The objective of this research is to examine the institutional development of biotechnology in Brazil and, in particular, the role played by small firms in fostering biotechnology in the health and agriculture sectors and their relationship with both universities and large firms. The interest in this study stems from the crucial role played by small, high technology firms in innovation and diffusion of new technologies. Case studies emphasising the innovative capacity of small firms in several advanced countries are now available. In the US, in particular, there has been a proliferation of hundreds of small firms in biotechnology since the late 70s. The pattern of biotechnology development in the US suggests that small firms are functioning as a "bridge" between academia and large corporations. In developing countries, very little is known about the role of small firms in innovation, especially in a new, high technology area such as biotechnology. In the early 1980s, however, the emergence of a number of small companies operating in biotechnology in Brazil suggested that this might be the beginning of a new indigenous industry in this area. The purpose of this study was therefore to find out precisely what these biotechnology companies were doing, how far they fitted the American model of the new biotechnology firms and their links with the academic base, financial structures and large firms. It is the first study in this area, and it has been deliberately directed towards concentrating on the role of these small companies have played in the development and diffusion of this new technology. The empirical research presents original data collected from detailed interviews with twelve representative firms and relevant governmental agencies, carried out in 1989. Interviews were also conducted with academics in order to assess how far the small biotechnology firms were linked into the growing competence in this area of Brazilian universities. The main findings show that there are differences but also similarities between the American and the Brazilian pattern of biotechnology development. The Brazilian companies are not operating at the cutting-edge of this technology. On the contrary. they are using older and well tried techniques such as plant tissue culture. They do, however. link into the universities and large corporations.

This paper develops a model to investigate the diffusion process of a cost-reducing process innovation within an industry. Two factors drive the diffusion process. First, the gradually declining production cost with the innovation makes the adoption of the innovation more profitable, and consequently motivates more firms to adopt it over time. Second, the switching from old technology to new technology requires suitable organizational knowledge, which is costly to acquire. This tends to slow down the diffusion. The interaction between the two factors determines the path and the speed of the diffusion process. The model is able to explain three observations in technology diffusion, including (1) the S-shaped diffusion path; (2) the rejection of an innovation by some firms; and (3) unprofitable technology adoption. A policy implication of the model is that, through subsidizing the transfer of relevant knowledge from adopters to non-adopters, government can facilitate the diffusion of innovations and improve social welfare.

Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία γίνεται σύνδεση του διεθνούς εμπορίου με την τεχνολογική διάχυση ως σημαντικού παράγοντα. Επιπλέον, γίνεται αναφορά στα μοντέλα διάχυσης τεχνολογίας. Το θέμα αυτό παρουσιάζει ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον σήμερα, καθώς λόγω της δύσκολης διεθνούς οικονομικής συγκυρίας, ο όγκος των συναλλαγών έχει υποστεί σημαντική πτώση παγκοσμίως. Η εργασία ξεκινάει με μια αναφορά στο παγκόσμιο εμπόριο και την περιγραφή του. Περνάει στην εικόνα που έχει σήμερα και στις αλλαγές που έχουν διαδραματιστεί και οδήγησαν σε αυτήν. Εξετάζεται η διασπορά των πρωταγωνιστών υψηλής τεχνολογίας και πώς οι χώρες που ακολουθούσαν έγιναν πρωταγωνιστές (βλέπε Κίνα, κ.α.). Τέλος γίνεται μια αναφορά σε δύο είδη του διεθνούς εμπορίου. Στη συνέχεια μελετάται η Τεχνολογική διάχυση και αναλύεται σαν ένας βασικός παράγοντας ο οποίος οδήγησε στις εξελίξεις του διεθνούς εμπορίου που εξετάστηκαν νωρίτερα. Ξεκινώντας από τη διάχυση γνώσης, ακολουθεί ο ορισμός της τεχνολογικής διάχυσης και εξετάζονται τα κανάλια μέσα από τα οποία διαχέεται αυτή. Τέλος διερευνάται η μεθοδολογία μέτρησης της διάχυσης μέσα από μερικές εμπειρικές μελέτες. / The present thesis correlates global trade with the diffusion of technology as an important factor. In addition, reference is made to models of technology diffusion. This issue is of great interest in this day and age since the volume of exchange has decreased significantly on a global level due to the difficult financial circumstances internationally. The work begins with a reference to global trade and a description of this. It moves on to illustrate its present form and the changes which have taken place, and led it to what it is. The dispersion of high technology protagonists is also examined, as well as how the countries which followed became protagonists (see China and others). Finally, a reference is made to two types of global trade. Next, the diffusion of technology is examined and analysed as a basic factor which has led to the development of global trade as analysed earlier. Starting with the dissemination of knowledge, a definition of technology diffusion follows, and the channels through which this is dispersed are examined. Finally, the methodology of measuring technology diffusion is investigated through some empirical studies.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第23666号 / 経博第649号 / 新制||経||300(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 柴田 章久, 准教授 遊喜 一洋, 教授 佐々木 啓明 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

