The Nature of Innovation Channels at the Micro-Level: Evidence from Russian Manufacturing Firms

The main purpose of the paper is to analyze different channels for innovations. We analyze the influence of various incentives for innovation in Russian companies taking into account the organization of industries — vertical or horizontal orientation, peculiarities of corporate demography, role and motives of different owners (including government and foreign investors), demand trends, customers‘ profile, nature and intensity of competition in relevant markets. An empirical base for our study is provided by two surveys of Russian industrial companies conducted in 2011 and 2012. One of our hypotheses: in vertically organized sectors that define innovation activeness in the economy (for example, mechanical engineering), the innovative development of the head producers is constrained by the risk of technological gap with its partners in the supply chain. We find out that innovations in Russian industry spread in accordance with two main models: vertical through corporate connections, and horizontal, based on the example of foreign companies in the atmosphere of developed competition.