How Internal and External Sources of Knowledge
Contribute to Firms' Innovation Performance
Anja Cotic Svetina
Igor Prodan
This paper investigates the extent to which different knowledge sources
contribute to firms' innovation performance. The empirical analysis
estimates the relationships in the structural model of the influence
of knowledge sources on innovative performance using data collected
through personal interviews at 303 firms. The results reveal that internal
sources have the most important influence on firms' innovative per-
formance and confirm that, in their innovation process, firms mostly
rely on knowledge developed through in-house r&d efforts, continu-
ous improvement, and internal education and training programs. The
data show that in-house learning is not sufficient for generating in-
novation and that firms need to supplement internal knowledge with
knowledge acquired outside the firm. They mainly need to secure links
with firms and institutions in the global environment if they want to
secure the inflow of new ideas and approaches that will eventually lead
to innovations.
Key Words: knowledge, innovation, structural equation modeling
jEL Classification: 030, 031
Introduction
An interactive view of innovation has been developed within the frame-
work of a learning economy, in which innovation is seen as a techni-
cal and social process based on the complex interaction between firms
and their environment (Asheim and Isaksen 1997). Most authors agree
that the use of internal and external knowledge sources contributes pos-
itively to firms' innovation performance, but the relationship has been
empirically tested only to a limited extent (Capello 1999; Caloghirou,
Kastelli, and Tsakanikas 2004; Capello and Faggian 2005). This paper in-
vestigates the extent to which various knowledge sources contribute to
firms' innovation performance. More specifically, it identifies on the one
DrAnja Cotic Svetina is an Assistant at the Faculty of Economics,
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Dr Igor Prodan is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics,
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Managing Global Transitions 6 (3): 277-299
hand the level of importance of internal knowledge sources embodied
mainly in in-house r&d efforts. On the other hand, it looks at exter-
nal sources of knowledge and identifies how the use of local, national,
and international knowledge sources determines firms' innovation per-
formance. This paper extends the work of other scholars as to what are
the sources of innovation, by considering how knowledge sources at dif-
ferent spatial levels influence the innovation performance of firms. While
most authors analyzed the role of external knowledge sources in general
(Caloghirou, Kastelli, and Tsakanikas 2004; Willoughby and Galvin 2005;
Tsai and Wang 2007; Love and Mansury 2007), we divide them according
to the geographical proximity to the observed firm. As such, this is one
of the few empirical papers that assesses simultaneously to what extent
internal, local, national and international knowledge sources contribute
to firms' innovation.
The empirical analysis is based on a survey that was carried out in
seven European countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland,
Romania, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom. The relationships in the
structural model of the influence of sources of knowledge on innovation
performance are estimated using data collected through personal inter-
views at 303 firms. The results reveal that internal sources have the most
important influence on firms' innovative performance and confirm that,
in their innovation process, firms mostly rely on knowledge developed
through in-house r&d efforts, continuous improvements and internal
education, and training programs. The data show that in-house learn-
ing alone is not sufficient for generating innovation and the firms need
to supplement internal knowledge with knowledge acquired outside the
firm. They mainly need to secure links with firms and institutions in the
extra-local environment in order to secure the inflow of new ideas and
approaches that will eventually lead to innovations.
The paper is structured in five sections. The next section presents
the theoretical framework on which the empirical analysis is based. The
main focus is on the literature describing the importance of internal and
external knowledge sources and how they contribute to firms' innova-
tive performance. Then four hypotheses are developed, which are later
empirically tested. The third section describes the methodology used, in-
cluding the sampling and data collection process, data analysis, and op-
erationalization and measure validation. The fourth section is dedicated
to presenting the empirical findings together with a graphic presenta-
tion of the structural model. The results are summarized and the main
findings discussed in the last section.
