Sailing in all winds: Technological search over the business cycle

Daniela Silvestri, Massimo Riccaboni () and Antonio Della Malva

Research Policy, 2018, vol. 47, issue 10, 1933-1944

Abstract: Business cycles modify firms’ incentives to innovate and the direction of innovation. By introducing a new measure of patent unconventionality this paper explores the impact of the business cycle on firms’ technological search strategies. We find that during upturns firms generate inventions characterized by a higher level of technological unconventionality. We also find that financially resilient and diversified firms produce more unconventional patents. While patent unconventionality is associated with technological impact and market value, firms extract more value by investing in unconventional inventions in downturns.

Keywords: Innovation; Technological change; Business cycle; Patent indicators (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E32 O32 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:47:y:2018:i:10:p:1933-1944

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2018.07.002

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