Social Economic
Sajjad Barkhordari; Naser Ali Azimi
Abstract
Moving towards a knowledge-based economy is an important factor for developing countries. Achieving this goal requires improving different pillars such as innovation. Governance quality is a key factor to create innovation pillars and improve innovative activities. In this paper, we describe the impact ...
Read More
Moving towards a knowledge-based economy is an important factor for developing countries. Achieving this goal requires improving different pillars such as innovation. Governance quality is a key factor to create innovation pillars and improve innovative activities. In this paper, we describe the impact of governance quality on improving innovation in selected MENA countries during 2009-2018. We used an empirical model and panel data method to describe the relationship between governance quality and innovative activities by considering control variables such as inflation, domestic credit provided by the financial sector (%GDP), the net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), and trade (%GDP). Empirical results indicate that the governance quality has a positive and significant effect on the performance of innovation in MENA countries. The positive effect of the governance quality sub-indices indicates that an improving institutional environment is necessary to stimulate innovation activities. The results also show that trade in MENA a country not only harms but also discourages innovative activities. According to empirical results, we propose that improving governance quality concentrated on government effectiveness and control of corruption is essential for innovative activities in MENA countries.
Tayebeh Nikraftar; Nazanin Falahati
Abstract
The aim of this paper was to investigate the processes of organizational innovation in medical tourism businesses. Specifically, this research aimed to answer: ―What is the process of developing medical tourism businesses in a developing country like Iran?‖ For this purpose, a grounded theory approach ...
Read More
The aim of this paper was to investigate the processes of organizational innovation in medical tourism businesses. Specifically, this research aimed to answer: ―What is the process of developing medical tourism businesses in a developing country like Iran?‖ For this purpose, a grounded theory approach was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen medical tourism entrepreneurs who had experienced the above mentioned process. Analyzing the structure of values and interactions of entrepreneurs with others through their interviews led to the formation of an intermediate theory. The pattern obtained from this study shows that the main category that led to innovations among the studied medical tourism businesses was entrepreneurs’ tendency to create entrepreneurial activities, that is an innovative initiative. Based on our findings, should an innovative entrepreneur be affected by intermediate and environmental conditions, he or she introduces specific strategies to effectively carry out entrepreneurial activities that are discussed in this paper.
Farhad Khodadad Kashi; Ali Afsari
Abstract
Using panel data method, this study examines the effects of different dimensions of social capital on innovation at the societal level across 21 countries (19 Asian countries plus Russia and Egypt) for the period 1995-2011. Dimensions of social capital that have been considered in this study include ...
Read More
Using panel data method, this study examines the effects of different dimensions of social capital on innovation at the societal level across 21 countries (19 Asian countries plus Russia and Egypt) for the period 1995-2011. Dimensions of social capital that have been considered in this study include generalized trust, trust toward friends, institutional trust, civic participation, and norms of civic behavior. We use Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) method to estimate the model. Our empirical findings suggest that in Asian countries some aspects of social capital such as trust toward friends, generalized trust and norms of civic behavior have a positive and significant effect on innovation. But civic participation and institutional trust have no significant impact on innovation. Moreover, we find that human capital and R & D expenditure have a positive effect on innovation in these countries.
Masoud Sadeghi; Iman Keyfarokhi
Abstract
Domestic innovations and technology imports play important roles in boosting relative demand for skilled labor force. These factors are in turn influenced by domestic R&D investments and international trade. Using a translog cost function, this paper studies the effect of technology imports and other ...
Read More
Domestic innovations and technology imports play important roles in boosting relative demand for skilled labor force. These factors are in turn influenced by domestic R&D investments and international trade. Using a translog cost function, this paper studies the effect of technology imports and other factors including output level and physical capital stock on the shares of skilled labor force employment. The data for technology imports are gathered based on ISIC (International Standard Industry Classification) 2-digit codes for the period 1971-2013. Our translog cost function is estimated by seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) method. The estimation results show that an increase in technology imports raises the share of skilled labor force and decreases the production cost. Moreover, our result indicates that domestic R&D has no effect on employment level of skilled labor force in Iran.
