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This newsletter is published by ONRIS at the Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, and sponsored by the Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity & Innovation. The views and ideas expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Ontario Government.
ANNOUNCEMENTS [Table of Contents]
Canadian biotechnology companies quadrupled their revenues in past four years
Biotechnology revenues reached almost $3.6 billion in 2001, 4.5 times 1997 levels. According to Statistics Canada, two factors were behind this surge: an increase in the number of companies reporting biotech revenues, and the phenomenal growth in the number of products and processes on the market. As of 2001, 252 companies reported biotechnology revenues, employing some 12,000 biotechnology employees and spending $2.2 billion in related R&D.
EDITOR'S PICK [Table of Contents]
D. Patton, University of California, Davis
This study looks at the spatial location of economic actors of entrepreneurial support networks in the start-up of semiconductor firms just prior to their initial public offerings. Drawing on official records submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by the firms, the author is able to gain a comprehensive view of the institutions that support entrepreneurship in the semiconductor industry. These records show that some 60% of all semiconductor firms going public from 1996 through 2000 nationwide chose to locate within a 7.5 mile radius in the Valley. The degree of clustering within the Silicon Valley also extended to the actors involved in the start-up process: almost 40% of all legal counselors in the IPO process were found within a half-mile radius in Palo Alto, and nearly 70% of all law firms representing both firms and investment bankers were located in the Silicon Valley.
INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY [Table of Contents]
Innovation, Learning Organizations and Industrial Relations
P. Nielsen and B.A. Lundvall, DRUID working paper
Drawing on a data set of 2000 Danish firms, this paper demonstrates that those combining several of the organizational traits of the ‘learning organization’, whereby knowledge creation is promoted through horizontal interaction and communication inside and across the borders of the firm, are much more likely to introduce new products. Moreover, these firms typically have a higher degree of employee participation, both direct and indirect, in the shaping of the firm’s organization. These observations, note the authors, should be reflected not only in firm strategies but also at policies aimed at promoting innovation and knowledge creation.
Organisational Learning in Multinationals: R&D Networks of Japanese and U.S. MNEs in the U.K.
A. Lam, DRUID working paper
This paper examines the ways in which national patterns of organization and innovation affect Japanese and US MNEs' global R&D networks and transnational learning. From case studies of their R&D laboratories in the U.K., it focuses on how these MNEs tap into foreign academic knowledge base and scientific labour through collaborative links with higher education institutions. The author finds that, compared to many Japanese MNEs, U.S. firms have developed a greater organizational capacity for coordinating globally dispersed learning and embedding themselves in local innovation networks, an advantage stemming from their liberal institutional environment from which they developed. By contrast, Japanese MNEs appear to be more limited in their transnational learning because of the much more tightly integrated organizational and business system within which they are embedded.
A Frontier Approach to Canada-United States Multifactor Productivity Performance
K. Dachraoui & T. Harchaoui, Statistics Canada
This paper explores the sources of the productivity gap between Canada and the United States over the 1981-2000 period. Using a method that benchmarks the multifactor productivity growth of various industries against an estimated "best practice" productivity frontier, the paper finds that productivity growth was behind that of our neighbour primarily because of the deterioration in technical efficiency in Canada. Thus, the primary problem was the slower rate of diffusion of best-practice technology in Canada. Over the 1995-2000 period, however, the productivity growth gap vanished, largely as a result of the remarkable improvement in Canada's efficiency, a reflection of a faster and more effective diffusion of technology within the Canadian business sector. But Canada still lagged behind in terms of innovation.
REGIONAL INNOVATION & CLUSTERS [Table of Contents]
Y. Bougeois & S. Leblanc, Canadian Institute for Research on
Regional Development
Drawing on results from Statistics Canada’s 1999 Innovation Survey and Workplace and Employee Survey, this report analyzes innovation in Atlantic Canada with the goal of assessing the region’s long-term ability to innovate. This is followed by a discussion of regional innovation policy for the area and the development of an appropriate policy framework.
STATISTICS [Table of Contents]
Electronic Commerce and Technology
Statistics Canada
Combined private and public sector online sales posted another strong gain in 2002, rising 27.2% from 2001 to $13.7 billion. However, e-commerce sales still accounted for only a small fraction of total operating revenues. In the same period, the proportion of private sector businesses selling goods and services online rose marginally to 7.5 % while the value of online orders rose 28.4% from 2001 to $13.3 billion in 2002. Despite the overall growth, e-commerce sales still accounted for only 0.6% of total private sector operating revenue in 2002, and remain concentrated in large firms.
Scientific and Technological Activities of Provincial Governments: 1993-1994 to 2001-2002
Statistics Canada
This compilation of provincial S&T statistics shows that total expenditures in science and R&D activities as increased across all provinces, with Ontario leading the way. By 2001-2002, Ontario expenditure on scientific activities reached some $734 million up from $425 million in 1993-94. Similarly, R&D expenditures nearly doubled in this same period reaching $497 million in 2001-02.
