Title: Cooperating with external partners: the importance of diversity for innovation performance

Authors: Mathias Beck; Andrea Schenker-Wicki

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich, Plattenstrasse 14, 8055 Zurich, Switzerland ' Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich, Plattenstrasse 14, 8055 Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract: This paper investigates how diversity in R&D cooperation networks affects firms' innovation performance output as measured by each firm's sales share of innovative products. To address this question, the authors analyse a large-scale sample of micro-data on Swiss firms from five waves (1999, 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011) of the Swiss innovation survey using panel data analysis. The findings suggest that firms with greater diversity in their cooperation network benefit by generating new product innovations and that the diversity benefit is greatest for small firms. The study further detects a curvilinear relationship between diversity of collaborator types and innovation performance, and emphasises the importance of appropriate HRM and knowledge management policies and practices in providing firms with an effective mechanism for maximising the benefits from diversified cooperation networks.

Keywords: innovation collaboration; cooperation; strategic alliances; diversity; innovation performance; human resource management; HRM policies; HRM practices; knowledge management; absorptive capacity; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; KM; human capital; human resources; HR; cooperative networks; R&D networks; research and development.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2014.064604

European Journal of International Management, 2014 Vol.8 No.5, pp.548 - 569

Published online: 21 Oct 2014 *

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