Unpacking open innovation: Absorptive capacity, exploratory and exploitative openness and the growth of entrepreneurial biopharmaceutical firms

Stephen Roper and Helen Xia ()
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Helen Xia: Loughborough University

No 19, Research Papers from Enterprise Research Centre

Abstract: In this paper we explore the relationship between two key aspects of open innovation in small firms – absorptive capacity and external relationships – and their effects on growth in the US and European biopharmaceutical sectors. Results from an international sample of 349 biopharmaceutical firms surveyed in the US, UK, France and Germany suggest that realized absorptive capacity plays an important role in determining firms’ growth. In terms of the interaction between firms’ absorptive capacity and external relationships, we find that engagement with exploratory relationships depends strongly on the continuity of R&D, while participation in exploitative relationships is more conditional on firms’ realized absorptive capacity.

Keywords: alliances; absorptive capacity; bio-technology; US; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L25 L65 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2014-05-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-ent, nep-eur, nep-ino and nep-sbm
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:enr:rpaper:0019

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