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The influence of public programs on inter-firm R&D collaboration strategies: project-level evidence from EU FP5 and FP6

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  • Mireille Matt
  • Stéphane Robin
  • Sandrine Wolff

Abstract

Inter-firms R&D collaborations are often seen as an effective mean to access new resources, to innovate and/or to enter new markets in a turbulent environment characterized by fierce competition. However, all R&D partnerships do not have the same strategic importance. We analyze the strategic features of two types of partnerships that are seldom compared in the academic literature on R&D alliances: EU-sponsored inter-firms collaborations on the one hand, and non-sponsored, spontaneous inter-firm collaborations on the other. We compare their incentives and coordination mechanisms, and derive theoretical propositions that we test empirically. Our econometric analysis uses original data on (sponsored and non-sponsored) projects conducted by participants in the 5th and 6th European R&D Framework Programs. Our empirical findings support our main propositions. EU-funded collaborations are more exploratory and more focused on peripheral competences than spontaneous R&D collaborations. They are also less flexible, due to rigid monitoring rules which are nevertheless crucial to the projects’ success. However, there is no major difference between the different types of EU-sponsored collaborations, which pleads for a simplification of these policy instruments. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

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  • Mireille Matt & Stéphane Robin & Sandrine Wolff, 2012. "The influence of public programs on inter-firm R&D collaboration strategies: project-level evidence from EU FP5 and FP6," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 37(6), pages 885-916, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:37:y:2012:i:6:p:885-916
    DOI: 10.1007/s10961-011-9232-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Ioannis Giotopoulos & Alexander S. Kritikos & Aggelos Tsakanikas, 2023. "A lasting crisis affects R&D decisions of smaller firms: the Greek experience," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1161-1175, August.
    2. Simen G. Enger & Fulvio Castellacci, 2016. "Who gets Horizon 2020 research grants? Propensity to apply and probability to succeed in a two-step analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(3), pages 1611-1638, December.
    3. González-Varona, José M. & Martín-Cruz, Natalia & Acebes, Fernando & Pajares, Javier, 2023. "How public funding affects complexity in R&D projects. An analysis of team project perceptions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Sebastian Kobarg & Jutta Stumpf-Wollersheim & Isabell M. Welpe, 2018. "University-industry collaborations and product innovation performance: the moderating effects of absorptive capacity and innovation competencies," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(6), pages 1696-1724, December.
    5. Isabel Maria Bodas Freitas & Bart Verspagen, 2017. "The motivations, institutions and organization of university-industry collaborations in the Netherlands," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 379-412, July.
    6. Oguguo, Prince C. & Bodas Freitas, Isabel Maria & Genet, Corine, 2020. "Multilevel institutional analyses of firm benefits from R&D collaboration," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Biggiero, Lucio & Angelini, Pier Paolo, 2015. "Hunting scale-free properties in R&D collaboration networks: Self-organization, power-law and policy issues in the European aerospace research area," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 21-43.
    8. James A. Cunningham & Albert N. Link, 2016. "Exploring the effectiveness of research and innovation policies among European Union countries," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 415-425, June.
    9. Okamuro, Hiroyuki & Nishimura, Junichi, 2018. "Whose business is your project? A comparative study of different subsidy policy schemes for collaborative R&D," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 85-96.
    10. Ben R. Martin, 2015. "R&D Policy Instruments: A Critical Review of What We Do & Don't Know," Working Papers wp476, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    11. Pier Paolo Angelini, "undated". "The role of inter-organizational proximity on the evolution of the European Aerospace R&D collaboration network," CERIS Working Paper 201402, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY.
    12. Nishimura, Junichi & Okamuro, Hiroyuki, 2018. "Internal and external discipline: The effect of project leadership and government monitoring on the performance of publicly funded R&D consortia," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(5), pages 840-853.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Strategic R&D collaborations; European framework programs; Research joint ventures; L21; L24; O31; O32;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • L24 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Contracting Out; Joint Ventures
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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