Collaboration with geographically distant partners may enhance a firm's innovative performance. In practice, however, this may be complicated as personal contacts are more limited so that effective search and transfer of remote partners' tacit knowledge is hampered. We tested the potential moderating role of R&D intensity which, by indicating technology-oriented absorptive capacity, may mitigate the problems associated with remote collaboration. Drawing on survey data of 248 high-tech small firms, we find that remote collaboration is positively related with innovation performance, but at low R&D intensity, the relationship vanishes.

doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtv031, hdl.handle.net/1765/96598
ERIM Top-Core Articles
Industrial and Corporate Change
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Berchicci, L., de Jong, J., & Freel, M. (2016). Remote collaboration and innovative performance: The moderating role of R&D intensity. Industrial and Corporate Change, 25(3), 429–446. doi:10.1093/icc/dtv031