Title: Private value of innovation in Canadian industry

Authors: Brian Paul Cozzarin; Bonwoo Koo

Addresses: Department of Management Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L3G1, Canada Fax: 1-519-746-7252 ' Department of Management Sciences, University of Waterloo, Canada

Abstract: The objective of this study is to measure and quantify the private value of innovation, in contrast to other studies which use a partial equilibrium approach to estimate the social value of innovation. We use firm-level revenue and expenditure data to create industry level returns to an average manufacturing firm. We show that firms that perform both product and process innovations reap more than those that perform either process innovation or product innovation in isolation, and product-only innovators reap larger rewards than process-only innovators. The industrial profile of innovation in Canada ranks the transportation sector first, and the remaining top five industries are primary metals, petroleum-chemical-pharmaceuticals, food-beverages, plastics-rubber and wood. While Canada is no longer a country of just 'Hewers of wood and drawers of water', a recent $2.2 billion Federal program targets primarily the transportation-aerospace sector to the detriment of the less newsworthy sectors.

Keywords: product innovation; process innovation; R&D; private value.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2022.123731

International Journal of Technology Management, 2022 Vol.89 No.3/4, pp.270 - 283

Received: 16 Aug 2020
Accepted: 29 Jul 2021
Published online: 01 Jul 2022 *

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