The rapid development of information and telecommunication technologies (ICTs) in the 21st century has changed society at all levels: individual, group, company and government. As a result, there has been a significant rise in the availability of ICTs and related technologies around the globe, including in developing countries. ICTs include internet infrastructure such as the use of mobile devices, the internet connection and the affiliated platforms of online social networks (OSNs). The provision of online products and services by the government is known as electronic e-government. From a theoretical literature review it was found that research emphasising the use of OSNs in e-government and OSNs in Oman was scarce. Further, studies investigating and explaining the use of OSNs in the public sector and government were few. This motivated the researcher to explore and understand this issue, leading to the formation of the aim of this research: To explore and understand the use of e-government/OSNs in a public sector organisation in a developing country, in this case, government organisations in Oman. To achieve this, a comprehensive and detailed literature review of e-government/OSN research in developed, developing and Gulf countries was completed. Additionally, related theories on ICT diffusion and adoption, institutional theory and culture theory were used as a lens through which a better understanding of e-government/OSNs would be provided and to develop the initial conceptual framework that was then applied in practice. To acquire the data for this research a qualitative research approach involving the use of a case study was employed. The data collection techniques used included observations, interviews and a review of related archival documents. A total of 44 people were interviewed and an additional 37 participants assisted with the observational part of this study. The research results revealed that government organisations adopted OSNs to explore the use of the technology and to cope with the increasing public demands of government. The study revealed many benefits for government organisations after OSNs were adopted, including greater public interaction and participation, increased information transparency, better understanding and increased public awareness of government services, leading to better work efficiency and effectiveness. Further, public interaction and participation was noted to be important for the government as it helped government employees be more responsible and accountable for their work actions. Additionally, due to the application of OSNs, organisational and national cultural changes were identified that led to government work process and procedures being amended such that there was more public participation and interaction. This led to an influence of government policies and decision-making with regards to public services. After the applied part of this study, the initial conceptual framework was revised to reflect the practical aspects of this research. The contributions of this study are: for e-government research, it will add to the increasing body of knowledge in this area. For Omani theoretical literature, it will widen the boundaries of knowledge and OSN use, particularly for the Omani government and other governments in developing countries that seek to use e-government solutions. In countries where cultural aspects are important, this study can provide insights that may not have been considered before. Further, this study has shown that understanding organisational changes and the cultural contexts with respect to e-government and OSN use is important; therefore, more knowledge in this area can be provided by this study. For policymakers, the contribution of this research is the provision of an understanding of a wide range of issues surrounding the adoption of new technologies. In turn, this can assist policymakers with policy-formation such that their institutional purposes and roles can be fulfilled. This study contributes to private sector organisations including internet and OSN providers by explaining and illustrating the benefits of using OSNs in a developing country with an autocratic regime that seeks to provide citizen benefits.

<p>Banking can be viewed as one of the most traditional and sophisticated sectors in the economy and business markets. However, over the past decades, developments in technology has been changing dramatically the way that retail banks conduct their business and this change has also been accelerated due to the introduction and evolution of internet banking. The aim of this thesis is to get a better understanding about what factors are important to have impact on the internet banking implementing.</p>

Banking can be viewed as one of the most traditional and sophisticated sectors in the economy and business markets. However, over the past decades, developments in technology has been changing dramatically the way that retail banks conduct their business and this change has also been accelerated due to the introduction and evolution of internet banking. The aim of this thesis is to get a better understanding about what factors are important to have impact on the internet banking implementing.

