Cooperation and Technological Capacity Development Among Companies: Evidence from Ecuador

This study aims to understand the relationship between cooperation and the development of technological capacities among companies, considering the way innovation is introduced, the type of innovation activity, as well as the regional location. The data source for this study is the National Innovation Survey (ENAI) 2012–2014, which provides a sample of 2,544 innovative companies, meaning those that introduced a new or improved product, service, or process. This research utilizes a multivariate probit estimation method, which allows for analyzing the effect of cooperation on the way companies introduce innovation through four dependent variables. The results show that companies should not be considered at the same level of innovation since the effects vary depending on the degree of technological capacity. Innovation research in developing countries is scarce, the contribution of this investigation is to empirically contribute by applying this study to the case of Ecuadorian companies, within the context of emerging innovation systems.