We model how risk-neutral firms’ ability to obtain substantial private returns on marginal new technologies causes them to "reach for mediocrity" by investing in socially suboptimal projects, even in the presence of competition and new entrants. Focusing primarily on pharmaceutical innovation,...

We construct an asymmetric duopolistic R&D and production behavior model subject to knowledge spillovers. This model is an extension to the symmetric model of d’Aspremont and Jacquemin (A&J (1988)) and aims to determine the cooperative and non-cooperative R&D strategies for two agents of...

This paper uses a large panel of survey data on German firms in the manufacturing sector to analyse the effects of financing constraints for investors in general and for innovative firms in particular. Survey data with information on financing conditions are potentially a valuable tool that...

The paper analyses the impact of venture capital finance on growth and innovation activities of young German firms. Among other variables, our panel of firm data includes data on venture capital funding and patent applications. With a statistical matching procedure we draw an adequate control...

Based on a sample of German innovating firms that contains information on formal and informal innovation cooperation between customers and suppliers, we state that firms perceive informal cooperation as being more important than formal cooperation modes. We then investigate the determinants of...

The sensitivity of innovation activities with respect to the business cycle is often assumed to be small. In this paper the hypothesis on cyclical dependence of innovation activities is tested for firms in the German manufacturing, and additionally for SMEs. To this end firms? innovation...

During the last 20 years, R&D and innovation activities in the service sector have clearly increased. Especially business services are believed to be one of the main drivers of technical changes and economic progress. Looking at the labour indices calculated over the period from 1982 to 1996 one...

This paper discusses theoretically the different incentives of managers versus firm owners to invest in innovative activities. There are opposing effects concerning R&D intensity in the manager-controlled firm. Our study on the determinants of R&D intensity presents empirical results concerning...

This paper considers the effect of different firm leadership on the innovative performance of firms from seven EU countries. We investigate whether owner-led or manager-led firms achieve a larger share of their turnover with product innovations. Economic theory does not propose clear answers to...

In dieser Arbeit werden die verschiedenen Anreize für Manager im Vergleich zu Unternehmenseignern untersucht, Innovationen durchzuführen. Bei den Anreizen treten gegenläufige Effekte der Innovationsanstrengungen auf. Unsere Untersuchung über die Determinanten des Innovationserfolges liefert...