Analysis of longitudinal data from Employers Skills Updating Surveys in the United Kingdom suggests that in many establishments training plans were blown off course by the 2008–2009 recession, with reduced coverage of adult training and especially of off-the-job training. The effects of such cutbacks on skill levels have been partially alleviated by more precise targeting of on-the-job training on meeting skills improvement needs. However, in a sizeable proportion of establishments, future productivity and competitiveness are likely to be impaired by failure to upgrade adult workers' skills to standards which employers themselves perceived as necessary prior to the recession.

This paper examines the various methods through which firms benefit from interactions with universities, arguing that such benefits are instrumental in nurturing the multiple facets of a firm's absorptive capacity. We bring together data collected from a survey of UK firms that collaborated with universities, and firm-level data on past partnerships with universities. The results show that benefits from interactions with universities are multifaceted, including enhancement of the firm's explorative and exploitative capabilities. Results also indicate that firms’ R&D commitments, geographical proximity to and research quality of university partners have a distinct impact on the different types of benefits from interactions with universities. We find geographical proximity is crucial for assessing problem-solving as an important benefit, while interactions with top quality universities have a positive influence on the benefits associated with firms’ downstream activities. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and policy.

is to transform the UK's capacity for innovation. We invest in early-stage companies, inform innovation policy and encourage a culture that helps innovation to flourish. This working paper is an interim report on ongoing research. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of NESTA. If you would like to comment on this working paper please e

This book illustrates that, although innovation has always mattered in economic development, simply increasing expenditure in creating knowledge may not be the answer: we need to look at the whole system through which such knowledge translates to value creation.

This paper examines the internationalization process in three knowledge-based ventures in the biotechnology and IT sectors in the Czech Republic and Hungary. The findings from the case studies illustrate the motivations and outcomes of internationalization, along with some of the challenges faced by knowledge-based ventures when embarking on an internationalization strategy within the specific environment of a post-transition economy. Furthermore, the importance of relationships in both the internationalization process and the entrepreneurial process in general is discussed.

This paper describes knowledge based entrepreneurship in the Czech Republic and Hungary, in particular the growth and development process of 4 firms are studied: Dekonta, an environmental services firm, Et netera, an IT services firm, both operating in Czech Republic, along with a data recovery firm, Kurt, and a biopharmaceutical firm, Solvo, both operating in Hungary. The objectives of the case studies are to illustrate experiences of knowledge based entrepreneurship within a transition environment in terms of their different growth and development paths. By carrying out in depth case studies using semi structured interviews with the founders, top management teams, core employees and key stakeholders in industrial associations I am able to explain the growth process of entrepreneurial knowledge based ventures. I assume an ecological view of the firm and examine the role of internal, strategic, network and external factors in this development process. I propose that the relative importance of these factors evolve over time from start up to maturity. Moreover, I anticipate that there will be complementarities between these factors in the spirit of Milgrom and Roberts (1995) and Von Tunzelmann (2003). This approach should help us better understand the complex nature of entrepreneurship. The key contributions of these case studies are the application of an ecological conceptual framework to the development of knowledge based firms in Central and Eastern Europe, and so the viability of this model is tested within the transition environment. I follow the recommendations by Ireland et al. (2005) and introduce a temporal element in order to analyse the shift in importance of the factors impacting on firm development and growth, thus hoping to deal with some of the criticisms on existing entrepreneurial research.

Using data on Polish firms this paper examines the relationship between corporate control structures, sales growth and the determinants of employment change. Privatised and de novo firms are the main drivers of employment growth; in the case of de novo firms, it is foreign ownership which underpins the result. Being privatised has a positive impact on employment but this is concentrated within a range of 3–6 years after privatisation. There are no systematic differences in employment response to negative sales growth across the ownership categories. Employment in state firms is less responsive to positive sales growth. From these results we infer that the behaviour of state firms is affected by both insider rent sharing and binding budget constraints.

