The influence of knowledge sources on firm-level innovation: The case of Slovak and Hungarian manufacturing firms

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine the various sources of knowledge and innovation that Slovak and Hungarian manufacturing firms rely on to improve their innovative performance. To carry out our empirical analysis we used the multiple regression technique and data from the Community Innovation Survey conducted between 2010 and 2012. Our empirical analysis demonstrated divergent results for both countries. Slovak firms derived their innovation from in-house activities and other sources such as scientific journals and conferences while Hungarian firms relied on market sources such as cooperation with clients or customers from the private sector for their innovation as well as from scientific journals. However, there was a convergence in the results, manufacturing firms in both countries didn’t collaborate with research institutions such as universities and other public and private research organization for their innovation. This study, therefore, proposes firms to foster closer collaboration with these research institutions since they are the birthplaces of innovation that can increase their competitiveness and innovation performance.