Firm Location, Corporate Structure, R&D Investment, Innovation and Productivity

Börje Johansson, Hans Lööf () and Amy Olsson ()

No 31, Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation from Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies

Abstract: This study elucidates how firm location and corporate structure influence R&D-intensity, external collaboration on innovation, return on R&D and economic performance. The study, based on 1,907 firm level observations, essentially compare a functional region with four other regional areas in Sweden. In this context, the Stockholm region is assumed as an integrated functional urban region with innovation-proximity characteristics. The paper examines systematically the influence of location versus various firm characteristics. The econometric results suggest the following: First, a typical Stockholm firm has a significantly larger likelihood than other firms of being engaged in innovation activities. Second, among innovative firms, the R&D intensity and global collaboration on innovation is primarily determined by its corporate structure, not geographic location. Third, the embeddedness in regional and national scientific and vertical innovation systems is relatively more intense outside Stockholm. Finally, the advantage of being located within Sweden’s most strongest concentration of R&D spending, universities, human capital and multinational enterprises with their global networks is reflected by a superior return on R&D investments and higher productivity, when controlling for firm size, human capital, physical capital, R&D-intensity, market orientation and sector classification.

Keywords: Regional economy; multinational companies; R&D; innovation; innovation system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 G34 L22 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2005-05-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-ino, nep-net, nep-tid and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Working Paper: Firm location, Corporate Structure, R&D Investment, Innovation and Productivity (2005)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0031

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