IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v48y2019i1p322-338.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From new imported inputs to new exported products. Firm-level evidence from Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • Castellani, Davide
  • Fassio, Claudio

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of the propensity of firms to export new products, and focuses on the role of new imported inputs. Importing offers access to new technologies and better combination of inputs that can lead to new or improved products for the export markets. Based on a sample of more than 14,000 Swedish manufacturing firms over the period 2001–2012, we show that importing new inputs is a key determinant of firms’ propensity to add new products to their export portfolio, even after controlling for multinationality, patenting activity, productivity and a number of other firm characteristics. This is mainly due to the import of new intermediate inputs and it is stronger for smaller firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Castellani, Davide & Fassio, Claudio, 2019. "From new imported inputs to new exported products. Firm-level evidence from Sweden," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 322-338.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:1:p:322-338
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.021
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733318302087
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2018.08.021?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caselli, Francesco & Wilson, Daniel J., 2004. "Importing technology," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 1-32, January.
    2. Keller, Wolfgang, 2000. "Do Trade Patterns and Technology Flows Affect Productivity Growth?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(1), pages 17-47, January.
    3. Feng, Ling & Li, Zhiyuan & Swenson, Deborah L., 2016. "The connection between imported intermediate inputs and exports: Evidence from Chinese firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 86-101.
    4. Eaton, Jonathan & Kortum, Samuel, 2001. "Trade in capital goods," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(7), pages 1195-1235.
    5. Jože Damijan & Jozef Konings & Sašo Polanec, 2013. "Pass-on trade: why do firms simultaneously engage in two-way trade in the same varieties?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 149(1), pages 85-111, March.
    6. Cirera, Xavier & Marin, Anabel & Markwald, Ricardo, 2015. "Explaining export diversification through firm innovation decisions: The case of Brazil," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1962-1973.
    7. Maria Bas & Vanessa Strauss-Kahn, 2014. "Does importing more inputs raise exports? Firm-level evidence from France," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 150(2), pages 241-275, May.
    8. Veugelers, Reinhilde & Cassiman, Bruno, 1999. "Make and buy in innovation strategies: evidence from Belgian manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 63-80, January.
    9. Hans Lööf & Martin Andersson, 2010. "Imports, Productivity and Origin Markets: The Role of Knowledge‐intensive Economies," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 458-481, March.
    10. Maurice Kugler & Eric Verhoogen, 2009. "Plants and Imported Inputs: New Facts and an Interpretation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 501-507, May.
    11. Liu, Qing & Qiu, Larry D., 2016. "Intermediate input imports and innovations: Evidence from Chinese firms' patent filings," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 166-183.
    12. Coe, David T. & Helpman, Elhanan, 1995. "International R&D spillovers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 859-887, May.
    13. Haichao Fan & Yao Amber Li & Stephen R. Yeaple, 2015. "Trade Liberalization, Quality, and Export Prices," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(5), pages 1033-1051, December.
    14. Haichao Fan & Yao Amber Li & Stephen R. Yeaple, 2015. "Trade Liberalization, Quality, and Export Prices," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(5), pages 1033-1051, December.
    15. Ram C. Acharya & Wolfgang Keller, 2009. "Technology transfer through imports," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 42(4), pages 1411-1448, November.
    16. Castellani, Davide & Fassio, Claudio, 2016. "Import, Export and Multinationality. Evidence from Swedish Firms," Papers in Innovation Studies 2016/30, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    17. Dosi, Giovanni & Grazzi, Marco & Moschella, Daniele, 2015. "Technology and costs in international competitiveness: From countries and sectors to firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1795-1814.
    18. Ilke Van Beveren & Andrew B. Bernard & Hylke Vandenbussche, 2012. "Concording of EU trade and production data over time," Working Paper Research 239, National Bank of Belgium.
    19. Keller, Wolfgang, 1998. "Are international R&D spillovers trade-related?: Analyzing spillovers among randomly matched trade partners," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1469-1481, September.
    20. Cassiman, Bruno & Golovko, Elena & Martínez-Ros, Ester, 2010. "Innovation, exports and productivity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 372-376, July.
    21. Colantone, Italo & Crinò, Rosario, 2014. "New imported inputs, new domestic products," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 147-165.
    22. Fagerberg, Jan, 1988. "International Competitiveness," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(391), pages 355-374, June.
    23. Basile, Roberto, 2001. "Export behaviour of Italian manufacturing firms over the nineties: the role of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(8), pages 1185-1201, October.
    24. Martin Andersson & Trudy-Ann Stone, 2017. "Global sourcing and technical efficiency – a firm-level study on the ICT industry in Sweden," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(5), pages 877-896, September.
