Browsing by Author "Conti, Raffaele"
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- Discrimination and entrepreneurship: evidence from LGBT rights lawsPublication . Conti, Raffaele; Kacperczyk, Olenka; Valentini, GiovanniThis study revisits the well-established claim that reducing discrimination spurs entrepreneurial entry. We propose that the effect of antidiscrimination initiatives on entrepreneurship depends crucially on whether discrimination originates on the demand- or the supply-side of the entrepreneurial process. The benefits of antidiscrimination practices in the context of entry are based on the study of the demand-side discrimination, or bias which arises when prospective entrepreneurs face discrimination by key resource providers for a new venture (i.e., investors, banks, prospective employers). We hypothesize the opposite effect on the supply-side, or when prospective entrepreneurs face discrimination in paid employment. Using evidence from the enactment of LGBT antidiscrimination policies, we show that initiatives to reduce employer discrimination deter entry into entrepreneurship because they increase the appeal of paid employment relative to entrepreneurship. Despite the reduction in the rates of entrepreneurship, however, new ventures growth orientation increases because antidiscrimination policies motivate the pursuit of higher-potential opportunities.
- Research on markets for inventions and implications for R&D allocation strategiesPublication . Conti, Raffaele; Gambardella, Alfonso; Novelli, ElenaSeveral streams of literature have examined the phenomenon of “markets for inventions”, that is, the trade of elements of knowledge which are “disembodied” from individuals, organizations, and products. The aims of this paper are to bring together the various streams of research in this area and discuss their major assumptions and limitations, in order to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the phenomenon, and identify promising paths for future research. We start our review by identifying the object of market exchange—that is, an invention whose knowledge has been codified and disembodied from individuals, organizations, or artifacts. We then identify those factors that enable firms to trade inventions, distinguishing between institutional-, firm-, and industry-level factors. We close our analysis of the extant literature by discussing the implications of markets for inventions for firm behavior and performance. Against this background, we highlight an important avenue for future research. A neglected implication of the development of invention markets is that firms are confronted with a wide variety of technological paths from which to choose, because the opportunity to acquire technologies on the market offers them a greater variety that can their internal R&D departments. However, the streams of research on markets for inventions and on R&D allocation strategies have been surprisingly disconnected so far. Hence, in the final section, we start to establish and explore the link between these literatures, and to identify a research agenda in this domain.
- SMEs inventive performance and profitability in the markets for technologyPublication . Padula, Giovanna; Novelli, Elena; Conti, RaffaeleThis paper studies the inventive performance and profitability of small and medium sized firms (SMEs) that are "technology specialists" compared to the inventive performance and profitability of SMEs that are instead vertically-integrated. In this paper perspective, "technology specialists" are firms that specialize upstream in generating inventions and trade those inventions in disembodied form with other firms, usually through licensing agreements. Instead, vertically-integrated firms are those firms that both generate inventions and commercialize products incorporating those inventions. We argue that technology specialists achieve a higher inventive performance than vertically-integrated firms, since they can accumulate deeper and broader inventive experience, whilst keeping a more flexible organizational structure. These firms display a lower profitability though, due to the imperfections inherent in invention market transactions and the lower bargaining power caused by the lack of commercialization assets. The theoretical framework is tested through a cross-industry investigation on a sample of European SMEs. Implications for the viability of being a technology specialist as a strategy and for the development of markets for technology are discussed.
- Specializing in general purpose technologies as a firm long-term strategyPublication . Conti, Raffaele; Gambardella, Alfonso; Novelli, ElenaAn important legacy of Nathan Rosenberg's work is the notion of general purpose technologies (GPTs). This paper studies whether and when firms specialize in developing GPTs and trading them in intermediate markets, a strategy we call "specialization in generality." In particular, we address whether and under what contingencies this is a long-term strategy adopted by firms as they age- Against the "common wisdom" that aging firms specialize in downstream product.
