Exploring the complementarity between product exports and foreign technology imports for innovation in emerging economic firms

Purpose The purpose of this study is to advance and test the idea that product exports and technology imports are complementary cross-border learning approaches for emerging market firms’ innovation performance. In addition, this paper also seeks to search for contextual variables that affect this complementarity. Design/methodology/approach This study takes systems approach to examine complementarity, combining a “productivity” and an “adoption” approach. In addition, interaction approach is also used as robustness check. Findings The authors show that the positive effect of export activity on firms’ growth rate is higher for firms that also engage in technology import, and vice versa. Furthermore, they show that, Ceteris paribus, firms’ adoption of one cross-border learning mechanism (e.g. entering export markets) positively influences the adoption of the other (e.g. technology import). Moreover, this complementarity is only significant for firms from province with low level of marketization. Research limitations/implications This inconsistency about learning-by-exporting and technology import on innovation can be resolved, at least partially, by the complementarities perspective. This paper also reveals two mechanisms of learning-by-exporting: the indirect effect of export on innovation through increasing the likelihood of adoption decision of importing technology and enhancing the positive effect of technology imports. Practical implications The potential of combining the two strategies should not be ignored by managers. To improve regional competitiveness, local governments should try best to improve the efficiency of customs to help firms realize the synergistic effect of learning-by- exporting and learning-by-technology-importing. Originality/value This study first explores the positive complementarity between the two cross-border learning mechanism in sharping EEEs 2019 innovation performance and identifies the condition to realize the synergistic effect of learning-by-exporting and learning-by-technology-importing.