7 Concluding remarks
We developed a framework to evaluate the impact of firms’ links with RTOs. We devised
strategies to deal with each of the methodological problems highlighted in the literature.
This allowed us to compare different types of impacts between TIs and PROs by devel
oping a multidimensional approach to these impacts and exploring the factors that might
influence each type of impact. We employed a new strategy to obtain some (rough)
quantitative measures of economic impact and impact on investment.
This novel framework has been shown to be very useful and provides some interesting
results. We observe that satisfaction with TIs and PROs services is generally very high and
that firms are able to recognize the influence of these relationships in terms of various
technical, economic, investment and intangible impacts.
To investigate the influence of TIs and PROs on the different types of impacts, a
multivariate model is needed. Some authors have suggested that both firm factors and also
those specific to the relationship might provide explanations for the impact obtained
(Okamuro 2007; Mole et al. 2008). Our results support this view.
While firms’ characteristics related to absorptive capacity are important, both from a
knowledge and an attitudinal point of view, other factors, such as size and the importance
of spillovers, are not relevant when the characteristics of the relationships are taken into
account. Among these, length of the relationship, existence of close interactions, moti
vations related to knowledge and receptivity to a variety of services are very important
explanations of several types of impacts.
As pointed out by some authors (Martin 2003; Arnold 2004) evaluation is evolutionary
and any and all evaluation will be highly imperfect; thus, the results of project evaluation
should be treated with appropriate caution. There are some clear limitations to our study.
First, the sample is rather small. The main problem here is that the effort involved in
constructing a large sample is costly in time and money and firms are over burdened with
requests for information. Perhaps one solution would be to include estimation of impact in
official surveys based on a particular periodicity. Second, more information is needed on
firms’ characteristics. Again, some matching with official surveys would be interesting.
Third, if these two limitations can be overcome, a Heckman model could be developed to
take account of firms’ selection of their RTO partner, thereby improving treatment of the
control group. Fourth, the characteristics of TIs and PROs probably also have an effect on
impact; thus, being able to match our database with other data on PRO and TI charac
teristics would be of great interest.
These limitations should be priority areas for future research. And despite them, the
evaluation process described and the results obtained should be of great help to policy
makers designing initiatives and for stakeholders willing to evaluate them but also for TIs,
PROs and firm managers who want to improve interactions with actual and potential
clients.
7 Concluding remarks
We developed a framework to evaluate the impact of firms’ links with RTOs. We devised
strategies to deal with each of the methodological problems highlighted in the literature.
This allowed us to compare different types of impacts between TIs and PROs by devel
oping a multidimensional approach to these impacts and exploring the factors that might
influence each type of impact. We employed a new strategy to obtain some (rough)
quantitative measures of economic impact and impact on investment.
This novel framework has been shown to be very useful and provides some interesting
results. We observe that satisfaction with TIs and PROs services is generally very high and
that firms are able to recognize the influence of these relationships in terms of various
technical, economic, investment and intangible impacts.
To investigate the influence of TIs and PROs on the different types of impacts, a
multivariate model is needed. Some authors have suggested that both firm factors and also
those specific to the relationship might provide explanations for the impact obtained
(Okamuro 2007; Mole et al. 2008). Our results support this view.
While firms’ characteristics related to absorptive capacity are important, both from a
knowledge and an attitudinal point of view, other factors, such as size and the importance
of spillovers, are not relevant when the characteristics of the relationships are taken into
account. Among these, length of the relationship, existence of close interactions, moti
vations related to knowledge and receptivity to a variety of services are very important
explanations of several types of impacts.
As pointed out by some authors (Martin 2003; Arnold 2004) evaluation is evolutionary
and any and all evaluation will be highly imperfect; thus, the results of project evaluation
should be treated with appropriate caution. There are some clear limitations to our study.
First, the sample is rather small. The main problem here is that the effort involved in
constructing a large sample is costly in time and money and firms are over burdened with
requests for information. Perhaps one solution would be to include estimation of impact in
official surveys based on a particular periodicity. Second, more information is needed on
firms’ characteristics. Again, some matching with official surveys would be interesting.
Third, if these two limitations can be overcome, a Heckman model could be developed to
take account of firms’ selection of their RTO partner, thereby improving treatment of the
control group. Fourth, the characteristics of TIs and PROs probably also have an effect on
impact; thus, being able to match our database with other data on PRO and TI charac
teristics would be of great interest.
These limitations should be priority areas for future research. And despite them, the
evaluation process described and the results obtained should be of great help to policy
makers designing initiatives and for stakeholders willing to evaluate them but also for TIs,
PROs and firm managers who want to improve interactions with actual and potential
clients.
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