This thesis addresses the challenges that firms are faced with when collaborating with suppliers in new product development (NPD) projects under technological uncertainty. A critical observation that is made in this context is that technologies are evolving faster, making products more complex. At the same time, firms become more specialized. Due to increased complexity and specialization, firms do not possess all the necessary technologies in-house and therefore need to collaborate with external organisations to incorporate new technology into their products. Common collaborators are suppliers who become integrated into the buying firm’s NPD project. However, finding suppliers and collaborating with suppliers in NPD can be problematic. In addition, external collaborations also impact the buying firm internally, since it often needs to coordinate its departments. The purpose of this thesis is to explore supplier involvement in NPD under technological uncertainty. Challenges in supplier selection are concerned with the issues of involving new suppliers or relying on old acquaintances, managing uncertainties, the dilemma of whether to commit to long-term relationships or to maintain flexibility, and deciding on which department that is responsible for evaluating and selecting the supplier. The present study of buyers and suppliers in NPD, shows the challenges that are involved in balancing control, reaching goal alignment, and managing transactional and relational governance. Internal challenges investigate the coordination between the R&D department and purchasing in NPD projects where suppliers are involved. The present findings may be of value for firms who engage in collaborative NPD, or for firms who aim to involve suppliers in their development of new products.

This doctoral thesis consists of five self-contained essays on interaction in R&D between university researchers and private firms. Together, these essays explore the conditions under which private firms benefit from spillovers from publicly funded and organised research. From the first essay, which sets out to empirically validate the theoretical arguments about the benefits of university-industry interaction for private firms, the thesis follows a line of pursuit that goes back and forth between exploration of the different benefits that firms enjoy from university interaction and the relationships between these benefits and the conditions of interaction. In essay II, a typology of rationales for establishing cooperative relations is presented. A considerable breadth of interaction rationales is documented, but on closer examination, a “core” set of rationales related to innovation in terms of invented or improved products or processes are found to be the main drivers of interaction. Developing this view, three critical issues previously studied within innovation economics are re-considered from the point of view of firm rationales for interaction; public co-funding of university-firm interaction (essay II), the role of geographic proximity for interaction on R&D (essay III) and the organisation of public sector research (public research institutes and universities) in relation to firm level competences (essay IV). In a fifth essay, four ideal types of strategy for localised interaction between R&D subsidiaries and universities are proposed. Through the framework developed in this essay, the rationales for interaction are related to the overall R&D strategy of multinational firms. Concluding the thesis, it is discussed how the research presented herein opens up for improved theorizing around the roles of academic research for industrial innovation. / QC 20100706