    25. Alessia Lo Turco & Daniela Maggioni, 2013. "On the Role of Imports in Enhancing Manufacturing Exports," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 93-120, January.
    26. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Amit Kumar Khandelwal & Nina Pavcnik & Petia Topalova, 2010. "Imported Intermediate Inputs and Domestic Product Growth: Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(4), pages 1727-1767.
    27. Jung, Taehyun & Ejermo, Olof, 2014. "Demographic patterns and trends in patenting: Gender, age, and education of inventors," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 110-124.
    28. Maria Bas & Vanessa Strauss-Khan, 2014. "Does importing more inputs raise exports? Firm-level evidence from France," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01297202, HAL.
    29. László Halpern & Miklós Koren & Adam Szeidl, 2015. "Imported Inputs and Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(12), pages 3660-3703, December.
    30. David Aristei & Davide Castellani & Chiara Franco, 2013. "Firms’ exporting and importing activities: is there a two-way relationship?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 149(1), pages 55-84, March.
    31. Coe, David T & Helpman, Elhanan & Hoffmaister, Alexander W, 1997. "North-South R&D Spillovers," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(440), pages 134-149, January.
    32. Jiayun Xu & Qilin Mao, 2018. "On the relationship between intermediate input imports and export quality in China," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(3), pages 429-467, July.
    33. Jože P. Damijan & Črt Kostevc, 2015. "Learning from Trade through Innovation," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 77(3), pages 408-436, June.
    34. Raymond Vernon, 1966. "International Investment and International Trade in the Product Cycle," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 80(2), pages 190-207.
    35. M. V. Posner, 1961. "International Trade And Technical Change," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 323-341.
    36. Wakelin, Katharine, 1998. "Innovation and export behaviour at the firm level," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(7-8), pages 829-841, April.
    37. Fagerberg, Jan, 1988. "International Competitiveness: Errata," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(393), pages 1203-1203, December.
    38. Ethier, Wilfred J, 1982. "National and International Returns to Scale in the Modern Theory of International Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(3), pages 389-405, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Viktorija Skvarciany & Daiva Jurevičienė & Silvija Vidžiūnaitė, 2020. "The Impact of Russia’s Import Embargo on the EU Countries’ Exports," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Andrea Cardoni & Filippo Zanin & Giulio Corazza & Alessio Paradisi, 2020. "Knowledge Management and Performance Measurement Systems for SMEs’ Economic Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-27, March.
    3. Igor Drapkin & Anna Fedyunina & Yuri Simachev, . "GVC spillovers on total factor productivity of local firms: evidence from the Russian Federation," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    4. Ndubuisi, Gideon & Mensah, Emmanuel & Owusu, Solomon, 2020. "Export Variety and Imported Intermediate Inputs: Industry-Level Evidence from Africa," MPRA Paper 106008, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Cristiano Antonelli & Christophe Feder, 2021. "Knowledge appropriability and directed technological change: the Schumpeterian creative response in global markets," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 686-700, June.
    6. Baumgartner Christoph & Srhoj Stjepan & Walde Janette, 2023. "Harmonization of Product Classifications: A Consistent Time Series of Economic Trade Activities," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 243(6), pages 643-662, December.
    7. Ketan Reddy & Radeef Chundakkadan & Subash Sasidharan, 2021. "Firm innovation and global value chain participation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1995-2015, December.
    8. Xiyan Mao & Peiyu Wang, 2023. "Import–export nexus and China's emerging trade in environmental goods," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 157-181, March.
    9. Fu, Tong, 2021. "Do economic institutions matter for trade liberalization? Evidence from China’s Open Door Policy," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    10. Emmanouil Karakostas, 2022. "The Effects of Protectionism on the Exports of the Trade Partners: A Composite Index," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 15(1), pages 58-70, July.
    11. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2020. "Aid for Trade flows and Poverty Reduction in Recipient-Countries," EconStor Preprints 213807, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    12. Stjepan Srhoj & Michael Lapinski & Janette Walde, 2019. "Size matters? Impact evaluation of business development grants on SME performance," Working Papers 2019-14, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    13. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2023. "Effect of Aid for Trade on Recipient-Countries' Participation in Global Value Chains," EconStor Preprints 279713, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    14. Simachev, Yu. & Fedyunina, A. & Gorodny, N., 2022. "Global advanced manufacturing markets - a new opportunity for Russia's technological upgrade," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 53(1), pages 202-212.
