Technology flows between sectors and their impact on large-scale firms

In this article we highlight the importance of technology flows between sectors and their impact on the labour productivity of large-scale corporations. Based on theoretical considerations, we explore technological spillovers between the sectors of an economy. Large-scale corporations usually focus on certain sectors but make use of a wide range of technological knowledge from other sectors. Thereby, technological knowledge built up in sectors by continuous R&D activities does not spill over without bounds but is directed by firms’ absorptive capacities. We use firms’ patent portfolio to empirically calculate the sector affiliation and therewith the firms’ absorptive capacities in order to estimate the impact of technology diffusion on labour productivity. Fortune 500 firms serve as data base.