- A-Z
- Jena Economic Resea...
- Volume 1
- Innovation Networks...
- Autor(in)
- Erschienen
- 31. Juli 2007
- Nummer des Discussion-Papers
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2007-042
- Schlagwort(e)
-
firm growth
high tech SMEs
innovation
innovation networks
- Zusammenfsg.
-
This paper analyses the effects of innovation networks on product and process innovation and sales growth of high technology SMEs. Innovation networks are positively related to both product and process innovation, i.e. knowledge creation. One exception is the negative effect of innovation networks with suppliers on product innovation. Older SMEs are more product innovative than young SMEs. The positive relation between firm size and (process) innovation, disappears when networks are introduced into the analyses. The general conclusion is that vertical innovation networks remove the effect of firm size on process innovation. In other words, high-tech SMEs can ‘borrow’ size if they co-operate with customers, but especially with suppliers for process innovation. So smallness is not necessarily a disadvantage for innovation, as long as firms cooperate with other organisations. Innovation and networks do not seem to effect value creation, measured as sales growth.
- article pub. typess JER
- Research article
- article languages JER
- Englisch
- article research fields JER
- entrepreneurship
- JEL-Classification for JER
- D21 - Firm Behavior ; D83 - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief ; D85 - Network Formation and Analysis: Theory ; L25 - Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope ; O31 - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives ; O32 - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D