Does organizational innovation moderate technical innovation directly or indirectly?

We find a divergence in the literature regarding the treatment of how organizational innovation affects innovation and performance. One point of view suggests that organizational innovation impacts performance only, while the other suggests that it impacts technical innovation and firm performance. We use the framework of Crepon-Duguet-Mairesse (CDM) to control for endogeneity; we also use two different measures for organizational innovation. Our contributions to the literature are: the CDM framework in this context is novel; prior research either did not/could not control for endogeneity whereas the CDM framework mitigates this. To discriminate between the direct and indirect approach, we implemented AIC and BIC tests. We find that for the innovation equations in all cases and regardless of which organizational innovation variable is used the direct model is preferable. In contrast, for the productivity equations, we find that in all cases the indirect model is preferable. Thus we do not have a definitive statistical test for which model is superior. Yet, it is our contention that organizational innovation is a new routine within the firm that should impact technical innovation. Furthermore, organizational design theories deduce that organizational innovation should impact technical innovation-implying that the direct model is indeed preferable.     

Product innovation,process innovation and export propensity: persistence,complementarities and feedback effects in Spanish firms

Drawing on a longitudinal data of Spanish manufacturing firms, this study explores the persistence of technological innovation and exports, their potential complementary relations and feedback effects. Empirical results suggest the presence of both true and spurious state dependence in all three activities. True state dependence in technical innovation and exports implies intertemporal spillovers relevant to the evaluation of innovation and export policy measures. However, given that results also suggest spurious state dependence, firm-specific characteristics should be taken into account in promoting technological innovations and exports. In addition, we find a strong complementarity between product and process innovation both through a contemporaneous effect and via unobserved firm characteristics. However, concerning complementarity between innovation and exports, results suggests complementarity only through contemporaneous effects. Finally, we find no support for the causal link from past product and process innovations to current export activities.     

Disentangling the effects of process and product innovation on cost and demand

ABSTRACT

We explore in this note different structural models of the impact of process and product innovation on firms' demand and production cost functions. We find that the introduction of process and product innovations affects them differently as could be expected. Both product and process innovation shift forward the demand for the products of the firm. Process innovation reduces production marginal cost, but not always. A possibility, that we cannot prove or reject with the current specification of our models and available data, is that process innovation associated with product innovation raise marginal cost. Interestingly, we also find that advertising significantly augments demand but does not affect production marginal cost. To obtain broader conclusions, richer data will be needed allowing an enlargement of the model, in which process and product innovations could be specified distinctively and well identified.     

Vertical educational diversity and innovation performance

This paper uses panel data of Swiss firms to analyse the impact of education-level diversity in the workforce on innovation performance, addressing endogeneity by exploiting within-firm variation as well as variation in labour supply across regions. We find that vertical educational diversity increases the extensive margin of R&D and product innovation, particularly new product innovation. However, the relationship with process innovation, R&D intensity, and product innovation intensity is insignificant. These results are in line with the idea that vertical educational diversity enhances the creative moment of the invention phase, while it has no effect on the commercialization phase due to the relevance of coordination and communication costs relative to the gains in creativity.     

Advanced technology,innovation, wages and productivity in the Canadian manufacturing sector

In this article, we used a two-step estimation procedure, where in the first stage, the number of advanced manufacturing technologies used in the firm was estimated using a negative binomial regression, and the expenditure on process and product innovation was estimated using a type II Tobit procedure. In the second stage, we used the predicted values from the first stage in wage and labour productivity equations. The data were from the 2009 Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy which was linked to the General Index of Financial Information (2004–2009) and the Longitudinal Employment Analysis Program (2004–2009). The implications for policy are that we should not expect large aggregate effects of innovation on productivity and employment. We should expect wage increases and productivity increases, with process innovation. We should also expect moderate wage increases with product innovation, and contrary to process innovation, the effect on productivity of product innovation was negative.     

