Determinants of innovation output in Spanish knowledge-intensive service firms: Stability analysis throughout the economic crisis of 2008

Abstract

The aims of this paper are to identify the main determinants of the innovation output indicators (product, process, organization, marketing, products new to the firm, and products new to the market) of Spanish knowledge-intensive service (KIS) firms, to compare them with those of other categories of non-knowledge-intensive service (NoKIS) firms and manufacturing firms, and to analyze their evolution over the period 2004–2012, that is, immediately before and after the 2008 crisis. We used PITEC panel micro data, selecting and grouping firms into four categories according to their sector of activity and their intensity in use of technology and knowledge. The empirical results of our study confirm that the main determinants of innovation output are the following: cooperation with other partners to innovate, R&D intensity, and the size of the firm. These determinants are relevant not only for KIS firms but also for all the other categories. However, the influence of cooperation is more important for KIS firms for all of the innovation output indicators except for process innovation. Finally, with respect to the evolution of the main determinants over the period under study, the results show that they were not really affected by the crisis. Although all of the indicators for innovation output show clear influences of the economic cycle, the main determinants are not only the same, but their influence remains basically stable throughout the period.