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Governance, Firm Size and Innovative Capacity: Regional Empirical Evidence for Germany

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Successful innovation is a precondition for economic prosperity. While various potential determinants of innovative activity have been considered, little empirical evidence is yet available for the influence of firm governance issues. This paper aims at filling this gap in the literature by studying whether the relative importance of owner-managed small and medium sized enterprises has an effect on regional innovative capacity. We therefore combine patent data with data from the firm database of Creditreform, containing information on the governance structure of regional operating enterprises. Using a cross section of German NUTS-3-regions, we identify a significantly positive relation between the relative importance of owner-managed SMEs and innovative capacity. This finding is highly robust when controlling for spatial correlations.

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  • Berlemann, Michael & Jahn, Vera, 2014. "Governance, Firm Size and Innovative Capacity: Regional Empirical Evidence for Germany," Working Paper 150/2014, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:vhsuwp:2014_150
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Berlemann & Vera Jahn, 2014. "Ist der deutsche Mittelstand tatsächlich ein Innovationsmotor?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 67(17), pages 22-28, September.
    2. Jahn, Vera, 2015. "The Importance of Mittelstand Firms for Regional Apprenticeship Activity - Lessons for Policy -," Working Paper 158/2015, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation; owner-managed firms; SMEs; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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