Cette thèse étudie l’impact des aides publiques en faveur de l’innovation sur l’activité d’exportation des firmes. Jusqu’ici, les évaluations empiriques des aides à l’innovation se sont principalement intéressés à l’existence d’un effet sur l’investissement des firmes en R&D (effet additionnel). Si ce critère constitue logiquement le principal indicateur de l’efficacité des aides à l’innovation, il conduit à adopter une vision très partielle de la firme. Les impacts potentiels sur ses décisions stratégiques, en particulier l’exportation, sont largement ignorés. Ce travail de recherche combine deux littératures distinctes qui n’ont pas été mobilisées ensemble à ce jour. D’une part, la littérature visant à évaluer l’efficacité des aides montre que ces dispositifs peuvent induire les firmes à intensifier leurs investissements en R&D. D’autre part, les travaux de Constantini et Melitz, (2007) et Aw et al. (2008 ; 2011) mettent en évidence l’interdépendance entre les décisions d’innovation et d’exportation prises par les firmes. De plus, une attention particulière est portée sur les spécificités des aides fiscales en faveur de l’innovation. La méthodologie empirique mise en place combine deux méthodes économétriques, bi-variée récursive d’une part, et par appariement d’autre part. Trois résultats principaux sont mis en évidence.Tout d’abord, (1) les aides à l’innovation impactent la relation causale entre innovation de produit et exportation, sur le court terme. Ce résultat est également observé lorsque l’analyse se concentre sur l’effet des aides fiscales à l’innovation. Ensuite, (2) les aides à l’innovation impactent directement l’activité d’exportation des firmes, indépendamment de la réussite du projet d’innovation. Cet effet est observé pour les firmes ayant bénéficié uniquement d’incitations fiscales. En revanche, bénéficier à la fois d’aides directes et fiscales à l’innovation n’induit pas de décisions simultanées en innovation et en exportation. Enfin, (3) considérer le rôle central de la R&D permet de montrer que l’impact des aides à l’innovation sur l’exportation constitue une extension de l’efficacité des politiques d’innovation. Ces résultats conduisent à formuler des recommandations en matière de politiques publiques, afin d’améliorer le soutien public des activités d’innovation et d’exportation. / This thesis investigates the impact of public subsidies for innovation on firms’ export activity. Previous research has focused mainly on understanding the effects of innovation support on investment in R&D (additional effect). While R&D investment is logically the primary indicator of innovation aid effectiveness, this approach ignores potential impact on strategy, particularly on export. Our research framework draws on two distinct streams of literature that have not been mobilized so far. First, the literature which evaluates the impact of aid shows that these devices can induce strategic R&D decisions in firms. Secondly, the work of Constantini and Melitz (2007) and Aw, Roberts and Xu, (2008) emphasizes the interdependence between firms' innovation and export decisions. Particular attention is paid in this study on the effect of innovation tax credits. The empirical methodology utilizes two econometric methods, bi-varied recursive and propensity score matching, generating three main results:First, (1) innovation support impacts the causal relationship between product innovation and export in the short term. This result is also observed when the analysis focuses on the effect of tax incentives. Then, (2) innovation subsidies impact the export activity of firms directly and simultaneously This effect occurs for firms that have benefited only from tax incentives. However, benefiting from both direct and tax subsidies for innovation does not affect? joint decisions regarding innovation and export. Finally, (3) considering the central role of R&D investments reveals that the impact of innovation subsidies on exports is an extension of the effectiveness of innovation policies. These results lead to several policy recommendations that can be used to improve public support effectiveness for both innovation and export activities.

Cette thèse se situe dans le cadre théorique de l'économie industrielle appliquée à l'analyse de l'innovation technologique. Elle a pour objet principal d'évaluer les effets de la politique des pôles de compétitivité sur les incitations à innover des firmes. Il s'agit en particulier de comprendre les mécanismes informationnels par lesquels ce nouveau dispositif impacte les niveaux d'investissement en recherche et développement des firmes et leurs activités. Le premier chapitre présente le cadre général de la thèse. Il explicite les éléments de théorie économique qui sous-tendent l'émergence des clusters de recherche et de développement. Le deuxième chapitre, première contribution théorique de la thèse, analyse les effets des pôles sur les niveaux d'efforts R&D de firmes qui sont en coopération au stade de la R&D mais qui sont en compétition à la Cournot sur le marché de produit. Le troisième chapitre et deuxième contribution théorique, s'intéresse aux effets des pôles dans le cadre de relations verticales de type fournisseur-clients de technologies. Le quatrième chapitre a pour but de trouver des illustrations ou des correspondances de nos résultats théoriques à travers les informations recueillies sur le terrain auprès des acteurs des pôles de compétitivité, en l'occurrence le pôle Minalogic situé à Grenoble en Isère. / The theoretical framework of this thesis is the industrial economics applied to the analysis of technological innovation. Its main purpose is to assess the effects of competitiveness clusters policy on the incentives of firms to innovate. In particular, it aims to understand the informational mechanisms by which this new industrial policy impacts the levels of R&D investment of firms and their activities. The first chapter presents the general framework of the thesis and explains the elements of economic theory underlying the emergence of R&D based-clusters. The second chapter, our first theoretical contribution, analyzes the effects of clusters on R&D investments of firms which cooperate at the R&D stage and compete a la Cournot on product market in a two-stage game. The third chapter, our second theoretical contribution, focuses on the effects of the cluster in vertical relationship between a supplier of technology and integrators. The fourth chapter is intended to and illustrations for the theoretical results through informations gathered from actors of competitiveness clusters, specially in the case of Minalogic at Grenoble (Isere France).