Acquiring Knowledge for Innovation:
Theory and Hypotheses Development
Until the 1980s, understanding of the innovation process was strongly
influenced by the linear model of innovation, which suggested that de-
velopment of innovations follows a straight research-to-market trajec-
tory. In this model a central role was given to r&d activity, and firms'
innovative performance was mainly seen as a consequence of r&d in-
vestment. This research-based and technocratic view of the innovation
process could not explain the success of several sme firms that had lim-
ited resources for in-house r&d but were able to base their competitive-
ness on constant innovation. This phenomenon of innovative smes has
become especially apparent in several sme clusters that have emerged
all over Europe and the rest of the world. Since then, several scholars
and practitioners have tried to reveal the dynamics behind small and
medium-sized firms' innovativeness. More than a decade ago it became
obvious that innovations rarely occur as creative acts of individual ge-
niuses, but more often as a result of interactive processes. Individuals
can not learn new things in a cognitive vacuum and learning always takes
place in relation to some kind of social context (Johnson 1992; Lundvall
1992). From the perspective of innovation, new knowledge is not only
developed in r&d departments but also in connection with ordinary
production activities of firms and other actors through the interactive
learning process (Eriksson 2005). Firms cooperate with their suppliers,
customers, knowledge institutions (universities, laboratories, etc.), and
even with their competitors when developing new products and services
or improving production processes. The interactive model of innovation
explains the process of innovation as a network of knowledge-flows both
within the organization, and in the relationship between the organiza-
tion and the environment (Santos 2000).
internal and external sources of knowledge
This section aims to show how complex the process of knowledge acqui-
sition is, and to present the idea that firms need to acquire new knowl-
edge from numerous internal and external sources in order to constantly
generate innovations and maintain their competitive edge.
According to the general trend towards more composite knowledge,
where new products and processes typically combine many technolo-
gies from several scientific disciplines, it is important to understand that
firms today can hardly learn and innovate in isolation (Pavitt 1998; John-
son, Loren, and Lundvall 2002). While in large firms information and
knowledge are still mainly transferred through functional interaction
among r&d, production, marketing, and organization departments and
functional teams (Capello 1999), small and medium-sized firms increas-
ingly need to rely on external knowledge sources. Accordingly, knowl-
edge sources can be firstly divided into internal and external sources,
whereas external sources can be further divided into local, national, and
international sources, depending on where the source of knowledge is
located (Belussi, McDonald, and Borras 2002). Internally, firms acquire
knowledge through in-house research and development activities and by
learning from continuous improvements in processes. Employee skills
represent another important source of new knowledge, and firms often
organize internal education and training programs in order to further
build and improve the internal knowledge base. If firms do not have ap-
propriate knowledge inside the firm, they can acquire it externally by
cooperating with customers and suppliers, as well as other firms, or by
forming partnerships with public, semi-public, and private institutions.
In terms of geographic location, these external actors can be located in
close geographic proximity (locally), somewhere in the country (nation-
ally), or elsewhere (internationally).
Among external sources of knowledge, inter-firm collaboration has
probably received the most widespread research attention. It is widely
recognized that the innovative process often involves interaction between
the manufacturer and users of products. Usually such interaction be-
tween producers and end users involves not only an exchange of tech-
nical knowledge but also important information about market require-
ments and trends. Another important source of knowledge comes from
the other side of the supply chain. Suppliers of equipment and mate-
rial (Geenhuizen 1997) can bring important insight into the organiza-
tion of production, logistics and other functions. But inter-firm coop-
eration extends far beyond the relationships that develop between sup-
ply chain partners. Studies of successful firms reveal that some sort of
collaborative arrangements develop between business partners as well as
between competitors. For example, a study of the Cambridge region re-
vealed that 76% of firms possess close links with other firms (Keeble et al.
1998). When analyzing the nature of inter-firm cooperation they identi-
fied everything from joint ventures, subcontracting, and research collab-
orations to the sharing of equipment and information about customers.
Accordingly, we perceive both vertical as well as horizontal inter-firm re-
lationships as sources of important external sources of knowledge and
interactive learning (Camagni 1993; Yeung 2005; Steiner and Hartmann
2006).
Knowledge exchange not only appears between firms but can often be
found between firms and institutions. Universities, research institutes,
science parks, incubators, and other knowledge institutions are actively
involved in a set of relationships occurring in the business environment
(Gunasekara 2006) and are particularly seen as lead players in the in-
novative activity of firms providing scientific research inputs for inno-
vating firms (Keeble and Wilkinson 2000). According to Gambarotto
and Solari (2004), in addition to channeling information and knowl-
edge, support organizations can also help translate academic codified
knowledge into practical and accessible know-how. In line with the mod-
ern understanding of innovation, the research process is oriented toward
problem-solving and as such requires two-way research interaction be-
tween knowledge organizations and industry actors combined with sev-
eral other institutions.
