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Innovation is important to firms' productivity, competitiveness, agility, resilience and growth. The success of a firm's innovation strategy depends in part on how it combines and absorbs different innovation activities. Using the Crépon-Duguet-Mairesse (CDM) structural model, this paper analyses complementarity between product and process innovation for the case of small and micro manufacturing firms in Johannesburg, South Africa. The empirical analysis utilises rich new firm-level survey data that, unlike most firm surveys, includes micro-sized firms as well as informal enterprises. Our results show strong evidence of complementarity between product and process innovations in their effects on firm performance. The results suggest that firm size, capital intensity, firm age, innovation expenditure and financial constraints are key variables associated with complementarity. We extend the specifications used in previous studies to take account of the contextual setting, with split samples by firm formality, ownership and size. We find evidence of complementarity in formal firms only. Our results also show stronger effects of complementarity in micro-firms and foreign-owned firms. The findings have relevance for promoting innovation and for enhancing the effects of innovation on firm performance among micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in a developing country context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firm innovation is of vital importance to New Zealand's economy, but we understand little about how different human resource (workforce) factors influence innovation approaches (product/services innovation, process innovation, and innovation speed). We explore three human resource (HR) factors: workforce knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), workforce attraction, and workforce retention, using a sample of New Zealand private sector firms (n = 402). Regression analysis shows all HR factors are significant predictors of all innovation approaches. Further analysis shows workforce KSAs is dominant towards product/service innovation, workforce attraction is dominant towards process innovation, and workforce retention is dominant towards innovation speed. Moderating effects by firm size are found showing small-sized firms out innovate large-sized firms when workforce KSA are high, despite small-sized firms having, on average, weaker HR factors and innovation approaches than large-sized firms. We highlight the organisational implications across small – and large-sized firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first examine the effect of having innovation cooperation arrangements on the productivity level among firms with innovation activities. Then, we examine whether a firm's productivity level is affected by its number and types of innovation cooperation partners among those with innovation cooperation arrangements. Data on Norwegian firms with innovation activities is used. In the analysis, we differentiate between small and large firms. The estimation results show that unlike small firms, large firms can benefit from cooperation arrangements by achieving productivity improvements. Using the group of internal partners as the reference category, the results show that the productivity level is relatively higher in the short term among all and small firms that had cooperation arrangements with competitors or other enterprises in their sector, and relatively lower both in the short and medium term among all and small firms that had arrangements with partners in the academic sector. This level is relatively higher among large firms that had arrangements with consultants or consulting enterprises, and relatively lower among large firms that had arrangements with commercial labs or R&D-enterprises, in the medium term. We also find that most effects of the number of different types of cooperation partners are not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the China high- and new-technology enterprise (HNTE) program implemented in 2008 as a quasi-natural experiment. Difference-in-differences (DID) estimate with matching data from the China Industrial Enterprise Database, the China Customs Database and the HNTE Certification Database for 2006–2010 is used to study the impact of HNTE certification on enterprises' export product quality. The results show that, overall, HNTE certification promotes the upgrading of export product quality. Moreover, the improvement of innovation ability brought by HNTE certification is an important channel to promote such upgrades. A series of robustness tests also confirm the above conclusions. In addition, heterogeneity analyses are conducted based on the enterprise size, ownership and trade mode, respectively. The results show that the mechanism by which HNTE certification policy promotes export product quality through the improvement of enterprise innovation ability is more significant in non-SOEs and general trading enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is key for productivity growth and an important focus for policy in many countries. Innovation novelty, increasing from new-to-firm to new-to-world, is linked with firm growth and spillover effects. We examine the role of R&D, management capability and business skills in innovation novelty. Using detailed firm-level data, we find that firm-specific variables such as R&D, collaboration, foreign ownership, business focus on innovation and management capability are significantly associated with higher levels of innovation novelty. We also find that innovation strategy can vary based on firm size. We provide new evidence for Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using survey data from 1438 Peruvian manufacturing firms, we explore multiple and simultaneous relationships between the effects of innovation activities, employee level of education, and the firm size on manufacturing firms' innovation outcomes. We find that there is a positive relationship between innovation activities, employee level of education, and firm size. In addition, innovation activities have direct and positive effects on product and service innovation. However, employee level of education has positive indirect effects, especially on product innovation. The study also highlights that there is a negative direct relationship between size and service innovation. Thus, it is important to establish public policies aimed to promote service innovation in manufacturing firms, with specific support for small firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the dynamic complementary interaction