Microfirms and innovation in the service sector

Artikel

In the context of microfirms, this paper analyzes whether the link between the three aspects involving innovative activities—R&D, innovative output, and productivity—hold for knowledge-intensive services. With especially high start-up rates and the majority of employees in microfirms, knowledge-intensive services (KIS) have a starkly different profile from manufacturing. Results from our structural models indicate that KIS firms benefit from innovation activities through increased labor productivity with highly skilled employees being similarly important compared to R&D for creating innovation output in microfirms. Moreover, the firm size advantage of large firms found for manufacturing almost disappears in KIS, with start-ups and young firms having a higher probability of initiating innovation activities and of successfully turning knowledge into innovation output than mature firms.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal: Small Business Economics ; ISSN: 0921-898X ; Volume: 55 ; Year: 2020 ; Issue: 4 ; Pages: 997-1018 ; Berlin: Springer

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope ; Entrepreneurship ; Industry Studies: Manufacturing: General ; Industry Studies: Services: General ; Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
• Subject: Microfirms ; MSMEs ; R&D ; Service sector ; Innovation ; Productivity

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Audretsch, David B. ; Kritikos, Alexander S. ; Schiersch, Alexander
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Springer
• (where): Berlin
• (when): 2020

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.1007/s11187-020-00366-4
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/225004
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 12:00 AM CET