A study of innovation activities in software and computer services companies

This paper analyzes the results of a study of innovation activities in software and computing services companies. We propose a new model which takes into account the role played by several factors and firms´ resources in the development of innovative activities, exploring the relationships between a set of organizational, technological, financial and information-based resources, as well as other aspects such as cooperation with other agents and companies. We employ a Structural Equation Model and the PLS technique in order to validate the theoretical model proposed in this research. The data come from the Spanish National Statistics Institute´s Survey on Firms´ Technological Innovation, and the sample is composed by 823 observations referred to firms in the sector of software and computer services. The main results show that human resources (R&D and higher education personnel) is the most important factor that positively affects R+D activities, followed by financial resources (R&D expenses) and contingent factors (firm´s size and type of market). At the same time R&D activities, information management and technological resources have a positive effect on product and process innovation. Finally, R+D activities, innovation results and information management have a positive influence on business results.