Incentives for cooperation by innovating firms in Chile: a study using the 2020 national innovation survey

Abstract

Various studies have shown that incoming spillovers of knowledge and appropriability favour cooperation among firms in innovation (Cassiman & Veugelers, 2002; de Faria et al., 2010). However, there are surprisingly few papers on this link in developing countries. In this paper we study this relationship for firms in Chile and use two simultaneous equation models: a logit model for the probability of cooperation and a linear model for its magnitude, in order to enrichen the discussion and the interpretability of the results. We establish a causal effect of incoming spillovers on cooperation and estimate its magnitude, both as a probability and as a continuous variable. In contrast, we find no effect of appropriation. We also establish causal effects of other variables, namely R&D and size of firms in terms of personnel. This provides additional support to the theory of the complexity of innovation systems, that depend on many factors that vary between different countries and moments in history.