Title: Collaborative R&D in Russian companies: empirical evidence on successful partnerships

Authors: Markus A. Jääskeläinen; Juha J. Hinkkanen; Juha Väätänen

Addresses: Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. ' Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. ' Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland

Abstract: Companies from emerging economies are going global at a growing speed, making the competition over customers increasingly challenging for all participants. In the modern competitive landscape, a firm's capability to innovate is highly stressed. In this context, interorganisational cooperation has become one of the most important keystones in contemporary business management. Collaborative activities provide broader premises for R&D and innovation activity to create sustained competitive advantage and financial success for business firms. Collaborative R&D, especially in the context of Russian companies, has received only minor academic attention. We have used a survey of 206 Russian companies to analyse the R&D cooperation setup implemented in companies that are gaining success in markets, as well the common breadth and depth of these partnerships. The results reveal that the demand for differing R&D partners in different markets is obvious, as there is a strong dispersion in the importance of different R&D partners with respect to successful operation in different markets. Furthermore, Russian companies succeeding in developed markets form mid- to long-term partnerships for R&D and also reinforce the partnerships with contracts or written agreements on a highly regular basis.

Keywords: research and development; R&D; cooperation; interorganisational collaboration; internationalisation; Russia; Russian Federation; emerging economies; competition; customers; competitiveness; business management; collaborative activities; competitive advantage; financial success; markets; mid-term partnerships; long-term partnerships; contracts; written agreements; business innovation; business research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2013.050554

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2013 Vol.7 No.1, pp.23 - 39

Published online: 27 Dec 2013 *

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