Microbusiness innovation in the United States: making sense of the largest and most variegated firm size class

John E. Jankowski, Timothy Wojan and Audrey E. Kindlon

Chapter 4 in Handbook of Innovation Indicators and Measurement, 2023, pp 31-53 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES), one of the U.S. Government’s thirteen principal statistical agencies, is legislatively mandated to collect, acquire, analyze, and disseminate statistical data on U.S. competitiveness in science and technology and R&D. Innovation and innovation activities are recognized as key contributors to economic success. After a brief introduction to past NCSES efforts measuring innovation, we examine overall innovation patterns of all businesses and then the extent and type of innovative firms with 1 to 9 employees, both based on the 2017 Annual Business Survey (ABS). We provide a quantitative test of the hypotheses that (i) there is a division of “innovative labor” - i.e., labor specialized in inventive activity commonly associated with R&D - that concentrates much radical innovation in small firms and (ii) innovation in the services often happens at a much smaller scale than in manufacturing. We also examine the prevalence of innovation activities in firms yet to launch a product and thus not operating in product markets.

Keywords: Economics and Finance; Innovations and Technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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