Why do firms cooperate for innovation? A comparison of Austrian and Finnish CIS3 results

Abstract

This paper analyses differences in the cooperative behaviour of innovative firms in Finland and Austria. We use data from the third wave of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS3). Descriptive statistics indicate that the rate of innovators is quite similar in Austria and Finland, while the number of cooperating enterprises is considerably higher in Finland. Econometric analysis reveals that a number of factors that determine cooperative arrangements are only significant in one or the other country. We conclude that cooperative behaviour in the two countries is much more dependent on national factors and much deeper rooted in the underlying innovation systems than the existing literature may assume.