This paper explores mechanisms linking trade and restructuring in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries through learning and industrial upgrading. These are reflected in changes in the composition of trade through changes in the relative shares of particular products and clusters in exports (scale), and in the number of products exported (scope). An analysis of export clusters shows the decreasing importance of commodities (homogeneous resource-based goods) and a shift toward technology and labor-intensive products to be a common trend. However, differences between the countries are strong with respect to changes in both scale and scope in technology and labor-intensive activities. These differences show that trade-based learning mechanisms have strong effects on differences in industrial upgrading between CEE economies.

Using panel data pertaining to large Polish (non-financial) firms this paper examines the determinants of employment change during the period 1996-2002. Paying particular attention to the asymmetry hypothesis we investigate the impact of own wages, outside wages, output growth, regional characteristics and sectoral affiliation on the evolution of employment. In keeping with the 'right to manage' model we find that employment dynamics are not affected negatively by alternative wages. Furthermore, in contrast to the early transition period, we find evidence that employment levels respond to positive sales growth (in all but state firms). The early literature, (e.g. Kollo, 1998) found that labour hoarding lowered employment elasticities in the presence of positive demand shocks. Our findings suggest that inherited labour hoarding may no longer be a factor. We argue that the present pattern of employment adjustment is better explained by the role of insiders. This tentative conclusion is hinged on the contrasting behaviour of state and privatised companies and the similar behaviour of privatised and new private companies. We conclude that lower responsiveness of employment to both positive and negative changes in revenue in state firms is consistent with the proposition that rent sharing by insiders is stronger in the state sector.

This report of the AccessLab projects presents a wide range of contributions focusing on the potential differences in enterprise behaviour between new member states and candidate countries from that of mature market economies and on the impact of labour market institutions in the new member states and the candidate countries. We extend on existing literature by providing detailed analyses on the impact of incentive structure for managers created in the candidate countries and new member states, and by focusing in some detail on the regional determinants of firm growth and firm wage policies in these countries.

Using data from Estonian manufacturing firms during the period 1995-1999 we apply panel data techniques, in particular the Arellano-Bond (1991) method to investigate the investment behaviour. We employ the model of optimal capital accumulation in the presence of convex adjustment costs. We find that the domestic companies seem to be more financial constrained than those with the presence of foreign investors. Furthermore we find that smaller firms are more constrained than their larger counterparts.

1 become more varied, so the measurement of working hours has become a more pressing topic for debate. This article compares working time patterns in several European countries: UK, France, Sweden and Denmark. Traditionally, usual European working hours are shorter than in other parts of the world, such as Japan and the USA. The four countries examined were chosen because they appeared to exhibit both different trends and similarities. The analysis highlights the importance of legislation in France, Denmark and Sweden, as well as some variation and similitude in the distribution of hours worked across industry sectors. The analysis of working patterns looked at usual hours worked by people in employment in their main job by industry and sex for each country. A previous article summarised the different uses of actual and usual hours worked, along with measurement issues concerning working time arrangements (see pp15-17, Labour Market Trends, January 2004).

This paper examines the determinants of wage pressure in large companies, including ownership characteristics and the impact of regional labour markets. By using a panel of 329 Polish largest firms during the period 1997-2001, we find evidence of rent sharing activities, however there is also asymmetry in quasi rent elasticity of wages. The wage setting mechanism seems to differ between new private companies, privatised companies, state firms and mixed ownership. In particular, wages in state firms are highly responsive to regional labour market conditions, while firms in other sectors are not. Rent sharing is visible in both the state sector and new private companies, yet several specific characteristics differ. On the other hand, quasi rent elasticity appears to be suppressed in privatised companies.

The 5th framework programme research project ACCESSLAB researches the capability of candidate countries’ regions to deal with asymmetric shocks. Its goal is to provide analysts and policy makers with research results relevant to the process of enlargement. The project takes a broad and comparative view of labour market adjustments to address these issues. It examines the topic from both a macroeconomic and microeconomic viewpoint. It considers different adjustment mechanisms in depth and compares results with the European Union. It draws on a) the experiences in transition countries in the last decade, b) the experience of German integration and c) the experiences of border regions to gain insights on the likely regional labour market effects of accession of the candidate countries.

