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This study analyzes the impact of R&D outsourcing, R&D cooperation and their interaction on firms’ technical efficiency, distinguishing between those with high and low absorptive capacity. The empirical evidence is drawn from the 2016 Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC), which provides information on Spanish manufacturing firms. To estimate coefficients and test complementarity, we employ stochastic frontier analysis with a Heckman correction to control for sample selection bias, restricting the sample to innovative firms and applying the complementarity approach. The results indicate that R&D cooperation and absorptive capacity exert positive and significant effects on efficiency, while outsourcing has a negative but insignificant influence. Moreover, the joint reliance on external knowledge sources reduces efficiency among firms with high absorptive capacity but has no effect on those with low capacity. These findings yield relevant implications for managers and policymakers, showing that external knowledge sources perform specialized functions, thereby guiding strategic decisions on R&D management.
Guisado‐González et al. (Wed,) studied this question.