Diversity of Science Linkages and Innovation Performance: Some Empirical Evidence from Flemish Firms

27 Pages Posted: 18 Dec 2010

See all articles by Bruno Cassiman

Bruno Cassiman

Harvard University - Business School (HBS)

Reinhilde Veugelers

Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) - Department of Applied Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Maria Pluvia Zuniga

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD); KU Leuven

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

This paper examines the diversity of the types of links of firms to science and their effect on innovation performance for a sample of Belgian firms. While at the industry level links to science are highly related to the R&D intensity of the sector, we show that there exists considerable heterogeneity in the type of links to science at the firm level. Overall, firms with a science link enjoy superior innovation performance, in particular with respect to innovations that are new to the market. At the invention level, our findings confirm that patents from firms engaged in science are more frequently cited and have a broader technological and geographical impact, but we show that it is crucial to distinguish between direct science links at the invention level and indirect science links at the firm level to encounter these distinct positive effects of science links.

Keywords: Innovation, cooperation, patents, forward citation, science, industrial innovation

JEL Classification: O32, O34, L13

Suggested Citation

Cassiman, Bruno and Veugelers, Reinhilde and Zuniga, Maria Pluvia, Diversity of Science Linkages and Innovation Performance: Some Empirical Evidence from Flemish Firms (2009). Economics Discussion Paper No. 2009-30, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1726731 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1726731

Bruno Cassiman (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Business School (HBS) ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Morgan 270C
Boston, MA 02163
United States

Reinhilde Veugelers

Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) - Department of Applied Economics ( email )

Leuven, B-3000
Belgium
+32 16 32 6908 (Phone)
+32 16 32 6732 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Maria Pluvia Zuniga

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) ( email )

2 rue Andre Pascal
Paris Cedex 16, 75775
France

KU Leuven

Oude Markt 13
Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant 3000
Belgium

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