11th May – Associate Professor Mercedes Teruel - Universitat Rovira i Virgili,
Spain
Title: A life cycle analysis of innovation and firm growth.
Abstract: This paper explores the relationship between firm growth, innovation effort
and firm age. The Panel de Innovación Tecnológica (PITEC) offers information of
Spanish innovative firms between 2005 and 2009. Applying quantile regressions, the
paper tries to disentangle the different impact of firm age and R&D intensity on firm
growth distribution. Graphical analyses show the absence of a clear relation between
firm growth and R&D effort, but the older firms show a lower growth dispersion given
a R&D effort. Furthermore, our results indicate that new firms must engage in internal
R&D in order to grow, while external R&D remains important for new firms and
incumbents. Our preliminary results may be explain by the fact that new firms engage
in more radical innovation, improve productivity and engage more competitive
pressure in the markets.
Bio: Mercedes Teruel is an associate professor at the department of Economics of
Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Reus, Spain). After studying Business Management
(1999) and Economics (2001), she obtained her MSc in Economics at the University
of Essex in 2005, and her PhD at URV in 2006. Since June 2010, she is also
member of the dean's office and currently is responsible for undergraduate studies in
Economics.
Her research interests include firm growth, industrial dynamics and the economics of
innovation. Her publications have appeared in the Economics of Innovation and New
Technology, Growth and Change, International Entrepreneurship and Management
Journal and Small Business Economics.