How do firms innovate in Latin America?:Identification of innovation strategies and their main adoption determinants

The study of innovation in Latin American firms has concentrated almostexclusively on the determinants and impacts of innovation investmentsand outputs. Less attention has been paid to how firms innovate. Thisstudy applies factor and cluster analysis to a unique dataset ofharmonized innovation surveys from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, to identify the maininnovation practices and strategies performed by Latin American firms.Three of the four identified innovation strategies can be linked toresults from similar studies using European firm-level data. However,none of these strategies resembles a strong science or researchorientation. An approach to "open management" innovation emerges asidiosyncratic for Latin American firms. These innovation strategies areassociated with differences in sales growth and labor productivity. Theanalysis also shows that firm resources and capabilities driveinnovation strategy selection