Exporting, R&D, and absorptive capacity in UK establishments

Harris, R. and Li, Q.C. (2009) Exporting, R&D, and absorptive capacity in UK establishments. Oxford Economic Papers, 61(1), pp. 74-103. (doi: 10.1093/oep/gpn011)

Abstract

This paper models the determinants of exporting (both in terms of export propensity and export intensity), with a particular emphasis on the importance of absorptive capacity and the endogenous link between exporting and undertaking R&D. Based on a merged dataset of the 2001 Community Innovation Survey and the 2000 Annual Respondents Database for the UK, our results suggest that establishment size plays a fundamental role in explaining exporting. Meanwhile, alongside other factors, undertaking R&D activities and having greater absorptive capacity (for scientific knowledge, international co-operation, and organizational structure) significantly reduce entry barriers into export markets, having controlled for self-selectivity into exporting. Nevertheless, conditional on entry into international markets, only greater absorptive capacity (associated with scientific knowledge) seems to further boost export performance in such markets, whereas spending on R&D no longer has an impact on exporting behaviour once we have taken into account its endogenous nature.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Harris, Prof Richard
• Authors: Harris, R., and Li, Q.C.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Economics
• Journal Name: Oxford Economic Papers
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 0030-7653
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2009 Oxford University Press
• First Published: First published in Oxford Economic Papers 61(1):74-103
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher