Do process innovations boost SMEs productivity growth?
- Máñez Castillejo, Juan Antonio
- Rochina Barrachina, María Engracia
- Sanchis Llopis, Amparo
- Sanchis Llopis, Juan Alberto
ISSN: 1988-8767
Año de publicación: 2009
Número: 475
Tipo: Documento de Trabajo
Otras publicaciones en: Notas técnicas: [continuación de Documentos de Trabajo FUNCAS]
Resumen
In this paper we explore in depth the effect of process innovations on total factor productivity growth for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), taking into account the potential endogeneity problem that may be caused by self selection into these activities. First, we analyse whether the ex-ante most productive SMEs are those that start introducing process innovations; then, we test whether process innovations boost SMEs productivity growth using matching techniques to control for the possibility that selection into introducing process innovations may not be a random process. We use a sample of Spanish manufacturing SMEs for the period 1991-2002, drawn from the Encuesta sobre Estrategias Empresariales. Our results show that the introduction of process innovations yields an extra productivity growth, and that the life span of this extra productivity growth has an inverted U-shaped form.