IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/techno/v68y2017icp35-43.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Variety in external knowledge sourcing and innovation novelty: Evidence from the KIBS sector in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Rodriguez, Mercedes
  • Doloreux, David
  • Shearmur, Richard

Abstract

This study explores variety in knowledge sourcing and its impact on the degree of novelty in KIBS innovation. The data analysed are part of the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) 2013, Spain's contribution to the European-wide Community Innovation Survey (CIS). Some evidence is found of a positive relationship between variety of market sources used and innovations new to the firm, and of a negative relationship between variety of research sources used and new-to-market innovations. R&D is negatively associated with innovation, whereas other internal information sources are positively associated, suggesting that the definition of R&D in KIBS should be broadened. Results differ between t-KIBS and p-KIBS – in particular cooperation is only associated with t-KIBS innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodriguez, Mercedes & Doloreux, David & Shearmur, Richard, 2017. "Variety in external knowledge sourcing and innovation novelty: Evidence from the KIBS sector in Spain," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 35-43.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:techno:v:68:y:2017:i:c:p:35-43
    DOI: 10.1016/j.technovation.2017.06.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016649721630284X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.technovation.2017.06.003?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. Miotti, Luis & Sachwald, Frederique, 2003. "Co-operative R&D: why and with whom?: An integrated framework of analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1481-1499, September.
    2. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728.
    3. Andræs Barge-Gil, 2013. "Open Strategies and Innovation Performance," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(7), pages 585-610, October.
    4. Mina, Andrea & Bascavusoglu-Moreau, Elif & Hughes, Alan, 2014. "Open service innovation and the firm's search for external knowledge," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 853-866.
    5. D'Este, Pablo & Amara, Nabil & Olmos-Peñuela, Julia, 2016. "Fostering novelty while reducing failure: Balancing the twin challenges of product innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 113(PB), pages 280-292.
    6. William Townsend, 2010. "Innovation And The Value Of Failure," International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 3(1), pages 75-84.
    7. Richard Shearmur & David Doloreux, 2013. "Innovation and knowledge-intensive business service: the contribution of knowledge-intensive business service to innovation in manufacturing establishments," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(8), pages 751-774, November.
    8. Chang‐Yang Lee, 2005. "A New Perspective On Industry R&D And Market Structure," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 101-122, March.
    9. Hidalgo, Antonio & D'Alvano, Luigi, 2014. "Service innovation: Inward and outward related activities and cooperation mode," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 698-703.
    10. Bercovitz, Janet E.L. & Feldman, Maryann P., 2007. "Fishing upstream: Firm innovation strategy and university research alliances," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 930-948, September.
    11. Richard Shearmu & Christophe Carrincazeaux & David Doloreux (ed.), 2016. "Handbook on the Geographies of Innovation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 16055, December.
    12. Richard Shearmur & David Doloreux, 2016. "How open innovation processes vary between urban and remote environments: slow innovators, market-sourced information and frequency of interaction," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(5-6), pages 337-357, May.
    13. Cappelli, Riccardo & Czarnitzki, Dirk & Kraft, Kornelius, 2014. "Sources of spillovers for imitation and innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 115-120.
    14. Tsai, Kuen-Hung & Hsieh, Ming-Hung, 2009. "How different types of partners influence innovative product sales: Does technological capacity matter?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 1321-1328, December.
    15. Aija Leiponen, 2005. "Organization of Knowledge and Innovation: The Case of Finnish Business Services," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 185-203.
    16. Fritsch, Michael & Lukas, Rolf, 2001. "Who cooperates on R&D?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 297-312, February.
    17. von Hippel, Eric, 1976. "The dominant role of users in the scientific instrument innovation process," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 212-239, July.
    18. Veugelers, Reinhilde, 1997. "Internal R & D expenditures and external technology sourcing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 303-315, October.
    19. Jean Gadrey & Faïz Gallouj (ed.), 2002. "Productivity, Innovation and Knowledge in Services," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2690, December.
