The impact of non-technological innovation on technical innovation: do services differ from manufacturing? An empirical analysis of Luxembourg firms

Generally speaking, the support of technological innovation has been viewed in terms of input such as R&D and instruments such as legal protection. The literature on innovation highlights the interactive nature of the innovation process in which non-technological activities are essential. However, few works have taken into account the role of other innovative strategies such as marketing and organisational innovation, a role which may differ according to whether the firm is involved in manufacturing or in services. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to fill this gap by highlighting the effects of non-technological innovation strategies on technological innovation. For the empirical work, we used firm-level data drawn from the Community Innovation Survey 2006 for Luxembourg. Our results show that the effects of non-technological innovations differ depending on the phase of the innovation process. Marketing and organisational innovations significantly increase the likelihood of innovation, but not the commercial success of innovation. The study also shows the differentiated effects of the two types of non-technological innovation in manufacturing and service, and confirms the key role of organisational innovation for services.CIS; Innovation; Marketing; Organisation; Technological Innovation

Why do Academic Scientists Engage in Interdisciplinary Research ?

This article provides a first empirical study of the determinants of the propensity to which academic scholars tend to perform interdisciplinarity research. For that purpose we introduce a measure of interdisciplinarity as the diversity of their research production across scientific domains. Our dataset concerns more than nine hundred permanent researchers employed by a large French university which is ranked first among French universities in terms of Impact. As expected we find that the traditional academic career incentives do not stimulate interdisciplinary research while having connections with industry does. The context of work in the laboratory (size, colleagues’ status, age and affiliations) strongly affects the propensity to undertake interdisciplinary research.Economics of science, Academic incentives, Interdisciplinary research, Laboratory, University.

Do firms rely on sources of information for organizational innovation?

The growing literature on knowledge and information has focused on the impact of information sources on technological innovation. Our objective was to explore the use made by firms of internal and external (market, research and generally available) sources of information for their organizational innovation practices? implementation. Furthermore, we studies whether these sources may vary according to whether the firm operates in the manufacturing or service industry. Multivariate probit models? results on 2008 Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data show notable differences between services and manufacturing, for instance that employees? skill levels are more important for manufacturing than for services. Overall, this paper provides strong evidence of the heterogeneity in firms? sources of information to engage in organizational innovation. On one hand, differences appear in the sources of innovation used for the various types of organizational innovation, indicating the appropriateness to differentiate organizational innovation practices rather than using an aggregated measure of organizational innovation. On the other hand, the sources of information vary according to the type of industry, even though some similarities appear. Managerial and theoretical implications for organizational innovation are provided.CIS; manufacturing/services; organizational innovation; sources of information

THE LINK BETWEEN NON TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

International audiencePurpose This paper aims to provide evidence of the major role of non-technological activities in the innovation process. It highlights the effects of marketing and organizational innovation strategies on technological innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach The article tests theoretical hypotheses on a sample of 555 firms of the 4th Community Innovation Survey (CIS 4) in 2006 in Luxembourg. Data are analyzed through a generalizedTobit model. Findings In the present study, evidence is found to support the impact of innovation in the marketing and organization fields on a firm's capacity to innovate, but not on the innovative performance. The paper also statistically shows that the effects of non-technological innovation differ depending on the phase of the innovation process. Research limitations/implications The causal link and the question of time frame between the various innovations could be further investigated, especially through longitudinal studies. Further research should also focus on the differences between large versus small firms, and service versus industrial firms. Practical implications The effects of non-technological innovation are not the same according to whether the firm is in the first step of the innovation process (i.e. being innovative), or in a later step (i.e. innovative performance). Managers should be aware of these various effects in order to efficiently adopt non-technological innovation strategies. Originality/value Few works have taken into account the role of other innovative strategies such as marketing and organization. At our knowledge, this is the first study based on recent CIS data that looks at the interrelations between different types of innovation

Synergistic effects of organizational innovation practices and firm performance

Organizational innovation has been shown to be favourable for technological innovation. However, the question of which organizational practices should be combined ? and thus of their compatibility ? remains unanswered. We here empirically investigate the complementarities between different organizational practices (business practices, knowledge management, workplace organization and external relations). Firm-level data were drawn from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) carried out in 2008 in Luxembourg. Supermodularity tests provide evidence of the impact of complementary asset management to raise firms? innovative performance. The organizational practices? combinations differ according to whether the firm is in the first step of the innovation process (i.e. being innovative) or in a later step (i.e. performing as far as innovation is concerned). When adopting organizational practices, managers should therefore be aware of their effects on technological innovation. These results also have implications for public policies in terms of innovation support.Complementarities; Organizational innovation; Technological innovations; Supermodularity; Innovative performance

Do firms rely on sources of information for organizational innovation?

