Cooperative innovation Evidence from Italian firms

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), R&D cooperation with sources of external knowledge is becoming increasingly essential for fostering innovation activities. This paper investigates the effects of collaboration on innovation by considering four different partner types: competitors, customers, suppliers, Universities and Government laboratories. Using firm-level data from the Community Innovation Survey for the years 2006-2008 (CIS 2008) and applying a Heckman probit model with sample selection, we analyse the determinants of cooperation and innovation probabilities for each type of partner. Results show that internal and external R&D acquisitions, public financial support, as well as belonging to a scientific sector or to a business group are significant determinants of the partners’choice for collaboration, although with different magnitude across various types of collaborations.