Abstract:
This paper explores how firm-specific trade opportunities affect R&D investments and innovative activities. To construct trade opportunities that are exogenous to firm-level decisions, I use the variation in export and import patterns and exploit the fact that firms differ in their productcountry exporting (sourcing) patterns. Both export and import opportunities generate growth in terms of sales, value-added, overall employees, and high-skilled employees. Despite having similar effects on firm growth, the effects on innovation activities are very different for the two trade shocks. Export opportunities lead to more R&D investments (spending, employees, and intensity) and innovations (product and process). On the other hand, import opportunities show no effects on R&D investments, and the impact on product, process, and service innovation is negative.