Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

It has been argued that technology and productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment are the most important channels for the diffusion of modern technology to locally-owned firms in the MNCs’ host countries. Yet, existing empirical studies differ in their appraisals of the size and significance of spillovers. In this dissertation, we examine the technology imports of U.S. multinationals in 33 host countries, and more detailed information on foreign direct investment in Mexican manufacturing in 1970 and 1975, and propose – unlike earlier studies – that spillovers are not only exogenous effects of foreign presence, but also functions of various host country characteristics. We argue that the potential for spillovers from imitation of MNC technology depends on the technology imports of MNC affiliates – these, in turn, seem to be determined by factors such as the host country’s technological capability, the presence of technology transfer requirements, and the level of competition facing the affiliate. Some of the variables also appear to influence the local firms’ abilities and ambitions to imitate MNC technology. In addition, the effects of MNC presence on the level of competition (and the spillovers that occur when local firms are forced to become more efficient in order to maintain profits and market shares) are probably endogenously determined by the behavior of foreign affiliates and local firms: the two types of firms co-exist peacefully in some countries and industries, but compete fiercely in other locations. Consequently, spillovers may be important or insignificant depending on the characteristics of the host country. It is also possible that host country policies have some impact on spillovers. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the significance of economic thinking and arguments in the treatment of licence agreements in EC competition law. A central question is to what degree the concept of competition in EC law reflects an economically realistic approach to competition. The study also investigates to what degree the economic functioning of intellectual property is considered in competition regulation and how much the economic functioning of the licence agreement is considered. The investigation mainly consists of a comparative analysis of EC competition law and American antitrust law concerning the economic arguments and their importance. The treatment of territorial restrictions, field of use restrictions, quantity clauses, tie-outs, tie-ins, grant back, no-challenge clauses and price restrictions are of special interest here. </p><p>This study shows that an economically realistic view of competition has influenced current EC competition law, especially in the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER). Exceptions from this development in the EC law are mainly due to the goal of integration of the common market. Territorial restrictions are strictly regulated in the TTBER even when the parties’ market shares are below the market thresholds defined in the regulation.</p><p>The function of intellectual property rights are not much considered in EC competition law but there are general remarks about the economic functioning of patents in the Guidelines for the TTBER. However, it is difficult to find evidence for economic reasoning about patents in the formation of concrete rules. On the contrary, patents are weakened by the widened concept of exhaustion presented in the Guidelines.</p><p>The economic functioning of the licence agreement is considered in the rules of TTBER and the economic arguments for clauses which create incentives for making investments or give the possibility of control are acknowledged. However, the free riding argument has a weak position when applied to territorial restrictions, which are more formalistically regulated.</p><p>The EC competition law has become more similar to American antitrust law. The decisive difference consists in the judicial treatment of territorial restrictions, where the goal of integration is still of central importance in EC law.</p>

The integration of defence companies in Europe and the U.S. has in the defence market’s environment for a long time received considerable interest. Companies see business opportunities and attractive technology on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Governments advocate in a public discourse that transatlantic defence industry integration is highly desirable and that it would benefit all concerned. This supportive discourse is compared to the action; the corporate integration that has occurred. The aim of the thesis is to understand and explain the level and nature of the transatlantic defence industry integration and its driving forces and inhibitors. A combination of three focal theoretical concepts has been used: integration, discourse and organizational field. The thesis shows that there is a marked discrepancy between the discourse for and the actual extent of transatlantic defence industry integration. This discrepancy and the nature of the corporate integration is analyzed and explained through the combination of discourse and integration within an organizational field. The thesis shows that defence companies’ in transatlantic acquisitions achieve very limited influence over the acquired company’s strategy and operations, and that synergies and rationalization are strongly disencouraged by governments. The processual integration within trans-national groups and in transatlantic defence materiel collaboration is highly restricted by governments. The thesis also shows that the defence innovation largely is separated between the U.S. and Europe. The defence market is an example of a political market showing a very different corporate rationality compared to ideal models of corporate rationality as the SCP paradigm. The findings suggest that defence companies’ strategy and integration appear non-rational in isolation, but become rational when understood through the lens of the defence market seen as an organizational field – a perspective that emphasizes the influence of the government field. If you want to understand, analyze or engage in transatlantic defence industry integration, you should benefit from this study. It should be of interest to researchers who study the defence industry, defence procurement, political markets, organizational fields, regulatory governance and corporate integration. It should be of interest to policymakers and others engaged in the discourse that concerns reforms of political markets in general, and of the defence market in particular. Martin Lundmark is a researcher at the Center for Marketing, Distribution and Industry Dynamics at the Stockholm School of Economics. His research focuses on the defence market, defence procurement, Europeanization and the transformation within political markets. Martin also works as defence market and defence procurement analyst and deputy research director at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI). / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, 2011

