Šiame darbe siekiama ištirti mokslinių tyrimų ir eksperimentinės plėtros (MTEP) veiklą pasirinktose Europos Sąjungos šalyse, skirstant jas pagal išsivystymo lygį į labiau išsivysčiusias (Junginė Karalystė, Prancūzija ir Švedija) bei mažiau išsivysčiusias (Lietuva, Latvija, Vengrija ir Čekija) šalis. Darbe atskleidžiami teoriniai MTEP aspektai, parodoma dabartinė Lietuvos MTEP situacija ES kontekste, keliamos hipotezės apie atskirų MTEP rodiklių pokyčius, MTEP veiklos efektyvumą ir įtaką ekonomikos augimui. Hipotezėms patvirtinti arba paneigti vykdomas trijų etapų tyrimas, kuris parodė, kad, augant išlaidoms MTEP veiklai, kartu vystosi ir ekonomika bei didėja mokslinės veiklos produktyvumas; efektyviausiai MTEP veiklą vykdo Prancūzija, Čekija ir Lietuva; mažiau išsivysčiusios šalys atsilieka nuo labiau išsivysčiusių pagal daugelio MTEP rodiklių absoliučius statistinius duomenis, tačiau šiose šalyse atskirų rodiklių augimo tempai žymiai spartesni, tarp šalių pastebimi konvergencijos požymiai, todėl galima tikėtis, kad ilgainiui besivejančios šalys, tarp jų ir Lietuva, pasieks šalių-inovacijų lyderių lygį. Galiausiai darbe pateikiami atlikto tyrimo apribojimai bei pasiūlymai tolesniems šios srities tyrimams. / This paper aims at assessing the performance of research and development (R&D) in selected European Union countries, distinguished by their level of development into more advanced countries (United Kingdom, France and Sweden) and less advanced countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary and Czech Republic). Firstly, the theoretical approach to R&D is showed, then the current situation of R&D sector in Lithuania is estimated in relation with the EU context and hypotheses about the trends of particular R&D indicators, their effectiveness and contribution to the growth of economics are formulated. In order to affirm these hypotheses, a three-stage research is carried out. The results of the analysis propose that R&D expenditure has a significant impact on the growth of economics and on productivity of R&D. It also shows that France, Czech Republic and Lithuania are among the countries, which performs R&D most effectively, likewise it estimates that less advanced countries are lagging behind at almost all indicators, however they are catching up with the advanced nations because of the rapid growth rate of particular R&D indicators, therefore evidences of convergence between countries can be indicated. Finally, the limitations of this research and proposals for further studies are presented.

No description available.

The value and scope of telecom services have increased substantially in the decade from the mid 1990s. The telecom companies have offered not only telephone services but also data exchanges for example streaming services. Therefore, they now offer telecom services as packaging into which layered services are integrated. The number of actors involved in the market has increased due to the expansion of business areas, while rapidly changing technological trends have altered R&D methods. The thesis shows that the adoption of the marketing concept and the development of complex inter-firm technology based relationships underpin the creation and management of new telecom services. The relationships have originated from an exchange of technological knowledge and specialized skills. This research uses the NTT-centred collaboration system in Japan, which features relational exchanges and high mutual dependence. This case shows that inter-firm relationships greatly contributed in the development of technological resources in two ways; collecting advantageous technologies from others and mediating in the introduction of new technologies. In addition, developments in technology resulted in an expanded domain of applicability. Consequently, not only the market structure was changed but also the relationship between marketing and R&D changed. With increasing integration of the market, the number of related firms increased as firms concentrated on specific technologies, with additional firms having superior competitive advantages in each layered business area. The case in the thesis also shows mechanisms of changing inter-firm relationships under dynamic business circumstances; indirect exchanges occurred when inter-firm relationships changed. Inter-firm relationships are changed, keeping existing but adding new relationships. The study also indicates a new direction to study service marketing. As the new trend of service development in ICT industry develops so the integration abilities and the management of inter-firm relationships in supply-sides become more focused. The thesis points to the importance of these upstream activities (coordinating inter-firm relationships in a service-oriented approach) and advocates the presence of a facilitator who can bridge both upstream and downstream activities. The results should contribute to both marketing and technology management in academia as well as business practices in R&D management.