between investment in technological capability and investment in specific innovation projects based on a decision model of innovation, using Vietnamese MSME data. The empirical results show that firm size, technological capability and current specific R&D investment have a positive impact on innovation. Firm age was positive but not significant, implying that conscious technological effort may be more important for innovation than passive learning by doing. The combination of significant economies of scale and technological capability imply that government assistance for firms with low technological capability maybe important, but government assistance is shown to be either insufficient or ineffective. Results from this paper suggest that government policy aimed at facilitating increases in firm size and providing technical extension services would be more constructive than merely providing R&D subsidies to MSMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By drawing on a large representative sample of German firms, we examine patterns and drivers of logistics innovation. We find that firm size, R&D intensity, product innovation, engagement in international markets, and competitive pressure are all positively related to the probability that a firm introduces logistics innovation and to the breadth of adoption across different types of logistics innovation. However, specific notable differences arise: digital logistics innovation is mainly adopted by larger firms and in response to cost and performance motives. In contrast, the adoption of environmental logistics innovation responds more strongly to market pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying a multilevel treatment model to a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms, we evaluate the joint impact of regional and national funding on firms' cooperative relationships. A joint provision of public support from different administrative levels is termed a multilevel innovation policy mix. Because of heterogeneity in innovation behaviour and performance, we separately analyse small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms. Our empirical findings show heterogenous results with respect to both firm size and a type of cooperative partners. For SMEs, a multilevel policy mix has a synergistic effect on cooperation with customers. For other cooperative partners, the joint effectiveness depends on the comparison group. Namely, both sources jointly are more effective than regional support in isolation in promoting cooperation with suppliers and universities. For those SMEs that are funded from central government, a multilevel governance is effective in case of cooperation with government agencies and consultants. With regards to large firms, we find a limited evidence on complementarity between regional and national support. Namely, the policy mix is effective when large firms cooperate with other firms, specifically with customers and competitors. In contrast, empirical findings suggest no complementary effects for cooperation with knowledge providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether a firm's failure in undertaking innovative activities can promote or hamper its growth. It conducts a two-stage regression for the determinants innovation failure and its impact on firm growth by analysing the data of firms in the Korean manufacturing sector. It finds that firms are likely to fail in innovation when they have either low or extremely high levels of R&D intensity, conduct cooperative R&D, or face financial constraints. In addition, it finds that under these conditions, failed innovators have lower rates of growth than successful innovators, but also that firm size and age moderate the negative effect of innovation failure on firm growth. These findings imply that the impact of innovation failure on firm growth differs depending upon internal resources and resilience capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to assess the effect of public procurement for innovation (PPI) in the Brazilian oil and gas sector on the innovative behavior of suppliers. It emphasizes the role PPI may play in developing countries due to its ability to target a wide range of firm sizes and to contribute to a more even diffusion of technical progress. Using microdata from RAIS and coarsened exact matching, results show that treated firms present on average a higher intensity of innovative efforts than the control sample. In small firms, PPI has a positive effect on the probability of carrying out innovative activities. Once small firms have decided to carry out these activities, treated and control samples have similar innovative effort intensities. The treatment’s effect on large firms’ probability of performing innovative activities is positive but lower than small firms. Nonetheless, there is a significant and positive effect on the intensity of these efforts. The paper suggests that, due to its effects over a wide range of firm sizes, PPI may be a worthwhile policy to implement for the reduction of structural heterogeneity present in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations have the ability to create entirely new markets, or bring about substantial shifts in the balance of power in existing ones. As such, innovation should be an integral element in strategic marketing management, but in practice many large organizations seem better suited to squeeze it out rather than encourage it. This article examines the risks and complexities involved in managing the process of innovation, and sets out the management action required to build a more innovative organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation and quality are essential for sustainable competitiveness in today’s business world. Despite extensive theoretical discussions about the relationship between innovation and quality, few studies explore the observable effects of technological innovation practices (TIPs) on product quality. This paper aims to empirically investigate the impact of TIP on product quality, considering the moderating effect of firm size. A conceptual model linking product innovation practice, process innovation practice, normal quality (NQ), attractive quality (AQ) and product market performance is proposed. The model is tested using survey data from 201 innovative Chinese manufacturing companies. The results reveal that TIP does indeed positively influence both AQ and NQ. Firm size moderates the relationship between TIP and AQ. The study contributes to a better understanding of how different-sized Chinese firms can utilise innovation practice to improve product quality and market performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is imperative that public procurement opportunities are made equally accessible to all size businesses to ensure a fair and level competitive playing field. “Innovation,” as the creative process of exploiting new ideas, has become widely recognized as playing a central role in the economic recovery of Europe and so too are the small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) who are considered as major promoters of innovation and innovative solutions. At a national level, the implementation of European Union (EU) policies on SMEs and innovation inclusion in public procurement, while of paramount importance to Irish policy-makers to ensure alignment and compliance, seems, however, to have a significant lack of monitoring and reporting mechanisms. It is found that a lack of commitment and drive from the top, a lack of robust measurements and monitoring mechanisms combined with contrasting political agendas, and a very risk averse culture have collectively added to government intentions being ignored in many instances. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We use the Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) data from 2005, 2008, and 2010 to estimate the relationship between firm size, innovation type, and export performance with different time spans. Following a review of the literature, we hypothesize that the effect of innovation activities on export performance would be revealed over long spans for large enterprises (LEs) and would be more likely to appear over short spans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We also assume that firms could improve their export performance if they carried out both product and process innovations simultaneously. Four Tobit regression models are assessed, respectively, for LEs and SMEs at different time spans. The empirical results statistically support our hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature emphasises the need to integrate innovation initiatives under the umbrella of the total quality management (TQM) philosophy. Such integration is instrumental towards achieving and sustaining a superior organisational performance. Using a sample of 229 Portuguese manufacturing organisations, factor and regression analyses procedures were used to assess the impact on organisational performance of innovation for small and large organisations in the Portuguese TQM business context. The results of this study point to the significance of the size of the organisation, and product and process innovations for organisational performance. Organisational innovation was not found to have a significant impact on organisational performance. These results might be attributed to specific ownership, which is associated with process and product innovation. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that small organisations might want to consider directing their innovation investments towards management aspects such as processes and products. In this context, top-down organisational innovation might take more time and effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturing firms increasingly produce and provide services along with or instead of their traditional physical products. The goal of this paper is to provide new evidence for this servitisation of European manufacturing and test previous findings based on case studies with a large, firm-level data set. Empirical results indicate that service turnover of manufacturing firms is still small compared to the turnover with physical products. National differences play only a minor role in explaining the degree of servitisation. Firm size is of more relevance. Results reveal a U-shaped relationship between firm size and servitisation which points to advantages of both, small and large firms in servitisation. Moreover, servitisation is positively related to product complexity and the likelihood that the firm introduces product innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary objectives: This article provides empirical evidence regarding the moderating role of organizational and environmental factors in the relationship between innovation and business performance. Research design and methods: Specifically, it analyses the relationship between different types of innovation and performance and establishes two blocks of hypotheses regarding the possible moderating effects of business factors (e.g., firm size with regard to structure, market orientation with respect to the organizational culture), and the business environment, relative to the sector and competition. The empirical analysis includes 440 Spanish companies and encompasses four sectors of activity: Industry, construction, agriculture, and services. Results and conclusions: Marketing, management, and product innovation actions provide the best performance for companies. Such results are moderated by organizational and environmental factors. The role of market orientation and environmental dynamism are specially significant on relationship. Originality/value: Previous literature on moderates of the innovation-performance relationship is limited. This research contribute on several aspects: (1) Determine the size and market orientation act as moderators of the relationship; (2) differentiate whether the individual moderators differently affect any particular act of innovation (management, organization, marketing, product or production processes); (3) distinguish between various types of business performance indicators and grouping them according to their effectiveness, efficiency or adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the analysis of the persistence of innovation activities, as measured by total factor productivity (TFP), and explores its internal and external determinants stressing its path-dependent characteristics. The external conditions, namely the quality of local knowledge pools and the strength of the Schumpeterian rivalry, along with the internal conditions (the actual levels of dynamic capabilities, as proxied by wage levels and firm size) exert a specific and localised effect upon the persistent introduction of innovations. A multiple transition probability matrixes (MTPMs) approach has been implemented to capture the contingent effects of external factors on long-term innovation persistence. The empirical analysis of the dynamics of firm-level TFP for a sample of approximately 7000 Italian manufacturing companies observed during the years 1996–2005 is based on both the comparison of different transition probability matrixes and on dynamic discrete choice panel data models. The evidence provided by