Innovation and Growth : From R&D Strategies of Innovating Firms to Economy-wide Technological Change

Provides an overview and assessment of established research on firms' strategic choices of R&D efforts and their firm-level returns, and explains the consequences for economy-wide technological change and growth.

This volume provides an understanding of firms'' R&D and innovation strategies and their economy-wide consequences. It is based on the premise that differences in firm-level returns, as well as economy-wide outcomes, may be linked to the heterogeneous ways in which firms organize and undertake R&D and innovation activities. It emphasizes innovation strategies of innovating firms, and reflects that innovation efforts do not represent a uniform type of expenditure. Organized into three parts the volume moves from the micro to the macro-level. This structure highlights the notion that R&D and innovation and growth are two interdependent perspectives. The first of these is micro-oriented and focuses on innovation processes of firms, where R&D activities and other innovation efforts give rise to consequences such as a strengthening of resource bases, growth of sales and employment, patents, new products, increasing productivity and profits, and improved chances of survival. The second perspective comprises economy-wide effects in the form of overall technological change, growth in total factor productivity, and structural change processes, where certain sectors may benefit from new inputs from other sectors while others experience declining markets and reduced output.The book brings together contributions and perspectives from both economics and business scholars, and will appeal to academics, researchers, and students interested in R&D and innovation strategies, international business, business strategy, and the economics of technological change.