Learning Modes, Types of Innovation and Economic Performance

  1. José L. González-Pernía 1
  2. Iñaki Peña 1
  3. M. Davide Parrilli 2
  1. 1 Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness and Deusto Business School
  2. 2 M. Davide Parrilli
Journal:
Orkestra Working Paper Series in Territorial Competitiveness

ISSN: 1989-1288

Year of publication: 2012

Issue: 1

Type: Working paper

DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Orkestra Working Paper Series in Territorial Competitiveness

Abstract

This contribution focuses on a current heated debate on learning modes employed by the firms, and their impact on innovation and economic output. The interactive approach developed by the Scandinavian school on innovation systems characterized two key learning modes as „science and technology-based innovation‟ (STI) and „learning-bydoing, by-using and by-interacting-based innovation (DUI). This work analyzes first the separate and combined impact of such modes of learning and innovation on two types of innovation output: product and process. In this operation, this work produces interesting and challenging results. Moreover, this paper offers the original hypothesis that these learning modes have a differentiated impact on product and process innovation. Simultaneously, this contribution adds a further analytical element, which is the explicit connection to the capacity of firms to transform innovation output (product and process) in economic performance. A two-stage mode is formulated and applied in the context of an extensive database of Spanish manufacturing and service firms (PITEC). This allows implementing an original time-series analysis that leads to obtaining insightful results that question former analyses and might heat further the debate on the most effective learning and innovation modes applied by firms as a means to gain competitiveness in open markets.

