Title: The impact of innovation inputs on apparel industries' innovation output: evidence from top apparel exporter countries

Authors: Temesgen Getachew Atilaw; Daniel Kitaw

Addresses: South African Research Chair (SARChI) Industrial Development, College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, South Africa ' Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, Addis Ababa, 1000, Ethiopia

Abstract: Time sensitive nature of apparel industry and consumer's expectation of new products; have put pressure on apparel industries innovation behaviour. The purpose of this study is to investigate the link between innovation inputs to innovation output in apparel industry. This study aspires to identify impact of R&D and non-R&D innovation input activities on innovation outputs based on World Bank enterprise surveys conducted on top four apparel exporting countries; China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and India. The analytical method divided sample firms into four treatment categories, namely, 'no innovation activities', 'non-R&D innovation activities only', 'R&D innovation activities only', and 'both R&D and non-R&D innovation activities'. The analysis attempts to identify which of the treatment effects promote innovation output. In so doing, IPWRA estimation methods were employed. The notable finding from this study is that irrespective of regional specificities, innovation in apparel industry has a distinctive pattern.

Keywords: non-R&D; innovation input; innovation output; IPWRA; apparel industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2024.143196

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2024 Vol.35 No.4, pp.534 - 549

Received: 28 Oct 2021
Accepted: 20 Nov 2021
Published online: 09 Dec 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article