Collaboration for the Bioeconomy -- Evidence from Innovation Output in Sweden, 1970-2021

TL;DR

This study examines how collaboration networks among Swedish firms from 1970 to 2021 influence innovation output, highlighting the importance of broad collaboration for fostering bioeconomy and other sector innovations.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on the positive impact of collaboration on innovation output and finds that broad collaboration is more beneficial than optimizing specific collaboration structures.

Findings

Positive correlation between direct collaboration and innovation output

No significant effect of brokerage positions on innovation

Similar collaboration-innovation patterns across bioeconomy-focused and other firms

Abstract

Collaboration is expected to play a central role in the transition to a bioeconomy - a central pillar of a green economy. Such collaboration is supposed to connect traditional biomass processing firms with diverse actors in fields where biomass ought to substitute existing or create novel products and processes. This study analyzes the network of technology collaborations among innovating firms in Sweden between 1970 and 2021. The results reveal generally positive associations between direct and indirect ties, with meaningful increases in innovation output for each additional direct collaboration partner. Relationships between brokerage positions and innovation output were statistically insignificant, and cognitive proximity - while following theoretical expectations - materially insignificant. These associations are mostly equal between actors heavily invested in the bioeconomy and those focusing on other innovation areas, indicating that these actors operate under largely similar mechanisms linking collaboration and subsequent innovation output. These results suggest that stimulating collaboration broadly - rather than attempting to optimize collaboration compositions - could result in higher number of significant Swedish innovations, for bioeconomy and other sectors alike.