Contact Details
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Biography
Dr Priit Vahter is an Associate Professor at Warwick Business School. His research covers various determinants of innovation and firm performance and effects of international trade and FDI. In particular, his focus has been on microeconometric research on open innovation, spillovers from MNEs and effects of internationalisation on firm performance.
He has published papers at Research Policy, Strategic Management Journal, Industry and Innovation, Journal of Comparative Economics, Review of World Economics, Manchester School and World Economy, among others. He has contributed to various EU, UK and Estonian research projects. Currently he is working on papers about learning effects in innovation process, effects of FDI on gender wage gap, and knowledge transfer through mobility of managers from multinational enterprises.
Do firms really learn from failure? The dynamics of abandoned innovation. Research Paper No 88
Published: 17 June 2020
Abandoned and failed innovations can be regarded as a part of the natural process of experimentation by firms, which can lead to important lessons being learned. Although the literature suggests some benefit from failure or abandoned innovation activities, prior studies using relatively large firm-level datasets to test the nature of this link are often unable to deal explicitly with the time dimension of learning. We contribute to the literature by showing the dynamic and causal nature of the linkage between abandoned innovation and subsequent innovation outcomes at firms. We demonstrate based on balanced panel data of Spanish manufacturing firms from 2008-2016 that innovation failure not only leads to more successful innovation, but that there is an explicit time dimension to this. We demonstrate that firms which have experienced ‘failure’ (as evidenced by abandoned innovation activities) in the past will have stronger positive effects of recent abandoned innovation activities on innovation output. This is a strong test of the ‘learning-from-failure’ hypothesis. In addition, we find evidence that in addition to enabling cumulative learning processes, abandoning innovation may also act as a dynamic corrective mechanism preventing firms carrying weaker innovation portfolios through from one period to the next.
Do firms really learn from failure? The dynamics of abandoned innovation.
Published: 17 June 2020
Abandoned and failed innovations can be regarded as a part of the natural process of experimentation by firms, which can lead to important lessons being learned. Although the literature suggests some benefit from failure or abandoned innovation activities, prior studies using relatively large firm-level datasets to test the nature of this link are often unable to deal explicitly with the time dimension of learning. We contribute to the literature by showing the dynamic and causal nature of the linkage between abandoned innovation and subsequent innovation outcomes at firms. We demonstrate based on balanced panel data of Spanish manufacturing firms from 2008-2016 that innovation failure not only leads to more successful innovation, but that there is an explicit time dimension to this. We demonstrate that firms which have experienced ‘failure’ (as evidenced by abandoned innovation activities) in the past will have stronger positive effects of recent abandoned innovation activities on innovation output. This is a strong test of the ‘learning-from-failure’ hypothesis. In addition, we find evidence that in addition to enabling cumulative learning processes, abandoning innovation may also act as a dynamic corrective mechanism preventing firms carrying weaker innovation portfolios through from one period to the next.
The roles and effectiveness of design in new product development: a study of Irish manufacturers. Research Paper No. 41
Published: 10 May 2016
Investments in design can make a significant contribution to successful new product development (NPD). However, there is insufficient evidence on the most appropriate or effective role that design could play. Previous case-based research has identified alternative roles for designers in NPD, but there is only tentative evidence over such roles’ contribution to NPD outcomes. Using data on a large sample (c. 1300) of Irish manufacturing plants we are able to examine the effectiveness of three different levels of involvement of designers in NPD and their impact on NPD novelty and success.
Openness and Innovation Performance: Are Small Firms Different? Research Paper No 12.
Published: 1 November 2013
Traditionally, literature on open innovation ( the number of links a firm has to customers, suppliers and other firms) has concentrated on analysis of larger firms. This paper explores if and how the benefits of openness in innovation are different for small firms compared to medium and large ones. It suggests that small firms can benefit disproportionately from adopting open innovation approaches but that they reach the benefits of this approach at lower levels than medium and larger firms making the choice of innovation partner critical.
Paradigm Shift or Business as Usual? Research Paper No 6.
Published: 4 June 2013
This paper explores the claims of a ‘paradigm shift’ towards firms using open innovation as a conscious strategic choice.
