This paper assesses the contribution of innovation persistence to surviving Australian firm growth performance over the period 2007–08 to 2013–14 with the added advantages that new firms, micro-sized firms and all industry sectors are included in our analysis. Over this period, firms with high sales and/or employment growth accounted for the majority of aggregate economic and employment growth in Australia, which is consistent with similar studies in other countries. Using a randomized, stratified sample from a firm population-level database that links administrative, tax and survey data, we created a matched, balanced sample of surviving firms to show that short-term persistent innovators (particularly young SMEs) significantly outgrow their less persistent and non-innovator counterparts in terms of sales, value added, employment and profit growth. Persistent innovators are more likely to be high-growth firms and more likely to introduce multiple types of innovation that are more novel. Our findings suggest that broad-based innovation policies may support successive waves of high-growth firms that help to sustain economic and employment growth in Australia.
Acemoglu, D., Akcigit, U., Alp, H., Bloom, N. and Kerr W. (2018) ‘Innovation, reallocation, and growth’, American Economic Review, 108, 11, pp.3450–91.
Antonelli, C., Crespi, F. and Scellato, G. (2012) ‘Inside innovation persistence: new evidence from Italian micro-data’, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 23, pp.341–53.
Antonelli, C., Crespi, F. and Scellato, G. (2013) ‘Internal and external factors in innovation persistence’, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 22, 3, pp.256–80.
Arranz, N., Arroyabe, M., Li, J. and Fernandez de Arroyabe, J. (2019) ‘An integrated model of organisational innovation and firms’ performance: generation, persistence and complementarity', Journal of Business Research, 105, pp.270–82.
Audretsch, D., Coad, A. and Segarra, A. (2014) ‘Firm growth and innovation’, Small Business Economics, 43, pp.743–9.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2014) Innovation in Australian Business, 2012–13, cat. no. 8158.0, ABS, Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015) Information Paper: Construction of the Expanded Analytical Business Longitudinal Database, 2001–02 to 2012–13, cat. no. 8171.0 10, ABS, Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) Innovation in Australian Business, 2014–15, cat. no. 8158.0, ABS, Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017) Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment 2001–02 to 2013–14, ABS, Canberra.
Australian Government (2016) Australian Innovation System Report 2016, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, Canberra, pp.24–32.
Bartoloni, E. and Baussola, M. (2015) Persistent Product Innovation and Market-Oriented Behaviour: The Impact on Firms' Performance, DISCE – Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises 1505, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, available at https://dipartimenti.unicatt.it/dises-Innovation_Bartoloni_151113.pdf (accessed July 2021).
Bartoloni, E. and Baussola, M. (2016) Driving Business Performance: Innovation Complementarities and Persistence Patterns, DISCE – Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises 1613, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, available at https://dipartimenti.unicatt.it/dises-dises_wp_16_113.pdf (accessed July 2021).
Baum, C., Lööf, H. and Nabavi, P. (2015) Innovation, Spillovers and Productivity Growth: A Dynamic Panel Data Approach, EcoMod Working Paper 8970, available at https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/ekd008007/default1.htm (accessed July 2021).
Bianchini, S. and Pellegrino, G. (2019) ‘Innovation persistence and employment dynamics’, Research Policy, 48, pp.1171–86.
Bianchini, S., Bottazi, G. and Tamagni, F. (2017) ‘What does (not) characterize persistent corporate high growth?‘, Small Business Economics, 48, pp.633–56.
Bianchini, S., Pellegrino, G. and Tamagni, F. (2018) ‘Innovation complementarities and firm growth’, Industrial and Corporate Change, 27, 4, pp.657–76.
Bloom, N., Lemos, R., Sadun, R., Scur, D. and van Reenen, J. (2014) The New Empirical Economics of Management, NBER Working Paper 20102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge MA.
Calvino, F. and Virgillito, M. (2018) ‘The innovation–employment nexus: a critical survey of theory and empirics’, Journal of Economic Surveys, 32, 1, pp.83–117.
Capasso, M., Cefis, E. and Frenken, K. (2013) ‘On the existence of persistently outperforming firms’, Industrial and Corporate Change, 23, 4, pp.997–1036.
Cefis, E. and Ciccarelli, M. (2005) ‘Profit differentials and innovation’, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 14, pp.43–61.
Cefis, E. and Orsenigo, L. (2001) ‘The persistence of innovative activities: a cross-country and cross-sectors comparative analysis’, Research Policy, 30, pp.1139–58.
