Abstract
Cooperation for innovation is understood as an essential element in the innovation process of European firms. The aim is to compare how the different sources of information (external and internal) and cooperation for innovation are used in manufacturing and services in Europe using Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data for 15 European countries. The empirical study uses a sample of firms included in the CIS (2008), which covers 15 European countries and applies multivarious data analysis techniques to extract results. The results of this research suggest that firms use simultaneously different sources of information for cooperation, revealing different patterns of cooperation according to the activity sector in Europe. This paper brings some important insights about cooperation for innovation and suggests some patterns in Europe useful to design public policies, due de similar behavior of some countries grouped according with geography, development status or other economic features. Thus, this article seeks to frame the subject based on a literature review that raises a set of study hypotheses and presents an empirical study applied to cooperation for innovation in Europe using the CIS for 15 European countries.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arvanitis, S. (2012). How do different motives for R&D cooperation affect firm performance? An analysis based on Swiss micro data. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 22(5), 981–1007.
Arvanitis, S., & Bolli, T. (2013). A comparison of national and international innovation cooperation in five European countries. Review of Industrial Organization, 43(3), 163–191.
Aschhoff, B., & Schmidt, T. (2008). Empirical evidence on the success of R&D cooperation—happy together? Review of Industrial Organization, 33(1), 41–62.
Atallah, G. (2002). Vertical R&D spillovers, cooperation, market structure, and innovation. Economics of Innovattion and New Technology, 11, 179–209.
Atuahene-Gima, K. (1995). An exploratory analysis of the impact of market orientation on new product performance—a contingency approach. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 12(4), 275–293.
Beck, M., & Schenker-Wicki, A. (2013). Cooperating with external partners: the importance of diversity for innovation performance. Working Paper No. 331, UZH Business Working Paper Series, University of Zurick, available on http://www.business.uzh.ch/forschung/wps.html
Becker, W., & Dietz, J. (2004). R&D cooperation and innovation activities of firms—evidence for the German manufacturing industry. Research Policy, 33, 209–223.
Becker, W., & Peters, J. (2000). University knowledge and innovation activities. In P. Saviotti, & B. Nooteboom (Eds.), Technology and knowledge: from the firm to innovation systems (pp. 80–117). Northampton: Cheltenham.
Belderbos, R., Carree, M., Diederen, B., Lokshin, B., & Veugelers, R. (2004). Heterogeneity in R&D cooperation strategies. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 22(8), 1237–1263.
Belderbos, R., Carree, M., & Lokshin, B. (2006). Complementarity in R&D cooperation strategies. Review of Industrial Organization, 28, 401–426.
Bengtsson, M., & Kock, S. (2000). Co-opetitive relationships in business networks - to cooperate and compete simultaneously. Industrial Marketing Management, 20(5), 411–426.
Bullinger, A., Neyer, A.-K., Rass, M., & Moeslein, K. (2010). Community-based innovation contests: where competition meets cooperation. Creativity and Innovation Management, 19(3), 290–303.
Cainelli, G., Evangelista, R., & Savona, M. (2006). Innovation and economic performance in services: a firm-level analysis. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 30, 435–458.
Carvalho, L., Costa, T., & Caiado, J. (2013). Determinants of innovation in a small open economy: a multidimensional perspective. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 14(3), 583–600.
Carvalho, N., Carvalho, L., & Nunes, S. (2015). A methodology to measure innovation in European Union through the National Innovation System. International Journal of Innovation and Regional Development, 6(2), 159–180.
Chen, M. J. (2008). Reconceptualizing the competition-cooperation relationship: a transparadox perspective. Journal of Management Inquiry, 17(4), 288–305.
Chesbrough, H. W., & Prencipe, A. (2008). Networks of innovation and modularity: a dynamic perspective. International Journal of Technology Management, 42(4), 414–425.
