IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ira/wpaper/201607.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

“Innovation, heterogeneous firms, and the region”

Author

Listed:
  • Enrique López-Bazo

    (AQR Research Group-IREA. University of Barcelona)

  • Elisabet Motellón

    (AQR Research Group-IREA. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya)

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of regional determinants on innovation performance controlling by the firm’s absorptive capacity and other sources of firm heterogeneity. The findings for a sample of firms in Spain support the hypothesis that regional determinants matter, though their role is subtler than the one frequently assumed. Rather than a direct influence on firm’s innovation, the regional context moderates the effect of internal determinants. In the case of product innovation the most important mechanism of interaction seems to be operating through cooperation in innovation, whereas for process innovation it seems to be through highly skilled labour.

Suggested Citation

  • Enrique López-Bazo & Elisabet Motellón, 2016. "“Innovation, heterogeneous firms, and the region”," IREA Working Papers 201607, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Apr 2016.
    • Handle: RePEc:ira:wpaper:201607
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ub.edu/irea/working_papers/2016/201607.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rolf Sternberg & Olaf Arndt, 2001. "The Firm or the Region: What Determines the Innovation Behavior of European Firms?," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(4), pages 364-382, October.
    2. Crepon, B. & Duguet, E. & Mairesse, J., 1998. "Research Investment, Innovation and Productivity: An Econometric Analysis at the Firm Level," Papiers d'Economie Mathématique et Applications 98.15, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    3. Martin Srholec, 2010. "A Multilevel Approach to Geography of Innovation," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(9), pages 1207-1220.
    4. Vincent Dautel & Olivier Walther, 2014. "The geography of innovation in a small metropolitan region: An intra-regional approach in Luxembourg," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(4), pages 703-725, November.
    5. Johanna Vogel, 2015. "The two faces of R&D and human capital: Evidence from Western European regions," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 525-551, August.
    6. Martijn J. Smit & Maria A. Abreu & Henri L.F. Groot, 2015. "Micro-evidence on the determinants of innovation in the Netherlands: The relative importance of absorptive capacity and agglomeration externalities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(2), pages 249-272, June.
    7. Anil K. Gupta & Paul E. Tesluk & M. Susan Taylor, 2007. "Innovation At and Across Multiple Levels of Analysis," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(6), pages 885-897, December.
    8. Allen J. Scott & Michael Storper, 2007. "Regions, Globalization, Development," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(sup1), pages 191-205.
    9. Dirk Czarnitzki & Hanna Hottenrott, 2009. "Are Local Milieus The Key To Innovation Performance?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 81-112, February.
    10. David Keeble & Frank Wilkinson, 1999. "Collective Learning and Knowledge Development in the Evolution of Regional Clusters of High Technology SMEs in Europe," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(4), pages 295-303.
    11. Rachel Griffith & Elena Huergo & Jacques Mairesse & Bettina Peters, 2006. "Innovation and Productivity Across Four European Countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 22(4), pages 483-498, Winter.
    12. Paul Geroski & Steve Machin & John Van Reenen, 1993. "The Profitability of Innovating Firms," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 24(2), pages 198-211, Summer.
    13. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen, 2001. "Location and network effects on innovation success: evidence for UK, German and Irish manufacturing plants," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 643-661, April.
    14. Audretsch, David B & Feldman, Maryann P, 1996. "R&D Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 630-640, June.
    15. Haifeng Qian & Zoltán J. Ács & Roger R. Stough, 2015. "Regional systems of entrepreneurship: the nexus of human capital, knowledge and new firm formation," Chapters, in: Global Entrepreneurship, Institutions and Incentives, chapter 14, pages 257-285, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Bruno Crepon & Emmanuel Duguet & Jacques Mairesse, 1998. "Research, Innovation And Productivity: An Econometric Analysis At The Firm Level," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 115-158.
    17. Frank G. van Oort & Martijn J. Burger & Joris Knoben & Otto Raspe, 2012. "Multilevel Approaches And The Firm-Agglomeration Ambiguity In Economic Growth Studies," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 468-491, July.
    18. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Mairesse, Jacques, 1995. "Exploring the relationship between R&D and productivity in French manufacturing firms," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 263-293, January.
    19. Cooke, Philip, 2001. "Regional Innovation Systems, Clusters, and the Knowledge Economy," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 945-974, December.
    20. Andres Rodriguez-Pose & Riccardo regstdcenzi, 2008. "Research and Development, Spillovers, Innovation Systems, and the Genesis of Regional Growth in Europe," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 51-67.
    21. Vega-Jurado, Jaider & Gutiérrez-Gracia, Antonio & Fernández-de-Lucio, Ignacio & Manjarrés-Henri­quez, Liney, 2008. "The effect of external and internal factors on firms' product innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 616-632, May.
