Are innovators more successful than non-innovators? : an empirical analysis of the manufacturing industry in Germany

Abstract

"Innovations are seen as the driving force behind the economic development and the competitiveness of establishments. Of particular interest are the products that a company brings onto the market for the first time or for which a company has to develop a new market. The latter innovations are called market innovations. From an economic perspective, the question arises whether companies that produce such market innovations are more successful than companies that do not. The development of employment, turnover, profits and the profit situation can be used as indicators of success. However the innovating and non-innovation companies should of course be comparable in their other company characteristics (such as size and sector). This is achieved via a matching process. The results of the analysis carried out using the IAB Establishment Panel Survey for the manufacturing industry shows that, in the New Federal States, the innovating companies stand out on average by way of a margin in employment and turnover in comparison to non-innovating companies. This gap is somewhat larger for establishments in the eastern part of Germany than for establishments in the Old Federal States. When one looks at the development of productivity and the profit situation, no statistically reliable differences can be noticed between innovators and non-innovators. However the results do not challenge the high significance of innovation for economic development and competitivity. Yet they do give an indication that - in relationship to market innovation - non-innovation companies find ways (at least in the midterm) of keeping their operational performance steady." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Crimmann, A., Evers, K., Guenther, J., Guhr, K. & Sunder, M. (2010): Sind Innovatoren erfolgreicher als Nicht-Innovatoren? Eine empirische Analyse für das Verarbeitende Gewerbe in Deutschland. In: Wirtschaft im Wandel, Vol. 16, No. 10, p. 484-490.