This thesis deals with the appropriate handling of spatial data in general, and in particular in the framework of economic sciences. An overview of well known methods from the field of spatial statistics and spatial econometrics is given. Furthermore a special class of spatial objects is described, namely objects that are that far apart from all other observations in the dataset, that they are not connected to them anymore. Different treatments of such objects are suggested and their influence on the Moran's I test for spatial autocorrelation is analyzed in more detail. After this theoretical part some adequate spatial methods are applied to the well-known problem of R&D spillovers. The corresponding dataset is not obviously spatial, nevertheless spatial methods can be used. The spatial contiguity matrix is based on an economic distance measure instead of the commonly used geographic distances. Finally, optimal design theory and spatial analysis are combined via a new criterion. This criterion was developed to be able to take a potential spatial dependency of the data points into account. The aim is to find the best design points that show the same spatial dependence structure as the true population. (author's abstract)

Membrane technology can help alleviate problems of matching supply and demand associated with upgrading on a small-scale level through its flexibility in operation. This paper provides a techno-economic assessment of the use of membrane technology via a quantitative and partial qualitative analysis at farm-based level. The purpose of the analysis is to investigate how the economic and environmental utility of the membranes can be maximised, along with outlining the possible reasons to its lack of diffusion. It combines an applied system research method by way of linear programming with interviews and the use of the innovation-decision process theory. A framework was set out to deliver hard and soft data that could also provide contextual in-depth analysis and discussion. It was found that membranes could provide good compatibility with farm based upgrading systems with desirable outcomes for both an economic and environmental viewpoint. More specifically, upgrading to 80 percent (which is below natural gas standards of 96 percent), was found to be more favourable than to upgrade to 96 percent. However, in addition to much further research and deliberation needed before 80 percent biogas can be used commercially in tractors, the study also outlined priority that needs to be given to the local market demand as well as for the need to introduce closer, more personal engagement with the farmers and make trialing and observing membrane technology better facilitated and funded so as to increase its adoption.

Continuous Improvement processes are commonly used by many organizations facing competitive pressure. By implementing continuous incremental changes, it allows optimizing resources while maintaining flexibility. However, it requires significant resources and involvement from all levels of management, as well as field workers. Continuous Improvement is based on the study of processes and the identification of recurrent problems; therefore it is particularly adapted to manufacturing activities and other repetitive processes. R&D (Research and Development) activities are less repetitive and tend to be iterative, which make them more difficult to study. Yet these activities represent a strong competitive asset and an early mistake or misunderstanding might have a significant cost. The objective of this project was to study the deployment of Continuous Improvement for R&D processes through a literature review and a case study in the pharmaceutical industry. Action research has been the research method that has been employed; the particularity of this method is that the researcher participates actively to the studied change. It resulted in the identification of some characteristics that have to be taken into account in the deployment of improvement activities. First the culture is based on problem-solving, which increase the efficiency of data study and analytical method whilst formalization tools are less efficient, as well as performance indicators related to improvement activities. Besides, the need of customers (both internal and external) is difficult to define and is subject to evolution; this issue tends to be aggravated by a lack of communication. Moreover, development projects being unique and highly iterative, it is recommended to study processes at a more conceptual level, although no specific mapping tool seems particularly adapted. Finally, beside the study of general processes, the study of each individual project (project reviews) allows individual and collective learning. This project also propose a tool allowing the study of information flows between activities and teams in order to reduce mismatch between need and reality (and thus communication issues). This tool relies on the use of local SIPOC diagrams to represent activities and the mapping of flows between each of them.

