IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/ijimxx/v23y2019i05ns1363919619500464.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cooperation For Innovation And Its Impact On Technological And Non-Technological Innovations: Empirical Evidence For European Smes In Traditional Manufacturing Industries

Author

Listed:
  • DRAGANA RADICIC

    (Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, UK)

  • DAVID DOUGLAS

    (Leeds Beckett University Business School, UK)

  • GEOFF PUGH

    (Staffordshire University Business School, UK)

  • IAN JACKSON

    (University of Wolverhampton Business School, UK)

Abstract

Drawing on a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in traditional manufacturing industries from seven EU regions, this study investigates how cooperation with external organisations affects technological (product and process) innovations and non-technological (organisational and marketing) innovations as well as the commercial success of product and process innovations (i.e., innovative sales). Our empirical strategy takes into account that all four types of innovation are potentially complementary. Empirical results suggest that cooperation increases firms’ innovativeness and yields substantial commercial benefits. In particular, increasing the number of cooperation partnerships has a positive impact on all measures of innovation performance. We conclude that a portfolio approach to cooperation enhances innovation performance and that innovation support programs should be demand-led.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ijimxx:v:23:y:2019:i:05:n:s1363919619500464
    DOI: 10.1142/S1363919619500464
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1363919619500464
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1142/S1363919619500464?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. 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.
    2. Doran, Justin, 2012. "Are different forms of innovation complements or substitutes?," MPRA Paper 44580, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. José Albors-Garrigos & José L. Hervas-Oliver, 2011. "Making sense of innovation by R&D and non-R&D innovators in low technology contexts: a forgotten lesson for policymakers," Working Papers. Serie EC 2011-06, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    4. Mariti, P & Smiley, R H, 1983. "Co-Operative Agreements and the Organization of Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 437-451, June.
    5. David J. TEECE, 2008. "Profiting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Transfer And Licensing Of Know-How And Intellectual Property Understanding the Multinational Enterprise in the Modern World, chapter 5, pages 67-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. 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.
    7. René Belderbos & Martin Carree & Boris Lokshin & Juan Fernández Sastre, 2015. "Inter-temporal patterns of R&D collaboration and innovative performance," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 123-137, February.
    8. Christoph Grimpe & Ulrich Kaiser, 2010. "Balancing Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition: The Gains and Pains from R&D Outsourcing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(8), pages 1483-1509, December.
    9. Claudio Cozza & Antonello Zanfei, 2016. "Firm heterogeneity, absorptive capacity and technical linkages with external parties in Italy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 872-890, August.
    10. Hagedoorn, John & Wang, Ning, 2012. "Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1072-1083.
    11. Ziegler, Andreas & Seijas Nogareda, Jazmin, 2009. "Environmental management systems and technological environmental innovations: Exploring the causal relationship," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 885-893, June.
    12. Eugenio J. Miravete & José C. Pernías, 2006. "Innovation Complementarity And Scale Of Production," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 1-29, March.
    13. Raquel Ortega-Argilés & Marco Vivarelli & Peter Voigt, 2009. "R&D in SMEs: a paradox?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 3-11, June.
    14. Schmiedeberg, Claudia, 2008. "Complementarities of innovation activities: An empirical analysis of the German manufacturing sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1492-1503, October.
    15. Schmidt, Tobias & Rammer, Christian, 2007. "Non-technological and Technological Innovation: Strange Bedfellows?," ZEW Discussion Papers 07-052, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    16. Liker, Jeffrey K. & Kamath, Rajan R. & Nazli Wasti, S. & Nagamachi, Mitsuo, 1996. "Supplier involvement in automotive component design: are there really large US Japan differences?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 59-89, January.
    17. Mark Freel, 2000. "External linkages and product innovation in small manufacturing firms," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 245-266, July.
    18. Tether, Bruce S., 2002. "Who co-operates for innovation, and why: An empirical analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 947-967, August.
    19. Tomlinson, Philip R. & Fai, Felicia M., 2013. "The nature of SME co-operation and innovation: A multi-scalar and multi-dimensional analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(1), pages 316-326.
    20. Erica Mazzola & Manfredi Bruccoleri & Giovanni Perrone, 2012. "The Effect Of Inbound, Outbound And Coupled Innovation On Performance," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(06), pages 1-27.
    21. Fontana, Roberto & Geuna, Aldo & Matt, Mireille, 2006. "Factors affecting university-industry R&D projects: The importance of searching, screening and signalling," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 309-323, March.
    22. Alfred Kleinknecht & Kees Van Montfort & Erik Brouwer, 2002. "The Non-Trivial Choice between Innovation Indicators," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 109-121.
    23. Laursen, Keld & Salter, Ammon, 2004. "Searching high and low: what types of firms use universities as a source of innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1201-1215, October.
    24. 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.
    25. Hyunbae Chun & Sung-Bae Mun, 2012. "Determinants of R&D cooperation in small and medium-sized enterprises," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 419-436, September.