    22. Riccardo Crescenzi, 2005. "Innovation and Regional Growth in the Enlarged Europe: The Role of Local Innovative Capabilities, Peripherality, and Education," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 471-507, September.
    23. Daniel Stegmueller, 2013. "How Many Countries for Multilevel Modeling? A Comparison of Frequentist and Bayesian Approaches," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 57(3), pages 748-761, July.
    24. Sherwat E. Ibrahim & M. Hosein Fallah & Richard R. Reilly, 2009. "Localized sources of knowledge and the effect of knowledge spillovers: an empirical study of inventors in the telecommunications industry," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(3), pages 405-431, May.
    25. Meric S. Gertler, 2001. "Best practice? Geography, learning and the institutional limits to strong convergence," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 5-26, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tomasz & Anna Golejewska, 2017. "Regional variation of innovation activity in Poland. The positive role of location in metropolitan areas affirmed," Working Papers of Economics of European Integration Division 1701, The Univeristy of Gdansk, Faculty of Economics, Economics of European Integration Division.
    2. María Jesús Rodríguez-Gulías & David Rodeiro-Pazos & Sara Fernández-López & Manuel Ángel Nogueira-Moreiras, 2021. "The effect of regional resources on innovation: a firm-centered approach," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 760-791, June.
    3. Dirk Crass & Christian Rammer & Birgit Aschhoff, 2019. "Geographical clustering and the effectiveness of public innovation programs," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(6), pages 1784-1815, December.
    4. Amber Naz & Annekatrin Niebuhr & Jan Peters, 2015. "What’s behind the disparities in firm innovation rates across regions? Evidence on composition and context effects," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 55(1), pages 131-156, October.
    5. Tojeiro-Rivero, Damián & Moreno, Rosina, 2019. "Technological cooperation, R&D outsourcing, and innovation performance at the firm level: The role of the regional context," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1798-1808.
    6. Burcu Fazlıoğlu & Başak Dalgıç & Ahmet Burçin Yereli, 2019. "The effect of innovation on productivity: evidence from Turkish manufacturing firms," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 439-460, April.
    7. Lutz Bellmann & Katalin Evers & Reinhard Hujer, 2018. "Regional and firm-specific effects on innovations using multi-level methods," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 61(2), pages 319-349, September.
    8. Waheed, Abdul, 2011. "Innovation and firm-level productivity: econometric evidence from Bangladesh and Pakistan," MERIT Working Papers 2011-061, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    9. Amelia U. Santos-Paulino & Mariagrazia Squicciarini & Peilei Fan, 2008. "R&D (Re)location: A Bird's Eye (Re)view," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-100, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Seenaiah Kale & Badri Narayan Rath, 2018. "Does Innovation Enhance Productivity In Case Of Selected Indian Manufacturing Firms?," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(05), pages 1225-1250, November.
    11. Mohamed Amara & Khaled Thabet, 2019. "Firm and regional factors of productivity: a multilevel analysis of Tunisian manufacturing," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 63(1), pages 25-51, August.
    12. Alejandro García-Pozo & Juan Antonio Campos-Soria & J. Aníbal Núñez-Carrasco, 2021. "Technological innovation and productivity across Spanish regions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 67(1), pages 167-187, August.
    13. Emanuele Giovannetti & Claudio Piga, 2023. "The multifaceted nature of cooperation for innovation, ICT and innovative outcomes: evidence from UK Microdata," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(3), pages 639-666, September.
    14. Roper, Stephen & Hewitt-Dundas, Nola & Love, James H., 2004. "An ex ante evaluation framework for the regional benefits of publicly supported R&D projects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 487-509, April.
    15. Dziallas, Marisa & Blind, Knut, 2019. "Innovation indicators throughout the innovation process: An extensive literature analysis," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 80, pages 3-29.
    16. Criscuolo, Chiara & Mariagrazia, Squicciarini & Olavi, Lehtoranta, 2010. "R&D, innovation and productivity, and the CIS: sampling, specification and comparability issues," MPRA Paper 39261, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen & Du, Jun, 2009. "Innovation, ownership and profitability," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 424-434, May.
    18. Bronwyn Hall & Francesca Lotti & Jacques Mairesse, 2009. "Innovation and productivity in SMEs: empirical evidence for Italy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 13-33, June.
    19. Esther Goya & Esther Vayá & Jordi Suriñach, 2012. "“Do intra- and inter-industry spillovers matter? CDM model estimates for Spain”," IREA Working Papers 201214, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Sep 2012.
    20. Fassio Claudio, 2011. "Sectoral invariances or distance-from-the-frontier effect among European mid-low tech sectors," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201115, University of Turin.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    product innovation; process innovation; firm; multilevel modelling; Spanish regions. JEL classification: D21; O31; R10; R15;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ira:wpaper:201607. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Alicia García (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feubaes.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.