Endogenous Innovation,the Organization of Work and Institutional Context

Drawing on the results of the third Community Innovation Survey and the third European Working Conditions Survey,this paper develops aggregate indicators at the national level of innovation modes and forms of work organization for the 15 member nations of the European Union in 2000.The analysis based on these indicators demonstrates that there is a close connection between how people work and learn in a country and the way firms’ innovate.Specifically,it shows that in nations where work is organized to support high levels of discretion in solving complex problems firms tend to be more active in terms of endogenous innovation,i.e.innovation developed,at least to some degree,in house.In countries where learning and problem-solving on the job are more constrained,and little discretion is left to the employee,firms tend to engage in a supplier-dominated innovation strategy.The technological renewal of these firms reflects,almost exclusively,absorption of innovations developed elsewhere.