Being innovative is not enough: a semi-parametric assessment of the efficiency of post-incubation innovative firms

IF 5 3区 管理学 Q1 BUSINESS European Journal of Innovation Management Pub Date : 2023-12-04 DOI:10.1108/ejim-06-2023-0475
Maria Cristina Longo, Calogero Guccio, Marco Ferdinando Martorana
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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assess whether incubation affects the technical efficiency of innovative firms after entering the market. The study of efficiency allows firms to understand how well resources have been used in production processes. The research intends to contribute to the literature on the performance of incubated firms.

Design/methodology/approach

This study estimates the relative efficiency of innovative firms adopting a DEA-based two-stage semi-parametric method. Incubation, firm age and initial capital are used for explaining the relative performance of previously incubated firms compared to non-incubated ones over a six-year period of activity. This research focuses on Italian innovative firms using a large sample of companies.

Findings

Results show that incubators have a positive and significant effect on efficiency for firms that have been in the market for more than two years. Efficiency also improves with age and with the level of initial capital of the firm.

Research limitations/implications

This analysis is limited to the quantitative dimension of inputs as reported in the balance sheets, without qualitative considerations.

Practical implications

Findings enhance firms' understanding of the role of incubators as neutral places to develop a business culture of efficiency. From an empirical standpoint, this study provides useful insights to start-uppers who intend to attend incubation programs. Overall, incubators matter to the extent that they enable new firms, net of those that fail to survive in the first two years of activity, to improve their efficiency in the use of inputs. This research also suggests incubators consider the start-ups’ potential of being efficient.

Social implications

Findings provide tips to policymakers when they are called upon to propose funding programs to support prominent firms entering the business scalability.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on the relative performance of post-incubated firms, highlighting the efficiency frontier analysis. This methodological approach is relatively new in this field. It allows researchers to study the innovative firms' performance in relative terms, that is with respect to the input level. It integrates the performance-based with efficiency frontier analysis. Also, this study reinforces the idea that incubators prepare start-ups to develop capacities and managerial skills, which will be useful in post-incubation life to improve their cost competitiveness.

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创新是不够的:一个半参数评估后孵化创新企业的效率
目的研究孵化是否会影响创新企业进入市场后的技术效率。对效率的研究使企业能够了解资源在生产过程中的利用情况。本研究旨在为有关孵化企业绩效的文献做出贡献。本研究采用一种基于dea的两阶段半参数方法来评估创新型企业的相对效率。孵化、公司年龄和初始资本被用来解释在六年的活动期间,以前孵化的公司与未孵化的公司相比的相对表现。本研究以意大利创新型企业为研究对象,选取了大量的公司样本。研究结果表明,孵化器对进入市场两年以上的企业的效率有显著的正向影响。效率也随着企业的年龄和初始资本水平而提高。研究局限/启示本分析仅限于资产负债表中报告的投入的定量维度,没有进行定性考虑。研究结果增强了企业对孵化器作为发展效率企业文化的中立场所的作用的理解。从实证的角度来看,本研究为有意参加孵化项目的初创企业提供了有用的见解。总的来说,孵化器的重要性在于它们使新公司(除去那些在活动的头两年未能生存下来的公司)能够提高它们使用投入的效率。这项研究还表明,孵化器会考虑初创企业的效率潜力。社会影响当决策者被要求提出资助计划以支持知名公司进入商业可扩展性时,研究结果为他们提供了建议。原创性/价值本研究补充了关于孵化后企业相对绩效的文献,突出了效率前沿分析。这种方法方法在这个领域是比较新的。它允许研究人员研究创新企业的绩效相对而言,即相对于投入水平。它将基于性能的分析与效率前沿分析相结合。此外,这项研究强化了这样一种观点,即孵化器为初创企业培养能力和管理技能做好准备,这在孵化后的生活中有助于提高其成本竞争力。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
10.40
自引率
17.60%
发文量
107
期刊介绍: The subject of innovation is receiving increased interest both from companies because of their increased awareness of the impact of innovation in determining market success and also from the research community. Academics are increasingly beginning to place innovation as a priority area in their research agenda. This impetus has been partly fuelled by the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) who have designated innovation as one of nine research areas in their research initiative schemes.
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