R&D subsidies & external collaborative breadth: Differential gains and the role of collaboration experience

Gary Chapman, Abel Lucena and Sergio Afcha

Research Policy, 2018, vol. 47, issue 3, 623-636

Abstract: External collaboration breadth is important for firms to acquire the knowledge needed to innovate. In this paper, we combine cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Spanish Panel of Technological Innovation Survey (PITEC) to examine the indirect impact of R&D subsidies on firm external collaboration breadth. We contribute to understanding of the indirect impacts of R&D subsidies by first providing strong evidence of an economically significant average positive impact of R&D subsidies on firm external collaboration breadth. Second, our results advance understanding of the differential impacts of R&D subsidies by revealing the vast heterogeneity of the impact at the firm level, where approximately only half of treated firms experience a positive collaboration impact from R&D subsidies, while the remainder experience no impact or a negative effect. Finally, we advance understanding of the characteristics explaining the differential impact of R&D subsidies on external collaboration breadth by utilising the organisational learning literature to demonstrate the important role of firm collaboration experience.

Keywords: External collaboration breadth; R&D subsidies; Differential effects; Collaboration experience; Innovation policy; Treatment effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (29)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:47:y:2018:i:3:p:623-636

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2018.01.009

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