O38 - Technological Change: Government PolicyReturn

This paper examines the impact of fiscal policy on business investment in research and development (R&D). Panel regression models – with independent variables for the total tax and contribution rate, government appropriations and outlays for R&D, and the R&D tax subsidy rate – are set up to examine cross-country differences in business investment in R&D, with a set of control variables. The latter include, most notably, the number of full-time researchers, tertiary education attainment, the protection of intellectual property rights, governance, the long-term interest rate, and trade openness. The panel encompasses eleven countries of Central and Eastern Europe over ten years (2010–2019). The findings suggest that fiscal policy does not affect BERD, while trade openness, tertiary education attainment, and full-time researcher employment have a significant positive impact. These findings are consistent with some of the earlier studies on the effectiveness of fiscal policy in stimulating business investment, calling for greater allocation of public and private funds for R&D professional development and training programs.
Implications for Central European audience: This paper used recent data for eleven Central and Eastern European countries. Therefore, the findings are directly applicable to these countries. As the paper used random-effects generalised least squares estimation for panel data, the findings can be generalised to other countries.

COBIT is a process-oriented IT governance framework. In the 2019 version, the framework offers a significantly redesigned approach to prioritise processes and set process target capability levels. The design phase is very important to achieve a governance system in future. Although there are several design factors defined in the design phase of COBIT 2019, these factors do not assess process suitability and value for the governance system. Thus, connections and continuity among processes are not taken into consideration enough. Therefore, the aim of the article is to suggest another design factor based on the interrelationships of processes in the COBIT framework represented by its information flows. The nature of the proposed innovation is described, and the analysis of process information flows and items is performed. The article also publishes several inconsistencies in COBIT 2019 documentation that have been identified in the process of research. The application of process information flows and items analysis has been illustrated in two case studies. We have identified new information that can be relevant to decision making in the design phase and discussed their importance for the planned governance system. The results could help to improve the quality of the design phase by providing additional information about the context of the processes designed to ensure the governance system.
Implications for Central European audience: The implications for senior managers in the Central European region will be beneficial. Optimisation and effective use of information technologies is a prerequisite for achieving long-term competitiveness. COBIT is a best practice framework, and its implementation in companies is largely based on the specifics of each organisation. Therefore, it is important to pay close attention to the implementation phase of the application of COBIT. Framework application positively supports the holistic approach to management, resource optimisation, management based on responsibility and measurability. Today, these attributes of the organisation’s management are emphasised not only in Central Europe but in developed countries in general.

Innovations are among the most important drivers of firms’ productivity improvement.  Newly introduced products and processes, as well as organizational and marketing practices, are important for firms’ performance and for countries’ prosperity. In this paper, we analyze how management processes influence firms’ innovation and performance based on Russian data. Our main research question is how the quality of management affects innovative results and thereby, productivity. We employ a survey of enterprise activities, and business climate BEEPS covering the period 2012-2014 and including 1564 firms. Based on the existing literature, we create a framework to study the impact of various factors on firms‘ innovation and productivity. We study both internal factors such as a firm’s quality of management and external factors such as innovation climate in the region and availability of private and public financing. A model applied in our research is a well-known CDM model containing three stages. This model makes it possible to analyze expenditures for research and development, implementation of innovations, and then its impact on the firm’s performance. Estimation results demonstrate that enterprises benefit from innovations. The same time, our research shows the importance of management quality in the firms’ innovative activities among the other internal and external factors affecting innovations. Results can be applied by the enterprises interested in innovations and by policymakers involved in facilitating innovations at the regional and country level.
Implications for Central European audience: A version of a well developed CDM model is used, which makes results reliable; the model can be further applied for the analysis of various economies, including the countries of Central Europe. Our research sheds light on the determinants of innovation activity at all its stages, creating a background for analysis and development of economic policy. A key implication is that management quality deserves attention along with other factors affecting firms’ innovation and productivity. The research is based on firm-level BEEPS data for Russia, making the possible comparison with the other countries covered by BEEPS survey.