INTERNAL R&D AND EXTERNAL INFORMATION IN KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE BUSINESS SERVICE INNOVATION: COMPLEMENTS, SUBSTITUTES OR INDEPENDENT?

Abstract

This paper analyses the effect of internal R&D and of external sources of information on the innovation performance of Knowledge intensive business services (KIBS). The analysis is based on an establishment-level survey covering the period of 2011–2014 in Canada (Quebec). In order to determine the influence of different external information sources on innovation and the extent to which internal R&D and the use of external information sources are related to innovation, a series of logistic regressions are performed on four different measures of innovation. The results show that KIBS innovation is positively connected to market-related information sources (but not to research and academic sources), that KIBS innovation is positively associated with the performance of R&D, and that there are no synergies associated with the combined performance of R&D and external information gathering: their effects are independent and additive. These results share some similarities, but also some important differences, with those that have been obtained from the study of R&D and external information sourcing in manufacturing establishments.

The role of gender in linking external sources of knowledge and R&D intensity

“…Only a few recent studies have looked at the interplay between internal R&D and external knowledge sources (Chen, Vanhaverbeke, and Du 2016;Doloreux, Shearmur, and Rodriguez 2018;Basit and Medase 2019;Audretsch and Link 2019); however, none of them have specifically taken into account the role of gender. Theoretically, female-led firms could have an advantage in accessing the external source of knowledge.…”

The sources of municipalities’ innovation in the management of weather disaster risks, their relationships, and their antecedents

“…The internal and external sources of innovation are therefore more likely to be independent than complementary or substitutable. It should be noted that evidence on the complementarity hypothesis in the private sector is also mixed (Cassiman and Valentini 2016;Doloreux, Shearmur, and Rodriguez 2018). The positive outcomes of mixing innovation sources thus seems to be less important than what is presumed by innovation theories.…”

Inovações tecnológicas e organizacionais nos serviços intensivos em conhecimento no Brasil

“…PINA; TETHER, 2016) vis-à-vis efforts to acquire external knowledge. However, Doloreux, Shearmur and Rodriguez (2018) found that R&D efforts and the use of external market-related information sources (e.g. customers and suppliers) positively affect the OI and the TI of KIBS firms, which indicates some complementarity between in-house R&D efforts and those expended to acquire external knowledge.…”