Cooperative Strategies in the Age of Open Innovation: Choice of Partners, Geography and Duration

Abstract

In the era of “open innovation”, the choice of a cooperative strategy is one of the most significant factors determining the effectiveness of innovation activities. The authors investigate the typical configurations of cooperative networks in Russian manufacturing, including the choice of partners, the role of spatial distance, and the duration of joint projects. Using the firm-level data (1,324 in 2015 and 545 in 2018) the paper evaluates the role of cooperation in the innovation outcomes in terms of innovation novelty and export capacity. The most common cooperative strategy is vertical cooperation, which is the involvement of clients and suppliers in the process of innovative development. The geography of cooperation rarely extends beyond a region's borders and is mostly of an irregular (short-term) nature. A small number of enterprises that engage in international cooperation tend to rely upon long-term linkages with academia, which is a distinctive feature of the most innovative Russian companies, including those involved in the creation and distribution of intellectual property.