IS THERE A CURSE OF RELOCATION? ANALYSING THE CAUSAL LINK BETWEEN OFFSHORING AND THE INNOVATION PERFORMANCE OF (SMALL) FIRMS

We analyse the empirical link between offshoring activities and different dimensions of innovation performance at the firm‐level. In order to identify causal effects running from offshoring to innovation, we use a quasi‐experimental comparison group approach by means of (conditional) difference‐in‐difference estimations applied to German establishment‐level data for firms that conducted offshoring activities in the period 2007–13. We find that the international relocation of business functions has a negative impact on the firms’ propensity to be innovative in terms of product and process innovations as well as product improvements. While for larger firms the reduction in process innovations is most striking, potentially due to a lack of resources, stagnation in expertise and a reduction in intra‐organizational learning‐by‐doing associated with the relocation of some business activities, for small and medium‐sized enterprises we particularly observe a reduction in product innovations after the offshoring activity has taken place. When interpreting this ‘pessimistic’ picture on the link between offshoring and the innovation performance of firms, the reader should note that our findings for German establishments have to be assessed through the lens of a global economy in economic recession after 2008, which may have intensified the negative impact of offshoring on the firms’ innovation performance.     

Productivity,innovation strategies and industrial relations in SMEs. Empirical evidence for a local production system in northern Italy

The paper aims to provide an original contribution to evaluating several kinds of relations between four areas of innovation activities – training, technology, organization, ICT (information and communication technologies) – and industrial relations and firm’s economic performance. Quantitative evidence for a SME‐based local production system is provided by exploiting two datasets: the first is derived from a direct survey carried out in 2005 collecting data on innovations, labour flexibility and industrial relations; the second is represented by a panel of official balance sheets data for the period 1998–2004. The analysis is divided in two consequential parts. We first examine the drivers of different innovation strategies and subsequently we exploit innovation indicators as potential drivers of firm’s productivity. The results show that training activities and organizational changes have strong links with many industrial relations indicators, thus emerging as industrial relations driven innovations. On the contrary, ICT and technological innovation seem to be more influenced by firms’ past performances than by industrial relations. The analysis on labour productivity drivers shows that training activities are the most relevant factors; then, ranked consequently, technological innovation, organisational innovations and, finally, ICT also appear to impact on productivity levels. It is worth noting that the role of ICT emerges more robustly when endogeneity is specifically addressed. Finally, the role of firm size seems here to be overshadowed by other drivers.     

Persistence of product innovation: comparing breakthrough and incremental product innovation

In this paper we examine whether and to what extent breakthrough and incremental product innovation is persistent at the firm level. Drawing on a panel database created from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) we find that lagged breakthrough product innovation ‘new to the market’, has a significant and positive influence on firms’ ability to develop current breakthrough innovation, while this is not the case for incremental-product innovation ‘only new to the firm’. Our findings show that the dynamics of innovation persistence differ across types of (product) innovations.     

Imported input varieties and product innovation: Evidence from five developing countries

We examine how access to imported intermediate inputs affects firm‐level product innovation in five developing counties. We combine trade data with survey data on innovation and develop a method to determine whether new inputs were essential for the product innovation. We find evidence that the number of newly imported varieties has a significant impact on product innovations that rely on new inputs and provide suggestive evidence that this effect comes from access to better quality imports. We extend our analysis to assess the consequences of the increase in the number of Chinese exporting firms on product innovation in developing countries.     

Effects of public funding on firm innovation: transforming or reinforcing a weak innovation pattern?

ABSTRACT

This paper adds to the ongoing debate on the effects of public funding programmes on business innovation. This policy instrument, based upon a simple but a robust rationale, has been applied in an almost homogeneous manner in different contexts, but evidence from such experiences is far from shown homogeneous effects. The main contribution of this paper is that it shows the limitations faced by public funding instruments in affecting a traditionally low innovative pattern. Using panel data techniques, we find heterogeneous effects of public funding on the innovation behaviour of Uruguayan firms between 2001 and 2015. Our results show that, after a strong public policy effort, the critical mass of innovative firms has hardly changed. Input additionality effects of public funding in private innovation investment are found, but only for innovation activities based on the acquisition of embodied knowledge. Moreover, we obtain some evidence of behavioural additionality in process and organizational innovation leading to higher productivity levels, but we find no effects on interaction for innovation.     

