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The service sector plays a key role to employment growth and increased public well-being in OECD countries. The service industries contributed more than 63% of GDP in 2016 and have become the core of economy in Taiwan. Within the service sec- tors, knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) particularly illustrate higher levels of productivity and profitability. Moreover, due to lack of the clear measurements of the knowledge intensity with prior investigations in KIBS, the aim of this article is to explore the knowledge intensity of Taiwan’s KIBS. This study then further probes into the relationship between knowledge intensity and economic performance. Panel data from 13 service sectors in Taiwan during the period 2007–2015 is analysed with a fixed effect model. This empirical research shows four findings: first, 13 industries are classified into three groups as high, low, and no level of knowledge intensity; second, most of the level of knowledge intensity has been increased from stage one to stage two; third, education level and vocational training rate positively influence productivity; and, finally, the percentage of knowledge workers and vocational training rate have a positive effect on the margin rate.

The key for acquiring innovation capability is knowledge transmission which is primarily based on the closer and tighter connections among businesses and other actors within innovation networks. Previous literature of patent analysis based on social network only explains the most influential corporations within an industry through social network indicators, but did not investigate the impact of these indicators on a firm’s innovation capability. This study uses social network perspective ‘centrality, cohesion and density’ to investigate the relationship between innovation network and innovation capability in the global semiconductor industry. Two purposes of this study are: (1) to investigate the innovation network relationship within the semiconductor industry at different periods and its evolution and (2) to study whether network position occupied by a firm in innovation network influences innovation capability. The empirical results show that firms with higher centrality and higher density have...

This study focuses on collaborative innovation in China ICT(Information and Communications Technology) industry. Although prior findings point out that collaborative innovations do facilitate innovation performance, there are some unresolved problems and one of which is the problem of ?collaborating with whom?. Is there the effect of cultural similarity in collaborative innovation. This paper aims to contribute to the literature of collaborative innovation by investigating into the effects of collaborative partners on innovation performance from the perspective of cultural similarity. Based on the analysis of patent and citation from the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) from 1985 to 2010, empirical results are shown the performance of collaborative innovation between China and foreign is significantly greater than that of domestic collaborative innovation in China. The performance of collaborative innovation between China and culturally similar country is significantly better than that between China assignees and culturally different country.

This study applies the GSADF test to locate multiple bubbles in the health care sector (HCS) of the U.S., U.K., and German stock markets. The panel switching model is estimated to evaluate to what extent money supply, economic growth, and stock returns from local markets influence stock returns from the HCS. Our empirical model not only identifies one bubble (two bubbles) in the HCS of the U.S. and German stock markets (U.K. stock market) but also suggests that the local stock market returns play an important role in determining stock returns from the HCS in both bubble and normal regimes.

All developed countries have been facing the trend of aging population and view it as an importance social policy which has to plan care and nurse senior citizens. The elderly caring and nursing organizations are obligated to provide more comfortable and suitable environment for a high quality life of elders. Based upon Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, there is a hierarchy of five needs within each individual, including physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love Needs, self-esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Individuals would acquire emotional support, materiality and service through social network. This study investigates two main issues related to network relationship of elderly nursing home. First, this study demonstrates the network relationship between elderly nursing home and other related groups, including family and friends of elderly resident, exclusive volunteers, neighborhood community centre, religion groups and other welfare associations. Second, this study investigates what the network relationships would influence the satisfaction of five elderly residents’ needs. To better understanding the real connection among groups related to nursing home, this study uses case study with the perceptions of social network to know the network relationship in the nursing home and what it influences their residents’ needs.

This study conducts a comprehensive research to investigate technological innovation, knowledge sources and collaboration innovation in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Based on the patent and citation data during 1976–2010, the empirical finding are observed as follows. Technological innovation capability of GCC has incrementally increased over time, but GCC deeply relies on other advanced countries in technological innovation. Saudi Arabia plays a predominate position of technological innovation capability in GCC. Basic knowledge is the most effective knowledge resource for enhancing technological innovation capability. Knowledge spillover effect is influenced by geographical distance with GCC. Finally, USA, France, Germany, Great Kingdom and Canada are top five countries of collaborative innovation with GCC.

Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a key role in knowledge economies, because it can be used to develop systems that think like humans, act like humans, think rationally, and act rationally (Russell & Norvig, 2010). In this study, we divide AI into four sub-technological fields: Problem reasoning and solving, machine learning, network structures, and knowledge processing systems. This study investigates three main issues related to the technology development of AI. First, the aggregate technology development of AI is examined, and the four sub-technological fields of AI are compared. Second, we employ measures of patent quantity and patent quality to demonstrate the technology development of AI in different countries. Finally, we investigate the technology positions of different countries in the four sub-technological fields of AI. By analyzing a patent and citation dataset comprised of all patents granted by the United States patent and trademark office from 1976 to 2010, we obtain empirical find...

