IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/ecinnt/v32y2023i6p826-850.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Local knowledge spillovers and innovation persistence of firms

Author

Listed:
  • Adelheid Holl
  • Bettina Peters
  • Christian Rammer

Abstract

Innovation activities of firms tend to be highly persistent. Yet, little is still known about potential spatial contingencies affecting the degree of persistence. This paper analyses the influence of local knowledge spillovers on firms’ persistence in innovation activities. Using a representative panel data set of firms in Germany from 2002 to 2016, complemented by detailed geographic information of patent activity over discrete distances to proxy local knowledge spillovers, we find that the local patenting activity positively moderates persistency in innovation activities. Estimations with different distance bands show that the strength of knowledge spillovers that contribute to innovation persistence attenuates with increasing distance and vanishes beyond 30 kilometres in manufacturing and beyond 20 kilometres in services.

Suggested Citation

  • Adelheid Holl & Bettina Peters & Christian Rammer, 2023. "Local knowledge spillovers and innovation persistence of firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(6), pages 826-850, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:32:y:2023:i:6:p:826-850
    DOI: 10.1080/10438599.2022.2036609
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/10438599.2022.2036609
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/10438599.2022.2036609?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 look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wladimir Raymond & Pierre Mohnen & Franz Palm & Sybrand Schim van der Loeff, 2010. "Persistence of Innovation in Dutch Manufacturing: Is It Spurious?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(3), pages 495-504, August.
    2. Tommy Clausen & Mikko Pohjola & Koson Sapprasert & Bart Verspagen, 2012. "Innovation strategies as a source of persistent innovation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 21(3), pages 553-585, June.
    3. Cefis, Elena & Orsenigo, Luigi, 2001. "The persistence of innovative activities: A cross-countries and cross-sectors comparative analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1139-1158, August.
    4. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen & Du, Jun, 2009. "Innovation, ownership and profitability," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 424-434, May.
    5. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2005. "Simple solutions to the initial conditions problem in dynamic, nonlinear panel data models with unobserved heterogeneity," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 39-54, January.
    6. Martin Woerter, 2014. "Competition and Persistence of R&D," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(5-6), pages 469-489, September.
    7. Cristiano Antonelli & Francesco Crespi & Giuseppe Scellato, 2013. "Internal and external factors in innovation persistence," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 256-280, April.
    8. Stuart S. Rosenthal & William C. Strange, 2003. "Geography, Industrial Organization, and Agglomeration," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(2), pages 377-393, May.
    9. Yasusada Murata & Ryo Nakajima & Ryosuke Okamoto & Ryuichi Tamura, 2014. "Localized Knowledge Spillovers and Patent Citations: A Distance-Based Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(5), pages 967-985, December.
    10. Peters, Bettina & Roberts, Mark J. & Vuong, Van Anh, 2022. "Firm R&D investment and export market exposure," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    11. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2015_027 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Paul Geroski & Steve Machin & John Van Reenen, 1993. "The Profitability of Innovating Firms," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(2), pages 198-211, Summer.
    13. Dorner, Matthias & Harhoff, Dietmar, 2018. "A novel technology-industry concordance table based on linked inventor-establishment data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 768-781.
    14. Feldman, Maryann P. & Audretsch, David B., 1999. "Innovation in cities:: Science-based diversity, specialization and localized competition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 409-429, February.
    15. Audretsch, David B. & Feldman, Maryann P., 2004. "Knowledge spillovers and the geography of innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 61, pages 2713-2739, Elsevier.
    16. Bettina Peters, 2009. "Persistence of innovation: stylised facts and panel data evidence," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 226-243, April.
    17. Wallsten, Scott J., 2001. "An empirical test of geographic knowledge spillovers using geographic information systems and firm-level data," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 571-599, September.
    18. Cohen, Wesley M & Klepper, Steven, 1996. "A Reprise of Size and R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 925-951, July.
    19. Christian Le Bas & Giuseppe Scellato, 2014. "Firm innovation persistence: a fresh look at the frameworks of analysis," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(5-6), pages 423-446, September.
    20. Bottazzi, Laura & Peri, Giovanni, 2003. "Innovation and spillovers in regions: Evidence from European patent data," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 687-710, August.
    21. M. S. Gertler & Y. M. Levitte, 2005. "Local Nodes in Global Networks: The Geography of Knowledge Flows in Biotechnology Innovation," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 487-507.
    22. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    23. Geroski, P. A. & Van Reenen, J. & Walters, C. F., 1997. "How persistently do firms innovate?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 33-48, March.
