The Impact of Knowledge Acquisition and Absorptive Capacity on Technological Innovations in Developing Countries: Evidence From Egyptian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract

The author examines the determinants of technological innovations in Egyptian manufacturing and service small and medium-sized enterprises. Three categories of determinants are explored: (a) firms’ exposure to external knowledge and technologies, (b) firms’ absorptive capacity, and (c) financial and market barriers to innovation. A large dataset derived from the 2009 Egyptian innovation survey is used to estimate two binary logit models of factors explaining firms’ propensity to innovate in the manufacturing and service sectors. Results show that Egyptian manufacturing and service small and medium-sized enterprises follow similar paths to innovate and confirm the assumption that the catching-up reality in most developing countries makes the patterns followed by firms to innovate fundamentally different from those applied in countries at the technology frontier.