Most empirical studies on innovative activity are based on a single (or a very small number of) indicator(s), a procedure not appropriate to the complexity of the innovation process. In this study, using factor analysis we develop at the firm level a composite innovation measure which contains...

This paper describes the approach applied and the results of an evaluation of the effects of the Swiss government programme to promote the diffusion of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMT) from 1990 to 1996. The method used is based on specifying and econometrically estimating with firm...

The competitiveness of the Swiss economy depends in a crucial way on a high level of the firms' innovative activities. In this perspective we compare, first, the innovation performance of the manufacturing sector with other highly developed countries using a whole set of innovation indicators....

In this study we investigate the determinants of R&D activities of Swiss firms abroad and discuss the resulting explanation pattern in the light of the debate taking place at the time in economics with respect to the possibility of a positive (complementarity hypothesis) or a negative impact...

Using the OLI paradigm as theoretical framework, we explain econometrically why a firm invests in foreign R&D (model A), and, if it does, which factors determine the level of foreign R&D expenditures (model B). It turns out that the pattern of explanation is quite similar for both types of...

The paper investigates empirically the decision of firms to adopt 'Advanced Manufacturing Technologies' (AMT) based on a comprehensive specification of a 'rank model' of technology adoption using firm-level data for Swiss manufacturing. The explanatory variables include numerous dimensions of...

In this paper, the parent firms’ choice of FDI locations is analyzed based on a unique firm-level dataset for Swiss MNEs. The data allows a detailed characterization of parent companies, their foreign subsidiaries and the two-way trade flows between parent companies and foreign affiliates. In...