Innovation and Knowledge Creation in an Open Economy: Canadian Industry and International Implications

Description

This study of innovation - its intensity, the sources used for knowledge creation, and its impacts - is based on a comprehensive survey of innovation of Canadian manufacturing firms. Attention is paid to the different actors in the system, who both compete with and complement one another. The study investigates how innovation regimes differ across size of firm and across industries. Owing to the high degree of foreign investment in Canada, special attention is paid to the performance of foreign-owned firms. The innovation regime of Canadian innovators is compared with results of studies of other industrialized countries. The picture of a typical innovator is a firm that combines internal resources and external contacts to develop a set of complementary strategies. The study finds that innovating firms depend not only on R&D, but also on ideas and technology from various other sources, both internal and external to the firm.

Advance praise: 'This splendid empirical study of industrial innovation turns away from great isolated discoveries to the continuing process by which firms organise activities for innovations large and small. Innovation emerges as a rational process, pursued by each firm in light of its size, information sources, and resources for protecting and exploiting its discoveries. Bringing into the home market an innovation established abroad differs only in scope from devising a worldwide first.' Richard Caves, Harvard University Advance praise: 'The strength of the book is undoubtedly the depth and richness of the survey. The authors asked the right questions and their analysis is comprehensive. I have not seen a better survey of this subject undertaken anywhere else in the world.' Mark Dodgson, Australian National University Advance praise: 'I found the book extremely well written and interesting, with valuable new empirical material and a consistently high standard of analysis. It will be a very useful and noteworthy contribution to the relevant literature. The analysis of Canada as a highly developed but small and MNC-dominated economy is particularly interesting to me as a development economist.' Sanjaya Lall, University of Oxford '... a specific and very thorough as well as comprehensive analysis of the innovation process in Canadian manufacturing. ... The study is of vital importance for those who do empirical studies in this field in order to compare the methodological approaches and results. In addition, the study can also lead to inspirations for new theories in innovation economics, since the results presented in the book urgently show that some theories have to be reassessed or even modified.' Economic Systems Research