The Impact of Innovative Capabilities and Innovation Types on the Financial Performances of Insurance Companies

The ability to innovate is essential for achieving a competitive position, and digital innovations have become one of the main drivers of competitive advantage. The factors that affect the degree of innovation (innovation efforts, competitive priorities, market strategy, the internal organisational atmosphere) impact the financial performance of insurance companies considering the market conditions. In order to shed some light on that research gap in post-transition countries, survey research has been conducted on a sample of insurance companies in the Republic of North Macedonia. The results obtained from the structural equation modelling analysis, which seeks to determine the structural relationship between the measured variables and the latent constructions, reveal positive effects of innovation performance on the profitability of insurance companies.

Relative Positioning in Remote Areas Using a GNSS Dual Frequency Smartphone

The use of GPS positioning and navigation capabilities in mobile phones is present in our daily lives for more than a decade, but never with the centimeter level of precision that can actually be reached with several of the most recent smartphones. The introduction of the new GNSS systems (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), the European system Galileo, is opening new horizons in a wide range of areas that rely on precise georeferencing, namely the mass market smartphones apps. The constant growth of this market has brought new devices with innovative capabilities in hardware and software. The introduction of the Android 7 by Google, allowing access to the GNSS raw code and phase measurements, and the arrival of the new chip from Broadcom BCM47755 providing dual frequency in some smartphones came to revolutionize the positioning performance of these devices as never seen before. The Xiaomi Mi8 was the first smartphone to combine those features, and it is the device used in this work. It is well known that it is possible to obtain centimeter accuracy with this kind of device in relative static positioning mode with distances to a reference station up to a few tens of kilometers, which we also confirm in this paper. However, the main purpose of this work is to show that we can also get good positioning accuracy using long baselines. We used the ability of the Xiaomi Mi8 to get dual frequency code and phase raw measurements from the Galileo and GPS systems, to do relative static positioning in post-processing mode using wide baselines, of more than 100 km, to perform precise surveys. The results obtained were quite interesting with RMSE below 30 cm, showing that this type of smartphone can be easily used as a low-cost device, for georeferencing and mapping applications. This can be quite useful in remote areas where the CORS networks are not dense or even not available.

Credit Resource Availability and Innovation Output: Evidence from Chinese Industrial Enterprises

This paper investigates the effect of credit availability on the number of industrial enterprises' patents from the perspective of financial geography, using the number of bank branches in the vicinity of industrial enterprises in China as a proxy variable. The number of patents is a proxy for the innovation output of an enterprise. The study finds that the higher availability of credit resources, represented by the number of bank branches in the vicinity, inhibits the innovation output of enterprises, and this inhibitory effect is more obvious in state-owned enterprises and large enterprises. Higher availability of credit resources leads industrial firms to fall more easily into the resource curse trap and thus fail to gain more innovative capabilities. This paper also provides a theoretical and data base for China's inability to complete industrial upgrading; it provides new evidence for the phenomenon of insufficient innovation capacity of industrial enterprises under China's rapid economic development in recent years; and it also provides a policy reference for financial supply reform. Keywords: Availability of credit resources, Innovation output, Financial geography.

Simulation Study on the Evolutionary Game Mechanism of Collaborative Innovation in Supply Chain Enterprises and Its Influencing Elements

Collaborative innovation between companies is critical for increasing supply chain value. However, as a dynamic game process, the collaboration between manufacturer, provider, and seller in the supply chain is influenced by a range of elements. This paper is set out to investigate the collaborative innovation strategy adopted by manufacturer, supplier, and distributor (the “three players”). To meet this end, an analytical framework was built to study the evolutionary game of collaborative innovation in supply chain enterprises. Based on the analysis, this research further studied the dynamic evolutionary mechanism and influencing elements through four different simulation cases. The research showed the following. (1) When the three players have equal innovative capability, they are more willing to contribute to innovation if the projected revenue is higher reflecting an increasing coefficient of collaborative innovation gains. As a result, the three players are more likely to agree on their cooperation approach. (2) When the three players have different independent and innovative capabilities, they are more willing to innovate if the collaborative innovation gain coefficient increases, but supply chain players with stronger capability are more active to innovate than their peers. In other words, strong innovators attach particular attention to innovation. (3) When any collaborative innovation could generate profits for all players in the supply chain, the player who enjoys the benefit but lacks innovative capability will be unwilling to cooperate with others if additional gains rise. Thus, better maintenance of the stability of the collaborative innovation system requires a strictly implemented coordination mechanism.