the test of MTPMs in sub-periods suggests that innovation persistence is path-dependent, as opposed to past-dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information technology (IT) training has been identified as a key factor for the success of IT applications and the most frequently applied coping mechanism to handle changing IT. However, there is a question as to how IT training has to be conducted to obtain desired outcomes (higher levels of IT value). This paper analyses the presence of IT training sources used by firms and examines the influence on IT business value. Here, IT training is studied according to three IT training sources: in-house IT training, outside IT training, and self IT training by employees. In addition, differences in IT training sources are analysed according to two contingency factors: business size and business industry. Results show a positive relationship between IT training sources (outside and self IT training) and IT business value and confirm that IT training sources are positively related to business size and differ moderately by business industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Asymmetric" partnerships between technology-based start-ups and large firms represent one route by which an open innovation strategy can be implemented. Asymmetric partnerships can provide benefits to both resource-constrained start-ups and capability-rich larger firms. However, there are numerous management challenges to the successful setup and management of such partnerships. Valuable management lessons can be learned from the experience of entrepreneurs, managers, investors, and lawyers involved in successful and failed asymmetric partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolving situation of mature manufacturing small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) in Japan and the United States and considers some of the key challenges they now face in an era of globalization and rapid technological change. The rationale and justification for policy intervention to support mature SMEs is considered. A review is offered of illustrative policy initiatives in three areas: framework policies, industrial services, and regional industrial cluster policies. The convergence of manufacturing and regional policies is noted. The relative strengths and weaknesses of Japanese and US strategies are assessed. The paper concludes with a comparison of Japanese and US approaches to retaining manufacturing SMEs, interpreted through the various and at times interactive ways through which each country's innovation system develops and evolves technology and business support policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Industry and Trade and the works on industrial economics by the Cambridge school - Chapman, Macgregor, Robertson, Lavington, A. Robinson and Florence - are usually neglected as if they were devoid of theoretical relevance. By contrast, the author argues that Marshall's evolutionary model, centred on the continuous interplay between innovation and standardization, inspired original research on localization, business size, coordination costs and industrial combinations. The paper also suggests that Marshallian ideas on the growth of firms and the structure of industrial organization are coming back in contemporary evolutionary theories of the firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few topics in industrial organization have received as much attention -- theoretical, empirical or policy-related -- as has the relationship between market structure, firm size and innovative activity. Two issues have been addressed. First, is it the possession of, or rather the quest for, monopoly power that stimulates innovation? On the one hand, firms with monopoly power may be relatively more innovative (the so-called Schumpeterian hypothesis) owing to their ability both to finance innovation and to appropriate the associated benefits. On the other hand, firms with monopoly power may choose to exploit their position by appropriating the benefits of smaller rivals' innovations and adopt an imitative strategy.[1] Second, is firm size, apart from market power, related to the level of innovative activity?
Much of the empirical literature has taken firms' levels of spending on research and development (R&D; often adjusted by sales) as a proxy for the entire innovation process. Accordingly, previous researchers have examined the correlation between R&D spending or intensity and measures of market structure and firm size in order to investigate these two issues.[2] While this line of empirical research has been useful, one may question how well it addresses the theoretical foundation on which it is supposedly based.[3] Firms employ different R&D strategies, generally choosing between innovation or imitation. R&D spending is important for fully implementing either strategy; therefore, interfirm differences in R&D spending may be a questionable indicator of differences in firms' 'innovativeness'.
In this paper the relationship between market structure, firm size and a firm's choice of an R&D strategy is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written on the need for a more rapid rate of technical progress in the British economy but there is little in the way of hard facts on the characteristics of firms that innovate and those that do not, on the factors determining a firm's rate of innovation, and on the relationship between innovation and profitability. The present paper attempts to give some quantitative content to the discussion by examining the relationship between a firm's size, its profitability, its liquidity and the number of patents obtained in three United Kingdom industries -- Chemicals, an Electrical Engineering and Electronics grouping, and Machine Tools. These three industries were chosen because they are technologically based and so place heavy emphasis on research and development.
The plan of the paper is as follows. Section 1 discusses the patents data and the use of patents as an indicator of innovative activity. The size characteristics of patenting and non-patenting firms are considered in Section 2. Section 3 presents the model relating patenting to firm size, liquidity and profitability. Sections 4 to 6 report in turn the results for the Chemical industry, the Electrical Engineering and Electronics grouping, and the Machine Tools industry. Section 7 investigates whether any short-run profitability may be found to result from innovative activity. Section 8 compares our results with those obtained for the United States. Section 9 is a summary of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]