Mobile telecommunications industry has experienced high growth rates for the recent 30 years. Accordingly, forecasting the future of mobile telecommunications services is important not only for mobile operators but also for all stakeholders in this industry ranging from handset manufacturers to vendors. In this thesis, the diffusion of mobile telecommunications services in 20 countries from different regions around the world is examined for the period of 1981 to 2010 with special emphasis on Turkey, in order to address the uncertainty in optimal model selection. The Gompertz, logistic and Bass models are fitted to the observed data of mobile phone penetration by means of nonlinear least squares. The fitness accuracies of the models are evaluated based on root mean square error (RMSE). Empirical results show that S-shaped growth models are capable of explaining the diffusion of mobile telecommunications services. The findings also suggest that there is no superior model in defining the diffusion process and the most suitable model is country dependent. Finally, we observe that the diffusion in late entrant countries appears to be faster than pioneer countries and peak demands in mobile telephones occur during the period of 1999 to 2006, which suggests a remarkable multinational learning effect and significance of the transition into digital technology.

Solar photovoltaics have received government support in the form of rebates, tax credits and net metering tariff mechanisms. The intended goal of these incentives is to encourage innovation in the manufacturing and installation of these systems, which is expected to eventually help overcome the high cost barrier for the adoption of the technology. These systems have the advantages of abundant availability of the solar resource, low environmental footprint, and the possibility of onsite installation, reducing the need for additional generation and transmission capacity. Since millions of dollars have been invested in these incentive programs, there is an interest in tracking the progress in the cost and capacity installed. In the first part of this thesis, I analyzed the trends in costs and adoption of solar PV by residential and commercial customers in the city of Austin. This is accomplished by tabular and graphical analysis of data on PV installations from 2004, when Austin Energy’s rebate program started, to early 2010. In the second part of the thesis, I used technology diffusion models to analyze and forecast the diffusion of residential PV systems in Austin. Three types of models were used to model the adoption trends: Logistic growth model, Bass model without price effects and Bass model including price effects. In the final part of the thesis, I analyzed the net metering tariff mechanism in Austin and studied the difference between the current and an alternative tariff. The alternative tariff uses actual ‘grid usage’ to calculate the energy charge (cost of providing distribution service) instead of the ‘net energy consumed’ that is currently in use. Using simulated PV generation data and ERCOT load profile data, I calculated the difference in revenue for Austin Energy with the alternative tariff. The results indicate that the alternative tariff adds little revenue to Austin Energy’s energy charge revenues at the current level of penetration of solar PV. However, at a higher penetration level of PV, the alternative tariffs might result in significant additional revenue for the utility. The thesis concludes with a discussion on the possible rationale for the alternative tariff and directions for future research. / text

This dissertation adds to the literature on international openness and economic growth by studying and quantifying the effects of openness to trade and multinational production using a model of endogenous innovation with firm heterogeneity. The first chapter discusses the contribution of this dissertation to the theoretical and empirical literature on international openness. The second chapter studies and quantifies the long-run effects of openness to trade and multinational production in the context of advanced economies using a model of endogenous innovation with firm heterogeneity. Counterfactual experiments conducted using a calibrated version of a theoretical model find that the US would experience a significant welfare cost in consumption terms by restricting openness to both trade and horizontal multinational production with other OECD countries, with the growth effect accounting for a substantial part of the cost. Chapter Three extends the theoretical model presented in Chapter Two to include features specific to the North-South context. I show that allowing for the possibility that the South may switch from being an imitator to becoming an innovator is essential for examining the long-run growth effect of stronger intellectual property rights. In particular, the North and the South both prefer stronger intellectual property rights because this will achieve the fastest long-run economic growth. If the South is an imitator country, the North needs to maintain its absolute advantage in technology creation by maintaining a sufficiently large pool of uncopied ideas. Otherwise both countries will fall into a slow-growth equilibrium in the long run. In Chapter Four, I account for transitional dynamics and study the gains from openness and stronger intellectual property rights that arise in the North-South context. Counterfactual experiments based on a calibrated version of the model presented in Chapter Three find that the transitional welfare gains from further trade openness between China and the OECD countries can be significant. In contrast to the existing growth literature, a deterrence of imitation has limited welfare effects when the South can switch from being an imitator to becoming an innovator country. This points to a source of potential bias in the welfare estimates provided by the existing literature. / Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2012-05-18 10:18:34.338