Inter-firm collaboration, as well as partnerships with institutions,
were long believed to be mainly limited to the local level and were studied
within the context of clusters. However, with globalization and advances
in information and communication technology, the geographic scope of
this interaction is widening and often spreads across national borders.
If firms want to succeed in the innovation race, they need to have ac-
cess to the most advanced technical and organizational knowledge in
their fields, which means they have to search for appropriate knowledge
with no regard to its location. The use of geographically close sources
has several benefits that stem from constant face-to-face interactions,
knowledge spillovers, and the transmission of tacit knowledge (Cam-
agni 1991; Keeble 2000; Capello and Faggian 2005). However, this does
not imply that the mere use of local knowledge sources is sufficient in
terms of knowledge creation and innovation. Research shows that lim-
iting knowledge acquisition to the local level can lead to a lock-in effect
(Grabher 1993; Keeble and Wilkinson 1999; 2000). In order to maintain
a constant inflow of new knowledge, firms need to nurture links inside,
as well as outside, the cluster.
toward the research hypotheses
The following paragraphs present the main theoretical arguments for the
role ofknowledge sources in firms' innovation performance, and develop
four hypotheses.
In-house r&d efforts have been consistently proven to contribute to
firms' innovative potential. A systematic review of studies investigating
the use of knowledge in smes has shown that internal managerial and
entrepreneurial teams, as well as other employees, play a crucial role in
knowledge creation and, consequently, innovation (Thorpe et al. 2005).
Additionally, a firm's in-house expertise for r&d has a considerable pos-
itive effect on the absorptive capacity of firms. Cohen and Levinthal
(1990) define absorptive capacity as 'the ability of a firm to recognize
the value of new, external information, assimilate it, and apply it to com-
mercial ends.' This means that continuous improvements in its internal
knowledge base are also important for increasing a firm's capability to
assimilate and transform external knowledge and information into new
products, services, and processes. As Lundvall and Nielsen (1999) argue,
a strong internal knowledge base is the key to successful innovation. In
line with their arguments, we posit that the greater the use of internal
knowledge sources, the more innovations the firm will be able to create,
as well as exploit knowledge from external sources and transform it into
innovation. Therefore, we have formulated the following hypothesis:
H1 The extent of usage of internal knowledge positively influences firms'
innovative performance.
What collective and interactive learning literature argues in general
is that a firm's learning capacity does not depend solely on individual
skills and the organization of the firm (internal to the firm), but it is also
context dependent on the institutional set-up of its business environ-
ment (Lorenzen 1998; Tomassini and Sarcina 2005). In recent decades
companies have been facing an increase in uncertainty and risk (Geen-
huizen 1997). Firms in many industries are facing a turbulent environ-
ment with changes taking place in market, technology, and industrial
organization. Responding to various uncertainties, companies have in-
creasingly externalized their sources of knowledge. In order to increase
or deploy their own knowledge effectively, firms often need to supple-
ment their knowledge with that of other firms and organizations, which
often happens in some form of collaborative arrangements. The growing
importance of inter-organizational collaboration can be explained by the
nature of contemporary knowledge (Dunning 2000): the development
of new knowledge can be highly expensive; the outcome of much in-
vestment in augmenting knowledge (by r&d) is highly uncertain; many
kinds of knowledge become obsolete quite quickly; and complex prob-
lems require multi-disciplinary team solutions. In addition, competitive
pressures are forcing firms to introduce new products and services to
the market at an increasing pace, and for many (especially small and
medium-sized) firms it is impossible to rely only on internal resources
for necessary knowledge production. Consequently, firms and other or-
ganizations are increasingly engaging in inter-organizational coopera-
tion projects (Eriksson 2005).