Au travers d'une étude empirique concernant 172 firmes industrielles de haute technologie domiciliées aux Etats Unis et imbriquées dans des réseaux de financement de l'innovation par capital risque nous montrons que le volume des dépenses de capital risque consenti par ces firmes impacte positivement et fortement leur Q de Tobin. De plus, notre étude éclaire la stratégie des firmes industrielles imbriquées dans les réseaux de financement de l'innovation. Il apparait que l'accès de celles-ci aux informations concernant les innovations commercialisables est fortement contraint par les rapports que ces firmes entretiennent avec les sociétés financières de capital risque. Ainsi, les firmes industrielles nouant des relations avec les sociétés financières occupant une place centrale dans le réseau tirent le meilleur profit de leur imbrication dans ce dernier. Ces firmes augmentent le volume de leur investissement de capital risque en direction des mêmes partenaires financiers et ceci impacte positivement leur Q de Tobin. Par conséquent, notre étude révèle ce qu'est un capital relationnel efficient dans les réseaux de financement de l'innovation / Through an empirical study involving 172 high-tech industrial firms domiciled in the U.S. and embedded in networks of innovation financing by venture capital we show that the amount of expenditures in venture capital made by these firms impacts strongly and positively their Tobin's Q. In addition, our study illuminates the strategy of industrial firms embedded in networks of innovation financing. It appears that access to information concerning marketable innovations is highly constrained by relationships these firms have with financial venture capital companies. Thus, industrial firms building relationships with financial firms occupying a central place in the network get the most out of their nesting in it. These firms increase the amount of venture capital investments towards the same financial partners and this positively impacts their Tobin's Q. Therefore, our study reveals what an efficient relational capital is in financing networks of innovation

The present paper aimed to study the culture in Sweden and Finland, by analyzing two research centers of one multinational organization in each location. Hofstede’s cultural framework was used as a benchmark for the research. Further, the study investigated the significant impact that culture has on innovation and job performance. To achieve the purpose, quantitative approach was adopted and a self-competition questionnaire was distributed to the employees of both research centers. Two hypotheses were tested concerning with the relationship between any of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and innovation, respectively job performance. After a regression analysis was conducted, two models were created which described the impact of the cultural constructs. All of Hofstede’s initial four dimensions indicated a relationship with innovation, while only individualism and uncertainty avoidance showed to be significant in predicting job performance. An unexpected result was discovered in the individualism index, which has drastically shifted, putting Finland in the collectivist societies, with Sweden following the same trend. The study’s results should be able to contribute to the better understanding of culture’s influence on innovation and job performance in multinational organizations and help practitioners by demonstrating the importance of considering culture’s effect.

