Innovation activities, use of appropriation instruments and absorptive capacity: Evidence from Spanish firms

This article empirically investigates the relationship between innovation activities of firms, their use of appropriation instruments and their absorptive capacity. We study a wide range of manufacturing and service industries, not just high-tech, and a wide range of innovation activities, not just R&D. We use multilevel logit models for complex samples to disentangle industry from firm-specific effects. We find that within an industry, firms that invest in appropriation instruments to reduce outgoing spillovers tend to conduct more R&D and downstream activities than firms that do not. Acquisition of technology is not related to the use of appropriation instruments. The effects of incoming spillovers (measured through absorptive capacity) on innovation activities of firms are industry specific and stronger for firms that invest in appropriation instruments. For this type of firm, both the capability to scan the external environment for technology and the capability to integrate new technology are related to the innovation activities. For firms that do not invest in appropriation instruments, only scanning capabilities are related.