is thesis explores the overarching topic of the capacity of strategic urban development decisions and initiatives (including planning initiatives) to positively and powerfully influence the ability of a city to promote sustainable patterns of development. The work is presented in six scientific papers, the first four of which focus on the development of an inter-disciplinary conceptual framework and research methodology. The concept of Situations of Opportunity and its related Field of Options is proposed as a means to identify and analyse periods in the growth of cities when urbanisation can be more easily managed so as to promote sustainable development goals. Historical studies in the cities of Stockholm, Dar es Salaam and Curitiba are used to develop the methodology. Another paper looks ahead and refines the methodology in combination with future studies, presenting a research strategy that employs Situations of Opportunity as a means to identify and explore periods in the future urban growth with significant potential for change. Building on the method developed, the remaining two papers consider the social dimension of sustainable development and how it can be promoted in the urban context, during ongoing Situations of Opportunity. The concept of social sustainability is reviewed and discussed from two different disciplinary perspectives (urban development; companies and products), exploring commonalities and differences in approaches, and identifying core themes that cross disciplinary boundaries. A case study of Eastside, a brownfield redevelopment site in Birmingham (UK), reveals how the retention of established small food outlets can provide opportunities for promoting social sustainability goals in an urban regeneration area. Overall, this thesis provides a better understanding of how transformative change can happen in cities. The Situations of Opportunity concept developed here can be a helpful way to study strategic initiatives that promote sustainability in cities. / <p>QC 20101216</p>

I study the role of licensed technologies in the R&D development process, the knowledge assimilation mechanism and the patent litigation procedure. I document that the use and adoption of licensed technologies is not a linear process and it has important strategic consequences. First, I focus on the joint effect of external and internal technologies and possible firm-level drivers of this relation. I find that, on average, internal R&D and licensing investments are neither complements nor substitutes. However, firms with higher levels of absorptive capacity, economies of scope, and past licensing experience are able to create positive synergies by combining the two types of investments. In addition, I find that the integration and the adoption of external technology may be limited by internal knowledge accumulation. Firms that experience an inward oriented knowledge accumulation process need to balance the trade-off between internal knowledge reliance and external knowledge assimilation. The negative relation between internal and external knowledge is positively mitigated by two organizational factors: absorptive capacity and the level of decentralization. Finally, assuming that companies are able to adopt external technologies, I find that licensed patents are more reliable than internal ones. In other words, external patents increase the probability of winning a patent lawsuit. Under this circumstance, firms are able to reduce patent uncertainty, limit market entry, and protect future revenue streams.

This dissertation addresses the crucial problem of how environmental policy uncertainty influences investments in energy technological change. The rising level of carbon emissions due to increasing global energy consumption calls for policy shift. In order to stem the negative consequences on the climate, policymakers are concerned with carving an optimal regulation that will encourage technology investments. However, decision makers are facing uncertainties surrounding future environmental policy. The first part considers the treatment of technological change in theoretical models. This part has two purposes: (1) to show-through illustrative examples-that technological change can lead to quite different, and surprising, impacts on the marginal costs of pollution abatement. We demonstrate an intriguing and uncommon result that technological change can increase the marginal costs of pollution abatement over some range of abatement; (2) to show the impact, on policy, of this uncommon observation. We find that under the assumption of technical change that can increase the marginal cost of pollution abatement over some range, the ranking of policy instruments is affected. The second part builds on the first by considering the impact of uncertainty in the carbon tax on investments in a portfolio of technologies. We determine the response of energy R&D investments as the carbon tax increases both in terms of overall and technology-specific investments. We determine the impact of risk in the carbon tax on the portfolio. We find that the response of the optimal investment in a portfolio of technologies to an increasing carbon tax depends on the relative costs of the programs and the elasticity of substitution between fossil and non-fossil energy inputs. In the third part, we zoom-in on the portfolio model above to consider how uncertainty in the magnitude and timing of a carbon tax influences investments. Under a two-stage continuous-time optimal control model, we consider the impact of these uncertainties on R&D spending that aims to lower the cost of non-fossil energy technology. We find that our results tally with the classical results because it discourages near-term investment. However, timing uncertainty increases near-term investment.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.