Child, J., & Faulkner, D. (1998). Strategies of cooperation: managing alliances, networks, and joint ventures. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chung, S., & Kim, G. M. (2003). Performance effects of partnership between manufacturers and suppliers for new product development: the supplier’s standpoint. Research Policy, 32(4), 587–603.
Cohen, W., & Levinthal, D. (1990). Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35, 128–152.
De Luca, L. M., & Atuahene-Gima, K. (2007). Market knowledge dimensions and crossfunctional collaboration: examining the different routes to product innovation performance. Journal of Marketing, 71, 95–112.
De Marchi, V. (2012). Environmental innovation and R&D cooperation: empirical evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms. Research Policy, 41(3), 614–623.
Dittrich, K., & Duysters, G. (2007). Networking as a means to strategy change: the case of open innovation in mobile telephony. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 24(6), 510–521.
Djellal, F., & Gallouj, F. (1999). Services and the search for relevant innovation indicators: a review of national and international surveys. Science and Public Policy, 26, 218–232.
Drejer, I., & Jorgensen, B. H. (2005). The dynamic creation of knowledge: analysing public-private collaborations. Technovation, 25(2), 83–94.
Enkel, E., Gassmann, O., & Chesbrough, H. (2009). Open R&D and open innovation: exploring the phenomenon. R&D Management, 39(4), 311–316.
Evangelista, R. (2000). Sectoral patterns of technological change in services. Economics of Innovation and New Technologies, 9, 183–221.
Faria, P., Lima, F., & Santos, R. (2010). Cooperation in innovation activities: the importance of partners. Research Policy, 39(8), 1082–1092.
Fischer, M. M., & Varga, A. (2002). Technological innovation and interfirm cooperation: an exploratory analysis using survey data from manufacturing firms in the metropolitan region of Vienna. International Journal of Technology and Management, 24(7/8), 724–742.
Freel, M. S., & Harrison, R. T. (2006). Innovation and cooperation in the small firm sector: evidence from ‘Northern Britain’. Regional Studies, 40(4), 289–305.
Fritsch, M. (2010). Does R&D-cooperation behavior differ between regions? Industry and Innovation, 10(1), 25–39.
Fritsch, M., & Lukas, R. (2001). Who cooperates on R&D? Research Policy, 30(2), 297–312.
Gnyawali, D. R., He, J. Y., & Madhavan, R. (2006). Impact of co-opetition on firm competitive behavior: an empirical examination. Journal of Management, 32(4), 507–530.
Hair, J., Anderson, R., Tatham, R., & Black, W. (1998). Multivariate data analysis (5th ed.) Prentice-Hall, International.
Hannelize, J. (2013). Co-innovation through multiple social identity processes: the story of a South African co-op owned business. European Business Review, 25(1), 42–64.
Hollenstein, H. (2003). Innovation modes in the Swiss service sector: a cluster analysis based on firm-level data. Research Policy, 32, 845–863.
Jansen, J. J. P., Tempelaar, M. P., Van Den Bosch, F. A. J., & Volberda, H. W. (2009). Structural differentiation and ambidexterity: the mediating role of integration mechanisms. Organization Science, 20, 797–811.
Jiménez-Zarco, A. I., Martínez-Ruiz, M. P., & Izquierdo-Yusta, A. (2011). The impact of market orientation dimensions on client cooperation in the development of new service innovations. European Journal of Marketing, 45(1/2), 43–67.
Katila, R., Rosenberger, J. D., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2008). Swimming with sharks: technology ventures, defense mechanisms and corporate relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 53(2), 295–332.
Koschatzky, K. (1999). Innovation networks of industry and business-related services relations between innovation intensity of firms and regional inter-firm cooperation. European Planning Studies, 7(6), Special Issue: Innovation Networks, Collective Learning, and Industrial Policy in Regions of Europe, 737–757.
Lado, A., Boyd, N., & Hanlon, S. (1997). Competition, cooperation and the search for economic rents: a syncretic model. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 110–141.