Active role of flower shops in the commercialization of roses

Retail florist activities are essential elements in the rose (Rosa spp.) market since they generate significant income and employment. In these jobs, florists gain recognition by their designs that captivate consumers. At the same time, they are key entrepreneurs in the commercialization of roses. Then, the objective of the research was to know the entrepreneurial role of florists in the commercialization of roses (Rosa spp.) in southern Veracruz, Mexico. An exploratory research was conducted in flower shops, five in Coatzacoalcos, nine in Minatitlán and six in Acayucan. Interviews were conducted with florists (n = 20). The categories of analysis used were the demographic, psychosocial and sociocultural profile of the florists as innovative entrepreneurs. In regards to the demographic profile, these economic agents have the experience and knowledge necessary to develop their activity. In short, florists are identified as family micro-enterprises with establishments that are 20 years old. In the psychosocial profile, florists present low innovative capacity with respect to the composition of their floral arrangements; however, they are characterized as risk takers with the ability to solve problems. Finally, the sociocultural profile demonstrates the florists-intermediary-producers collaboration; such entrepreneurial activity generates economic incentives with local-regional influence. Therefore, florists need to strengthen their links with other florists, producers and distributors to improve their innovative capabilities that will benefit both themselves and consumers.

Adaptive Structures and Biomimetic Robots – A Perspective

This paper gives an overview of some recent full-scale demonstrations of morphing devices capable of providing innovative capabilities to general systems in changing shape and improving performance significantly during operations. In aeronautics, large progress has been observed over the last few years, meaning that this technology is rapidly transitioning from laboratory scale to high TRL demonstrators. The most advanced concepts already proved to withstand loads with minimal deformation while having the capability to change their geometry to attain additional benefits with respect to their original mission. In the same way, robotics has become one of the most prominent technological trends of the current century. The rapid increase in their use and development has significantly changed our society by gradually replacing a large share of human jobs. Such an evolution is also rapidly accelerating, as technological advances in automation, engineering, artificial intelligence, and machine learning converge. Since both domains involve the integration of actuators, sensors and controllers and face integrity challenges in harsh environments, they may be seen somehow related and probably share a common future. In this article, the authors propose an original view of a possible future scenario that is likely to consider a unique development path for research on adaptive structures and robotics.

THE PLACE OF INTELLIGENCE IN THE PRODUCTIVITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (SMEs): A SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE PARADIGM

For so long, intelligence quotient and to a greater extent, social intelligence has dominated organizational discussions on intelligence and its implication on performance. This study, however examined the place of spiritual intelligence on the productivity of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Nigeria. The study was anchored on the Theory of Rational Intelligence. A survey research design was adopted for the study, with a population of 400 SME owners. A census method was deployed for the work. The source of data was primary, and the analysis was done using simple regression, and hypothesis tested at a 5% level of significance. The result revealed that a 74% change in the innovative capabilities of SMEs is influenced by changes in ethical behaviour. The study, therefore, concluded that spiritual intelligence affects the productivity of SMEs in Southeast Nigeria. Hence, it was recommended among others that the owners of SMEs need to give their ethical conduct and behaviour an important place in their operations, as people will tend to trust and appreciate their innovativeness more, if they are seen to be spiritually intelligent. Keywords: Spiritual Intelligence, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, Productivity, Innovative Capabilities and Ethical Behaviour.

Role and importance of companies in shaping and functioning of the innovation system

By continuously strengthening research and development (R&D) activities and innovative capabilities, companies are achieving long-term sustainable competitive advantages in today’s increasingly complex and uncertain markets. At the same time, by creating new knowledge, innovative application of existing knowledge and technologies, and facilitating their transfer, they contribute to building a knowledge economy and the country’s competitiveness. One of the pillars of the knowledge economy is an effective innovation system, in which companies have a special place and role. The aim of this paper is to present and analyse the contribution of companies to the efficient functioning of innovation systems, to examine the relationship and impact of innovation and R&D expenditures on global competitiveness. The Global Innovation Index (GII) and the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), in which innovation and sophistication represent one of the three categories of competitiveness, were used as a methodological framework for analysing the effects of innovation capabilities. The focus of the analysis was the relationship between innovation inputs and innovation outputs, as well as the relationship between the GII and GCI of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the countries of the Western Balkans and the group of selected countries of the European Union (EU). The research results show that there is a statistically significant relationship between innovation inputs and outputs. There are obvious differences in the strength of the link between the variables of innovation and competitiveness for the countries of the Western Balkans and for selected EU member states. It was also found that R&D expenditures significantly affect the value of the competitiveness index.

Corrigendum: Critical analysis of the role of innovative capabilities on firm performance: Evidence from the University of Cape Coast administration in Ghana

No abstract available.

Marketing of Development Banking Innovations in the Financial Market of Ukraine

The purpose of the article is to implement a comprehensive approach to assessing the relationship between marketing of banking innovations and financial stability of banking institutions, which under the influence of digital technology determine the innovative capabilities of the banking system, activating the innovation potential of the financial market. The article presents a structural and functional model of the relationship between the priority areas of the “blue oceans” and the signs of evaluation of marketing of banking innovations. An integrated assessment of the relationship between the innovation components of the marketing complex of banking innovations and the financial stability of banking institutions of Ukraine is determined.