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ABSTRACT  This paper documents the results of a twelve‐year tracking study of New York State (NYS) manufacturers of scientific instruments (1994–2005). The main goal of the tracking exercise was to probe for firm‐level changes in the use of external producer services, notably in technical fields such as industrial design, contract research, and engineering. Another goal was to assess the extent to which these outside inputs have been contributing to the product innovation efforts of users. The results show that innovation and service utilization rates have converged across NYS's three major regions (i.e., Western New York, Upstate/Central, and the New York City metropolitan area). This convergence has been powered by Internet‐based technologies, as well as by strategic management change at the company level. The link between recourse to external technical help and successful innovation is found to be statistically stronger in 2005 than it was twelve years ago. Of special importance is the fact that a growing number of manufacturers have been outsourcing research, design, and product development activities at levels that far exceed those reported in the 1990s. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of these trends for the geography of innovation within high‐technology sectors.

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the role of internal and external research, design and development (RD&D) activity in the innovation performance of New York State manufacturing firms in the scientific instruments sector. Survey data from a sample of 204 small and medium‐sized companies suggest that the incidence of successful product development is higher among firms that combine in‐house RD&D with technical support from independent specialists. Significantly, firms that supplement their in‐house innovation efforts with outside talent are found to exhibit better commercial performance than their counterparts that operate on the basis of either internal or external technical resources alone. The paper concludes with a brief agenda for future empirical research on the conditions that support product innovation among small and medium‐sized firms.

ABSTRACT:This paper explores the impact of new technology adoption upon the market performance of small industrial firms. Survey data from a six‐sector sample of Western New York manufacturers are presented. The results suggest a positive relationship between new technology adoption and growth of exports, value‐added, and total sales. A central finding of the study is that flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) confer different types of technical and commercial advantages across sectors. Two broad groups of process innovators are identified: (1) those that adopt new technology primarily to cut unit costs; and (2) those that aspire toward greater production flexibility. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the regional development implications that flow from the empirical results.

In this paper we examine the role of geographic location in the financial and innovation performance of publicly traded companies in the US pharmaceutical industry. Regional production clusters are identified and mapped. Particular attention is given to Porter's work on competitive advantage (the diamond paradigm) (Porter, 1990 The Competitive Advantage of Nations). Several metrics of business performance at the company level are collated with local factor conditions, the relative presence of related or supporting industries, and the degree of interfirm rivalry within production clusters (among other things). Our main hypothesis is that company performance responds positively to the location-specific assets identified by Porter. We explore this hypothesis using a series of t-tests and regression models based on secondary data. The empirical results lend partial support to Porter's model. Specifically, the data show that companies located within major clusters exhibit stronger financial performance than their counterparts located elsewhere. Cluster membership is also found to play a positive role in product innovation (as measured by patent counts). Overall, the data show that different metrics of company performance are influenced by different combinations of strategic and locational variables.

This paper looks at the role of firm size, location, and in‐house research and development (R&D) in the innovation performance of U.S. firms in the commercial geographic information systems (GIS) industry. Data from a survey of 300 GIS firms are presented. The results suggest that innovation‐intensity varies directly with in‐house R&D spending (scaled as a proportion of company sales), but inversely with company size (total employment). Significant regional variations in the innovation performance of GIS firms are identified. It is argued that the geography of innovation is influenced by the spatial distribution of young and/or small firms, in that R&D‐productivity is found to vary inversely with company size. An important finding is that creative inputs to support innovation are almost evenly divided between internal and external sources. A surprising result is that the academic community is not viewed as a particularly important source of new ideas for innovative firms. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the survey data for future empirical work on the GIS sector.

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the role of environmental factors in the contract‐allocation decisions of European and North American multinational corporations (MNCs). Particular attention is given to the motivations and experiences of selected MNCs that have recently adopted environmental policies to guide specific aspects of their international purchasing procedures. The results of a pilot survey of 12 MNCs suggest that environmental issues are beginning to enter into the strategic decision‐making fields of corporate planners, notably with regard to supplier selection and evaluation. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of possible directions for future empirical research.