There are several institutional environments in which firms acquire
knowledge and learn. Lundvall (1992) emphasizes the national level as
an institutional framework for learning and innovation, because of its
homogeneity with respect to culture, technical and educational institu-
tions, and historically-built relations between actors and firms. Other
researchers focus on the regional and local levels as the most impor-
tant environments for knowledge acquisition and innovation. Recently
an increasing number of scholars have proven that firms often search for
knowledge internationally (Malmberg and Power 2005). What these the-
ories have in common is the fact that external knowledge sources provide
an important complement to in-house learning and innovation efforts,
and thus contribute to improved innovative performance (Caloghirou,
Kastelli, and Tsakanikas 2004).
The importance of inter-organizational relationships has been mainly
developed and studied in the context of localized clusters, where a num-
ber of firms, knowledge and research institutions, and other actors are
located in close geographic proximity. The literature on localized and
collective learning argues that the local level is the most appropriate en-
vironment for knowledge exchange and interactive learning due to cul-
tural, social, and organizational proximity (Lundvall 1992; Belussi and
Pilotti 2000; Steiner 2006), which has led to formulation of the following
hypothesis:
H2 The more a firm uses local sources of knowledge, the more it develops
knowledge sharing that positively contributes to innovative perfor-
mance.
The main problem of the localized learning literature is that it has
sometimes been read in a way that places local knowledge acquisition as
a superior form that might sometimes take the place of knowledge acqui-
sition and learning at the national and international levels; some authors
even believe that it can replace internal r & d efforts (Capello and Faggian
2005). This stream of literature describes clusters and other local net-
works as being somehow self-sufficient in knowledge terms. This has led
to a rather heated debate in recent years (Malmberg and Maskell 2006),
proving that interactions with distant partners are at least as important
as those with local actors. Several authors have empirically proven that
learning might be best understood as a combination of close and distant
interactions (Malmberg and Maskell, 2006; Wolfe and Gertler 2006; Brit-
ton 2003; Cumbers, MacKinnon, and Chapman 2003; Henry and Pinch
2001; Tödling and Kaufmann 1999).
Recently many authors have stressed the importance of linkages with
external firms, institutions, or even networks, which provide access to
external knowledge and technology, and prevent the lock-in effect. The
most recent contribution to this discussion comes from Malmberg and
Maskell (2006), who submit that neither the argument for localized in-
teractive learning nor the existence of localized capabilities in any way
presupposes that most knowledge exchange and learning interaction
should be local. They believe that extra-local knowledge flows can be
expected to connect to the local knowledge flows so that the two become
mutually reinforcing. This happens when the external sources 'pump'
information and news about markets and technologies into the local en-
vironment and consequently intensify the local interaction and benefit
the local actors.
The main idea of this literature is that intense localization within a cer-
tain local environment does not mean isolation from the extra-local en-
vironment. Firms form networks and partnerships with firms and other
organizations at the local, national and international levels in order to
enhance their knowledge base and innovation potential. Business and
social contacts can be more frequent, intensive, and easier to maintain
if they are facilitated by proximity (all types); however, firms must nur-
ture their relationships with firms and organizations outside the local
area and even try to engage in global networks (Malmberg and Maskell
2006; Bathelt, Malmberg, and Maskell 2002). This will provide them with
access to information on rapidly changing technologies and market op-
portunities and provide a constant influx of new knowledge needed in
the innovation process. The role of the national knowledge sources was
extensively discussed in the literature dealing with national systems of in-
novation (Lundvall, 1988; 1992; Lundvall et al. 2002), while the role of in-
ternational sources has mainly been studied in the context of r&d part-
nerships (Knudsen 2006). Based on this literature, both national and in-
ternational sources of knowledge are expected to positively contribute to
firm's innovation performance. As Simmie (2006) suggests, innovation
must be understood in terms of trading nodes in an international system
that encompasses local, national and international knowledge spillovers
and multilayered economic linkages that extend over several different
spatial scales.
The above discussion underpins the last two hypotheses:
H3 The more a firm uses national sources of knowledge, the more it de-
velops knowledge sharing that positively contributes to innovative
performance.
H4 The more a firm uses international sources of knowledge, the more it
develops knowledge sharing that positively contributes to innovative
performance.