Os investimentos em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento têm se constituído como fonte importante de vantagem competitiva, especialmente com o aprofundamento das decorrências da globalização dos mercados. A soma dos investimentos em P&D que os 27 países-membros da Comunidade Européia fizeram em 2007 superou EUR227 bilhões, ao passo que no mesmo ano os EUA investiram US$368 bilhões em P&D. Dados da OCDE e UNESCO apontam para um aumento do investimento global em P&D de US$525 bilhões em 1996 para mais de US$1 trilhão em 2006. Tendo em vista o cenário de franca expansão das funções de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento e do já consolidado movimento de descentralização do P&D em direção às subsidiárias da empresa multinacional, emerge a necessidade de coordenação global de esforços e uso racional dos recursos, de modo a tornar os investimentos e a gestão de P&D mais eficazes. A eficácia à qual se refere está na base da competitividade, na medida em que pode facilitar a flexibilidade da organização para fazer frente à dinâmica do mercado, auxiliar na economia de recursos e maximizar o retorno sobre os investimentos em infraestrutura e capacitação da mão-de-obra. Essa pesquisa se debruça sobre a questão da coordenação dos esforços de P&D em uma empresa multinacional de base tecnológica que tem centros de P&D em diversos países. São tratados temas relativos aos mecanismos de coordenação, sua implementação dada a estratégia de internacionalização de P&D adotada pela empresa, assim como é discutido em que medida as tecnologias de informação e comunicações podem auxiliar a empresa na missão de coordenar e integrar os esforços de todo seu P&D. Por fim, são identificados os aspectos críticos para a coordenação global dos centros de P&D, por meio da discussão sobre seus fatores facilitadores. / Investments in Research and Development have constituted an important source of competitive advantage, especially with the deepening of globalization of markets and its consequences. The sum of investments that the 27 member countries of the European Community did in 2007 exceeded EUR227 billion, while in the same year U.S. had invested $368 billion in R&D. UNESCO and OECD data show an increase in overall investment in R&D from $525 billion in 1996 to more than $1 trillion in 2006. Given the scenario of increasing business impact of Research and Development and the movement towards its decentralization towards the subsidiaries of multinational company, arises the need for global coordination and synergic use of resources in order to make investment and management of R&D more effective. This effectiveness lies on the basis of competitiveness, as it can facilitate the organization\'s flexibility to cope with market dynamics, can help save resources and maximize return on investments in infrastructure and training of the workforce. This research focuses on the issue of global R&D coordination in a multinational company that has geographically dispersed R&D centers. The scope encompasses issues related to coordination mechanisms implementation, the relationship between R&D internationalization and coordination mechanisms, to what extent information technologies and communications can help the company in the mission to coordinate and integrate efforts of all its R&D facilities. Finally, it is identified critical issues for the global R&D coordination, through the discussion of coordination facilitators.

Partant d’un manque de consensus académique quant à l’efficacité des différents dispositifs de soutien à l’innovation, cette thèse s’intéresse aux politiques de financement de la R&D dans un contexte où les entreprises peuvent coordonner leurs effortsde R&D et se rapprocher d’un secteur public de la recherche. Dans une première partie, nous présentons des éléments de la littérature économique sur les mesures incitatives de promotion de la R&D. Nous choisissons par ailleurs de contextualiser notre approche autour de la politique des pôles de compétitivité menée en France. Dans une seconde partie, nous proposons une modélisation théorique originale, à même d’étudier conjointement trois instruments publics de soutien à la R&D : encouragement aux stratégies coopératives de R&D, soutien financier à la R&D privée et soutien financier au secteur public de la recherche. Nos résultats théoriques nous permettent ainsi de proposer plusieurs recommandations de politique publique. Premièrement, nous mettons en avant le rejet de tout effet d’éviction de l’intervention publique sur les activités privées de recherche. Nous montrons également qu’une politique de financement d’un secteur public de la recherche peut représenter unealternative efficace à la politique visant à soutenir la R&D privée, sous condition que la recherche publique génère d’importants effets de débordement. Enfin, la répartition optimale du budget public destiné au soutien à l’innovation s’avère êtreplus généreuse envers le secteur public à mesure que les entreprises privées se situent à proximité de l’acteur public de la recherche. A l’inverse, le soutien public à l’innovation doit se faire davantage en faveur des entreprises privées à mesure que ces dernières sont soumises à une concurrence forte et à des difficultés d’appropriation de leur recherche. / Observing a lack of academic consensus about R&D public supports efficaciency, we focus on public R&D funding policies by considering R&D cooperation and proximity between firms and a public research sector. In a first way, we introduce how economic literature studies incentives to promote R&D efforts. In addition, we decide to illustrate our theorotical approach through french cluster policy called « politique des pôles de compétitivité ». In a second way, we develop an original theorotical modelisation able to evaluate the efficacity of three public instruments that promote R&D efforts and innovation : promote R&D cooperation, subsidizing private R&D sector and funding to public research sector. Our theorotical results lead us to make some recommandations to the policy makers. First, we conclude to an additionality effect of public policies on R&D efforts, that means we reject all crowding-out effect of public intervention. Moreover, we show that funding a public research sector (SPU policy) leads to better performance than the policy consisting to subsidize private R&D efforts (SPR policy) but only if the level of public spillovers is strong enough. Then, about the distribution of public fundings between public and private sector (SPM policy), we conclude that the proportion allocated to private sector always increases with the level of inter-firm spillovers and with the concentration of the industry if and only if the level of inter-firm spillovers is high enough. In the opposite, this proportion allocated to private sector decreases with the level of public knowledge externalities to the private sector, due to a closer proximity between public and private bodies, regardless of whether firms cooperate or not in R&D.

