Linking investments in intangible assets and global value chain participation with firm export performance (D5.9)

This report presents a preliminary analysis on the main findings of the Globalinto large-scale pilot survey of intangible investments involving 1796 firms in seven European countries. The research objective is to explore the role of intangible assets as determinants of firm competitiveness in international markets, while considering the effects of participation in global value chains (GVCs). To achieve this, a three-stage methodological approach is followed. The findings show that R&D investments appear to be essential contributors to export intensity. This finding reflects the increased importance of R&D investments for firm growth and competitiveness.

When controlling for participation in GVCs, research results indicate that forward participation positively affects export performance while backward participation appears to be insignificant. These results indicate that firms might target engaging in forward-oriented upstream activities, which are intangible-intensive, to secure significant competitiveness gains along GVCs.