    24. Bersch, Johannes & Gottschalk, Sandra & Müller, Bettina & Niefert, Michaela, 2014. "The Mannheim Enterprise Panel (MUP) and firm statistics for Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 14-104, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    25. Gillian Bristow & Adrian Healy, 2018. "Innovation and regional economic resilience: an exploratory analysis," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 60(2), pages 265-284, March.
    26. Adam Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 1999. "International Knowledge Flows: Evidence From Patent Citations," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1-2), pages 105-136.
    27. Gary Chamberlain, 1980. "Analysis of Covariance with Qualitative Data," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 225-238.
    28. Samuel Kortum & Jonathan Putnam, 1997. "Assigning Patents to Industries: Tests of the Yale Technology Concordance," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 161-176.
    29. Roper, Stephen & Love, James H. & Bonner, Karen, 2017. "Firms’ knowledge search and local knowledge externalities in innovation performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 43-56.
    30. Filippetti, Andrea & Archibugi, Daniele, 2011. "Innovation in times of crisis: National Systems of Innovation, structure, and demand," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 179-192, March.
    31. Davide Castellani, 2017. "The Changing Geography of Innovation and the Role of Multinational Enterprises," John H Dunning Centre for International Business Discussion Papers jhd-dp2017-02, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
    32. Harald Bathelt & Patrick Cohendet, 2014. "The creation of knowledge: local building, global accessing and economic development—toward an agenda," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(5), pages 869-882.
    33. Philip Cooke & Bjørn Asheim & Ron Boschma & Ron Martin & Dafna Schwartz & Franz Tödtling (ed.), 2011. "Handbook of Regional Innovation and Growth," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13482.
    34. Bianchini, Stefano & Pellegrino, Gabriele, 2019. "Innovation persistence and employment dynamics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 1171-1186.
    35. Ada Leiponen, 2000. "Competencies, Innovation And Profitability Of Firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24.
    36. Flaig, Gebhard & Stadler, Manfred, 1994. "Success Breeds Success. The Dynamics of the Innovation Process," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 55-68.
    37. Heckman, James J, 1991. "Identifying the Hand of the Past: Distinguishing State Dependence from Heterogeneity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 75-79, May.
    38. Jaffe, Adam B, 1986. "Technological Opportunity and Spillovers of R&D: Evidence from Firms' Patents, Profits, and Market Value," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 984-1001, December.
    39. Aija Leiponen & Constance E. Helfat, 2011. "Location, Decentralization, and Knowledge Sources for Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 641-658, June.
    40. Guarascio, Dario & Tamagni, Federico, 2019. "Persistence of innovation and patterns of firm growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(6), pages 1493-1512.
    41. Buzard, Kristy & Carlino, Gerald A. & Hunt, Robert M. & Carr, Jake K. & Smith, Tony E., 2020. "Localized knowledge spillovers: Evidence from the spatial clustering of R&D labs and patent citations," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    42. Audretsch, David B & Feldman, Maryann P, 1996. "R&D Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 630-640, June.
    43. Sam Tavassoli & Charlie Karlsson, 2018. "The role of regional context on innovation persistency of firms," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 97(4), pages 931-955, November.
    44. repec:zbw:bofrdp:urn:nbn:fi:bof-201512111472 is not listed on IDEAS
    45. Peter Thompson, 2006. "Patent Citations and the Geography of Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from Inventor- and Examiner-added Citations," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 383-388, May.
    46. Fred Gault (ed.), 2013. "Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14427.
    47. Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), 2015. "Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 5, number 5.
    48. Lööf, Hans & Johansson, Börje, 2013. "R&D Strategy, Metropolitan Externalities and Productivity," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 313, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    49. Jorge Niosi & Majlinda Zhegu, 2005. "Aerospace Clusters: Local or Global Knowledge Spillovers?," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 5-29.
    50. Rammer, Christian & Schubert, Torben, 2018. "Concentration on the few: mechanisms behind a falling share of innovative firms in Germany," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 379-389.
    51. Adelheid Holl & Ruth Rama, 2016. "Persistence of innovative activities in times of crisis: the case of the Basque Country," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(10), pages 1863-1883, October.
    52. Elena Cefis & Matteo Ciccarelli, 2005. "Profit differentials and innovation," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1-2), pages 43-61.
    53. Michael Funke & Annekatrin Niebuhr, 2005. "Regional Geographic Research and Development Spillovers and Economic Growth: Evidence from West Germany," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 143-153.
    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. Burgi, Constantin & Gorgulu, Nisan, 2021. "The Impact of the Spatial Population Distribution on Economic Growth," Working Papers 17-2021, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    2. Constantin Bürgi & Nisan Gorgulu, 2022. "The Impact of the Spatial Population Distribution on Economic Growth: Evidence from the United States," CESifo Working Paper Series 10008, CESifo.

