Product innovation: testing the relative influence of industry, institutional context and firm factors

Abstract

This article analyses the influence of industry characteristics (concentration and technological opportunity), the institutional framework (social capital and spillovers from the public sector) and some firm factors (external and internal R&D) on product innovation in a unique integrated framework. Based on a sample of Spanish industrial firms, these variables were found to be positively related to firms’ product innovation. Also, results show that in institutional environments with significant levels of social capital and spillovers, firms change their innovation strategy focusing on external R&D.

Keywords:

• product innovation
• external and internal R&D
• technological opportunity
• concentration
• social capital
• spillovers

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the research project ECO2012-35439.

Notes on contributors

Mariano Nieto is a Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Leon, Spain. His most recent research is on innovation management, corporate social responsibility and entrepreneurship. He has contributed to publications such as Research Policy, Journal of Business Research, Technological Forecasting and Social Change and Technovation.

Nuria González-Álvarez is an Associate Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Leon, Spain. Her research interests concern innovation management and entrepreneurship. She has published in several international journals such as Research Policy, Technovation and International Journal of Technology Management.

Notes

1. The Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) constructs the database called PITEC (Panel de Innovación Tecnológica) on the basis of the annual Spanish responses to the CIS.

2. CNAE is the Spanish National Classification of Economic Activities.

3. BBVA Foundation is a Spanish foundation that is financed by one of the major Spanish banks (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria).