What are the Channels for Technology Sourcing? Panel Data Evidence from German Companies

Dietmar Harhoff, Elisabeth Mueller and John van Reenen

CEP Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Performance, LSE

Abstract: Innovation processes within corporations increasingly tap into international technology sources, yet little is known about the relative contribution of different types of innovation channels. We investigate the effectiveness of different types of international technology sourcing activities using survey information on German companies complemented with information from the European Patent Office. German firms with inventors based in the US disproportionately benefit from R&D knowledge located in the US. The positive influence on total factor productivity is larger if the research of the inventors results in co-applications of patents with US companies. Moreover, research cooperation with American suppliers also enables German firms to better tap into US R&D, but cooperation with customers and competitors does not appear to aid technology sourcing. The results suggest that the "brain drain" to the US can have upsides for corporations tapping into American know-how.

Keywords: technology sourcing; knowledge spillovers; productivity; open innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O32 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-eur, 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 (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: What are the Channels for Technology Sourcing? Panel Data Evidence from German Companies (2014)
Working Paper: What are the channels for technology sourcing? Panel data evidence from German companies (2013)
Working Paper: What are the Channels for Technology Sourcing? Panel Data Evidence from German Companies (2012)
Working Paper: What are the channels for technology sourcing? Panel data evidence from German companies (2012)
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