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Managing competences in entrepreneurial technology firms: a comparative institutional analysis of Germany, Sweden and the UK

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  • Steven Casper
  • Richard Whitley

Abstract

Innovative firms face two major kinds of risks in developing new technologies: competence destruction and appropriability. High levels of technical uncertainty and radical changes in knowledge in some fields generate high technical failure risks and make it difficult to plan research and development programmes. They therefore encourage high levels of flexibility in acquiring and using skilled staff. Appropriability risks, on the other hand, encourage innovative firms to develop organisation-specific competences through investing in complementary assets, such as marketing and distribution capabilities, that involve longer-term employer-employee commitments to building complex organisations. These connections between technology risks and employment policies help to explain why different kinds of market economies with contrasting labour market institutions develop varied innovation patterns. This study focuses on subsectors of the computer software and biotechnology industries in three distinct Europea n countries, UK, Germany and Sweden, that vary in their level of technical change and appropriability.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven Casper & Richard Whitley, 2002. "Managing competences in entrepreneurial technology firms: a comparative institutional analysis of Germany, Sweden and the UK," Working Papers wp230, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp230
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steven Casper & Mark Lehrer & David Soskice, 1999. "Can High-technology Industries Prosper in Germany? Institutional Frameworks and the Evolution of the German Software and Biotechnology Industries," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 5-24.
    2. Kitschelt, Herbert, 1991. "Industrial governance structures, innovation strategies, and the case of Japan: sectoral or cross-national comparative analysis?," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 453-493, October.
    3. Paul Almeida & Bruce Kogut, 1999. "Localization of Knowledge and the Mobility of Engineers in Regional Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(7), pages 905-917, July.
    4. David J. TEECE, 2008. "Profiting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 5, pages 67-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Henrik Glimstedt, 2001. "Competitive Dynamics Of Technological Standardization: The Case Of Third Generation Cellular Communications," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 49-78.
    6. Steven Casper & Henrik Glimstedt, 2001. "Economic Organization, Innovation Systems, and the Internet," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 17(2), pages 265-281, Summer.
    7. Giovanni Dosi, 2000. "Sources, Procedures, and Microeconomic Effects of Innovation," Chapters, in: Innovation, Organization and Economic Dynamics, chapter 2, pages 63-114, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. David Soskice, 1997. "German technology policy, innovation, and national institutional frameworks," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 75-96.
    9. Mowery,David C. & Nelson,Richard R. (ed.), 1999. "Sources of Industrial Leadership," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521645201, October.
    10. Miller,Gary J., 1992. "Managerial Dilemmas," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521372817, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Massón Guerra, José Luis, 2007. "El capital empresarial como determinante de la productividad y el crecimiento en España [The Impact of Entrepreneurship Capital on Spanish's Labor Productivity and Economic Growth]," MPRA Paper 4073, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Thomas, Jayan Jose, 2005. "Kerala's industrial backwardness: a case of path dependence in industrialization?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 763-783, May.
    3. Ibert, Oliver, 2004. "Projects and firms as discordant complements: organisational learning in the Munich software ecology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1529-1546, December.
    4. Werner Pascha & Cornelia Storz & Markus Taube, 2011. "Coordination between Inertia and Dynamic Development: An Overview of Issues and Contributions," Chapters, in: Werner Pascha & Cornelia Storz & Markus Taube (ed.), Institutional Variety in East Asia, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Cornelia Storz & Werner Pascha, 2011. "Japan’s Silver Market: Creating a New Industry under Uncertainty," Chapters, in: Werner Pascha & Cornelia Storz & Markus Taube (ed.), Institutional Variety in East Asia, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Laforet, Sylvie, 2013. "Organizational innovation outcomes in SMEs: Effects of age, size, and sector," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 490-502.
    7. Whitley, Richard, 2003. "Competition and pluralism in the public sciences: the impact of institutional frameworks on the organisation of academic science," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1015-1029, June.
    8. Pascha, Werner & Storz, Cornelia, 2008. "How are markets created? The case of Japan's silver market," Working Papers on East Asian Studies 78/2008, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute of East Asian Studies IN-EAST.
    9. Casper, Steven & Whitley, Richard, 2004. "Managing competences in entrepreneurial technology firms: a comparative institutional analysis of Germany, Sweden and the UK," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 89-106, January.
    10. Hugh Whittaker & Philippe Byosiere & Junpe Higuchi & Thelma Quince, 2006. "Entrepreneurs, HRM Orientations and Environmental Fit: A UK-Japan Comparison in High Tech Manufacturing," Working Papers wp330, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.

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    JEL classification:

    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • P5 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems

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