Title: The effect of innovation on firm export activity in a developing country: evidence from Ecuador

Authors: Iván Trejo-Moya; Juan Fernández-Sastre

Addresses: Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO-Ecuador), La Pradera Street E7-174 and Diego de Almagro Avenue, Quito, Ecuador ' Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO-Ecuador), La Pradera Street E7-174 and Diego de Almagro Avenue, Quito, Ecuador

Abstract: Using data from Ecuador's 2015 Innovation Survey, this article examines whether engaging in innovation activities influences firms' export propensity and intensity, in a developing country like Ecuador. Additionally, it explores whether the introduction of innovative technologies influences firms' export behaviour. Given the observational nature of the data, this paper uses the inverse probability weighting (IPW) method to generate a counterfactual that can be compared to firms that engage in innovative activities and have introduced innovative technologies. The results suggest that engaging in innovation activities has no effect on firms' export behaviour. However, the introduction of innovative technologies increases a firm's propensity to export, though it does not account for firm differences in export intensity.

Keywords: innovation; exports; developing country; inverse probability weighting; IPW; Ecuador.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2025.144746

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2025 Vol.36 No.3, pp.416 - 434

Accepted: 05 Dec 2021
Published online: 03 Mar 2025 *

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