Innovation without R&D: Heterogeneous Innovation Patterns of Non-R&D-Performing Firms in the German Manufacturing Industry

Dr. rer. pol. Oliver Som obtained his PhD at the University of Flensburg, professorship for innovation research and management, Prof. Dr. Carsten Dreher. He is working as senior researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research in Karlsruhe.

Firms without research and development (R&D) have frequently been neglected by mainstream innovation research. The small number of existing studies provides only fragmented and sometimes even contradictory findings, because they assume that non-R&D-performing firms show a  “typical”, homogeneous innovation pattern. Oliver Som challenges this assumption. Based on current firm-level data of the German  industry, he provides pioneer quantitative evidence of five heterogeneous innovation patterns of non-R&D-performers. The findings impressively underline the need for future innovation research, -management and -policy to extend their view on innovation beyond the scope of R&D.

An evolutionary Approach to heterogeneity in Firms Innovation Strategies