Do Firms Benefit from Complementarity Effect in R&D and What Drives Their R&D Strategy Choices?

30 Pages Posted: 22 Sep 2014

See all articles by Uwe Cantner

Uwe Cantner

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Ivan Savin

ESCP Business School, Madrid campus; Autonomous University of Barcelona; Ural Federal University

Date Written: September 20, 2014

Abstract

This paper analyzes whether firms conducting internal R&D and acquiring external high-tech equipment experience a complementarity effect. For German CIS data we conduct a complete set of indirect and direct complementarity tests refining the analysis by looking at various types of innovations and industries. Complementary effects are found in the indirect but not so in the direct approach. In contrast to previous literature, we find the distinct R&D strategy choices to be significant drivers of innovative activity and we identify contextual variables explaining the joint occurrence of the two strategies.

Keywords: complementarity, equipment with embodied technology, innovation; internal R&D, Pavitt's sectoral taxonomy

JEL Classification: O14, O31, O32, O33

Suggested Citation

Cantner, Uwe and Savin, Ivan, Do Firms Benefit from Complementarity Effect in R&D and What Drives Their R&D Strategy Choices? (September 20, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2498934 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2498934

Uwe Cantner

Friedrich Schiller University Jena ( email )

Furstengraben 1
Jena, Thuringa 07743
Germany

Ivan Savin (Contact Author)

ESCP Business School, Madrid campus ( email )

C. de Arroyofresno, 1
Madrid, 28035
Spain

Autonomous University of Barcelona ( email )

Plaça Cívica
Cerdañola del Valles
Barcelona, Barcelona 08193
Spain

Ural Federal University ( email )

Yekaterinburg
Russia

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