Tag: Innovation

Technological platforms in South Korean automotive, electronics and service robotics industries

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By Soo Jung Oh
What is CGR PhD's research about? 
Introducing research projects of CGR PhD members

My research aims to explore and compare technological platforms in the South Korean automotive, electronics and service robotics industries to extend our understanding of why and how organisations build and use different types of technological platforms.

A technological platform is a modular architecture consisting of core components and peripheral components. The core components provide a foundation for peripheral components to be developed. For example, Apple’s iPhone is a core, and it gives a basis for application development which is a periphery. Therefore, technological platforms connect companies who can innovate and compete by developing core components as well as peripheral components.

Industrial robotic arms
Image from https://www.manufacturingglobal.com/technology/rise-robotics-manufacturing

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Popular Brand Names and Clutter

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By Dr Georg von Graevenitz
Re-blogged

Business Analytics, Management and Economics

On March 15th the IP Conversazione took place in Oxford as part of the 17th Annual Oxford International Intellectual Property Law Moot. The moot pitted students of IP law from around the world against each other to argue a trade mark case involving two identical trade marks used for different but reasonably similar goods. Roger Teichman and I were invited to speak to participants about work related to this question. This post summarises some of my comments and adds some details that have emerged since.

Philosophy of Trademarks

Roger drew our attention to Borges’ classification of animals that includes headings such as: “embalmed ones” and “others”. This classification, though odd,  might well serve a purpose and it can be used to group animals together that are similar with respect to the classification. Roger used the example to illustrate a point: a judgement that animals or goods are similar requires a…

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The Industrial Revolution: capabilities and institutions

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BY DR. RAVSHONBEK (ROSH) OTOJANOV

In my previous post, I summarised a demand-side explanation of the British Industrial Revolution. In this post, I will outline a supply-side explanation put forward by economic historians Margaret Jacob and Joel Mokyr. According to the supporters of the supply-side explanation, Britain had a supply of human capital who were capable of using science and engineering knowledge to solve practical problems. Besides having a comparative advantage in human capital over continental Europe, by the eighteenth century, Britain had the necessary institutional environment that promoted the principles of the market economy. Interaction between the forces of market economy and science made the practical applications of scientific discoveries more successful in Britain. This did not happen in continental Europe, because, for centuries, the political and religious establishment had been restricting the advancement of science if it conflicted with their political agenda and Western Europe was politically fragmented.

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Brexit Britain – Will the Industrial Strategy Deliver?

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BY GEORG VON GRAEVENITZ
Re-blogged

Business Analytics, Management and Economics

At the heart of the government’s industrial strategy is a commitment to increase overall UK investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP in 2027. Currently investment stands at 1.67% of GDP. So this has got to be a good thing? Actually this target is not very ambitious when measured against comparable countries and this lack of ambition is likely to affect the future prosperity of people living in the UK.

A comparison between the UK, France and Germany using OECD data shows that the UK has invested less in R&D than France as a share of GDP since 1986 and less than Germany since 1980. These differences are large and have persisted over a long time. It is perhaps worth noting that the share of R&D spending in GDP for the United states has always been above 2.4% and recently has been at around 2.7%.

oecd_rd_pctofgdp

If the UK brings investment…

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Industrial Revolution: factor prices and innovations

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BY DR. RAVSHONBEK (ROSH) OTOJANOV

A previous post outlined a number of major inventions (or macro-inventions) of the eighteenth century that were the basis for the inventions of the nineteenth century that propelled productivity growth. These innovations, according to Robert Allen, would not have taken place in Britain in the absence of cheap coal deposits. Another unique factor driving the innovations was Britain’s expensive labour. Labour was expensive in Britain, and economic historians have traced the origins of the high wages back to the Black Death plague (in the 14th century) that reduced the working age population significantly. Moreover, Britain’s commercial success in the international economy played a role in the growth of wages.

Rosh01_02
Figure 1. Average nominal wages and the cost of wood and coal, 1600-1914. Panel (a): Average weekly wages. Panel (b): The price of wood (1600-1870) and coal in GBP per Toe. Data sources: Thomas and Dimsdale (2017) and Fouquet (2011)

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The Economic Effects of Copyright – Using CREATe & CORE Resources to Inform Regulators and Lawyers

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By  Georg von Graevenitz

 

The First Asia-Pacific Workshop on Empirical Methods in Innovation, IP and Competition was held at National Law University in Delhi in early March 2017. The workshop brought together researchers and regulators from India and South East Asia. Sessions focussed on the economics of IP law, the link between competition and IP law, regulation of competition and empirical research on effects of patents, trade marks, copyright and alternatives to IP.

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What drives the Uber economy? New CGR paper highlights the role of labour regulations

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One of the most significant ways in which labour markets are changing is the rise of the so-called “Gig Economy”, a pattern in which firms increasingly employ contractors. New disruptive companies are built on this model that allows these new start-ups to grow and adapt quickly while their contractors enjoy flexibility to work when and how they want. However, as the recent strikes of UberEats and Deliveroo couriers across London remind us, this new model of employment relations comes with its own sets of challenges and possible pitfalls.  A new CGR Working Paper, “The third worker: assessing the trade-off between employees and contractors”, by Pedro Martins, –Professor of Applied Economics at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary, University of London,-provides new insights on the decision-making process of firms when choosing between contractors or employees.

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