The intensity and diversity of R&D partner types and product development: Do product innovation types and industry sectors matter?

Abstract

We empirically analyze the diversity and intensity effect of R&D partner types (e.g., suppliers, customers, public research institutes, and universities) on various product innovation types (e.g., improving quality, cost reduction, pioneering new market, and technology standardization). Based on our analysis of the 2010 Korean manufacturing industry, we found the diversity of R&D partner types is effective for all types of product innovation. However, the diversity effect of partner types disappeared for pioneering new markets for all industry sectors in 2016. We further examined the effects across different industry sectors and found that a scale-intensive sector has an intensity effect of R&D cooperation with research institutes such as public research institutes and universities, whereas the intensity of R&D cooperation with customers is effective for a science-based sector. Also, we found that the intensity of R&D collaboration with customers and public research institutes is effective for a specialized-supplier sector. However, for the supplier-dominated sector, the intensity effect of R&D cooperation tends to change from customers and public research institutes to suppliers. This indicates that cooperation with suppliers is expanding not only in purchasing-related cooperation but also in R&D collaboration in the supplier-dominated sector.