- Specializing in generality: firm strategies when intermediate markets workPublication . Conti, Raffaele; Gambardella, Alfonso; Novelli, ElenaThis paper studies the relationship between two decisions shaping the organizational configuration of a firm: whether to make the upstream resources more general and deployable to more markets (versus keeping them tailored to a few markets) and whether to trade with downstream firms as an upstream supplier of intermediate products and services (versus directly entering downstream markets). Although the literature has looked at these two decisions separately, we argue that they depend on each other. This has the important implication that they can generate organizational complementarities, inducing firms to implement them jointly. We are motivated in particular by the observation that an increasing number of firms invest in general upstream resources and exploit them as upstream suppliers of intermediate services or products-a strategy that we refer to as specialization in generality. Interestingly, prior literature has mostly highlighted the use of general upstream resources to enter new downstream markets.We identify the supply and demand conditions under which specialization in generality is instead more likely to emerge: lack of prior downstream assets on the supply side and a roughly equal distribution of buyers across intermediate markets (a "broad" demand) on the demand side.We test our predictions using a sample of firms in the U.S. laser industry between 1993 and 2001.Aregulatory shock that increases the value of trading relative to downstream entry provides the setting for a quasi-natural experiment, which corroborates our theoretical predictions.
- The (un) intended consequences of institutions lowering barriers to entrepreneurship: the impact on female workersPublication . Castellaneta, Francesco; Conti, Raffaele; Kacperczyk, AleksandraWe propose that institutions that reduce barriers to entrepreneurship lead to intended consequences, increasing entry rate among individuals facing obstacles to entrepreneurship, such as women. But these regulations also have unintended consequences, decreasing the value appropriated by women who stay in paid employment, as these women lose support of their departing peers. Using an exogenous reduction in entry barriers in Portugal between 2005 and 2009, we find that women launch new ventures at higher rates than men, when entry barriers fall, but the same changes lead to a relative decline in women's wages in paid employment. These effects are amplified for women in managerial positions, who benefit if they leave but lose if they stay. Our study contributes to a nuanced understanding of rent-allocation in firms. Managerial Summary: We study the unintended consequences of lowering barriers to entry—an important institutional change to foster entrepreneurship, especially among those facing strongest entry barriers. We examine the effects of such regulations on women departing to entrepreneurship and those staying in incumbent firms, using the registry data from Portugal. The results show that lowering entry barriers leads to higher rates of entrepreneurial entry among women, as intended. But we also find that this deregulation reform results in a wider gender pay gap among those who stay in incumbent firms. We attribute these increases to reductions in bargaining power and productivity, which result from the departure of socially-proximate peers. Finally, these intended and unintended consequences are especially common among female managers—who are more likely to leave for entrepreneurship, on the one hand, but also more likely to witness greater pay gaps in wage work, on the other hand.
- Who gains and who loses from more information in technology markets? Evidence from the Sunshine ActPublication . Zhang, Huiyan; Branstetter, Lee; Conti, Raffaele; Mamadehussene, SamirResearch Summary: We consider the context of a technology market where participants (in particular, sellers) differ in reputation, and sellers observed participating in the transactions might suffer a reputation loss. Our theoretical model predicts that low-reputation idea sellers, thanks to the improvement in information disclosure, are more likely to be involved in technology transactions; at the same time, high-reputation idea sellers, to protect their reputations, might prefer avoiding any transactions. This shift in seller composition might affect the quantity and quality of collaborations. To test our theory, we assess the effect of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act on physician-firm collaborations. Overall, our findings indicate that while information disclosure might benefit some market participants, it can have unintended negative consequences for others. Managerial Summary: In technology markets, more information about market participants generally leads to better outcomes. However, in contexts where sellers suffer a reputation loss if their transactions become known, higher-reputation sellers may leave the market, affecting the quality of ideas being traded and impacting buyers. On the other hand, lower-reputation sellers may benefit from increased visibility and share their ideas more frequently. Our research examined these effects in the context of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, which made physician collaborations with medical device companies visible. The results suggest that the effects of information disclosure are not uniform and that some market participants may benefit while others may suffer losses.