Impact of external knowledge acquisition strategies on innovation: a comparative study based on Dutch and Swiss panel data

Spyros Arvanitis, Boris Lokshin, Pierre Mohnen and M. Wörter
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M. Wörter: KOF, ETH Zürich
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Martin Woerter

No 2013-003, MERIT Working Papers from United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT)

Abstract: There is growing evidence that firms increasingly adopt open innovation practices. In this paper we investigate the impact of two such external knowledge acquisition strategies, 'buy' and 'cooperate', on firm's product innovation performance. Taking a direct (productivity) approach, we test for complementarity effects in the simultaneous use of the two strategies, and in the intensity of their use. Our results based on large panels of Dutch and Swiss innovating firms, suggest that while both 'buy' and 'cooperate' have a positive effect on innovation, there is little statistical evidence that using them simultaneously leads to higher innovation performance. Results from the Dutch sample provide some indication, that there are positive economies of scope in doing external and cooperative R&D simultaneously conditional on doing internal R&D.

Keywords: Open innovation; R&D collaboration; make; buy strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O31 O32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-01-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-ino, nep-knm, nep-sbm and nep-tid
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Journal Article: Impact of External Knowledge Acquisition Strategies on Innovation: A Comparative Study Based on Dutch and Swiss Panel Data (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:unm:unumer:2013003

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