Alternative forms of disciplining the actionsof senior enterprise managers can becharacterized as shareholder or stakeholdergovernance. This paper analyzes thecontingencies that favour different forms ofgovernance and addresses the question: doesRussia need a stakeholder-oriented model ofcorporate governance? The appropriateness ofdifferent governance regimes under variouscontingent situations are analyzed both ingeneral and with respect to Russia. We suggestthat contingent factors argue for theco-existence of two different governancemechanisms in Russia based on sectoraldifferences. Survey evidence is used to examinepatterns of Russian bank, employee and Statestakeholding behaviour and shows that, apartfrom managers, these stakeholders at present donot have a significant involvement indecision-making in the majority ofmanufacturing firms. Given institutionalweaknesses in Russia, a case may be made forthe State to have a role to play incounterbalancing dominant insider shareholdersand enforcing good corporate governanceprinciples.

Using a data set for 162 largest Hungarian firms during the period of 1994-1999 this paper explores the determinants of equity shares held by both foreign investors and by Hungarian corporations. We find evidence of a post-privatisation evolution towards more homogeneous equity structures, where dominant categories of owners aim at achieving controlling stakes. Here, the foreign investors and Hungarian corporations play the major role. In addition, focusing on firm level characteristics we find that the exporting firms attract foreign owners, who acquire controlling equity stakes. Similarly, the firm size measurements are positively associated with the presence of foreign investors. However, they are negatively associated with 100% foreign ownership, possibly because the marginal costs of acquiring additional equity are growing with the size of the assets. We interpret the results in light of the existing theory. In particular, following Demsetz and Lehn (1985) and Demsetz and Villalonga (2001) we argue that equity should not be treated as an exogenous variable. As for specific determinants of equity levels, we focus on informational asymmetries and (unobserved) ownership specific characteristics of foreign investors and Hungarian investors.

This paper examines the determinants of employment changes using a panel of Polish large firms during the period 1996-2001. We investigate the impact of wages, output growth, investment, firm size and sectors upon employment, focusing on the asymmetry hypothesis. We find that investment plays an important role in enhancing employment growth. We also notice that employment dynamics is not affected by alternative wages and therefore appears consistent with the ???right to manage??? model. Furthermore, unlike the early transition period, we can confirm that employment adjusts to positive sales growth, not just to decline as found in studies on earlier periods (K?ll?, 1998). This reflects that labour hoarding can no longer be a factor, which decreased employment elasticity in times of positive demand shocks. Interestingly, large state companies appear to cut employment in response to output growth, when one controls for investment. A result, which may be consistent with the insiders (employee) control model.

In rats, activation of the cytokine-inducible transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) is impaired in the liver after ethanol administration. The aim was to examine Stat3 expression, localization, and activity in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in humans. Explanted livers of ALD patients were compared to normal and primary biliary cirrhosis livers. Protein expression, DNA-binding, and subcellular localization of Stat3 was examined by Western blotting, electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and immunohistochemistry; and interleukin-6, Stat3, and suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3 mRNA expression by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Stat3 proteins increased markedly in ALD, mainly in hepatocyte and proliferating biliary epithelial cell nuclei. In contrast to normal and primary biliary cirrhosis livers where Stat3 DNA-binding occurred normally, no Stat3 DNA-binding complexes were observed in ALD, although the tyrosine and serine phosphorylation of Stat3 was not altered. Elevated interleukin-6 mRNA was found in ALD whereas Stat3 and suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 mRNA levels were decreased. Although end-stage ALD is characterized by up-regulation of Stat3 proteins, this transcription factor appears to be functionally inactive. Furthermore, decreased transcription of the Stat3 gene in ALD might also affect cytoplasmic reserves of inactivated Stat3 in the long term. Impaired activation and restoration of Stat3 might thus contribute to the development of cell damage leading to liver cirrhosis in ALD.