Bibliographic References

  • Abernathy, W.J., & Utterback, J.M., 1978. Patterns of industrial innovation. Technology Review, 80(7), 40–47.
  • Arrow, K.J., 1962. Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention. In Universities-National-Bureau-Committee-for-Economic-Research (Ed.), The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors (pp. 609–626). Princenton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  • Asheim, B.T., & Coenen, L., 2005. Knowledge bases and regional innovation systems: Comparing Nordic clusters. Research Policy, 34(8), 1173–1190. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2005.03.013.
  • Aslesen, H., Isaksen, A., & Karlsen, J., 2011. Modes of Innovation and Differentiated Responses to Globalisation—A Case Study of Innovation Modes in the Agder Region, Norway. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 1–17. doi:10.1007/s13132-011-0060-9.
  • Audretsch, D.B., & Keilbach, M., 2008. Resolving the knowledge paradox: Knowledgespillover entrepreneurship and economic growth. Research Policy, 37(10), 1697–1705.
  • Becattini, G., Bellandi, M., & Propris, L. D. (Eds.), 2009. A Handbook of Industrial Districts. Edward Elgar Pub.
  • Chen, J., Chen, Y., & Vanhaverbeke, W., 2011. The influence of scope, depth, and orientation of external technology sources on the innovative performance of Chinese firms. Technovation, 31(8), 362–373. doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2011.03.002
  • Coad, A., & Hölzl, W., 2012. Firm growth: empirical analysis. In M. Dietrich & J. Krafft (Eds.), Handbook On The Economics And Theory Of The Firm. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
  • Cohen, W.M., & Levinthal, D.A., 1989. Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D. The Economic Journal, 99(397), 569–596.
  • Cooke, P., & Morgan, K., 1996. The regional innovation system in BadenWurttemberg. International Journal of Technology Management, 9(3-4), 394429.
  • Cronbach, L. 1951. Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334. doi:10.1007/BF02310555.
  • Dahl Fitjar, R., & Rodríguez-Pose, A. 2011. Firm collaboration and modes of innovation in Norway. Research Policy. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2012.05.009.
  • Damanpour, F., Walker, R.M., & Avellaneda, C. N. 2009. Combinative Effects of Innovation Types and Organizational Performance: A Longitudinal Study of Service Organizations. Journal of Management Studies, 46(4), 650–675. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008.00814.x.
  • Davidsson, P., Achtenhagen, L., & Naldi, L. 2007. What Do We Know About Small Firm Growth? In S. Parker (Ed.), The Life Cycle of Entrepreneurial Ventures, International Handbook Series on Entrepreneurship (Vol. 3, pp. 361–398). Springer US. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/m8757483m01565t1/abstract/.
  • Davidsson, P., & Wiklund, J. 2000. Conceptual and Empirical Challenges in the Study of Firm Growth. In D. L. Sexton & H. Landstrom (Eds.), Handbook of Entrepreneurship (pp. 26–44). Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
  • Delmar, F. 2006. Measuring growth: methodological considerations and empirical results. In P. Davidsson, F. Delmar, & J. Wiklund (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and the Growth of Firms (pp. 62–84). Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
  • Díaz-Díaz, N.L., Aguiar-Díaz, I., & De Saá-Pérez, P. 2008. The effect of technological knowledge assets on performance: The innovative choice in Spanish firms. Research Policy, 37(9), 1515–1529. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2008.06.002.
  • Evangelista, R., & Vezzani, A. 2010. The economic impact of technological and organizational innovations. A firm-level analysis. Research Policy, 39(10), 1253–1263. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2010.08.004.
  • Floyd, F.J., & Widaman, K.F. 1995. Factor analysis in the development and refinement of clinical assessment instruments. Psychological Assessment, 7(3), 286–299. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.7.3.286.
  • Gertler, M.S., & Asheim, B.T. 2006. 11. The Geography of Innovation: Regional Innovation Systems. The Oxford Handbook of Innovation (1st ed., Vol. 1, pp. 291–318). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/oso/public/content/oho_business/9780199286 805/oxfordhb-9780199286805-chapter-11.html.
  • González-Pernía, J.L., Peña-Legazkue, I., & Vendrell-Herrero, F. 2012. Innovation, entrepreneurial activity and competitiveness at a sub-national level. Small Business Economics, 39(3), 561–574.
  • Greunz, L. 2005. Intra- and inter-regional knowledge spillovers: Evidence from European regions. European Planning Studies, 13(3), 449–473. doi:10.1080/09654310500089746.
  • Greve, H.R. 2003. A Behavioral Theory of R&D Expenditures and Innovations: Evidence from Shipbuilding. Academy of Management Journal, 46(6), 685–702. doi:10.2307/30040661
  • Griliches, Z. 1979. Issues in assessing the contribution of research and development to productivity growth. The Bell Journal of Economics, 10(1), 92–116.
  • Grimpe, C., & Sofka, W. 2009. Search patterns and absorptive capacity: Low- and hightechnology sectors in European countries. Research Policy, 38(3), 495–506. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2008.10.006
  • Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., & Anderson, R.E. 2009. Multivariate Data Analysis (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
  • Hemert, P., Nijkamp, P., & Masurel, E. 2012. From innovation to commercialization through networks and agglomerations: analysis of sources of innovation, innovation capabilities and performance of Dutch SMEs. The Annals of Regional Science. doi:10.1007/s00168-012-0509-1.
  • Isaksen, A., & Karlsen, J. 2010. Different Modes of Innovation and the Challenge of Connecting Universities and Industry: Case Studies of Two Regional Industries in Norway. European Planning Studies, 18(12), 1993–2008. doi:10.1080/09654313.2010.516523.
  • Jensen, M.B., Johnson, B., Lorenz, E., & Lundvall, B.Å. 2007. Forms of knowledge and modes of innovation. Research Policy, 36(5), 680–693.
  • Kaiser, H.F. 1960. The Application of Electronic Computers to Factor Analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20(1), 141–151.
  • Kline, S.J., & Rosenberg, N. 1986. An Overview of Innovation. In R. Ladau & N. Rosenberg (Eds.), The Positive Sum Strategy: Harnessing Technology for Economic Growth (pp. 275–306). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=612&page=275.
  • Kotabe, M., & Murray, J.Y. 1990. Linking Product and Process Innovations and Modes of International Sourcing in Global Competition: A Case of Foreign Multinational Firms. Journal of International Business Studies, 21(3), 383–408. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490339.
  • Levinthal, D.A., & March, J.G. 1993. The Myopia of Learning. Strategic Management Journal, 14(2), 95–112.
  • Lundvall, B.A. (Ed.). 1992. National Systems of Innovation: Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning. Pinter Pub Ltd.
  • Nelson, R.R. 1993. National Innovation Systems: A Comparative Analysis. Oxford University Press.
  • Parrilli, M.D., & Asheim, B.T. (Eds.). 2012. Interactive Learning for Innovation: A Key Driver within Clusters and Innovation Systems. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Parrilli, M.D., & Elola, A. 2011. The strength of science and technology drivers for SME innovation. Small Business Economics, 1–11. doi:10.1007/s11187-0119319-6.
  • Pisano, G.P., & Wheelwright, S.C. 1995. The New Logic of High-Tech R&D. Harvard Business Review, 73(5), 93–105.
  • Stam, E., & Wennberg, K. 2009. The roles of R&D in new firm growth. Small Business Economics, 33(1), 77–89. doi:10.1007/s11187-009-9183-9
  • Thornhill, S. 2006. Knowledge, innovation and firm performance in high- and lowtechnology regimes. Journal of Business Venturing, 21(5), 687–703.
  • Weinzimmer, L.G., Nystrom, P.C., & Freeman, S.J. 1998. Measuring Organizational Growth: Issues, Consequences and Guidelines. Journal of Management, 24(2), 235–262. doi:10.1177/014920639802400205.
Data source: Dialnet