In this study we investigated the determinants (a) of the propensity of Swiss firms to train apprentices and (b) of the intensity of apprentice training as measured by the employment share of apprentices. Innovation, firm age and competition conditions on the product market are possible...

Recent studies in the tradition of Schmookler have re-emphasised the potential role of demand in stimulating innovation. Here, we reconsider the role of "home" and "export" market demand in stimulating manufacturing innovation using comparable panel data for two small open economies - Ireland...

This paper investigates the relationship between technology specialization and innovation performance of firms emphasizing technology transfer activities with universities as an important knowledge source in order to attenuate the opportunity costs of technological specialization. Based on an...

This paper compares the determinants and the effects of innovation cooperation on innovation performance at firm level in five European countries: Belgium, Germany, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland. In a first step we analyse cooperation agreements with national and international partners and in...

The innovation value chain (IVC) divides the innovation process into three separate links or activities: knowledge gathering, knowledge transformation and knowledge exploitation. Here, we report a comparative panel data analysis of the IVC in Ireland and Switzerland. Both economies are small,...

Given the increasing interest in understanding (and supporting by means of public policy) innovative activity related to energy efficient technology (EET), I attempt to identify firm-level determinants of innovation and research in this field. A novel dataset of Swiss firms has been assembled by...

Innovative start-ups, not start-ups in general, seem to be important drivers of economic growth. However, little is known about how such firms look like. As activities of start-ups are strongly related to firm founders, we investigate this question focusing on the innovation capability of firm...

This study investigates the factors that determine the inter-firm and intra-firm adoption rates of energy-saving technologies. These factors can be on theoretical terms firm-specific rank effects, inducement effects, adoption barriers as well as order, stock and epidemic effects that are related...

This paper investigates (a) the determinants of innovation performance and (b) the impact of innovation performance on labour productivity of Swiss manufacturing firms in the period 1994-2002. The data used in this study come from the KOF panel database and were collected in 1996, 1999 and 2002...