0000000000199794
AUTHOR
Innovation Studies
Carsharing business models in Germany: characteristics, success and future prospects
Carsharing provides an alternative to private car ownership by allowing car use temporarily on an on-demand basis. Operators provide carsharing services using different business models and ownership structures. We distinguish between cooperative, business-to-consumer (B2C) roundtrip and one-way, as well as peer-topeer (P2P) carsharing. This paper characterizes these different types of business models and compares their success in terms of diffusion using a comprehensive database of all 101 German carsharing providers in 2016. The key result holds that fleet size is significantly different across business models ranging from a few cars (cooperatives in small towns), to a few hundred (B2C rou…
Need for speed? Exploring the relative importance of patents and utility models among German firms
Despite the wide use of two-tiered patent systems (patents and utility models (UMs)), there is little empirical evidence about how often UMs are actually used, what kind of firms use them to protect their intellectual property, and how firms rank them relative to patents. We offer such an analysis using data from Germany. We find that larger firms are more likely to use both protection methods. Moreover, a short life cycle of products and services is associated with an increased likelihood to use UMs. The features and functioning of the German UM system are of broader interest because it has been a benchmark for several second tier patent protection systems around the world. peerReviewed
¿Cómo funciona el sistema de innovación del sector cerámico español?
[EN]: In this article we apply the functions of innovation systems framework to assess its appropriateness to characterise the innovation activity of the tile industry in Castellón. This framework is based on idea that a well functioning innovation system requires that a number of key activities take place. If this occurs innovative output is higher. Our analysis provides a deeper understanding of the role of innovation as a strategic option in a mature industry in the context of globalisation. By applying this new theoretical approach to study innovation and highlighting the functions that the system requires, we shown the constraints, inertias, challenges and opportunities that the innova…