From knowledge sourcing to firms’ productivity: investigating innovation value chain of Indonesian manufacturing firms

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the innovation value chain (IVC) that encompasses knowledge sourcing, transformation and exploitation activities among Indonesian manufacturing firms by using data from the Indonesia Innovation Survey.

A simple approach of single equation Probit model, Logit regression and Tobit regression are used in the first, second and third stages of IVC consecutively.

This study finds the existence of a synergistic relationship between internal and external sources of knowledge as well as among external sources of knowledge. In terms of the second link of the IVC, internal R&D plays an important role that positively influences knowledge transformation into all types of innovation and innovation success. External knowledge that has a similar pattern in shaping innovation mainly comes from market and open sources. Scientific institutions tend to contribute to innovation negatively, and few positive impacts on process innovation are observed from government R&D and non-profit R&D institutions. Informal knowledge is more likely to influence technological than non-technological innovation.

Finally, the limitations of this study need to be acknowledged. Issues related to firms’ sectors have not been discussed in this study, and as a result, sectors’ effects on the three links of IVC cannot be detected. This study is a cross-sectional in nature, as a result, the dynamic of Indonesian manufacturing firms’ IVC is missing. Hence, future studies may address this limitation by conducting a longitudinal study.

This study is different from the previous IVC studies owing to the following reasons. Firstly, in this study, a broader source of knowledge is tested. Secondly, the wider innovation (technological and non-technological innovation) is also assessed.