This paper examines the relationship between knowledge creation capability and both knowledge search as well as knowledge spillover effects. It investigates three research questions: (1) How does k...

In the context of the knowledge economy where competition advantage is largely dependent on innovation and where external cooperation often leads to innovation at reduced development expenditures, there is no doubting the necessity of engaging in collaborative innovation. In an emerging economy collaborative innovation is more important. Thus, this paper examines the difference in innovative performance between collaborative innovation and independent innovation in China and India. The empirical results are consistent with the hypotheses we propose, based on analysis of a patent and citation dataset comprised of all patents granted by the US Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) to inventors residing in India and China from 1980-2009. The study shows that the innovative performance of collaborative innovation is better than that of independent innovation whether in China or India. In addition, the partners of collaborative innovation also influence its innovative performance. This paper finds that when collaborating with countries with advanced technologies, the quality of collaborative innovation will be higher and result in better innovative performance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss whether the three knowledge sources, knowledge input, knowledge spillover and knowledge absorptive capacity, really increase the innovation performance of firms in the Taiwan IC design industry, one of the most important knowledge‐intensive business services (KIBS) industries in Taiwan.Design/methodology/approachBased on the knowledge‐based theory, this study uses pooled regression analysis and tests with fixed effect model to analyze the influence of three knowledge sources on innovation performance in the KIBS sector.FindingsThe results demonstrate that: knowledge input is positively related to innovation performance; knowledge spillover effect is partial positively to innovation performance; and knowledge absorptive capacity is positively related to innovation performance.Originality/valueThe paper advances the concept of absorptive capacity by defining it as the interactions between knowledge input and knowledge spillover and refines the measurement of absorptive capacity as the multiplication of knowledge input and knowledge spillover effects. Moreover, knowledge spillover effects and knowledge absorptive capacity are both divided into four kinds which help us distinguish clearly different sources of knowledge spillover and absorptive capacity. In addition to that, this study also contributes to the empirical evidence to innovation activities by using firm‐level micro data.

South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and India have become much larger force in the world economy. Due to the enormous contribution of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in economic growth, this study investigates four main issues related to technological innovation and knowledge network in ICT among six countries. First, indicators of technological innovation were evaluated and used to compare capability of technological innovation in ICT between the six countries. Secondly, differences in innovation configurations among six countries were manifested. Thirdly, relative innovation strengths of these six countries were examined in five sub-technological fields. Finally, this study consists of analyzing the interactions into knowledge network among them; moreover, this study manifests the difference of knowledge network in five sub-technological field of ICT. The empirical findings of this study, based on analysis of a patent and citation dataset comprised of all patents granted by the U.S. Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) to assignees in six countries from 1976 to 2006, are helpful to understand the comparative development of technological innovation of ICT in six countries.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to link founding team and start‐up competitive advantage in the context of the Taiwanese technology‐based ventures.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes 211 start‐ups in the technology‐based sector and verifies the relationship between entrepreneur resources, trust, founding team partners' commitments, and start‐up competitive advantage.Findings – In technology‐based start‐ups, the competitive advantage of a start‐up is determined by the founding team partners' commitments and the resources that an entrepreneur possesses.Research limitations/implications – The study is retrospective, which relies on technology‐based founding team members as the primary research subjects. Some respondents may observe the performance of their start‐ups today and then make attributions about the past to explain that performance.Practical implications – Utilization of personal networks is important in the early stage of technology‐based start‐ups; throug...

Despite the tremendous economic potential of the Brazilian, Russian, Indian, and Chinese (BRIC) economies, few studies have compared technological innovation in these countries. This study investig...

This study attempts to state some facts about the importance of innovation in the service economy, and especially the hotel industry by classifying the configurations of innovation in Taiwanese hotels, as well as considering the types of innovation configuration that will maximise performance. Technological innovation, organisational innovation, and human capital innovation may be key sources of innovation. This study classified the configurations of innovation based on several innovation activities with two-step cluster analysis. Numerous empirical findings facilitate improved understanding of the relationship between the configurations of innovation and firm performance in the Taiwanese hotel industry.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to link founding team and start‐up competitive advantage in the context of the Taiwanese technology‐based ventures.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes 211 start‐ups of the technology‐based sector and verifies the relationship between entrepreneur resources, trust, founding team partners' commitments, and start‐up competitive advantage.FindingsIn technology‐based start‐ups, the competitive advantage of a start‐up is determined by the founding team partners' commitments and the resources an entrepreneur has.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is retrospective which relies on technology‐based founding team members as the primary research subjects, some respondents may observe the performance of their start‐ups today and then make attributions about the past to explain that performance.Practical implicationsUtilizations of personal networks are important in the early stage of technology‐based start‐ups; through networking and using trust, an entrepreneur can gain the critical resources and competitive advantage required in the development of a business.Originality/valueIn technology‐based start‐ups, trust, not the resources an entrepreneur has, is an effective way by which entrepreneurs can win founding team partners' commitments.