Ciriaci, D., Moncada-Paternò-Castello, P. and Voigt, P. (2016) ‘Innovation and job creation: a sustainable relation?‘, Eurasian Business Review, 6, 2, pp.189–213.
Coad, A. (2018) ‘Firm age: a survey’, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 28, pp.13–43.
Coad, A. and Rao, R. (2008) ‘Innovation and firm growth in high tech sectors: a quantile regression approach’, Research Policy, 37, 4, pp.633–48.
Coad, A., Daunfeldt., S.-V. and Halvarsson, D. (2018) ‘Busting into life: firm growth and firm persistence by age’, Small Business Economics, 50, pp.55–75.
Czarnitzki, D. and Delanote, J. (2013) ‘Young innovative companies: the new high-growth firms?‘, Industrial and Corporate Change, 22, 5, pp.1315–40.
Dachs, B., Hud, M., Köhler, C. and Peters, B. (2016) Employment Effects of Innovations over the Business Cycle: Firm-Level Evidence from European Countries, SPRU Working Paper 2017-03, University of Sussex, Brighton.
Daunfeldt, S-O., Elert, N. and Johansson, D. (2014) ‘Economic contribution of high growth firms: do policy implications depend on the choice of growth indicator?‘, Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, 14, pp.337–65.
Denrell, J. (2004) ‘Random walks and sustained competitive advantage’, Management Science 50, 7, pp.922–34.
Deschryvere, M. (2014) ‘R&D, firm growth and the role of innovation persistence: an analysis of Finnish SMEs and large firms’, Small Business Economics, 43, 4, pp.767–85.
Duguet, E. and Monjon, S. (2004) Is Innovation Persistent at the Firm Level? An Econometric Examination Comparing the Propensity Score and Regression Methods, paper 04075, Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris.
Evangelista, R. and Vezzani, A. (2012) ‘The impact of technological and organisational innovation on employment in European firms’, Industrial and Corporate Change, 21, 4, pp.871–99.
Fagerberg, J. and Mowery, D. (2015) ‘Recent research on innovation and economic change’ in Fagerberg, J. and Mowery, D. (eds) Innovation, Technology and Economic Change, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp.xiii–xxiii
Funk, M., Westreich, D., Wiesen, C., Stürmer, T., Brookhart, M. and Davidian, M. (2011) ‘Doubly robust estimation of causal effects’, American Journal of Epidemiology, 173, 7, pp.761–7.
Ganter, A. and Hecker, A. (2013) ‘Persistence of innovation: discriminating between types of innovation and sources of state dependence’, Research Policy, 42, 8, pp.1431–45.
Geroski, P. A. (1999) The Growth of Firms in Theory and Practice, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=2092
Goedhuys, M. and Veugelers, R. (2012) ‘Innovation strategies, process and product innovations and growth: firm-level evidence from Brazil’, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 23, 4, pp.516–29.
Guarascio, D. and Tamagni, F. (2019) ‘Persistence of innovation and patterns of firm growth’, Research Policy, 48, pp.1493–512.
Haned, N., Mothe, C. and Thuc Uyen, N.-T. (2014) ‘Firm persistence in technological innovation: the relevance of organizational innovation’, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 23, 5–6, pp.490–516.
Hasan, I. and Tucci, C. (2010) ‘The innovation-economic growth nexus: global evidence’, Research Policy, 39, pp.1264–76.
Hecker, A. and Ganter, A. (2014) ‘Path and past dependence on firm innovation’, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 23, 5–6, pp.563–83.
Hendrickson, L., Bucifal, S., Balaguer, A. and Hansell, D. (2015) Employment Dynamics of Australian Entrepreneurship, Research Paper 4/2015, Office of the Chief Economist, Australian Government, Canberra.
Hendrickson, L., Bucifal, S., Balaguer, A. and Hansell, D. (2016) ‘Employment dynamics of Australian entrepreneurship: a management perspective’, Technology Innovation Management Review, 6, 6, pp.33–40.
Hendrickson, L., Taylor, D., Ang, L., Cao, K., Nguyen, T. and Soriano, F. (2018) The Impact of Persistent Innovation on Business Growth, Staff Working Paper 2/2018, Office of the Chief Economist, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, Canberra, Australia.