Le travail de thèse porte sur l’innovation inverse et ses particularités managériales et organisationnelles au sein d’une filiale d’entreprise multinationale (EMN) localisée dans un pays émergent. Contrairement au modèle classique, l’innovation inverse peut se produire à partir d’un pays en voie de développement ou émergent, et ensuite être transférée vers un pays développé. Dans le cadre de cette recherche, nous nous intéressons au Brésil, un pays émergent où des entreprises mondiales disposent de centres de R&D de référence en Amérique Latine. L’innovation portée par la filiale d’une EMN est réalisée en fonction de divers facteurs et caractéristiques locales qui contribuent à ce que l’innovation menée par cette filiale se propage à l’échelle globale. Les objectifs de la recherche sont de mieux comprendre comment les EMN’s s’organisent dans une approche d’innovation inverse, de progresser sur l’éclairage théorique, et de proposer un modèle de management favorisant l’innovation mondiale à partir des initiatives locales dans un pays émergent. Nos travaux mettent en œuvre une démarche qualitative qui s’appuie sur une méthode d’études multi-cas. Notre contribution est un nouveau modèle théorique et fonctionnel pour l’innovation inverse prenant en compte les éléments qui contribuent à ce phénomène: l’intégration entre la maison mère et la filiale, la décentralisation de la R&D et la valorisation de compétences locales et l’insertion dans le système national d’innovation (SNI). Nos résultats de recherche ont mis en avant l’existence d’autres types d’innovations au-delà de l’innovation technologique qui induit une innovation mondiale. Nous avons observé que les innovations au niveau managérial, processus ou marketing sont absorbées au sein de la maison mère et diffusées vers d’autres filiales à une échelle mondiale. / Our research work concerns reverse innovation and its managerial and organizational features in a multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiary located in emerging markets. Unlike the traditional model, reverse innovation can occur from a developing or emerging country, and then be transferred to a developed country. Our empirical field is Brazil, an emerging country which hosts the reference R&D centers for Latin America of several global companies. The successful transfer to the global scale of an innovation coming from the subsidiary of an MNC depends on various factors and local characteristics that are explored in the thesis. The aims of this PhD dissertation are to better understand the mechanisms of reverse innovation in the context of MNCs, to advance theory and to propose a management model encouraging global innovation based on local initiatives in an emerging country. We show that practices carried out by MNC subsidiaries can have organizational, managerial and environmental implications that can account for the success of reverse innovation. Our research work implements a qualitative approach based on a multi-case study method. Our contribution is a new theoretical and functional model for reverse innovation that takes into account the elements that contribute to this phenomenon: the integration between the parent corporation and the subsidiary, the decentralization of R&D and the valorization of local skills and the insertion into the national system of innovation (SNI). Our research results highlight the existence of other types of innovation beyond technological innovation that lead to global innovation. We show that innovations at management, process or marketing level are absorbed within the parent company and disseminated to other subsidiaries on a global level.

The main purpose of this study is to enhance the analysis of the impact of R&D expenditure on firms’ growth. This study adopts an OLS regression for a data sample of 46 firms listed on Nasdaq Stockholm for the 2006-2019 period. We present models with R&D expenditure and R&D intensity as the main mechanisms of firm growth, defined as sales growth in this study. Furthermore, firm size, firm age and sector belonging determining the R&D and sales growth relationship are also investigated. We find that R&D intensity has a statistically significant negative impact on firm growth, while R&D expenditure does not show a statistically significant relationship to firm growth. Thus, the results of this paper suggest that devoting a higher proportion of your sales to R&D activities does not translate into firm growth.