    20. Jean Gadrey & Faïz Gallouj, 2002. "Productivity, Innovation and Knowledge in Services. New Economic and Socio-Economic Approaches," Post-Print halshs-00198351, HAL.
    21. Amara, Nabil & D'Este, Pablo & Landry, Réjean & Doloreux, David, 2016. "Impacts of obstacles on innovation patterns in KIBS firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4065-4073.
    22. Andreas Koch & Harald Strotmann, 2008. "Absorptive Capacity And Innovation In The Knowledge Intensive Business Service Sector," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(6), pages 511-531.
    23. Hottenrott, Hanna & Lopes-Bento, Cindy, 2014. "(International) R&D collaboration and SMEs: The effectiveness of targeted public R&D support schemes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 1055-1066.
    24. Spyros Arvanitis & Florian Seliger, 2014. "Imitation versus innovation," KOF Working papers 14-367, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    25. Kenneth Arrow, 1962. "Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention," NBER Chapters, in: The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, pages 609-626, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Natália Barbosa & Ana Paula Faria & Vasco Eiriz, 2014. "Industry- and firm-specific factors of innovation novelty," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 23(3), pages 865-902.
    27. David Doloreux & Richard Shearmur & Mercedes Rodriguez, 2016. "Determinants of R&D in knowledge-intensive business services firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(4), pages 391-405, June.
    28. Aija Leiponen & Constance E. Helfat, 2010. "Innovation objectives, knowledge sources, and the benefits of breadth," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 224-236, February.
    29. Poh Kam Wong & Zi-Lin He, 2005. "A comparative study of innovation behaviour in Singapore's KIBS and manufacturing firms," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 23-42, January.
    30. Ferreras-Méndez, José Luis & Fernández-Mesa, Anabel & Alegre, Joaquín, 2016. "The relationship between knowledge search strategies and absorptive capacity: A deeper look," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 48-61.
    31. Mark Freel, 2006. "Patterns of Technological Innovation in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(3), pages 335-358.
    32. Tether, Bruce S., 2002. "Who co-operates for innovation, and why: An empirical analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 947-967, August.
    33. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2006. "In Search of Complementarity in Innovation Strategy: Internal R& D and External Knowledge Acquisition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(1), pages 68-82, January.
    34. Alison Young, 1996. "Measuring R&D in the Services," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 1996/7, OECD Publishing.
    35. R. Shearmur & Christophe Carrincazeaux & D. Doloreux, 2016. "Handbook on the Geographies of Innovation," Post-Print hal-03152373, HAL.
    36. James Bessen & Eric Maskin, 2009. "Sequential innovation, patents, and imitation," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 40(4), pages 611-635, December.
    37. Dirk Czarnitzki & Alfred Spielkamp, 2003. "Business services in Germany: bridges for innovation," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 1-30, March.
    38. Laursen, Keld & Salter, Ammon J., 2014. "The paradox of openness: Appropriability, external search and collaboration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 867-878.
    39. Keld Laursen, 2011. "User-producer interaction as a driver of innovation: costs and advantages in an open innovation model," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 38(9), pages 713-723, November.
    40. Nabil Amara & Rejean Landry & Norrin Halilem & Namatie Traore, 2010. "Patterns of Innovation Capabilities in KIBS Firms: Evidence from the 2003 Statistics Canada Innovation Survey on Services," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 163-192.
    41. Hipp, Christiane & Grupp, Hariolf, 2005. "Innovation in the service sector: The demand for service-specific innovation measurement concepts and typologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 517-535, May.
    42. Bruce S. Tether & Qian Cher Li & Andrea Mina, 2012. "Knowledge-bases, places, spatial configurations and the performance of knowledge-intensive professional service firms," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(5), pages 969-1001, September.
    43. Pina, Katia & Tether, Bruce S., 2016. "Towards understanding variety in knowledge intensive business services by distinguishing their knowledge bases," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 401-413.