Methodology
The methodology is discussed in terms of the sampling and data collec-
tion process, data analyses, operationalization, and measure validation.
sampling and data collection process
Data for testing the structural equation model for explaining the in-
fluence of knowledge sources on innovation activity were collected
within the research project weid (West-East id: Industrial Districts' Re-
Location Processes; Identifying Policies in the Perspective of the Euro-
pean Union Enlargement) conducted under the 5th eu Framework Pro-
gram. Eleven European research partners were included in the project:
Fondazione Istituto Guglielmo Tagliacarne (Italy), Eurochambres Aisbl
(Belgium), Istituto per lo Sviluppo della Formazione dei Lavoratori
(Italy), Libera Universita Internazionale degli Studi Sociali 'Guido Carli'
(Italy), Manchester Metropolitan University (United Kingdom), Om-
nimotio s. r. o. (Czech Republic), Landesinstitut Sozialforschungsstelle
Dortmund (Germany), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), University
of Reading (United Kingdom), University of Roskilde (Denmark), and
University of Aurel Vlaicu in Arad (Romania). Based on the literature
review, interviews with managers, and work with focus groups within
the weid research group, a questionnaire for in-depth interviews was
developed. The questionnaire was initially prepared in English and then
first translated into the local languages (Czech, German, Italian, Polish,
Romanian, and Slovenian), and after that back-translated into English
(Brislin 1970; Brislin 1980; Hambleton 1993). The translation followed
the 'etic approach' - an approach where there is little or no attempt to
decenter or adapt the measure to another cultural context (Craig and
Douglas 2005). In-depth interviews with top executives from manufac-
turing firms from the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland, Roma-
nia, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom were conducted on the basis of
the structured questionnaire developed. For the analyses, 303 usable re-
sponses were obtained. The composition of the sample was comparable
to the population.
data analyses
Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's (1951) alpha. Construct and
discriminant validity, as well as convergent validity, were assessed us-
ing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (Floyd and Widaman
1995). Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis was conducted
in spps. The eqs Multivariate Software version 6.1 (Bentler and Wu
2006) was utilized for confirmatory factor analysis and testing of the
proposed structural model. Since a small amount of non-normality was
found in the data, the Elliptical Reweighted Least Square (erls) estima-
tion method was used (Sharma, Durvasula, and Dillon 1989). As recom-
mended by Shook, et al. (2004), the fit of the model was assessed with
multiple indices: nfi (the normed-fit-index), nnfi (the non-normed-fit
index), cfi (the comparative fit index), gfi (the goodness-of-fit index),
srmr (the standardized root mean square residual), and rmsea (the
root mean square error of approximation). Values of nfi, nnfi, cfi, and
gfi greater than 0.90 indicate a good model fit (Hair et al. 1998; Byrne
2006). Hu and Bentler (1999) suggest that values of srmr smaller than
0.08 indicate an acceptable fit. Values of rmsea less than 0.05 indicate
good fit, and values as high as 0.08 represent reasonable errors of approx-
imation in the population (Browne and Cudeck 1992). The chi-square is
reported, but is not given major consideration because it is highly sen-
sitive to sample size and the number of items in the model (Bentler and
Bonett 1980).
operationalization and measure validation
In this study, independent and dependent variables were measured
through scales previously tested and developed by the weid research
group.
Internal Sources of Knowledge
Internal sources of knowledge were measured with six items. Respon-
dents were asked to indicate (on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from
'not important at all' to 'very important') how important the following
internal sources of knowledge are for their company: knowledge gained
through in-house research and development (1NT01), knowledge gained
from continuous improvement of production processes (1NT02), knowl-
edge developed through their company's internal education and train-
ing programs (1NT03), organizational skills learned from continuous im-
provement of their production processes (1NT04), organizational skills of
the professional managers within their local company (1NT05), and or-
ganizational skills gained from their company's internal education and
training programs. The factor analysis indicated that all factor loadings
were above 0.4 and significant. Cronbach's alpha of 0.80 indicates strong
internal consistency of six items operationalized to measure this con-
struct.