    26. Wesley M. Cohen & Richard R. Nelson & John P. Walsh, 2003. "Links and Impacts: The Influence of Public Research on Industrial R&D," Chapters, in: Aldo Geuna & Ammon J. Salter & W. Edward Steinmueller (ed.), Science and Innovation, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    27. Lisa De Propris, 2002. "Types of innovation and inter-firm co-operation," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(4), pages 337-353, October.
    28. Negassi, S., 2004. "R&D co-operation and innovation a microeconometric study on French firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 365-384, April.
    29. 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.
    30. Blundell, Richard & Griffith, Rachel & Van Reenen, John, 1995. "Dynamic Count Data Models of Technological Innovation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(429), pages 333-344, March.
    31. Toke Reichstein & Ammon Salter, 2006. "Investigating the sources of process innovation among UK manufacturing firms," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 15(4), pages 653-682, August.
    32. Lopez, Alberto, 2008. "Determinants of R&D cooperation: Evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 113-136, January.
    33. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2002. "R&D Cooperation and Spillovers: Some Empirical Evidence from Belgium," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(4), pages 1169-1184, September.
    34. Bessant, John & Rush, Howard, 1995. "Building bridges for innovation: the role of consultants in technology transfer," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 97-114, January.
    35. Tomlinson, Philip R., 2010. "Co-operative ties and innovation: Some new evidence for UK manufacturing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 762-775, July.
    36. de Faria, Pedro & Lima, Francisco & Santos, Rui, 2010. "Cooperation in innovation activities: The importance of partners," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1082-1092, October.
    37. Raquel Ortega-Argilés & Peter Voigt, 2009. "Business R&D in SMEs," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation 2009-7, Joint Research Centre.
    38. repec:bla:jomstd:v:47:y:2010:i:s2:p:1483-1509 is not listed on IDEAS
    39. John Hagedoorn, 1993. "Understanding the rationale of strategic technology partnering: Interorganizational modes of cooperation and sectoral differences," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(5), pages 371-385, July.
    40. Bernd Ebersberger & Carter Bloch & Sverre J. Herstad & Els Van De Velde, 2012. "Open Innovation Practices And Their Effect On Innovation Performance," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(06), pages 1-23.
    41. 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.
    42. Gunnar Pippel, 2014. "R&D cooperation for non-technological innovations," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7), pages 611-630, October.
    43. Azagra-Caro, Joaquin M. & Archontakis, Fragiskos & Gutierrez-Gracia, Antonio & Fernandez-de-Lucio, Ignacio, 2006. "Faculty support for the objectives of university-industry relations versus degree of R&D cooperation: The importance of regional absorptive capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 37-55, February.
    44. Santamara, Llus & Nieto, Mara Jess & Barge-Gil, Andrs, 2009. "Beyond formal R&D: Taking advantage of other sources of innovation in low- and medium-technology industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 507-517, April.
    45. James H. Love & Stephen Roper & Priit Vahter, 2014. "Learning from openness: The dynamics of breadth in external innovation linkages," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(11), pages 1703-1716, November.
    46. Lorenzo Cappellari & Stephen P. Jenkins, 2003. "Multivariate probit regression using simulated maximum likelihood," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 3(3), pages 278-294, September.
    47. Kuo-Feng Huang & Chwo-Ming Yu, 2011. "The effect of competitive and non-competitive R&D collaboration on firm innovation," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 383-403, August.
    48. Wintjes, R. & Douglas, D. & Fairburn, J. & Hollanders, H. & Pugh, G., 2014. "The impact of innovation support programmes on SME innovation in traditional manufacturing industries: an evaluation for seven EU regions," MERIT Working Papers 2014-033, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    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. Beynon, Malcolm & Pickernell, David & Battisti, Martina & Jones, Paul, 2024. "A panel fsQCA investigation on European regional innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    2. Antonio García-Sánchez & Ruth Rama, 2022. "Cooperative innovation and crises: Foreign subsidiaries, state-owned enterprises, and domestic private firms [Directorship Interlocks in Comparative Perspective: The Case of Spain]," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 49(6), pages 915-927.
    3. Dragana Radicic & Jonathan Pinto, 2019. "Collaboration with External Organizations and Technological Innovations: Evidence from Spanish Manufacturing Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-31, April.
    4. Beynon, Malcolm J. & Jones, Paul & Pickernell, David, 2023. "Evaluating EU-Region level innovation readiness: A longitudinal analysis using principal component analysis and a constellation graph index approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    5. Jin Guo & Bingmei Gu & Xialing Sun & Jinli Xue & Baiyun Yuan, 2019. "Communication Barrier, Spillover Effect and Industrial-Technological Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-20, September.
    6. Irina I. Frolova & Vladimir V. Nosov & Nadezhda B. Zavyalova & Aleksei E. Dorofeev & Tatiana M. Vorozheykina & Lyudmila I. Petrova, 2020. "Labor opportunism as a blocking factor for the innovative development of industrial enterprises," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 7(3), pages 2228-2242, March.
    7. Haoyang Song & Ruixu Chen & Xiucai Yang & Jianhua Hou, 2024. "How Does the Innovation Openness of China’s Sci-Tech Innovation Enterprises Support Innovation Quality: The Mediation Role of Structural Embeddedness," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-21, September.

