giuliana, 2010. "The Diffusion of New Technology," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 733-760, Elsevier.
    6. Giuliana Battisti & Heinz Hollenstein & Paul Stoneman & Martin Woerter, 2007. "Inter And Intra Firm Diffusion Of Ict In The United Kingdom (Uk) And Switzerland (Ch) An Internationally Comparative Study Based On Firm-Level Data," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(8), pages 669-687.
    7. Danielle Galliano & Pascale Roux, 2008. "Organisational motives and spatial effects in Internet adoption and intensity of use: evidence from French industrial firms," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 42(2), pages 425-448, June.
    8. Heinz Hollenstein & Martin Woerter, 2004. "The Decision to Adopt Internet-based E-Commerce. An Empirical Analysis Based on Swiss Firm-level Data," KOF Working papers 04-89, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    9. Juan M. Gallego & Luis H. Gutiérrez & Sang H. Lee, 2015. "A firm-level analysis of ICT adoption in an emerging economy: evidence from the Colombian manufacturing industries," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 24(1), pages 191-221.
    10. Galliano, D. & Roux, P., 2005. "The evolution of the spatial digital divide : from internet adoption to internet use by french industrial firms," Economics Working Paper Archive (Toulouse) 200513, French Institute for Agronomy Research (INRA), Economics Laboratory in Toulouse (ESR Toulouse).
    11. Waters, James, 2015. "Determinants of initial technology adoption and intensification: evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean," MPRA Paper 61473, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. James Waters, 2017. "Determinants of initial technology adoption and intensification: evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 334-352, May.
    13. Fuentelsaz, Lucio & Gomez, Jaime & Polo, Yolanda, 2003. "Intrafirm diffusion of new technologies: an empirical application," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 533-551, April.
    14. Stoneman, Paul, 2011. "Soft Innovation: Economics, Product Aesthetics, and the Creative Industries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199697021.
    15. Nicoletta Corrocher & Roberto Fontana, 2008. "Expectations, network effects and timing of technology adoption: some empirical evidence from a sample of SMEs in Italy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 425-441, December.
    16. Gil, Nuno & Miozzo, Marcela & Massini, Silvia, 2012. "The innovation potential of new infrastructure development: An empirical study of Heathrow airport's T5 project," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 452-466.
    17. Fındık, Derya & Tansel, Aysit, 2013. "Resources on the stage: a firm level analysis of the ict adoption in Turkey," MPRA Paper 65956, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Aug 2014.
    18. Zhang, Qizheng & Qian, Zesen & Wang, Shuo & Yuan, Lingran & Gong, Binlei, 2022. "Productivity drain or productivity gain? The effect of new technology adoption in the oilfield market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    19. Hollenstein, Heinz & Woerter, Martin, 2008. "Inter- and intra-firm diffusion of technology: The example of E-commerce: An analysis based on Swiss firm-level data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 545-564, April.
    20. Qiangbing Chen & Yali Liu, 2011. "The Diffusion of a Process Innovation with Gently Declining Production Cost," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 109-129, June.

    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:eee:respol:v:38:y:2009:i:7:p:1172-1180. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    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.