Does social capital determine innovation? To what extent?

This paper deals with two questions: Does social capital determine innovation in manufacturing firms? If it is the case, to what extent? To deal with these questions, we review the literature on innovation in order to see how social capital came to be added to the other forms of capital as an explanatory variable of innovation. In doing so, we have been led to follow the dominating view of the literature on social capital and innovation which claims that social capital cannot be captured through a single indicator, but that it actually takes many different forms that must be accounted for. Therefore, to the traditional explanatory variables of innovation, we have added five forms of structural social capital (business network assets, information network assets, research network assets, participation assets, and relational assets) and one form of cognitive social capital (reciprocal trust). Based on the survey data administered from April to June 2000 to 440 manufacturing firms of diverse industries in a region in the southwest of Montréal, we have found that 68.5% of the firms have developed product or process innovations during the 3 years preceding the survey. Assuming that innovation is not a discrete event but a complex process, we have modeled the decision to innovate as a two-stage decision-making process: in the first stage, the firms deal with the decision about whether to innovate or not whereas, at the second stage, the firms that have decided to innovate must make a decision about the degree of radicalness of the innovation to undertake. In a context where empirical investigations regarding the relations between social capital and innovation are still scanty, this paper makes contributions to the advancement of knowledge in providing new evidence regarding the impact and the extent of social capital on innovation at the two decision-making stages considered in this study. Regarding the decision to innovate or not that firms must initially make, we have provided strong evidence that diverse forms of social capital influence this decision and, more importantly, that marginal increases in social capital, especially in social capital taking the forms of participation assets and relational assets, contribute more than any other explanatory variable to increase the likelihood of innovation of firms. As for the decision to be made at the second stage concerning the magnitude of radicalness to bring in the development of new product or process innovations, this paper contributes to the advancement of knowledge by supplying the strongest evidence that diverse forms of social capital determine the radicalness of innovation, and more importantly, that social capital taking the form of research network assets contributes more than any other explanatory variable to explain the radicalness of innovation. The second variable that exerts the strongest impact on the radicalness of innovation is the number of different advanced technologies employed by firms for production.     

Complementarity between product and process innovation in a monopoly setting

In this article we study complementarity between market-enhancing product innovation and cost-reducing process innovation in a monopoly setting. First, we consider the possibility for a firm to alternatively invest only along one of the two directions and compare the incentives of process vs. product innovation. Then, we allow the firm to invest simultaneously in both activities, showing that both investment levels and profit are higher than in the case of individual investment. Thus, product and process innovations are complementary, and the firm always prefers the simultaneous adoption of both activities.     

Environmental regulations and innovation activity in UK manufacturing industries

We examine the relationship between environmental regulations and innovation, using data from UK manufacturing industry during 2000-2006. We estimate a dynamic model of innovation behaviour, and explicitly account for the likely endogeneity of our measure of the stringency of environmental regulations (pollution abatement costs). Our results indicate that while on the one hand environmental R&D and investment in environmental capital are stimulated by greater pollution abatement pressures, on the other hand there is not a positive impact of environmental regulation on total R&D or total capital accumulation. We find some evidence that this is because more stringent environmental regulations directly lower the optimal expenditure on non-environmental innovations. In addition, we find that environmental R&D may crowd out non-environmental R&D, although there is no evidence that environmental capital crowds out non-environmental capital.     

New product and service launching in new ventures: a multilevel approach to innovation antecedents

Macro-economic policies such as public financing seek to push the development and introduction of innovations; however, entrepreneurs also need support in their ‘day-to-day’ activities to improve their capability to launch innovations. As this micro-level perspective is rarely studied, we analyze both the micro and macro levels by examining the effects of the entrepreneurs’ individual intention to innovate and public financing. Additionally, we include the meso level, representing entrepreneurs’ network. Entrepreneurs are embedded in social spheres in which they capture resources and identify opportunities. But not all entrepreneurs are equally well supported, and some tend to be completely isolated. We thus focus on multilevel factors explaining new product or service launching in new ventures. Drawing on data of 48,251 French new ventures, we reveal that innovation intention and public financing positively impact new ventures’ product and service innovation launching, while entrepreneurs’ isolation has a negative effect. We also highlight two interaction effects that enhance the multilevel effects of innovation antecedents.     

Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and firm innovation

In this paper, we investigate the impact of directors’ and officers’ insurance (D&O insurance) on firm innovation in China. We find that D&O insurance is significantly positively associated with firm innovation, which indicates that D&O insurance enhances managers’ tolerance for failure. To address endogeneity concerns, we adopt the propensity score matching method and difference-in-differences approach. We find that firms with D&O insurance have a stronger risk bearing capacity. Further analyses show that the impact of D&O insurance on firm innovation is more pronounced in firms with a better legal environment, male executives, and stronger external supervision.     

Innovation and performance – evidence at micro level

This empirical study aims to shed light on the link between innovation and economic performance at micro level. Based on a comprehensive survey among dairy and crop farms in the Netherlands we estimate a structural multi-stage model to deliver evidence on the effect of engagement and investment in innovation on the production of product, process and organizational or marketing innovations as well as on the effect of such innovations on farm level productivity. The results suggest various market and farm behaviour related factors to stimulate an increase in innovation engagement and production. Furthermore, the study reveals that indeed a greater innovation investment per unit (innovation input) leads to a higher probability of producing at least one successful product, process and/or organizational or marketing innovation (innovation output). The production of process and organizational or marketing related innovation leads to significant productivity gains. Various recommendations towards a more effective and efficient innovation policy are finally given.     

Firm persistence in technological innovation: the relevance of organizational innovation

Organizational innovation favors technological innovation, but does it also influence persistence in technological innovation? This paper empirically investigates the pattern of technological innovation persistence and tests the potential impact of organizational innovation using firm-level data from three waves of French Community Innovation Surveys. The evidence indicates a positive effect of organizational innovation on persistence in technological innovation, according to the various measures of organizational innovation. Moreover, this impact is more significant for complex innovators, i.e. those who innovate in both products and processes. The results highlight the complexity of managing organizational practices with regard to the technological innovation of firms. They also add to understanding of the drivers of innovation persistence through the focus on an often forgotten dimension of innovation in a broader sense.     

Types of cooperation partners as determinants of innovation failures

In this paper we analyse if specific R&D cooperation partners are related to an increase in the probability of innovation failures in terms discontinuing innovation projects. We distinguish between seven different R&D cooperation partner types, and we discriminate between product innovation failures and process innovation failures. Using German Community Innovation Survey data we find that, firstly, each type of R&D cooperation partner has a different effect on innovation failures. Secondly, we show that product innovation failures and process innovation failures are not affected in equal measure by the same type of R&D cooperation partner. Our results suggest that while R&D cooperation with public research institutes is significantly and negatively related to the probability to cancel a process innovation project, the coefficient is positive but insignificant for product innovation failures. Firms conducting partnerships with suppliers, however, run the risk of both product and process innovation failures. In turn, cooperation with competitors is positively correlated only to process innovation failures.     

Technological innovation and the demand for labor by firms in expansion and recession

ABSTRACT

With firm data from the Spanish Community Innovation Survey (CIS) for the period 2003–2014, we find a positive and significant effect of innovation in the demand for labor when firms introduce product and process innovations in the same time period. The effect of innovation on the demand for labor is countercyclical, higher in the recession, after 2008, than in the expansion, before 2008, but the probability that firms innovate in product and process is counter-cyclical, i.e. lower in the recession. Altogether, the elasticity of the demand for labor to the probability that firms introduce product and process innovations remains stable throughout the sample period, at around 0.035. Innovation contributes to stabilize average employment during the cycle, more so when the innovation is in product, alone or together with process, than when it is only in process. These results are broadly consistent with product and process innovations shifting firms’ demand and production functions upwards, but differentially in expansions (less product market competition) than in contractions (more competition).