Liker, J. K., Collins, P. D., & Hull, F. M. (1999). Flexibility and standardization: test of a contingency model of product design-manufacturing integration. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 16(3), 248–267.
Lundvall, B. Å. (1988). Innovation as an interactive process: from user-producer interaction to the national system of innovation. In G. Dosi, C. Freeman, R. Nelson, G. Silverberg, & L. Soete (Eds.), Technical Change and Economic Theory (pp. 349–369). London: Pinter.
Marsili, O., & Verspagen, B. (2002). Technology and the dynamics of industrial structure: an empirical mapping of Dutch manufacturing. Industrial and Corporate Change, 11(4), 791–815.
Miotti, L., & Sachwald, F. (2003). Co-operative R&D: why and with whom? An integrated framework of analysis. Research Policy, 32, 1481–1499.
Nieto, M. J., & Santamaria, L. (2007). The importance of diverse collaborative networks for the novelty of product innovation. Technovation, 27(6–7), 367–377.
Paasi, M. (1998). Efficiency of innovation systems in the transition countries. Economic Systems, 22, 217–234.
Pires, C. P., Sarkar, S., & Carvalho, L. (2008). Innovation in services—how different from manufacturing? The Service Industries Journal, 28(10), 1339–1356.
Pisano, G. P. (1990). The R&D boundaries of the firm: an empirical analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35(1), 153–176.
Powell, W. W., Koput, K. W., & Smith Doerr, L. (1996). Interorganizational collaboration and the locus of innovation: networks of learning in biotechnology. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(1), 116–145.
Richardson, G. B. (1972). The organisation of industry. Economic Journal, 82, 883–896.
Siedschlag, L., Zhang, X., & Cahill, B. (2012). The effects of the internationalisation of firms on innovation and productivity. Papers/Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), available on http://www.esri.ie/UserFiles/publications/WP363/WP363.pdf
Silva, M. J., & Leitão, J. (2009). Cooperation in innovation practices among firms in Portugal: do external partners stimulate innovative advances? International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 7(4), 391–403.
Srholec, M. (2014). Cooperation and innovative performance of firms: panel data evidence from the Czech Republic, Norway and the UK. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 5(1), 133–155.
Srholec, M. (2015). Understanding the diversity of cooperation on innovation across countries: multilevel evidence from Europe. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 24(1–2), 159–182.
Teece, D., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509–533.
Tether, B. (2002). Who co-operates for innovation, and why. An empirical analysis. Research Policy, 31, 947–967.
Trigo, A., & Vence, X. (2012). Scope and patterns of innovation cooperation in Spanish service enterprises. Research Policy, 41(3), 602–613.
Troy, L. C., Hirunyawipada, T., & Paswan, A. K. (2008). Cross-functional integration and new product success: an empirical investigation of the findings. Journal of Marketing, 72, 132–146.
Von Hippel, E. (1976). The dominant role of users in the scientific instrument innovation process. Research Policy, 5, 212–239.
Vuola, O., & Hameri, A. P. (2006). Mutually benefiting joint innovation process between industry and big-science. Technovation, 26(1), 3–12.
Whitley, R. (2002). Developing innovative competences: the role of institutional frameworks. Industrial and Corporate Change, 11(3), 497–528.
World Economic Forum. (2014). Enhancing Europe’s competitiveness fostering innovation-driven entrepreneurship in Europe. Insight Report, January 2014.
Zahra, S., & George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 185–203.
Zeng, S. X., Xie, X. M., & Tam, C. M. (2010). Relationship between cooperation networks and innovation performance of SMEs. Technovation, 30(3), 181–194.
Acknowledgements
The first author is pleased to acknowledge financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (grant UID/ECO/04007/2013) and FEDER/COMPETE (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007659).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carvalho, L., Madeira, M.J., Carvalho, J. et al. Cooperation for Innovation in the European Union: Outlook and Evidences Using CIS for 15 European Countries. J Knowl Econ 9, 506–525 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-018-0520-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-018-0520-6