While the significance and effectiveness of patents in the chemical industry has been demonstrated in many industrialized countries, this study examines the role of the chemical industry and knowledge diffusion in building the innovative capacity of a nation in latecomer country Taiwan. The development of process innovation plays an integral role in the strategic industries of Taiwan, but few attempts have been made to address how the efficiency of process development can be enhanced. As a latecomer, Taiwan has built its national innovative capability on strategic industries such as semiconductors, consumer electronics and flat panel displays. Through patent data analysis, this study demonstrates the significant and indispensable role played by the chemical industry in technological interdependence and knowledge diffusion with other Taiwanese strategic industries. This study suggests that while the public resources of Taiwan are focused on accelerating the development of emerging sectors and technologies, the chemical industry serves as an effective linkage and catalyst in problem-solving.

Both the theoretical model and the empirical analysis methods are examined for valuing patents from the real options perspective. This study not only sets up a real options approach for evaluating patent to conform to the main sensitivity analysis of patent activities, but also establishes an empirical method about valuing patents by a panel data. Cross-sectional and time-series data from 101 Taiwanese electronic firms between 1993 and 2002 are employed for the fixed effects analysis in the panel data model. This study concludes the consist results from the theoretical model and empirical analysis. That is, the patent value increases with increasing the underlying asset, time to maturity and risk-free rate.

Since corporate scandals in the last decade, corporate governance system has been highly focused, besides, now under knowledge-based economy the innovation ability of enterprises is a key factor to enterprise’s success. However, how the board of directors effects firms’ innovation ability has been rarely explored. Generally, it is thought that corporate governance could provide functions to bring stakeholders the greatest profit and have better operating efficiency. Precious study proved that corporate governance is related to corporate performance. This study discusses the relationship between board of directors and the firm’s innovation ability, including size of board directors, proportion of shareholding and traits of board of directors. By using patent counts as an index to measure a firm’s innovation ability, this study examined 255 public listed electronic firms in Taiwan by using unbalanced 5 year panel data. This study adopts one way fixed effect model to evaluate parameters of model, and use F-test to examine the explanatory power of a model. Finally, this study shows how the corporate governance system affects firms’ innovation ability, and provides suggestion that how corporate governance system, board directors and other traits are effective in firms innovation ability.

Universities, especially for technology transfer activities, always play the role of intermediaries in the innovation process. This study investigates three main issues related to open innovation based on bureaucratic perspective and scientific perspective. First, the protection power of technology is evaluated. Secondly, this study demonstrates determinants of successful technology transfer. Finally, this study examines the efficacy of technology transfer office in open innovation. Basing on literature reviews, we take the case study in Taiwan and try to make further insights for managing technology transfer in open innovation.

R&D and patent are viewed as two major proxies of intellectual capital in the literature of industrial economics. Since 80% of a company's value is intangible, conventional accounting measures are insufficient for determining the effect of intellectual capital. Whereas Economic Value Added (EVA) can provide a framework for valuation of intellectual capital, this study applied EVA to evaluate the effect of R&D and patent. Main objective of his study is the valuation of R&D and patent, and clarifies the relative importance of them. Additionally, this study determined whether EVA reflects economic reality of R&D and patent more accurately than conventional measures do. The theoretical basis for this study is a knowledge production function explaining the effects of traditional production factors (including physical capital and labor) and intellectual capital factors (including R&D, international granted patents and national granted patents) on a firm's sales and EVA. Time-series cross-section panel data from 219 Taiwanese electronic manufacturers between 1990-2003 were employed for the fixed effect analysis in the model. Major empirical results show obvious differences among the effects of R&D and patent, and EVA method is proved to be an appropriate proxy of economy reality to capture the value of R&D and patent.

Effective management of knowledge and innovation thus has become a key to technology progress and economic development in emerging economy. China and India are two emerging economies (BIRCs) that have varied economic histories and strategies for stimulating economic growth. This study investigates three main issues related to innovation capability and knowledge spillover in China and India. First, this study evaluates various different indicators of innovation capability, as well as comparison in innovation capability between China and India. Secondly, this study demonstrates the relative innovation strengths in different technological fields for those two countries. Finally, this study investigates the sources of knowledge for innovation in China and India; moreover, this study manifests the difference of knowledge spillover in China and India.