The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators
Office of Technology Policy, U.S. Department of Commerce
This annual report presents a broad selection of indicators related to the technology-based economic development conditions in all 50 U.S states (plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) with the goal of presenting up-to-date information on the status of each state's S&T infrastructure. Indicators, which for the first time are based on NAICS codes (North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes), are grouped in five categories: funding in-flows; human resources; capital investment and business assistance; high-technology intensity; and ‘other’ outcome measures such as patents, fast-growing companies and earnings.
EVENTS [Table of Contents]
SMART Toronto Talk: Innovative Communities: Lessons Learned – the New Opportunities
Toronto, 12 May 2003
This talk, by Bill Hutchison, on Innovative Communities will be the keynote address for SMART Toronto Technology Alliance’s annual Innovator’s Dinner. Mr. Hutchison is an award-winning pioneer in information technology and telecommunications.
Evaluation of Government Funded R&D Activities
Vienna, 15-16 May, 2003
The aim of this conference is to discuss recent scientific contributions to the understanding of the effects and implications of government funded R&D activities. It will focus on recent theoretical, qualitative and quantitative studies and the exploration of different approaches to evaluate their effects. An applied workshop with policy makers will be organized on “What we know and what we should know about evaluation of technology policy” at the end of the conference.
Regional
Foresight Methods Training Workshop
Varese (Italy) 26-28 May, 2003
Organized by the European Foresight Academy, this three-day training course will focus on the organization and management of regional (sub-national) foresight exercises, with emphasis on some of the methods that might be used. The course is targeted at prospective regional foresight practitioners and will be practical in orientation. Sessions will be run on how to elicit creative thinking and expert opinion, on how to discipline this thinking through the use of scenarios, and on how to practically translate foresight results into concrete regional policy actions.
Innovation through Collaboration: Clusters, Networks, Alliances
Manchester, 8-11 June, 2003
This conference aims to address the issues associated with collaboration in the context of recent research which suggests that as many as 50-70% of strategic alliances will fail within four years due to a vast array of cultural, political, technological and commercial factors. It will provide a forum for academics, business people and consultants to discuss these issues in depth by presenting the latest academic papers, delivering company presentations on the subject and running interactive workshops. Selected proceedings will be published in a special edition of The Journal of Enterprising Culture. The conference is organized by the International Society for Professional Innovation Management.
Creating, Sharing And Transferring Knowledge: The role of Geography, Institutions, Organizations
Copenhagen, 12-14
June, 2002
The conference has four main objectives: to contribute to a more satisfactory understanding of the mechanisms underlying the way in which knowledge is created, shared and transferred; to examine the promoting or inhibiting effect of particular circumstances of organizational context, institutional setting or geographical configuration, such as cities and agglomerations or clusters; to investigate arrangements particularly capable of enhancing, capturing and utilizing end consumer knowledge; and to consider the implications for managerial strategy and public policy. Both senior and junior scholars are invited to participate and contribute with a paper to the conference.
5th Berlecon Workshop on the Economics of IT
Berlin 13-14, June, 2003
This conference is focused on improving the understanding of the economic aspects of information technology and its role in our economy. The program not only covers IT in the strict sense, but it includes communication technologies that converge with traditional IT. Each year the workshop focuses on a single topic, which is analyzed in its different facets. This year’s workshop topic is “e-business: economic impact and policy implications”.
Clusters, Industrial Districts And Firms: The Challenge Of Globalization
Modena, 12-13 September, 2003
Organized in memory of Professor Sebastiano Brusco, this conference focuses on the international competitiveness of industrial districts and clusters, and the effects that globalization has on SME’s and their interactions with markets and institutions. Questions to be raised relate to how clusters’ internal networks, productive patterns and specializations are changing; how the cluster firms themselves are changing; what factors determine the competitive advantage of industrial districts; and finally, how their international competitiveness can be enhanced. Invited speakers include Charles Sabel, AnnaLee Saxenian and Frank Wilkinson.
Communities and technologies (C&T 2003)
Amsterdam or Bonn, 19-21 September, 2003
This international conference is a forum for stimulating and disseminating research into all facets of communities and information technology. Attendees represent multidisciplinary research efforts from applied computer science and social science. The 2003 conference will focus on presentations and discussion of empirical and conceptual research on a wide range of topics including (Virtual) Community formation and development; Virtual communities vs. location-based communities; Digital cities, and Design methods for communityware.
What Do We Know About Innovation? A Conference in Honour of Keith Pavitt
Brighton, 13-15 November, 2003
This conference is in recognition of the lifetime contribution of Professor Keith Pavitt to the study of innovation. Keith's work was based on a deep empirical understanding of innovation and firm behaviour, and he placed particular emphasis on the development of new data, methods, and taxonomies. His contributions spanned economics, management and science and technology policy. The conference is organized around the major themes of his work, including the structure, dynamics and management of innovation processes, the relationship between basic research and technical change, knowledge and the theory of the firm, the globalization of R&D, and science and technology policy.
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