Measuring Firm-Level Innovation Using Short Questionnaires: Evidence from an Experiment

45 Pages Posted: 19 Jul 2016

See all articles by X. Cirera

X. Cirera

Institute of Development Studies; World Bank

Silvia Muzi

World Bank

Date Written: June 6, 2016

Abstract

Little is known about innovation in developing countries, partly because of the lack of comparable and reliable data. Collecting data on firm-level innovation is challenging because of the subjective definition of what determines an innovation, a problem that is exacerbated in developing countries where innovation is likely to be more incremental and less radical. This paper contributes to the literature by presenting the results of an experiment aiming to identify the survey instrument that better captures firm-level innovation in developing countries. The paper shows that a small set of questions included in a multi-topic, firm-level survey does not provide an accurate picture of firm-level innovation and tends to overestimate innovation rates. Issues related to framing explain some of the unreliability of innovation responses, while cognitive problems do not appear to play a significant role.

Keywords: Technology Innovation, Technology Industry

Suggested Citation

Cirera, Xavier and Muzi, Silvia, Measuring Firm-Level Innovation Using Short Questionnaires: Evidence from an Experiment (June 6, 2016). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7696, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2811343

Xavier Cirera (Contact Author)

Institute of Development Studies ( email )

University of Sussex
Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9RE
United Kingdom

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Silvia Muzi

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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