Many academics and managers have confirmed the ability of real-option models to capture the value of flexibility in relation to R&D projects. However, few studies have focused on constructing empirical methods and testing their application to real circumstances. This study not only presents a sensitivity analysis of the R&D evaluation model, but also establishes an empirical analysis to examine these relationships using panel data on 101 Taiwanese electronics firms from 1991 to 2002. Based on the sensitivity analyses and empirical results, we conclude that the R&D value increases with increasing R&D capital, patent lifetime and risk-free rate.

According to knowledge-based view, knowledge may be the sources of superior performance. However, up to the present, literatures related to knowledge management still lack empirical study at strategic level. This study tries to fill this lacuna by categorising the configurations of knowledge capabilities into Knowledge capabilities groups (KCGs) of 51 firms in Taiwan's semiconductor industry during 1995?2004 based upon four knowledge capabilities and their six variables with two steps cluster analysis. The objectives of this research are: firstly, classifying the major configurations of knowledge capabilities. Secondly, studying the relationship between Knowledge Capabilities Groups (KCGs) and firms' performances. Finally, researching the transformations of knowledge capabilities in Taiwan's semiconductor industry. The results of cluster analysis classify Taiwan's semiconductor firms into five KCGs: exploiter, overall learner, external learner, hunger and innovator in which KCG4 (hunger) is the worst performer and KSG5 (innovator) is the best performer. Additionally, although KSG4 is the largest group, firms in this group will transform their configurations of knowledge capabilities once they have sufficient resources owing to its poorest performance. KCG3 (external learner) is the most stable group and KCG5 (innovator) has the potential to become major KCG in the future in Taiwan's semiconductor industry. In addition to that, the configuration of knowledge capabilities is hard to change, and it only changes when the firm's performance is below the satisfactory level of its management team.

Technology and innovation are influenced by globalisation, and they are important in developing new products and services, as well as doing things more efficiently or more effectively to achieve sustainable development (Ahmed, 2007). Knowledge spillover can be beneficial to technological innovation because the entity can take advantage of both intranational and international knowledge to strengthen its technological capability. This study investigates two main issues related to technology development and knowledge spillover in Africa. First, this study investigates aggregative technological innovation capability in Africa and compares technological capabilities among different countries; it also compares the relative innovation strengths of Africa in 31 technological fields. Second, this study demonstrates the sources of knowledge for technological innovation in Africa; moreover, it manifests the different types of knowledge spillovers that examine the effects on technological innovation capability based on the geographical distance and technological distance in Africa.

This study investigates two main issues related to knowledge workers in the vehicle industry. First, this study evaluates the demand for knowledge workers, and whether there is a trend shift from non-knowledge workers to knowledge workers in the vehicle industry. Second, this study demonstrates the main factors of these employment shifts in the vehicle industry. That is, this study examines the effect of technology change, international trade and educational attainment on the relative demand for knowledge workers. This study employed an occupation-based measure of knowledge workers based on Taiwan's occupational classification scheme. Using data from Taiwan's vehicle industry over the year 1988?2005, two empirical findings were observed in this study: First, based upon a simple relative demand and supply framework, this study infers that the demand for knowledge workers in Taiwan's vehicle industry rose during the period 1988?2005. Second, technology change had a dominant role in the demand for knowledge workers. Educational attainment is the second factor enhancing the relative demand for knowledge workers in the vehicle industry.

Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) are important carriers, sources and facilitators of innovation. This study aims to analyse the factors that contribute to firms' performance in a KIBS subsector in Taiwanese Integrated Circuit (IC) design industry by proposing an integrative evolutionary production function, which includes traditional production factors such as physical capital and labour, as well as sources of innovation like internal Research and Development (R&D) and external technology acquisition. Based upon data from 68 Taiwanese IC design firms during 1993?2005, this study was primarily concerned with modelling the factors that influence firm performance. Empirical results show that internal R&D is the most important factor that contributes to firm performance, followed by labour, external technology acquisition and physical capital. But the last two latter factors do not significantly influence firm performance. This study concludes that internal R&D and labour have the greatest explanatory power to enhance firm performance, especially in KIBS. If IC design firms want to raise their performance level, they have to invest more on internal R&D and labour than on physical capital and external technology acquisition.

This study investigates two major issues related to innovation quality in automobile companies. First, this study assesses a number of different indicators of innovation quality in the automobile industry. Second, this study examines the relationship between innovation quality and firm performance. Five indicators are developed (namely, patent count, relative citation ratio, citation-weighted patents, science linkage, scope of innovations) for measuring innovation quality using patent counts and patent citations from the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Time-series cross-section patent data from 17 global automobile firms between 1983 and 2002 were used for random effect model. The empirical results show obvious differences among 17 automobile firms in five indicators of innovation quality, and three indicators measuring firm innovation quality (that is patent count, citation-weighted patents and scope of innovations) positively and significantly affect firm profits.