Capturing Spillovers. Complementarities in Innovation Strategy and the Link to Science

Macro-level studies find a positive relation between (basic) R&D investments and economic performance and growth. Spillovers – knowledge flows between economic actors for which the receiver does not compensate the sender – are suggested to play an important role in this positive relation. At the micro level, however, we still lack a coherent body of theory and insight into the multifaceted nature of the links between these spillovers and firm-level innovation activities. This paper discusses how the complementarity between the different innovation activities deployed by the firm are geared towards capturing these spillovers and argues that the few studies that have quantified some of these effects at the micro level point to subtle and indirect links between science and industry that are important in driving economic and innovative performance.