Searching for Innovation in Market and Transition Economies: Evidence Across Europe

Searching for externally available knowledge has been characterised as a vital part of the innovation process. The availability of such innovation impulses, however, critically depends on the environment a firm is operating in. Little is known on how national environments differ with respect to the munificence in providing innovation impulses. These differences may be particularly pronounced between transition economies and established market economies. We argue that firms from transition and established economies differ in their search pattern and that these search patterns moderate the relationship between innovation inputs and outputs. Based on a sample of almost 7,000 firms from 13 European countries we find strong support for open innovation strategies in both settings. However, performance differs in established and transition economy contexts.

Grimpe, Christoph and Wolfgang Sofka (2009), Searching for Innovation in Market and Transition Economies: Evidence Across Europe, in: Academy of Management (Eds.), Chicago,