Abstract
Drawing upon survey data from 436 firms, this paper explores the impact of co-operative ties upon levels of innovation (both product and process) in five UK manufacturing industries. Unlike a number of previous studies in this area, the data itself captures both the scale and multi-dimensional nature of both co-operation and innovation. The paper finds evidence to support the hypothesis that vertical cooperative ties are a significant factor in explaining firms' levels of innovative performance. However, the empirical analysis suggests that it is the strength of such ties - and not just their existence - which are important with stronger dyadic relations between firms having a positive and significant impact upon levels of innovation. The analysis also finds that in some sectors, horizontal co-operative ties are (albeit to a lesser extent) also important.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 762-775 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Research Policy |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 6 |
Early online date | 16 Mar 2010 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2010 |
Keywords
- networks
- manufacturing
- dyadic relations
- vertical and horizontal ties
- innovation
- co-operation