IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/zbw/ifweej/201918.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovation strategies of Swiss firms: Identification, dynamics and intra-industry heterogeneity

Author

Listed:
  • Hollenstein, Heinz

Abstract

The study aims at providing new evidence with respect to the still unresolved question, whether the innovation behaviour of firms reflects industry-specific characteristics ('technological regime approach'), or whether it is the outcome of firm-specific strategies to gaining a competitive edge ('strategic management view'). To this end, the author firstly identifies a set of innovation strategies (cluster analysis), whose adequacy he evaluates using the 'economics of innovation' as reference. Secondly, the author investigates the dynamics of innovation strategies to get some insights into structural change of the economy. Thirdly, he examines, based on a large number of 4-digit industries, the intra-industry heterogeneity of innovation strategies. Finally, the author analyses in a production function framework the relative importance of a company's innovation strategy and its industry affiliation as determinants of firm performance. The third part of the paper tends to support the 'strategic management view' (high intra-industry heterogeneity), while the final one is rather in line with the 'technological regime approach' (industry affiliation is more important as a factor determining firm performance). These opposite findings indicate that a company has a certain room of manoeuvre to choose an innovation strategy in line with its specific capabilities, but some structural characteristics at industry level restrict its strategic options.

Suggested Citation

  • Hollenstein, Heinz, 2019. "Innovation strategies of Swiss firms: Identification, dynamics and intra-industry heterogeneity," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 13, pages 1-61.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifweej:201918
    DOI: 10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2019-18
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2019-18
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/193912/1/1067785930.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.5018/economics-ejournal.ja.2019-18?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roud, Vitaliy, 2018. "Understanding the heterogeneity of innovation modes: Performance effects, barriers, and demand for state support," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 238-253.
    2. Winter, Sidney G., 1984. "Schumpeterian competition in alternative technological regimes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 5(3-4), pages 287-320.
    3. Peneder, Michael, 2010. "Technological regimes and the variety of innovation behaviour: Creating integrated taxonomies of firms and sectors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 323-334, April.
    4. Heinz Hollenstein, 2001. "Innovation Modes in the Swiss Service Sector," WIFO Working Papers 156, WIFO.
    5. Jensen, Morten Berg & Johnson, Bjorn & Lorenz, Edward & Lundvall, Bengt Ake, 2007. "Forms of knowledge and modes of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 680-693, June.
    6. Marion Frenz & Ray Lambert, 2012. "Mixed Modes of Innovation: An Empiric Approach to Capturing Firms' Innovation Behaviour," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2012/6, OECD Publishing.
    7. Nelson, Richard R. & Winter, Sidney G., 1993. "In search of useful theory of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 108-108, April.
    8. ANITA M. McGAHAN & MICHAEL E. PORTER, 1997. "How Much Does Industry Matter, Really?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(S1), pages 15-30, July.
    9. Pavitt, Keith, 1984. "Sectoral patterns of technical change: Towards a taxonomy and a theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 343-373, December.
    10. Joachim Wagner, 2016. "International Trade and Firm Performance: A Survey of Empirical Studies since 2006," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Microeconometrics of International Trade, chapter 2, pages 43-87, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. Hollenstein, Heinz, 2003. "Innovation modes in the Swiss service sector: a cluster analysis based on firm-level data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 845-863, May.
    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. Hollenstein, Heinz, 2018. "Innovation strategies of firms: Identification, dynamics and intra-industry heterogeneity," Economics Discussion Papers 2018-24, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    2. Alp Eren Yurtseven & Mehmet Teoman Pamukçu, 2022. "Innovation patterns in firms and intra-industry heterogeneity empirical evidence from Turkey," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 645-679, September.
    3. Trigo, Alexandre & Vence, Xavier, 2012. "Scope and patterns of innovation cooperation in Spanish service enterprises," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 602-613.
    4. Peneder, Michael, 2010. "Technological regimes and the variety of innovation behaviour: Creating integrated taxonomies of firms and sectors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 323-334, April.
    5. Chang, Yuan-Chieh & Chen, Min-Nan, 2016. "Service regime and innovation clusters: An empirical study from service firms in Taiwan," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1845-1857.
    6. Leiponen, Aija & Drejer, Ina, 2007. "What exactly are technological regimes?: Intra-industry heterogeneity in the organization of innovation activities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 1221-1238, October.
    7. Haeri, Ali & Arabmazar, Abbas, 2018. "Designing an Industrial Policy for Developing Countries: a New Approach," MPRA Paper 89048, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Attila Havas, 2016. "Social and Business Innovations: Are Common Measurement Approaches Possible?," Foresight-Russia Форсайт, CyberLeninka;Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования «Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики», vol. 10(2 (eng)), pages 58-80.
    9. Fulvio Castellacci, 2007. "Technological regimes and sectoral differences in productivity growth ," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 16(6), pages 1105-1145, December.
    10. de Jong, Jeroen P.J. & Marsili, Orietta, 2006. "The fruit flies of innovations: A taxonomy of innovative small firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 213-229, March.
    11. Herstad, Sverre J. & Aslesen, Heidi Wiig & Ebersberger, Bernd, 2014. "On industrial knowledge bases, commercial opportunities and global innovation network linkages," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 495-504.
    12. Marcel Ausloos & Francesca Bartolacci & Nicola G. Castellano & Roy Cerqueti, 2018. "Exploring how innovation strategies at time of crisis influence performance: a cluster analysis perspective," Papers 1808.05893, arXiv.org.
    13. Buzzacchi, Luigi & Colombo, Massimo G. & Mariotti, Sergio, 1995. "Technological regimes and innovation in services: the case of the Italian banking industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 151-168, January.
    14. Castellacci, Fulvio, 2008. "Innovation and the competitiveness of industries: comparing the mainstream and the evolutionary approaches," MPRA Paper 27523, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Dosi, Giovanni & Nelson, Richard R., 2010. "Technical Change and Industrial Dynamics as Evolutionary Processes," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 51-127, Elsevier.
    16. Sandra Silva, 2009. "On evolutionary technological change and economic growth: Lakatos as a starting point for appraisal," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 111-135, February.
    17. Alessandro Nuvolari & Emanuele Russo, 2019. "Technical progress and structural change: a long-term view," LEM Papers Series 2019/17, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    18. Mario Corona & Youngjung Geum & Sungjoo Lee, 2017. "Patterns of Protecting Both Technological and Nontechnological Innovation for Service Offerings: Case of the Video-Game Industry," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 192-204, September.
    19. Tether, Bruce S. & Tajar, Abdelouahid, 2008. "The organisational-cooperation mode of innovation and its prominence amongst European service firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 720-739, May.
    20. Lee, You-Na & Walsh, John P., 2016. "Inventing while you work: Knowledge, non-R&D learning and innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 345-359.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation; firm-level taxonomy of innovation strategies; dynamics of innovation strategies; intra-industry heterogeneity of innovation behaviour; impact of firm strategies and industry affiliation on performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • 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
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    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:zbw:ifweej:201918. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iwkiede.html .

    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.