What Firms Don’t Know Can Hurt Them: Overcoming a Lack of Information on Technology

Abstract

The availability of information on technology is a key factor in the innovation process. Firms that lack such information thereby face a major barrier to innovation. Yet little is known about the types of companies that lack this information. This paper examines what characterises firms that lack information on technology and analyses how innovative companies can overcome this gap in their knowledge. Empirical analysis was conducted with the Panel of Technological Innovation (PITEC), based on the information from the Spanish version of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). The analysis leads to three principal conclusions. First, a large number of firms perceive the lack of information on technology as a barrier to innovation. Second, there are notable sector differences in the way firms perceive this barrier: High-tech firms perceive lower levels of this barrier. Third, not all sources of information on technology are equally effective at overcoming this barrier. The most useful sources are consultants, commercial laboratories and private R&D institutes.