Knowledge Capital and Performance Heterogeneity: A Firm Level Innovation Study

Hans Lööf () and Almas Heshmati ()

No 387, SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance from Stockholm School of Economics

Abstract: This paper is an empirical analysis of knowledge capital and performance heterogeneity at the firm level. We apply new econometric methods to extensive data on innovation and innovative activities in Swedish manufacturing. Knowledge capital, defined as the ratio of innovation sales to total sales, is found to be a significant factor contributing to the performance heterogeneity among firms. A number of interesting results emerge. First, the results show that there is a two-way and positive relationship between firm performance and knowledge capital. This relationship holds even when we control for human capital, type of output, firm size, capital intensity, entry, merger, partial closure or exit of firms. Second, the elasticity of productivity growth with respect to knowledge capital is doubled when all innovations are substituted for radical innovations. Third, knowledge capital rises with innovation input per employee. Fourth, profitability is important for the willingness of firms to invest in innovative activities. Fifth, when controlling for differences in innovation investments and human capital, knowledge intense firms are not more innovative than labor and capital intense firms. Finally, organizational rigidities in innovation projects are found to have a significant negative impact on innovation output.

Keywords: Knowledge capital; performance heterogeneity; innovation; manufacturing; firms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C51 D24 L60 O31 O32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2000-06-13, Revised 2000-08-15
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ind, nep-ino and nep-tid
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Published in International Journal of Production Economics, 2002, pages 61-85.

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Journal Article: Knowledge capital and performance heterogeneity:: A firm-level innovation study (2002)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:hastef:0387

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