Local, National, and International Sources of Knowledge
Local, national, and international sources of knowledge were each mea-
sured with 10 items. Respondents were asked to indicate (on a 5-point
Likert-type scale ranging from 'not important at all' to 'very impor-
tant') how important the following local, national, and international
sources of knowledge are for their company: knowledge derived from
interactions with clients and/or suppliers (local clients and/or customers
- L0C01; national clients and/or customers - NAT01; and international
clients and/or customers - 1NAT01), knowledge derived from cooper-
ation with other companies (L0C02, NAT02, and 1NAT02), knowledge
gained from interactions with public institutions such as universities,
public research centers, local government, and so on (L0C03, NAT03,
and INAT03), knowledge gained from interactions with semi-public in-
stitutions such as chambers of commerce, industry associations, trade
unions, and so on (loc04, NAT04, and inat04), knowledge provided by
consultants and private research centers (loc05, NAT05, and INAT05),
organizational skills gained from interactions with clients and/or sup-
pliers (loc06, NAT06, and INAT06), organizational skills gained from
cooperation with other companies (loc07, NAT07, and INAT07), organi-
zational skills learned from interactions with public institutions such
as universities, public research centers, local government, and so on
(loc08, NAT08, and INAT08), organizational skills learned from inter-
actions with semi-public institutions such as chambers of commerce,
industry associations, trade unions, and so on (loc09, NAT09, and
INAT09), and organizational skills learned from consultants and pri-
vate research centers (loc10, nat10, and inat10). The factor analysis
indicated that all factor loadings were above 0.4 and significant for all
three constructs. To test for convergent validity of the constructs and to
compare the one-factor structure with the three-factor structure (where
factors are correlated), the confirmatory factor analysis was conducted.
The results showed that one-factor structure is not appropriate because
of the overall poor model fit (chi-square = 1420.029, 368 df, probability
0.000; nfi = 0.80; nnfi = 0.81; cfi = 0.84; gfi = 0.69; srmr = 0.12;
and rmsea = 0.10). The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the
three-factor structure fits the data reasonably well, with the following
fit indices: chi-square = 681.457, 365 df, probability 0.000; nfi = 0.90;
nnfi = 0.94; cfi = 0.95; gfi = 0.82; srmr = 0.08; and rmsea = 0.05.
Cronbach's alphas of 0.85 (local sources of knowledge), of 0.86 (national
sources of knowledge), and of 0.86 (international sources of knowledge)
indicate strong internal consistency of items operationalized to measure
these constructs.
Innovation Performance
Innovation performance was measured with five items. Respondents
were asked to indicate whether their company had registered patents
abroad in the last three years (ip01), and to indicate whether their com-
pany had introduced or adopted any major changes to their products
(ip02), processes (ip03), organization of production (ip04), and organi-
zation of sales and distribution (ip05). The factor analysis indicated that
all factor loadings were above 0.4 and significant. Cronbach's alpha of
0.75 indicates strong internal consistency of five items operationalized to
measure this construct.
Control Variables
Control variables were also included and operationalized as follows: (1)
firm's size was operationalized as the number of employees, and (2) the
region was operationalized as a dichotomous variable, where '0' repre-
sented western European countries (Italy, Germany, and United King-
dom) and '1' represented eastern European countries (Czech Republic,
Poland, Romania, and Slovenia).
Findings
The structural relationships in the model of the influence of sources of
knowledge on the innovation performance were estimated using the El-
liptical reweighted least square (erls) method in eqs 6.1 (Bentler and
Wu 2006). eqs reported that parameter estimates appeared in order,
and that no special problems were encountered during the optimization.
The resulting model goodness-of-fit indices indicated a moderately good
model fit (chi-square = 1600.305, 812 df, probability 0.000; nfi = 0.86;
nnfi = 0.92; cfi = 0.93; gfi = 0.76; srmr = 0.08; and rmsea = 0.06).
The variance explained for the innovation performance was 20%.
The model, which includes hypothesized relationships and results of
the model test, is depicted in figure 1. An examination of our hypotheses
is presented in the following section.
hypotheses testing
Hypothesis H1 proposed that the extent of the usage of internal sources
of knowledge is positively related to the innovation performance. The
results presented in figure 1 show that the internal sources of knowledge
have a significant, positive, and high path coefficient of 0.31. The result
thus provides strong support for hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis H2 proposed a positive relationship between local sources
of knowledge and firms' innovation performance. Hypothesis H2 was
not supported by the findings (significant standardized path coefficient
of -0.26), because the result was the opposite of what was predicted, in-
dicating that local sources of knowledge are negatively related to innova-
tion performance.
