Cooperative Strategies in the Age of Open Innovation: Choice of Partners, Geography and Duration

In the era of open innovation, the choice of a cooperative strategy is one of the most significant factors determining the effectiveness of innovation activities. The authors investigate typical configurations of cooperative networks in Russian manufacturing, including the choice of partners, the role of spatial distance, and the duration of joint projects. Using the firm-level data (1324 in 2015 and 545 in 2018) the paper estimates the role of cooperation in the innovation outcomes in terms of innovation novelty and export capacity. The most common cooperative strategy is vertical cooperation that is the involvement of clients and suppliers in the process of innovation development. The geography of cooperation rarely extends beyond the region’s borders and is mostly of an irregular (short-term) nature. A small number of enterprises that engage in international cooperation tend to rely on long-term linkages with academia, which is a distinctive feature of the most innovative Russian companies, including also those involved in the creation and distribution of intellectual property.