    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. 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.
    2. Jose Polo & Néstor Duch & Martí Parellada, 2011. "University as a collaborator partner and firm's performance: Measuring behavioral additionality," ERSA conference papers ersa11p671, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Andræs Barge-Gil, 2013. "Open Strategies and Innovation Performance," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(7), pages 585-610, October.
    4. Caloghirou, Yannis & Giotopoulos, Ioannis & Kontolaimou, Alexandra & Korra, Efthymia & Tsakanikas, Aggelos, 2021. "Industry-university knowledge flows and product innovation: How do knowledge stocks and crisis matter?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(3).
    5. Hewitt-Dundas, Nola & Gkypali, Areti & Roper, Stephen, 2019. "Does learning from prior collaboration help firms to overcome the ‘two-worlds’ paradox in university-business collaboration?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 1310-1322.
    6. 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.
    7. Behrens, Vanessa & Berger, Marius & Hud, Martin & Hünermund, Paul & Iferd, Younes & Peters, Bettina & Rammer, Christian & Schubert, Torben, 2017. "Innovation activities of firms in Germany - Results of the German CIS 2012 and 2014: Background report on the surveys of the Mannheim Innovation Panel Conducted in the Years 2013 to 2016," ZEW Dokumentationen 17-04, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    8. Luca Pennacchio & Giuseppe Piroli & Otello Ardovino, 2018. "The Role of R&D Cooperation in Firm Innovation," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01), pages 1-27, February.
    9. Carboni, Oliviero A. & Medda, Giuseppe, 2021. "External R&D and product innovation: Is over-outsourcing an issue?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Bernal, Pilar & Carree, Martin & Lokshin, Boris, 2022. "Knowledge spillovers, R&D partnerships and innovation performance," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    11. Vitaliy Roud & Valeriya Vlasova, 2020. "Strategies of industry-science cooperation in the Russian manufacturing sector," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 870-907, June.
    12. Hyunbae Chun & Sung-Bae Mun, 2012. "Determinants of R&D cooperation in small and medium-sized enterprises," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 419-436, September.
    13. A. Lasagni, 2011. "European SMEs, external relationships and innovation: some empirical evidence," Economics Department Working Papers 2011-EP04, Department of Economics, Parma University (Italy).
    14. 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.
    15. Erika Badillo & Rosina Moreno, 2012. "“What Drives the Choice of Partners in R&D Cooperation? Heterogeneity across Sectors”," IREA Working Papers 201213, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jul 2012.
    16. Ibañez-Zarate, Guiomar, 2015. "The determinants of partner choice for cooperative innovation: The effect of competition," Working Papers 2072/252214, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
    17. Gallego, Jorge & Rubalcaba, Luis & Suárez, Cristina, 2013. "Knowledge for innovation in Europe: The role of external knowledge on firms' cooperation strategies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 2034-2041.
    18. Segarra-Blasco, Agusti­ & Arauzo-Carod, Josep-Maria, 2008. "Sources of innovation and industry-university interaction: Evidence from Spanish firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 1283-1295, September.
    19. 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.
    20. Isabel Freitas & Tommy Clausen & Roberto Fontana & Bart Verspagen, 2011. "Formal and informal external linkages and firms’ innovative strategies. A cross-country comparison," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 91-119, February.

    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:wsi:ijimxx:v:23:y:2019:i:05:n:s1363919619500464. 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: Tai Tone Lim (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.worldscinet.com/ijim/ijim.shtml .

    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.