Interorganizational Collaboration and Innovation: Toward a Portfolio Approach^*

TLDR

Interorganizational collaboration is theorized to enhance firms’ innovative performance, yet large‑scale empirical evidence remains scarce. The study investigates whether interorganizational collaboration improves the effectiveness of innovation strategies. The authors analyze data from 221 Belgian manufacturing firms in the Community Innovation Survey to test this relationship. Tobit analyses reveal a positive link between collaboration and innovative performance, but the effect varies with partner type, suggesting that a portfolio approach to collaboration is relevant.

Abstract

In the literature on innovation, interorganizational collaboration has been advanced as beneficial for the innovative performance of firms. At the same time, large‐scale empirical evidence for such a relationship is scarce. This article examines whether evidence can be found for the idea that interorganizational collaboration supports the effectiveness of innovation strategies. This article empirically addresses this research question by analyzing data on Belgian manufacturing firms ( n =221) collected in the Community Innovation Survey, a biannual survey organized by Eurostat and the European Commission aimed at obtaining insights into the innovation practices and performance of companies within the various European Union (EU) member states. Tobit analyses reveal a positive relationship between interorganizational collaboration and innovative performance. At the same time, the impact on innovative performance differs depending on the nature of the partner(s) involved. These findings strongly suggest the relevance of adopting a portfolio approach to interorganizational collaboration within the context of innovation strategies.