| Abstract: |
Firms can use different sources of external knowledge for developing and
implementing innovations. Some knowledge is provided deliberately by the
source and constitutes intended knowledge spillovers, e.g., knowledge
disclosed in publications or patent files. Other sources represent unintended
knowledge spillovers, such as reverse engineering of technologies or hiring
workers from other firms. Based on data from the Community Innovation Survey,
this paper analyses the role of different types of intended and unintended
knowledge spillovers for innovation output at the firm level. Among intended
knowledge spillovers, using knowledge from patents shows the strongest link to
innovation output, particularly in case of product innovations with a high
degree of novelty (world-first innovations). Knowledge from publications is
not associated with a significantly higher innovation output. Among unintended
spillovers, both reverse engineering and hiring of workers positively
contribute to innovation output of firms, with stronger effects for reverse
engineering. Interestingly, there is a strong link between reverse engineering
and process innovation output (unit cost reduction), which reflects the fact
that firms using this knowledge source operate in a market environment
characterized by high price competition, which incentivizes an innovation
strategy based on cost efficiency. |