    44. Carlos Vivas & Andrés Barge-Gil, 2015. "Impact On Firms Of The Use Of Knowledge External Sources: A Systematic Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 943-964, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Mina, Andrea & Bascavusoglu-Moreau, Elif & Hughes, Alan, 2014. "Open service innovation and the firm's search for external knowledge," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(5), pages 853-866.
    2. Sánchez-González, Gloria & González-Álvarez, Nuria & Nieto, Mariano, 2009. "Sticky information and heterogeneous needs as determining factors of R&D cooperation with customers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1590-1603, December.
    3. David Doloreux & Ekaterina Turkina & Ari Van Assche, 2019. "Innovation type and external knowledge search strategies in KIBS: evidence from Canada," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 13(3), pages 509-530, September.
    4. Spyros Arvanitis & Florian Seliger, 2014. "Imitation versus innovation," KOF Working papers 14-367, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    5. Heuschneider, Sara & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2016. "External search for exploration of future discontinuities and trends: Implications from the literature using co-citation and content analysis," Working Papers 92, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Technology and Innovation Management.
    6. Manuela Gussoni, 2009. "The determinants of inter-firms R&D cooperation and partner selection. A literature overview," Discussion Papers 2009/86, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    7. De Marchi, Valentina, 2012. "Environmental innovation and R&D cooperation: Empirical evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 614-623.
    8. Trigo, Alexandre & Vence, Xavier, 2012. "Scope and patterns of innovation cooperation in Spanish service enterprises," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 602-613.
    9. David Aristei & Michela Vecchi & Francesco Venturini, 2016. "University and inter-firm R&D collaborations: propensity and intensity of cooperation in Europe," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 841-871, August.
    10. José Luis Ferreras-Méndez & Anabel Fernández-Mesa & Joaquín Alegre, 2019. "Export Performance in SMEs: The Importance of External Knowledge Search Strategies and Absorptive Capacity," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 413-437, June.
    11. Lutz Bellmann & Katalin Evers & Reinhard Hujer, 2018. "Regional and firm-specific effects on innovations using multi-level methods," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 61(2), pages 319-349, September.
    12. Christiane Hipp & Jorge Gallego & Luis Rubalcaba, 2015. "Shaping innovation in European knowledge-intensive business services," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 9(1), pages 41-55, March.
    13. Samuel Amponsah Odei & Jan Stejskal, 2018. "The Influence of Knowledge Sources on Firm-Level Innovation: The Case of Slovak and Hungarian Manufacturing Firms," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2018(2), pages 61-74.
    14. Dragana Radicic & David Douglas & Geoff Pugh & Ian Jackson, 2019. "Cooperation For Innovation And Its Impact On Technological And Non-Technological Innovations: Empirical Evidence For European Smes In Traditional Manufacturing Industries," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(05), pages 1-41, June.
    15. Davide Antonioli & Alberto Marzucchi & Maria Savona, 2017. "Pain shared, pain halved? Cooperation as a coping strategy for innovation barriers," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 841-864, August.
    16. Santamaría Sánchez, Luis & Surroca Aguilar, Jorge, 2004. "Idoneidad del socio tecnológico : un análisis con datos de panel," DEE - Documentos de Trabajo. Economía de la Empresa. DB db040704, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía de la Empresa.
    17. Sandra M. Leitner, 2016. "Choosing the Right Partner: R&D Cooperations and Innovation Success," wiiw Working Papers 124, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    18. Karbowski, Adam, 2016. "Współpraca badawczo-rozwojowa przedsiębiorstw: przegląd prac empirycznych [R&D Cooperation of Firms: Empirical literature review]," MPRA Paper 77698, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Olga V. Kotomina, 2015. "Spatial Dimension of Knowledge Intensive Business Services in Russia," HSE Working papers WP BRP 50/STI/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    20. Vivas-Augier, Carlos & Barge-Gil, Andrés, 2012. "Impact on firms of the use of knowledge providers: a systematic review of the literature," MPRA Paper 41042, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    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:techno:v:68:y:2017:i:c:p:35-43. 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.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01664972 .

    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.