Enterprise co-operation in the innovation process: a first report on new questions in the Ifo Innovation Survey

In the last wave of the Ifo Innovation Survey, a question complex on co-operation behaviour of firms in the innovation process was included. An initial descriptive evaluation of the results shows considerable differences between enterprise size, regions and industries. Smaller and mid-sized companies co-operate less in the innovation process. In eastern Germany co-operations play a bigger role in the innovation process than in western Germany. There is also a stronger tendency to co-operate in agglomerated areas. Some industries, such as mechanical engineering are indeed innovative but do not co-operate much in the innovation process. With regard to the geographic and technological proximity of co-operation partners, the survey shows that enterprises co-operate with firms in a great number of other industry branches. In the interpretation of the survey results it must be kept in mind, however, that these results are descriptive relationships and should not, in this form, be interpreted as causal effects.