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The organisation of innovation: collaboration, cooperation and multifunctional groups in UK and German manufacturing

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  • James H. Love
  • Stephen Roper

Abstract

Marked differences exist between the institutional and social context for innovation in the UK and Germany. The question addressed here is how these different contexts affect the objectives and organisation of innovation in UK and German manufacturing. In particular, the paper examines the extent to which UK and German plants engage in inter-plant collaboration and cooperation and multifunctional working as part of their innovative activity, and explores the reasons for differences in these patterns of involvement. The investigation is based on a large-scale, comparative survey of manufacturing plants in the two countries. In Germany, institutional and social norms are found to encourage collaborative inter-plant innovation, but aspects of the German skills training and industrial relations systems make the adoption of more flexible internal systems more difficult. In the UK, by contrast, the more adversarial nature of inter-firm relations makes it more difficult to establish external collaborations based on mutual trust, but less restrictive labour market structures make it easier for UK plants to adopt multifunctional working. This is linked to differences in attitudes to the property rights and transaction cost problems inherent in innovation. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • James H. Love & Stephen Roper, 2004. "The organisation of innovation: collaboration, cooperation and multifunctional groups in UK and German manufacturing," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 28(3), pages 379-395, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:28:y:2004:i:3:p:379-395
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/beh012
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen Roper & James Love & Priit Vahter, 2012. "The value of design strategies for new product development: Some econometric evidence," The Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Research Paper Series 114, Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick.
    2. Roper, Stephen & Bourke, Jane, 2022. "Innovating into trouble: When innovation leads to customer complaints," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    3. Evans Ana Maria, 2013. "Building institutional capacity: from pervasive individualism to sustained coordination in small firm sectors," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 163-186, August.
    4. Stéphane Lhuillery & Marion Tellechea & Stéphanie Thiery, 2021. "Open innovation in managerial innovation: the case of internal audit," Working Papers of BETA 2021-19, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    5. Stephen Roper & Nola Hewitt-Dundas, 2006. "International Innovation Comparisons: Insight or Illusion?," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 24(3), pages 385-401, June.
    6. Jane Bourke & Frank Crowley, 2016. "Which organisational changes are most beneficial for firm innovation?," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 5(4), pages 152-158.
    7. Yiannis Spanos, 2012. "Conditionally-mediated effects of scale in collaborative R&D," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 37(5), pages 696-714, October.
    8. Roper, Stephen & Hewitt-Dundas, Nola, 2015. "Knowledge stocks, knowledge flows and innovation: Evidence from matched patents and innovation panel data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1327-1340.
    9. Roper, Stephen & Arvanitis, Spyros, 2012. "From knowledge to added value: A comparative, panel-data analysis of the innovation value chain in Irish and Swiss manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1093-1106.
    10. Rafael Pardo & Ruth Rama, 2013. "Is the Pro-Network Bias Justified?," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(3), pages 21582440134, July.
    11. Ruth Rama & Deron Ferguson, 2007. "Emerging Districts Facing Structural Reform: The Madrid Electronics District and the Reshaping of the Spanish Telecom Monopoly," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(9), pages 2207-2231, September.
    12. James Love & Stephen Roper, 2009. "Organizing the Innovation Process: Complementarities in Innovation Networking," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 273-290.
    13. Roper, Stephen & Micheli, Pietro & Love, James H. & Vahter, Priit, 2016. "The roles and effectiveness of design in new product development: A study of Irish manufacturers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 319-329.
    14. David Paton, 2008. "Advertising as an Entry Deterrent: Evidence from UK firms," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(1), pages 63-83.
    15. Lhuillery, Stéphane & Tellechea, Marion & Thiéry, Stéphanie, 2023. "Innovation in lieu of compliance: Internal audit departments’ standardized and non-standardized knowledge sources," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    16. Kostopoulos, Konstantinos & Papalexandris, Alexandros & Papachroni, Margarita & Ioannou, George, 2011. "Absorptive capacity, innovation, and financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1335-1343.
    17. Christian Rammer & Dirk Czarnitzki & Alfred Spielkamp, 2009. "Innovation success of non-R&D-performers: substituting technology by management in SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 35-58, June.
    18. Schmiedeberg, Claudia, 2008. "Complementarities of innovation activities: An empirical analysis of the German manufacturing sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1492-1503, October.
    19. Elif Bascavusoglu-Moreau & Qian Cher Li, 2013. "Knowledge Spillovers & Sources of Knowledge in the Manufacturing Sector: Literature Review & Empirical Evidence for the UK," Working Papers wp451, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.

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