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The Catalysing Role of In-House R&D in Fostering the Complementarity of Innovative Inputs

Author Info

  • Catozzella, Alessandra

    ()

    (University of Pavia)

  • Vivarelli, Marco

    ()

    (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to test the possible catalysing role of in-house R&D in fostering the complementarity of innovative inputs on a sample of 3045 manufacturing firms drawn from the third Italian Community Innovation Survey (1998-2000). The interactions between four different sources of innovation – internal and external R&D, embodied and disembodied technological acquisitions – have been simultaneously explored through the two (direct and indirect) testing frameworks for complementarity. Results from both the approaches show that the innovative process is a phenomenon combining within itself both complementarity and substitutability relationships, depending both on the typology of the targeted innovation output and on the particular combination of innovative inputs we focus on. In particular, it is in-house R&D that seems to create the precondition allowing firms to enjoy complementarity effects. Indeed, the possibility of exploiting synergies between different innovative inputs turns out to be subordinated to having undertaken a minimum amount of internal R&D. The implication of this result is that a role for in-house R&D emerges, beyond its direct effect in generating an innovative output: even if internal research is not a necessary precondition for a firm to be innovative, it should still be carried out because of its important role in the generation of synergies that amplify the impacts of the other innovative inputs it interacts with.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3126.

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Length: 42 pages
Date of creation: Oct 2007
Date of revision:
Publication status: published in: Industry and Innovation, 2014, 21, 179-196
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3126
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Keywords: R&D; innovation; complementarity; supermodularity; substitutability;

Find related papers by JEL classification:

  • 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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  1. Cassiman, Bruno & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2002. "Complementarity in the Innovation Strategy: Internal R&D, External Technology Acquisition and Cooperation," CEPR Discussion Papers 3284, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  2. Arora, Ashish, 1996. "Testing for complementarities in reduced-form regressions: A note," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 51-55, January.
  3. Jacques Mairesse & Pierre Mohnen, 2002. "Accounting for Innovation and Measuring Innovativeness: An Illustrative Framework and an Application," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 226-230, May.
  4. 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.
  5. Claudio A . Piga & Marco Vivarelli, 2004. "Internal and External R&D: A Sample Selection Approach," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 66(4), pages 457-482, 09.
  6. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-96, September.
  7. Andrea Conte & Marco Vivarelli, 2006. "One or Many Knowlede Production Functions? Mapping Innovative Activity Using Microdata," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2006-03, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
  8. Piva, Mariacristina & Vivarelli, Marco, 2007. "Corporate Skills as an Ex-Ante Incentive to R&D Investment," IZA Discussion Papers 2562, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  9. C. Piga & M. Vivarelli, 2003. "Sample selection in estimating the determinants of cooperative R&D," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 243-246.
  10. Beneito, Pilar, 2003. "Choosing among alternative technological strategies: an empirical analysis of formal sources of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 693-713, April.
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Cited by:

  1. Bogliacino, Francesco & Pianta, Mario, 2011. "Engines of growth. Innovation and productivity in industry groups," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 41-53, February.
  2. Uwe Cantner & Ivan Savin, 2014. "Do Firms Benefit from Complementarity Effect in R&D and What Drives their R&D Strategy Choices?," Jena Economic Research Papers 2014-023, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Max-Planck-Institute of Economics.
  3. Sungki Lee & Donghyuk Choi & Yeonbae Kim, 2009. "Contextual Effects on the Complementarities Between R&D Activities: An Empirical Analysis of the Korean Manufacturing Industry," TEMEP Discussion Papers 200917, Seoul National University; Technology Management, Economics, and Policy Program (TEMEP), revised Oct 2009.
  4. Raquel Ortega-Argilés & Lesley Potters & Marco Vivarelli, 2011. "R&D and productivity: testing sectoral peculiarities using micro data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 817-839, December.
  5. Werner Hölzl, 2009. "Is the R&D behaviour of fast-growing SMEs different? Evidence from CIS III data for 16 countries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 59-75, June.
  6. Hagedoorn, John & Wang, Ning, 2010. "Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?," MERIT Working Papers 005, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
  7. Segarra Blasco, Agustí, 1958- & Teruel, Mercedes, 2014. "High-growth firms and innovation: an empirical analysis for Spanish firms," Working Papers 2072/228402, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Department of Economics.
  8. Martin Carree & Boris Lokshin & René Belderbos, 2011. "A note on testing for complementarity and substitutability in the case of multiple practices," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 263-269, June.
  9. Elena Cefis, 2008. "The Impact of M&A on Technology Sourcing Strategies," LEM Papers Series 2008/25, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
  10. Hagedoorn, John & Wang, Ning, 2012. "Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1072-1083.

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