    15. Yan, Ji & Tsinopoulos, Christos & Xiong, Yu, 2021. "Unpacking the impact of innovation ambidexterity on export performance: Microfoundations and infrastructure investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    16. Torres Mazzi, Caio & Foster-McGregor, Neil, 2021. "Imported intermediates, technological capabilities and exports: Evidence from Brazilian firm-level data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    17. Mokthtari Moughari, Mahdieh & Daim, Tugrul U., 2023. "Developing a model of technological innovation for export development in developing countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    18. Alfonso Expósito & Amparo Sanchis-Llopis & Juan A. Sanchis-Llopis, 2021. "The effect of the manager gender on SMEs export and import decisions: Evidence for Spain," Working Papers 2115, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
    19. Marco Grazzi & Nanditha Mathew & Daniele Moschella, 2021. "Making one’s own way: jumping ahead in the capability space and exporting among Indian firms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 931-957, July.
    20. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2020. "Aid for Trade, Export Product Diversification and Import Product Diversification," EconStor Preprints 223021, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    21. Stjepan Srhoj & Michal Lapinski & Janette Walde, 2021. "Impact evaluation of business development grants on SME performance," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1285-1301, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Castellani, Davide & Fassio, Claudio, 2017. "Export innovation: The role of new imported inputs and multinationality," Papers in Innovation Studies 2017/16, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    2. Torres Mazzi, Caio & Foster-McGregor, Neil, 2021. "Imported intermediates, technological capabilities and exports: Evidence from Brazilian firm-level data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    3. Marco Grazzi & Nanditha Mathew & Daniele Moschella, 2021. "Making one’s own way: jumping ahead in the capability space and exporting among Indian firms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 931-957, July.
    4. Castellani, Davide & Fassio, Claudio, 2016. "Import, Export and Multinationality. Evidence from Swedish Firms," Papers in Innovation Studies 2016/30, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    5. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2020. "Aid for Trade, Export Product Diversification and Import Product Diversification," EconStor Preprints 223021, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    6. Ndubuisi, Gideon & Mensah, Emmanuel & Owusu, Solomon, 2020. "Export Variety and Imported Intermediate Inputs: Industry-Level Evidence from Africa," MPRA Paper 106008, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Marijke J.D. Bos & Gonzague Vannoorenberghe, 2019. "Imported input varieties and product innovation: Evidence from five developing countries," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 520-548, May.
    8. Liu, Qing & Qiu, Larry D., 2016. "Intermediate input imports and innovations: Evidence from Chinese firms' patent filings," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 166-183.
    9. Dayna Zaclicever & Andrea Pellandra, 2018. "Imported inputs, technology spillovers and productivity: firm-level evidence from Uruguay," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 154(4), pages 725-743, November.
    10. Lawrence Edwards & Marco Sanfilippo & Asha Sundaram, 2016. "Importing and firm performance: New evidence from South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 039, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Lawrence Edwards & Marco Sanfilippo & Asha Sundaram, 2020. "Importing and Productivity: An Analysis of South African Manufacturing Firms," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 57(2), pages 411-432, September.
    12. Marco Grazzi & Nanditha Mathew & Daniele Moschella, 2017. "Efficiency, innovation, and imported inputs: determinants of export performance among Indian manufacturing firms," LEM Papers Series 2017/09, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    13. Feng, Ling & Li, Zhiyuan & Swenson, Deborah L., 2016. "The connection between imported intermediate inputs and exports: Evidence from Chinese firms," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 86-101.
    14. Lawrence Edwards & Marco Sanfilippo & Asha Sundaram, 2016. "Importing and firm performance: New evidence from South Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-39, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Qing Liu & Larry D Qiu, 2017. "Effects of Intermediate Input Tariff Reduction on Innovations in China," Working Papers 022017, Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research.
    16. Colantone, Italo & Crinò, Rosario, 2014. "New imported inputs, new domestic products," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 147-165.
    17. C Sharma, 2016. "Does importing more inputs raise productivity and exports? Some evidence from Indian manufacturing," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 21(1), pages 1-23, March.
    18. David Aristei & Davide Castellani & Chiara Franco, 2013. "Firms’ exporting and importing activities: is there a two-way relationship?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 149(1), pages 55-84, March.
    19. Alguacil, Maite & Lo Turco, Alessia & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2022. "Robot adoption and export performance: Firm-level evidence from Spain," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    20. Mo, Jiawei & Qiu, Larry D. & Zhang, Hongsong & Dong, Xiaoyu, 2021. "What you import matters for productivity growth: Experience from Chinese manufacturing firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Importing; Exporting; Technology upgrading; Sweden;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:48:y:2019:i:1:p:322-338. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.