Hypothesis H3 assessed the relationship between national sources of
knowledge and firms' innovation performance. Hypothesis H3 was not
supported by the findings (non-significant standardized coefficient of -
0.01).
Hypothesis H4 predicted that the extent of international sources
of knowledge would be positively related to firms' innovation perfor-
mance. The results indicate a significant relationship between interna-
tional sources of knowledge and firms' innovation performance (positive
significant standardized coefficient of 0.25). The results thus support hy-
pothesis H4.
other findings
Other findings will be discussed in terms of the impact of control vari-
ables and the relationships between variables.
The impact of firm size and region as a dichotomous control vari-
able was assessed (western European countries versus eastern European

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FIGURE 1
The model of the influence of sources of knowledge on the innovation
performance (bolded parameters are fixed; * sig. < 0.05)
countries). Although the model fit indices and the structural coefficients
of the relationship between independent variables and innovation per-
formance did not reveal substantial variations with the introduction
of control variables, both control variables were found significantly re-
lated to the innovation performance. The results indicate that firms from
eastern European countries are significantly less innovative than firms
from western European countries (negative significant standardized co-
efficient of -0.19), and that larger firms are significantly more inno-
vative than smaller firms (positive significant standardized coefficient
of 0.20).
The results also show that internal, local, national, and international
sources of knowledge are significantly correlated among each other.
While the correlations between internal and international, local and in-
ternational, and national and international sources of knowledge were
moderate (correlation coefficient of 0.25, 0.35, and 0.44 respectively),
the correlations among internal, local, and national were somewhat
higher (correlation coefficient between 0.54 and 0.57). Nevertheless,
multi-collinearity was not detected among any of the variables in the
multivariate model.
Discussion and Conclusion
The results presented in the previous section reveal that internal knowl-
edge sources are only some of the sources of innovation. Our research
confirmed that in-house learning is crucial for firms' innovation perfor-
mance; however, interactive learning outside the firm also significantly
contributes to innovativeness. According to these results, it is mainly co-
operation with international business partners that contributes to inno-
vation.
The significant, positive, and high path coefficient confirms the im-
portance of in-house r&d activities, continuous process improvements,
and internal education programs, which together boost firms' innova-
tiveness. This means that innovation performance to a great extent de-
pends on a firm's own efforts. This is not surprising, given the fact
that innovations strongly influence a firm's competitive position in the
market. Consequently, firms try to keep the innovation inside the firm,
mainly relying on internal knowledge sources. Know-how historically
was - and in large measure remains - a kind of knowledge developed
within the confines of a firm (already discussed in Hudson 1999), and
our results have proven that the boundaries of the firm are still signif-
icant for knowledge related to innovations that are central to the core
competencies and strategic goals of the company.
Nevertheless, the increasing complexity of the knowledge base upon
which the production process depends is increasing the social division of
labor in knowledge production, yet is also resulting in growing long-
term cooperation between firms (Hudson 1999). According to local-
ized learning literature, we expected local knowledge sources to posi-
tively contribute to firms' innovation performance; however, the results
proved the opposite. The findings might at first seem surprising because
they indicate that the use of local knowledge sources impedes innova-
tion. However, much of the literature warns that sole dependence on
local knowledge sources can lead to the lock-in effect, whereby firms
are 'locked' into the existing technological trajectory of the local envi-
ronment and are unable to continuously develop new products and ser-
vices and implement innovations in processes and organization (Visser
and Boschma 2004; Malmberg and Maskell 2006). Camagni (1991) has
already stressed that firms need linkages with the external business en-
vironment. Especially in times of rapid technological change, external
(non-local) links might provide local firms with the complementary
assets that are needed to adapt to the changing economic and techno-
logical environment. In areas of production characterized by fast in-
novation and technological change, 'local firm involvement in wider
national and global networks is absolutely essential for long-term re-
gional growth,' and 'the milieu has to open up to external energy in
order to avoid 'entropic death' and a decline in its own innovative ca-
pacity' (Camagni 1991, 139). Our results are not in line with the older
literature on localized learning (Capello 1999), which often positioned
learning at the local level as somehow superior to that at other spa-
tial levels. Nevertheless, our study confirms what most of the recent
literature is arguing by saying that innovation performance is a result
of combining several internal as well as external knowledge sources,
the latter coming from different geographical levels. Local knowledge
sources are important for firms to a certain extent, as geographic proxim-
ity and concentration of firms can provide enormous opportunities for
the transmission of sticky, non-articulated forms of knowledge between
firms (Tödling, Lehner, and Trippl 2004). However, localized learning
does not necessarily lead to innovation. Our results indicate that ac-
cess to codified external knowledge should be secured through inter-
action with firms and institutions outside the local environment, and
we show that new value is created by combining these various types of
knowledge.