    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. Davide Antonioli & Sandro Montresor, 2021. "Innovation persistence in times of crisis: an analysis of Italian firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1739-1764, April.
    2. Fontana, Roberto & Vezzulli, Andrea, 2016. "Technological leadership and persistence in product innovation in the Local Area Network industry 1990–1999," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1604-1619.
    3. Tavassoli, Sam & Karlsson, Charlie, 2015. "Persistence of various types of innovation analyzed and explained," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10), pages 1887-1901.
    4. Mañez, J.A. & Love, J.H., 2020. "Quantifying sunk costs and learning effects in R&D persistence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    5. Marta F. Arroyabe & Martin Schumann, 2022. "On the Estimation of True State Dependence in the Persistence of Innovation," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(4), pages 850-893, August.
    6. Rammer, Christian & Schubert, Torben, 2016. "Concentration on the few? R&D and innovation in German firms 2001 to 2013," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-005, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Christian Rammer & Jan Kinne & Knut Blind, 2020. "Knowledge proximity and firm innovation: A microgeographic analysis for Berlin," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(5), pages 996-1014, April.
    8. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    9. Erika Raquel Badillo & Rosina Moreno, 2014. "“Are R&D collaborative agreements persistent at the firm level? Empirical evidence for the Spanish case”," IREA Working Papers 201410, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Mar 2014.
    10. Claudia Pigini & Alessandro Sterlacchini & Francesco Valentini, 2023. "Persistence Of R&D Intensities In The World'S Top Investors In R&D," Working Papers 480, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    11. Josep Tomàs-Porres & Agustí Segarra-Blasco & Mercedes Teruel, 2023. "Export and variability in the innovative status," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(2), pages 257-279, June.
    12. Ganter, Alois & Hecker, Achim, 2013. "Persistence of innovation: Discriminating between types of innovation and sources of state dependence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1431-1445.
    13. Tobias Schlegel & Curdin Pfister & Dietmar Harhoff & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2022. "Innovation effects of universities of applied sciences: an assessment of regional heterogeneity," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 63-118, February.
    14. Bianchini, Stefano & Pellegrino, Gabriele, 2019. "Innovation persistence and employment dynamics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 1171-1186.
    15. repec:bof:bofrdp:urn:nbn:fi:bof-201512111472 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Rituparna Kaushik & Sourabh Bikas Paul, 2022. "Do Competition Improve Persistence in Innovation Effort? Sectoral Patterns and Evidence from India," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 259-296, June.
    17. Antonelli Cristiano & Crespi, Francesco & Scellato, Giuseppe, 2013. "Path Dependent Patterns of Persistence in Productivity Growth," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201310, University of Turin.
    18. Guarascio, Dario & Tamagni, Federico, 2019. "Persistence of innovation and patterns of firm growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(6), pages 1493-1512.
    19. Ana Paula Faria & Natália Barbosa & Vasco Eiriz, 2015. "Firm Innovation and Co-Location in Portugal," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 574-592, December.
    20. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    21. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2015_027 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Triguero, Ángela & Córcoles, David, 2013. "Understanding innovation: An analysis of persistence for Spanish manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 340-352.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis

    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:taf:ecinnt:v:32:y:2023:i:6:p:826-850. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/GEIN20 .

    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.