This study analyses the effect of R&D expenditure on firm employment growth in the medium term, using six cross-sectional waves of an innovation survey conducted in the Netherlands in all sectors. The analysis is focused on firms having positive R&D expenditure and investigates whether higher investments in R&D (in proportion to firm turnover) translate into higher medium-term growth rates. Comparisons with growth on a shorter term are conducted by following the firm size evolution since the R&D investment for five consecutive years and allowing for firm exit. At all time terms, quantile regression techniques indicate that a higher R&D has a positive effect on high growers and allows a higher number of firms to be high growers. Still, once a firm invests in R&D, even if a higher investment makes the firm more likely to have a very good performance, it does not make it less likely to have a bad one.

This study analyses persistence in growth rates for a data set of manufacturing firms of all sizes. Previous quantile autoregressions of firm growth rates show that extreme growth events are likely to be negatively correlated over time, thus questioning the existence of persistent outperformers. By supplementing the quantile regression analyses with transition probability matrices, our study shows that “bouncing” firms coexist with persistent outperformers. This result is shown to be robust for all size classes as well as for the exclusion of firms who experienced acquisitions or spin-offs.

From Waste to Value investigates how streams of organic waste and residues can be transformed into valuable products, to foster a transition towards a sustainable and circular bioeconomy. The studies are carried out within a cross-disciplinary framework, drawing on a diverse set of theoretical approaches and defining different valorisation pathways. Organic waste streams from households and industry are becoming a valuable resource in today’s economies. Substances that have long represented a cost to companies and a burden for society are now becoming an asset. Waste products, such as leftover food, forest residues and animal carcasses, can be turned into valuable products such as biomaterials, biochemicals and biopharmaceuticals. Exploiting these waste resources is challenging, however. It requires that companies develop new technologies and that public authorities introduce new regulation and governance models. This book helps policy-makers govern and regulate bio-based industries, and helps industry actors to identify and exploit new opportunities in the circular bioeconomy. Moreover, it provides important insights for all students and scholars concerned with renewable energy, sustainable development and climate change.