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the significance of economic thinking and arguments in the treatment of licence agreements in EC competition law. A central question is to what degree the concept of competition in EC law reflects an economically realistic approach to competition. The study also investigates to what degree the economic functioning of intellectual property is considered in competition regulation and how much the economic functioning of the licence agreement is considered. The investigation mainly consists of a comparative analysis of EC competition law and American antitrust law concerning the economic arguments and their importance. The treatment of territorial restrictions, field of use restrictions, quantity clauses, tie-outs, tie-ins, grant back, no-challenge clauses and price restrictions are of special interest here. This study shows that an economically realistic view of competition has influenced current EC competition law, especially in the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER). Exceptions from this development in the EC law are mainly due to the goal of integration of the common market. Territorial restrictions are strictly regulated in the TTBER even when the parties’ market shares are below the market thresholds defined in the regulation. The function of intellectual property rights are not much considered in EC competition law but there are general remarks about the economic functioning of patents in the Guidelines for the TTBER. However, it is difficult to find evidence for economic reasoning about patents in the formation of concrete rules. On the contrary, patents are weakened by the widened concept of exhaustion presented in the Guidelines. The economic functioning of the licence agreement is considered in the rules of TTBER and the economic arguments for clauses which create incentives for making investments or give the possibility of control are acknowledged. However, the free riding argument has a weak position when applied to territorial restrictions, which are more formalistically regulated. The EC competition law has become more similar to American antitrust law. The decisive difference consists in the judicial treatment of territorial restrictions, where the goal of integration is still of central importance in EC law.

<p>Small and medium-sized enterprises badly need new knowledge. Their need is constantly increasing due to the market demand for custom-designed products, which means companies must be more flexible. Wood processing companies are having difficulty establishing contact with academia in order to meet this need.</p><p>In investigating the form and content of research collaboration, nine situations have been studied with the aid of participatory observation to determine what characterises situations where learning occurs. Situations where researchers collaborate with operators and production managers have been selected because of the key role that those in such positions play when research findings are to be applied in the wood & timber industry. Analytical tools of a pedagogic/didactic nature have been used when interpreting the material.</p><p>The results show what is needed if research collaboration is to succeed. Both parties must have room for reflection, and must give due consideration to the basic assumptions and problem areas they have in common. Enterprises must be sophisticated enough to collaborate with academia. In approaching their task, researchers must emphasise dialogue, equal standing and respect, and they must seek to ensure that collaboration proceeds in the right direction. In the case of small and medium-sized enterprises, a link between the researcher and the company is often required.</p> / <p>Små och medelstora företag har ett stort behov av ny kunskap. Behovet ökar kontinuerligt pga. marknadens krav på kundanpassning vilket medför krav på större flexibilitet hos företagen. De träbearbetande företagen har svårigheter att komma i kontakt med akademin för att tillgodose detta behov.</p><p>För att undersöka former och innehåll vid forskningssamverkan har nio situationer studerats med hjälp av deltagande observation för att utreda vad som kännetecknar de situationer där lärande uppstår. Situationer där forskare samverkar med operatörer och med produktionschefer har valts ut på grund av dessa yrkesgruppers nyckelposition när det gäller tillämpning av forskningsresultat i träindustrin. Analysverktyg med pedagogisk/didaktisk anknytning har använts vid tolkningen av materialet.</p><p>Resultaten visar förutsättningar och villkor för en lyckad forskningssamverkan. Det måste finnas ett utrymme för reflektion för de som samverkar liksom att gemensamma utgångspunkter och problemområden måste uppmärksammas i samverkan. Det måste finnas en mogenhet hos företag för att kunna samverka med akademin. Forskarens arbetssätt måste präglas av dialog, jämbördighet och respekt och forskaren har ett ansvar för att samverkansprocessen går i rätt riktning. För små och medelstora företag är en länk mellan forskningen och företaget ofta nödvändig.</p>