International audienceThe growing literature on knowledge and information has focused on the impact of information sources on technological innovation. Our objective was to explore the use made by firms of internal and external (market, research and generally available) sources of information for their organizational innovation practices' implementation. Furthermore, we studies whether these sources may vary according to whether the firm operates in the manufacturing or service industry. Multivariate probit models' results on 2008 Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data show notable differences between services and manufacturing, for instance that employees' skill levels are more important for manufacturing than for services. Overall, this paper provides strong evidence of the heterogeneity in firms' sources of information to engage in organizational innovation. On one hand, differences appear in the sources of innovation used for the various types of organizational innovation, indicating the appropriateness to differentiate organizational innovation practices rather than using an aggregated measure of organizational innovation. On the other hand, the sources of information vary according to the type of industry, even though some similarities appear. Managerial and theoretical implications for organizational innovation are provided

The impact of non-technological on technological innovations: do services differ from manufacturing? An empirical analysis of Luxembourg firms

International audienceThe literature on innovation highlights the interactive nature of the innovation process in which non-technological activities are essential. However, few works have taken into account the role of other innovative strategies such as marketing and organisational innovations. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to fill this gap. For the empirical work, we used firm-level data drawn from the Community Innovation Survey 2006 for Luxembourg. We find that the effects of non-technological innovations differ depending on the phase of the innovation process. Marketing and organisational innovations significantly increase the likelihood of innovation, but not the commercial success of innovation. The study also shows the differentiated effects of the two types of non-technological innovation in manufacturing and service firms

The impact of non-technological on technological innovations: do services differ from manufacturing? An empirical analysis of Luxembourg firms

International audienceThe literature on innovation highlights the interactive nature of the innovation process in which non-technological activities are essential. However, few works have taken into account the role of other innovative strategies such as marketing and organisational innovations. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to fill this gap. For the empirical work, we used firm-level data drawn from the Community Innovation Survey 2006 for Luxembourg. We find that the effects of non-technological innovations differ depending on the phase of the innovation process. Marketing and organisational innovations significantly increase the likelihood of innovation, but not the commercial success of innovation. The study also shows the differentiated effects of the two types of non-technological innovation in manufacturing and service firms

Motivations à l'éco-innovation : une comparaison sectorielle sur les entreprises au Luxembourg

Cette analyse identifie les principaux facteurs qui incitent les entreprises à s'engager dans l'innovation environnementale. Elle contribue à la littérature empirique sur l'innovation environnementale à plusieurs niveaux. Premièrement, cet article présente pour la première fois, une analyse comparative intersectorielle des motivations à l'éco-innovation. Deuxièmement, au lieu de considérer l'éco-innovation comme une mesure agrégée d'innovation, cette étude s'attache à la différencier selon le type d'innovation en termes de produit, de procédé et de technologie. Troisièmement, cet article prend en compte la nature de l'éco-innovation au cours du processus d?innovation, en distinguant l'innovation environnementale à l'étape de la production et celle à l'étape des produits destinés aux consommateurs finaux. L'objectif est donc double. Il s'agit dans un premier temps, d'identifier les déterminants de la probabilité d'introduction de différents types d'éco-innovations dans une optique intersectorielle, quelle que soit la finalité de ces innovations. Puis, dans un second temps, d'étudier les déterminants des éco-innovations en fonction de leurs objectifs. Un modèle logistique a été réalisé à partir des données issues l'enquête communautaire sur l'innovation du Luxembourg. Cette analyse a permis de mettre en évidence l?importance de prendre en considération les spécificités inter et intra-sectorielles lorsqu?il s?agit de traiter la question des motivations à l?éco-innovation au niveau des entreprises. Les principales distinctions qui se révèlent, démontrent que les entreprises du secteur de l?industrie manufacturière sont plus sensibles aux pressions réglementaires que celles du secteur des services. D'autre part, les services semblent bénéficier rapidement d?outputs en terme d'éco-innovation, grâce à la mise en place d?un système de management environnemental, mais également grâce à des activités de R&D et cela, quel que soit le type ou la nature de l?innovation.eco-innovation; Services; Industrie manufacturière; Réglementation; Système de management environnemental; Demande; R&D

Technological innovation persistence: Literature survey and exploration of the role of organizational innovation

In this paper, we will review the literature on technological innovation persistence and provide a general theoretical framework to analyze the main determinants of this innovative behavior. Moreover, no previous empirical study has taken into account organizational innovation practices as possible determinants of innovation persistence. We will therefore include them, as previous studies have shown the interaction effects between the two types of innovation, and produce empirical results on technical innovation persistence. A multinomial probit model was used to estimate the likelihood of belonging to each of the three longitudinal innovation profiles. Results confirm the differentiated impact of determinants on process and technological innovation persistence, and the effect of R&D intensity, R&D cooperation and competition intensity. As hypothesized, we also found that organizational innovation is a determinant factor for innovation persistence and, more generally speaking, for technological innovation, in particular organizational practices such as knowledge management and external partnerships.Persistence; Innovation; Technological innovation; Organizational innovation; R&D