In today's globalized economy, where supply chains are distributed all
around the globe and specialized knowledge and research institutions
are scattered in numerous locations, there is no reason to believe that
a firm will find the precise knowledge needed in its innovation process
within the local environment. Accordingly, firms search for the necessary
knowledge elsewhere and often look for appropriate innovation partners
irrespective of the geographic space. While our research did not reveal a
significant influence of national knowledge sources, it has proven that
international sources have a strong, positive, and significant influence
on firms' innovation performance. Keeble and Wilkinson (2000) have
already supported these ideas with the empirical findings of the Euro-
pean network. Numerous firms possess close functional links with firms
and knowledge centers in their countries and abroad, and view such
wider networks as very important for successful research and innova-
tion. Extra-local networking appears to be an important process whereby
high-tech firms sustain their innovative activity and competitive advan-
tage.
Our research confirms that firms need to incorporate the internal
learning process with knowledge acquired outside the firm. They need
to secure extra-local links in order to secure the inflow of new knowl-
edge needed in the innovation process and prevent the lock-in effect.
As Oinas and Malecki (2002) suggest, the innovation system can be un-
derstood as being internationally distributed and not only as an activity
primarily confined within a given local environment. In line with their
approach, Simmie (2006,133) suggests that 'innovation must be under-
stood in terms of trading nodes in an international system that encom-
passes both local and international knowledge spillovers and multilay-
ered economic linkages extending over several different spatial scales.' To
sum up, one can conclude that internal learning and interactive learn-
ing with firms and institutions in a wider business environment mutu-
ally reinforce each other and bring optimal results in terms of innova-
tion performance. In this respect, our results are in line with existing
studies (Caloghirou, Kastelli, and Tsakanikas 2004; Love and Mansury,
2007) that verify the importance of external sources and imply that in-
novations come from a number of sources and develop in a number of
ways (Willoughby and Galvin 2005). However, those studies mainly fo-
cus on the type of sources (for example suppliers and customers, scien-
tific system, public institutions, etc.) but do little to explain how location
of those knowledge sources influences the innovation performance of
firms. In this respect our study brings additional insight into the com-
plex process of innovation and proves that not all external knowledge
sources are equally important for innovation. According to our results,
firms need to establish and nurture collaboration with different partners
in the wider international environment in order to boost their innova-
tiveness.
Although this study has many strengths, it also has some limitations
that need to be acknowledged. Firstly, with regard to local knowledge
sources, the problem of knowledge internalization deserves mention;
that is, when firms overestimate the role of in-house activities and down-
grade the role of the local environment in which they operate. The
knowledge exchange between local firms and institutions mainly hap-
pens in a socialized way in the form of knowledge spillovers. As soon as
a firm acquires this local knowledge, it incorporates it into the existing
knowledge base, making it internal to the firm (Henry and Pinch 2000;
Cole 2007). Accordingly, firms might underestimate the importance of
being located in the local environment, because they take for granted
the benefits of the specialized local labor market, the proximity of simi-
lar firms, and close linkages with local universities and other knowledge
organizations. Secondly, the model of the influence of sources of knowl-
edge on innovation performance is not comprehensive (it includes a
limited number of elements in order to make the empirical examination
feasible) because it ignores some other factors that influence innova-
tion performance. Thirdly, although the causal directions hypothesized
in the model were suggested by the theory, the cross-sectional nature
of this study cannot prove the causation but can only support a set of
hypothesized paths (Kline 2005). Therefore, the possibility of reverse
causality cannot be eliminated.
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