Le Bas, C. and Poussing, N. (2014) ‘Are complex innovators more persistent than single innovators? An empirical analysis of innovation persistence drivers’, International Journal of Innovation Management, 18, 1, 1450008.
Le Bas, C. and Scellato, G. (2014) ‘Firm innovation persistence: a fresh look at the frameworks of analysis’, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 23, 5–6, pp.423–46.
Lhuillery, S. (2014) ‘Marketing and persistent innovation success’, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 23, 5–6: 517–43.
Majeed, O., Balaguer, B., Hansell, D., Hendrickson, L., Latcham, A. and Satherley, T. (2021) ‘What drives high growth? Characteristics of Australian firms’, Economic Record, 97, 318, pp.350–64.
Máñez, J., Rochina-Barrachina, M., Sanchis-Llopis, A. and Sanchis-Llopis, J. (2015) ‘The determinants of R&D persistence in SMEs’, Small Business Economics, 44, pp.505–28.
Mohnen, P. and Hall, B. (2013) ‘Innovation and productivity: an update’, Eurasian Business Review, 3, pp.47–65.
Moreno, F. and Coad, A. (2015) ‘High-growth firms: stylized facts and conflicting results’ in Corbett, A., Katz, J. and McKelvie, A. (eds) Entrepreneurial Growth: Individual, Firm and Region, Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, pp.187–230.
National Experts on Scientific and Technology Indicators, Working Party (2005) The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities: Guidelines for Collecting and Interpreting Innovation Data: Oslo Manual, OECD, Paris.
Navaretti, G., Castellani, D. and Pieri, F. (2014) ‘Age and firm growth: evidence from three European countries’, Small Business Economics, 43, pp.823–37.
Peters, B. (2005) Persistence of Innovation: Stylised Facts and Panel Data Evidence, ZEW Discussion Paper No. 05-81, ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, Mannheim.
Raymond, W., Mohnen, P., Palm, F. and van der Loeff, S. (2010) ‘Persistence of innovation in Dutch manufacturing: is it spurious?‘, Review of Economics and Statistics, 92, 3, pp.495–504.
Roper, S. and Hewitt-Dundas, N. (2008) ‘Innovation persistence: survey and case-study evidence’, Research Policy, 37, 1, pp.149–62.
Rosenbaum, P. and Rubin, D. (1983) ‘The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects’, Biometrika, 70, pp.41–55.
Rosenbaum, P. and Rubin, D. (1985) ‘Constructing a control group using multivariate matched sampling methods that incorporate the propensity score’, American Statistician, 39, 1, pp.33–8.
Rotaru, C. (2013) Discrete Choice Panel Data Modelling Using the ABS Business Longitudinal Database, Methodology Research Papers, cat. no. 1352.0.55.139, ABS, Canberra.
Rotaru, C., Dzhumasheva, S. and Soriano, F. (2013) ‘Propensity score matching: an application using the ABS Business Characteristics Survey’, Methodology Research Papers, cat. no. 1352.0.55.128, ABS, Canberra.
Schumpeter, J. (1942) Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, Harper Bros, New York.
Segarra, A. and Teruel, M. (2014) ‘High growth firms and innovation: an empirical analysis of Spanish firms’, Small Business Economics, 43, 4, pp.805–21.
Segarra-Blasco, A., Teruel, M. and Jové-Llopis, E. (2018) ‘High-growth firms in European countries: the role of innovation’, Cuadernos de Economía, 37, 75, pp.637–70.
Soriano, F. and Abello, R. (2015) ‘Modelling the relationships between the use of STEM skills, collaboration, R&D and innovation among Australian firms’, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 18, 3, pp.345–74.
Tavassoli, S. and Karlsson, C. (2017) ‘The role of regional context on innovation persistency of firms’, Papers in Regional Science, 97, 4, pp.931–58.
Todhunter, J. and Abello, R. (2011) Firm Innovation and the Use of Information and Communications Technology, Methodology Research Papers, cat. no. 1351.0.55.033, ABS, Canberra.
Triguero, A., Córcoles, D. and Cuerva, M. (2014) ‘Persistence of innovation and firm's growth: evidence from a panel of SME and large Spanish manufacturing firms’, Small Business Economics, 43, pp.787–804.
Wager, S. and Athey, S. (2018) ‘Estimation and inference of heterogeneous treatment effects using random forests’, Journal of the American Statistical Society, 113, 523, pp.1228–42.