The economic impact of technological and organizational innovations A firm-level analysis

By using firm-level data provided by the last round of the (Italian) Community Innovation Survey (CIS4) this paper explores (in a manufacturing-services comparative framework) the relationship between technological and non-technological innovations and their Impact on firms performances The empirical evidence presented shows that including the organizational dimension of innovation provides a much more comprehensive picture of the variegated universe of innovation in both macro-sectors Four distinct innovation modes have been identified on the basis of the ways firms combine technological and non-technological innovations These different modes of innovation are present and relevant in both manufacturing and service sectors and have been found to have a differentiated impact on firms performances Strategies characterized by the Joint introduction of product process and organizational innovations have been found to give to both manufacturing and service firms a clear competitive advantage vis a vis both non-innovating firms and firms with a narrow approach to innovation A few significant differences between services and manufacturing firms in the relevance and economic impact of different types of innovation strategies have also been found (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved