Technological capability building through networking strategies within high-tech industries
Wim Vanhaverbeke, Bonnie Beerkens & Geert Duysters
#2007-018
Learning through networks has been considered as an important research
topic for several years now. Technological learning is more and more
based on a combination of internal and external learning and firms need
to develop both technological and social capital for that purpose. This
paper analyses the relationship between both types of capital and their
impact on the technological performance of companies in high-tech
industries. We claim and find empirical evidence for decreasing marginal
returns on social capital. Technological capital and social capital
mutually reinforce each other's effect on the rate of innovation for
companies with small patent and alliance portfolios. However, when the
patent portfolio and network of alliances are extensive, companies risk
to over-invest since optimal levels of social capital become smaller at
higher levels of technological capital and the marginal benefits of
investing in technological capital decreases the higher the levels of
social capital. Finally, we find empirical evidence that companies that
explore novel and pioneering technologies have higher levels of
innovation performance in subsequent years than companies that solely
invest in incremental innovations.
Keywords: Strategic Alliances, Networks, Innovation
JEL classification: 032, 031