Influence of open innovation strategies on employment dynamics: evidence for Spanish manufacturing firms

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explore the influence of different modes of openness of innovative firms on employment growth. Using a panel database of Spanish manufacturing firms during the period 1998–2015, we analyze the influence open innovation (OI) strategies on employment distinguishing by type of external partner. The main objective of the research is to know whether opening innovation strategy contributes to employment taken into account another firm capabilities and sectorial technological opportunities. For this purpose, a two-step procedure is specified. Firstly, a random-effect computes the effects of OI on the innovation probability. In the second step, the variation of innovativeness due to openness on GMM-system estimation controlling by potential endogeneity and unobserved firm heterogeneity is used. The results support that the influence of open strategy on employment growth is positive. Moreover, the employment depends on the breadth of OI measured by the number of out-inbound relationships. Finally, the employment consequences are different for each mode of open strategy.

KEYWORDS:

• Open innovation
• employment
• panel data
• GMM-system
• Spanish manufacturing firms

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Ángela Triguero http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1126-4429

David Córcoles http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3523-0976

Sara Fernández http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6441-7097

Notes

1 Chesbrough (2006) defines Open Innovation as ‘the use of purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation and to expand the markets for external use of innovation, respectively’ (Chesbrough 2006, 1). Although other earlier works are intimately related with this concept, we consider that OI is a new and useful paradigm to be used to understand the innovation processes carried out by the firms and their consequences. See Huizingh (2011) to understand the reasons explaining why Chesbrough’s paradigm is very attractive for scholars and practitioners.

2 The depth refers to ‘the extent to which firms draw deeply from the different external sources or search channels’ (Laursen and Salter 2006, 134). Unfortunately, our dataset does not provide information about the intensive use of each external search knowledge source.

3 Firms in its group, competitors and non-competitors in the industry, customer and users firm, business service providers, suppliers and collaboration with universities and research centres.

4 Specifically, Brunswicker and Vanhaverbeke (2015) distinguish five different clusters: minimal searchers, supply-chain searchers, technology-oriented searchers, application oriented searchers, and full-scope searchers. After this estimation, they find that only two strategies a full-scope sourcing strategy and application-oriented sourcing enhance innovative performance.

5 Detailed information about the ESEE is available at www.funep.es.

6 Dachs and Petters (2014), Harrison et al. (2014), Coad (2009), García-Manjón and Romero-Merino (2012) and Triguero, Córcoles, and Cuerva (2014) are some examples.

7 We acknowledge one of the referees for suggesting these interesting ideas for further research.

8 We take into account an initial value of stock capital, sectorial estimates of rates of depreciation and annual investments in capital goods actualized with a price index of capital goods. Details about construction method of this variable can be found in Martín-Marcos and Suarez (1997) and García, Jaumandreu, and Rodríguez (2004).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Grant ECO2015-70262-R; University of Castilla-La Mancha under Grant GI20174083; and the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and European Social Fund under Grant SBPLY/16/180501/000486