IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ris/adbiwp/1321.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Harnessing Foreign Technology to Improve Firm Performance: Evidence from Philippine Manufacturing Enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Gaspar, Raymond

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

Abstract

We examine the impact of foreign-licensed technology and identifies channels to effectively leverage such technology to improve the performance of manufacturing firms in the Philippines. Using the fixed effects approach to World Bank Enterprise Survey panel data for the Philippines covering 2009 and 2015, we find no statistically significant impact of introducing foreign-licensed technology to manufacturing firms in terms of annual sales, employment, and energy intensity. Interestingly, the impact is more pronounced and significant among manufacturing firms that conduct workforce trainings, thereby improving absorptive capacity through better quality of labor. The empirical findings call for the Philippine government to bolster skills training and human capital formation initiatives, further incentivizing in-house training, to support the advancement of local absorptive capacity and better assimilate the use of foreign technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaspar, Raymond, 2022. "Harnessing Foreign Technology to Improve Firm Performance: Evidence from Philippine Manufacturing Enterprises," ADBI Working Papers 1321, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1321
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/801736/adbi-wp1321.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yasar, Mahmut & Morrison Paul, Catherine J., 2008. "Foreign Technology Transfer and Productivity: Evidence From a Matched Sample," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 26, pages 105-112, January.
    2. Mansfield, Edwin, 1983. "Long Waves and Technological Innovation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(2), pages 141-145, May.
    3. Danquah, Michael, 2018. "Technology transfer, adoption of technology and the efficiency of nations: Empirical evidence from sub Saharan Africa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 175-182.
    4. Shimaa Elkomy & Hilary Ingham & Robert Read, 2020. "The Impact of Foreign Technology & Embodied R&D On Productivity in Internationally-Oriented & High-Technology Industries in Egypt, 2006-2009," Working Papers 293574925, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    5. Llanto, Gilberto M. & Serafica, Ramonette B. & Albert, Jose Ramon G. & Quimba, Francis Mark A. & Vizmanos, Jana Flor V. & Bairan, Jose Carlos Alexis C., 2017. "Measuring and Examining Innovation in Philippine Business and Industry," Discussion Papers DP 2017-28, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    6. Belderbos, Rene & Ito, Banri & Wakasugi, Ryuhei, 2008. "Intra-firm technology transfer and R&D in foreign affiliates: Substitutes or complements? Evidence from Japanese multinational firms," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 310-319, September.
    7. Lin, Yatang & Qin, Yu & Xie, Zhuan, 2021. "Does foreign technology transfer spur domestic innovation? Evidence from the high-speed rail sector in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 212-229.
    8. Michela Giorcelli & Bo Li, 2022. "Technology Transfer and Early Industrial Development: Evidence from the Sino-Soviet Alliance," CESifo Working Paper Series 9552, CESifo.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Teixeira, Aurora A.C. & Tavares-Lehmann, Ana Teresa, 2014. "Human capital intensity in technology-based firms located in Portugal: Does foreign ownership matter?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 737-748.
    2. Marie-Ange Véganzonès-Varoudakis & Arup Mitra & Chandan Sharma, 2012. "Are Reforms Productive? Explaining Productivity and Efficiency in the Indian Manufacturing," Post-Print hal-03058727, HAL.
    3. Mark Knell & Simone Vannuccini, 2022. "Tools and concepts for understanding disruptive technological change after Schumpeter," Jena Economics Research Papers 2022-005, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    4. Genthner, Robert & Kis-Katos, Krisztina, 2022. "Foreign investment regulation and firm productivity: Granular evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 668-687.
    5. Thanh Dinh Su & Canh Phuc Nguyen, 2022. "Foreign financial flows, human capital and economic growth in African developing countries," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 3010-3031, July.
    6. Mahmut Yaşar & Catherine Paul, 2012. "Firm performance and knowledge spillovers from academic, industrial and foreign linkages: the case of China," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 237-253, December.
    7. Dalgic, Basak & Fazlioglu, Burcu & Gasiorek, Michael, 2015. "Costs of trade and self-selection into exporting and importing: The case of Turkish manufacturing firms," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 9, pages 1-28.
    8. Llanto, Gilberto M. & Albert, Jose Ramon G. & Quimba, Francis Mark A., 2017. "Innovation Activity of Firms in the Philippines," Discussion Papers DP 2017-44, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    9. Nieto-Carrillo, Ernesto & Carreira, Carlos & Teixeira, Paulino, 2024. "Industrial dynamics in the ICT technological paradigm: The case of Portugal, 1986–2018," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 155-170.
    10. Benzaim, Samia & Ftiti, Zied & Khedhaouria, Anis & Djermane, Rebai, 2023. "US foreign investments: Technology transfer, relative backwardness, and the productivity growth of host countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 275-295.
    11. E.G. Zhuravskaya & M.V. Gracheva, 1994. "Innovation Activities of Industrial Enterprises in Market and Transition Economies," Working Papers wp94001, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
    12. Das, Gouranga G. & Drine, Imed, 2020. "Distance from the technology frontier: How could Africa catch-up via socio-institutional factors and human capital?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    13. Chen, Zhenhua, 2023. "Socioeconomic Impacts of high-speed rail: A bibliometric analysis," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    14. Sauer, Johannes & Walsh, John & Zilberman, David, 2012. "Behavioural Change through Agri-Environmental Policies ? – A Distance Function based Matching Approach," 86th Annual Conference, April 16-18, 2012, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 134783, Agricultural Economics Society.
    15. Jose Ramon G. Albert & Ramonette B. Serafica & Francis Mark A. Quimba & Jana Flor V. Vizmanos & Jose Carlos Alexis C. Bairan, 2018. "What Drives Filipino Firms to Innovate," Working Papers id:12911, eSocialSciences.
    16. Ryuhei Wakasugi & Banri Ito & Eiichi Tomiura, 2010. "Productivity Premia of Offshoring Firms in East Asia: Evidence from Japanese Firms," Millennial Asia, , vol. 1(1), pages 76-96, January.
    17. Seth G. Benzell & Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Guillermo LaGarda & Jeffrey D. Sachs, 2015. "Robots Are Us: Some Economics of Human Replacement," NBER Working Papers 20941, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Zhang, Gupeng & Zhou, Jianghua, 2016. "The effects of forward and reverse engineering on firm innovation performance in the stages of technology catch-up: An empirical study of China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 212-222.
    19. Neil Thompson & Erik Stam, 2010. "Macroeconomic Dynamics and Innovation: SME innovation in the Netherlands, 1999-2009," Innovation Studies Utrecht (ISU) working paper series 10-03, Utrecht University, Department of Innovation Studies, revised May 2010.
    20. HOSONO Kaoru & MIYAKAWA Daisuke & TAKIZAWA Miho, 2017. "Do Overseas Subsidiaries Benefit from Parent Firms' Intangibles?," Discussion papers 17073, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    technology transfer; technology licensing; firm performance; local absorptive capacity; Philippines;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L24 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Contracting Out; Joint Ventures
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ris:adbiwp:1321. 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: ADB Institute (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/adbinjp.html .

    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.