Small and medium-sized enterprises badly need new knowledge. Their need is constantly increasing due to the market demand for custom-designed products, which means companies must be more flexible. Wood processing companies are having difficulty establishing contact with academia in order to meet this need. In investigating the form and content of research collaboration, nine situations have been studied with the aid of participatory observation to determine what characterises situations where learning occurs. Situations where researchers collaborate with operators and production managers have been selected because of the key role that those in such positions play when research findings are to be applied in the wood &amp; timber industry. Analytical tools of a pedagogic/didactic nature have been used when interpreting the material. The results show what is needed if research collaboration is to succeed. Both parties must have room for reflection, and must give due consideration to the basic assumptions and problem areas they have in common. Enterprises must be sophisticated enough to collaborate with academia. In approaching their task, researchers must emphasise dialogue, equal standing and respect, and they must seek to ensure that collaboration proceeds in the right direction. In the case of small and medium-sized enterprises, a link between the researcher and the company is often required. / Små och medelstora företag har ett stort behov av ny kunskap. Behovet ökar kontinuerligt pga. marknadens krav på kundanpassning vilket medför krav på större flexibilitet hos företagen. De träbearbetande företagen har svårigheter att komma i kontakt med akademin för att tillgodose detta behov. För att undersöka former och innehåll vid forskningssamverkan har nio situationer studerats med hjälp av deltagande observation för att utreda vad som kännetecknar de situationer där lärande uppstår. Situationer där forskare samverkar med operatörer och med produktionschefer har valts ut på grund av dessa yrkesgruppers nyckelposition när det gäller tillämpning av forskningsresultat i träindustrin. Analysverktyg med pedagogisk/didaktisk anknytning har använts vid tolkningen av materialet. Resultaten visar förutsättningar och villkor för en lyckad forskningssamverkan. Det måste finnas ett utrymme för reflektion för de som samverkar liksom att gemensamma utgångspunkter och problemområden måste uppmärksammas i samverkan. Det måste finnas en mogenhet hos företag för att kunna samverka med akademin. Forskarens arbetssätt måste präglas av dialog, jämbördighet och respekt och forskaren har ett ansvar för att samverkansprocessen går i rätt riktning. För små och medelstora företag är en länk mellan forskningen och företaget ofta nödvändig.

In order to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, there is a need to significantly reduce emissions from energy-intensive industries, iron and steel included. One promising technology with the potential to reduce the emissions related to iron and steelmaking to basically none is direct reduction with fossil free hydrogen, which requires large amounts of fossil free electricity. This master thesis explores the conditions for this technology in a European context with an energy perspective as the main focus. Three primary steel producing countries in Europe are chosen as focus countries; Germany, France and Italy. The findings of the study conclude that neither of the focus countries is an optimal sociotechnical fit for hydrogen-based direct reduction for iron and steel production at present. France is the country with the best conditions from a solely energy perspective but lacks some important factors for an enabling environment for technology transfer. Germany on the other hand have the most promising characteristics for an enabling environment but still face large challenges when it comes to power sector decarbonisation. In order to overcome the barriers and create an enabling environment it is key that energy and industry transitions are aligned, that a policy framework that supports these transitions is in place and that key actors representing all aspects of the transition cooperate; from industry to research, academia, policymakers and others. The findings also show that the current locations of the primary steel plants are in many cases not where the most favourable conditions for renewable power generation are and given the renewable capacity and transmission limitations of today, merely switching to a hydrogenbased process is not likely viable. A future configuration could be decentralised value chains where the different processes are located where there are optimal conditions e.g. that either hydrogen or sponge iron is produced where there are favourable power conditions and then transported to steel plants for the remaining processes in the value chain. / För att nå målen uppsatta i Parisavtalet behöver energiintensiva industrier kraftigt minska sina utsläpp, däribland järn- och stålindustrin. Direktreduktion med fossilfri vätgas är en teknologi med potential att minska utsläppen från järn och ståltillverkning till praktiskt taget noll men kräver stora mängder fossilfri el. Detta examensarbete undersöker de energimässiga förutsättningarna för denna teknik i en europeisk kontext. Tre länder som producerar primärstål är utvalda som fokusländer i studien; Tyskland, Frankrike och Italien. Resultaten av studien visar att inget av de utvalda länderna i dagsläget har optimala sociotekniska förutsättningar för tekniken. Frankrike är det land med de bästa energimässiga förutsättningarna men saknar några viktiga faktorer för att vara en möjliggörande socioteknisk miljö. Tyskland å andra sidan har de mest lovande förutsättningarna för en lämplig socioteknisk miljö men står inför utmaningar när det kommer till energisystemet och tillgången på fossilfri el. För att skapa förutsättningar för denna teknik är det viktigt med koordinerade omställningar i energisektorn och industrin, policys som möjliggör dessa omställningar samt ett väl fungerande samarbete mellan industrin, akademin, beslutsfattare och andra viktiga aktörer. Studien visar också att de platser där nuvarande stålverk för primärstål finns inte har de bästa förutsättningar för förnybar elproduktion och att en vätgasbaserad process inte är optimal, baserat på den förnybara kapaciteten och de transmissionsbegränsningar som finns idag i elsystemet. Det finns istället möjlighet till decentraliserade värdekedjor, där varje process placeras där de mest lämpliga förhållandena finns. Detta kan exempelvis innebära att vätgas eller järnsvamp produceras där tillgången till fossilfri el är god, för att sedan transporteras till stålverken för de resterande processtegen.