Are Peruvian manufacturing firms product-based or service-based businesses? Effects of innovation activities, employee level of education and firm size

ABSTRACT

Using survey data from 1438 Peruvian manufacturing firms, we explore multiple and simultaneous relationships between the effects of innovation activities, employee level of education, and the firm size on manufacturing firms’ innovation outcomes. We find that there is a positive relationship between innovation activities, employee level of education, and firm size. In addition, innovation activities have direct and positive effects on product and service innovation. However, employee level of education has positive indirect effects, especially on product innovation. The study also highlights that there is a negative direct relationship between size and service innovation. Thus, it is important to establish public policies aimed to promote service innovation in manufacturing firms, with specific support for small firms.

KEYWORDS:

• Product-service innovation
• innovation activities
• employee level of education
• size

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. Jean Pierre Seclen-Luna also acknowledges the support from the Program for High Performance in Research of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jean Pierre Seclen-Luna

Jean Pierre Seclen-Luna is a full professor of innovation management at the Faculty of Management of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. He holds a PhD in Business Economics from the University of the Basque Country (Spain). Currently, he is Research Coordinator at the Department of Management, Founder Member of the Innovation Management Research Group, Member of the Latin-Ibero-American Association for Technological Management and Innovation (ALTEC) and Member of the International Advisory Board of the Basque Economic Review. His research for the past 10 years has involved the systematic study of innovation in manufacturing and knowledge-intensive business services. His research interest includes innovation management, servitization, KIBS and business growth. His main publications have appeared in Sustainability, Competitiveness Review, International Journal of Business Environment, Journal of Regional Research, among other journals. He has numerous participations in international conferences.

Jubalt Alvarez-Salazar

Jubalt Alvarez-Salazar holds a PHD in Strategic Management from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). Currently is lecturer part-time at PUCP and has been a consultant for more than 10 years in the areas of Productive Development and Economic Development for various organisations, most of them from the public sector. He is also a member of the Innovation Management Research Group belonging to the Management Sciences Academic Department of PUCP. His latest publications are related to the innovation, start-ups and entrepreneurship in Academia Revista Latinoamerica de Administración and the Journal of Technology Management and Innovation.