This document analyzes cooperation behaviors, specifically cooperation with public partners, among French firms. It identifies four categories of firms based on their characteristics and size. The largest firms from high-technology industries and smaller firms with technical services cooperate most with public bodies. These firms innovate more in goods and services and are more likely to register patents/trademarks. Medium-sized firms focus more on cost reduction than new products/alliances and cooperate less. Overall, 15% of innovative French firms cooperate with public bodies, ranging from 36% of the largest high-tech firms to only 3% of small local service firms.

1. Conclusion
Firms wich are more likely to cooperate with a public body are the largest ones, which are often
globalised, and specialised in high technology industries. Another type of firms also cooperates with
public bodies: smaller firms with a technical service activity. These two categories of firms
cooperate more than the average with a public body for their innovation activities. Firms of the first
category are more likely to do goods innovations, and to register patents, trademarks or design
models. The other type does more services innovations, and more often together with other firms or
organizations.
Public-Private R&D Cooperations:
A characterisation of French innovative firms
Samih ATMANE, Anna TESTAS
Introduction
Recent studies on the impact of R&D cooperations underline the importance of R&D
as an input of the innovation process and economic performance.
In this present work we analyze the heterogeneity in R&D collaboration behavior
(specifically cooperation with public partners) of French firms.
Using multiple correspondence analysis, we identify four different categories of firms,
based on their characteristics (size, main activity, localisation of market, business
strategy, public funds beneficiary status). Then, we analyse cooperation activities for
each category.
Firms' typology
1st
Category: A lot of large, globalised firms, from high-technology industries. Their strategy is often
developing new products and/or new alliances. Many of these firms have a continuous R&D activity, and
receive public funds.
In this group, 36 % of firms cooperate with the public sector
2 nd
Category: Medium size firms, with an occasional R&D activity, from medium or low technology.
In this group, a lot of firms have a cost reduction strategy, rather than developing new products or
alliances.
In this group, 13 % of firms cooperate with the public sector
3rd
Category: Smaller firms in professional, scientific and technical activities, or computer service
activities. Their strategy is developing new products and/or new alliances. Many of these firms have a
globalised market. Most of them have continuous R&D activities, but others only do R&D occasionnaly.
Many of these firms receive public funds.
In this group, 23 % of firms cooperate with the public sector
4rth
Category: As in the 3rd
category, firms in this group are smaller. They have a service activity, and
no R&D activity. A large part of these firms operate only on a local market. The major part do not
receive public funds.
In this group, 3 % of firms cooperate with the public sector
15 % of innovative firms cooperate with a
public body
A typology of innovative firms
Figure 5: Modalities in plan 1-2
10 to 20 employees
20 to 50 employees
50 to 100 employees
100 to 250 employees
250 to 500 employees
500 or more employees
High-technology
Medium-high-technology
Medium-low-technology
Low-technology
Other services
Scientific, technical and computer
service activities
Local market
National market
European market
World market
Other strategy
Cost cutting strategy
Flexibility strategy
New markets strategy
New products or alliances
strategy
No R&D activity
Continuous R&D
activity
Occasional R&D activity
No public funds
Received public
funds
-2
-1,5
-1
-0,5
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
-2 -1,5 -1 -0,5 0 0,5 1 1,5 2
A
xis
2
Axis 1
No R&D
cooperation
with public
sector
R&D cooperation
with public sector
Source: French 2012 community innovation survey, Insee
Figure 4: Cloud of individuals
-1,5
-1
-0,5
0
0,5
1
1,5
-1,5 -1 -0,5 0 0,5 1 1,5
A
xis
2
Axis 1
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Cooperates with public sector
Source: French 2012 community innovation survey, Insee.
Note: firms from financial and insurance activities are not part of the analysis.
Figure 6 :
Cooperation and innovation activities among these four categories
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Total
Number of firms 4176 6380 5984 9087 25 627
Cooperation activities
Participates in a "pôle de compétitivité" 30% 12% 15% 6% 12%
The most important partnership is in a "pôle de compétitivité" 10% 4% 8% 1% 5%
Cooperated with other firms or organizations for innovation activities between 2010 and 2012 55% 33% 44% 20% 35%
Cooperated with a public body for innovation activities between 2010 and 2012 36% 13% 23% 3% 15%
Innovations introduced between 2010 and 2012
Product innovations :
Goods 78% 61% 52% 32% 52%
Services 28% 22% 58% 29% 34%
New for the market 67% 44% 62% 23% 45%
New for the firm only 59% 46% 51% 34% 45%
Developed by the firm alone 68% 53% 66% 32% 51%
Developed together with other firms or organizations 44% 28% 36% 18% 29%
Process innovations 60% 65% 63% 71% 66%
Organisation innovations 57% 56% 62% 56% 58%
Marketing innovations 51% 40% 52% 44% 46%
Part moyenne du chiffre d'affaires de 2012 relative aux innovations de produits
Products new for the market 18% 12% 22% 12% 16%
Products new for the enterprise only 15% 14% 15% 18% 16%
Proprietary rights
Registration of patent, trademark or design model 61% 34% 39% 16% 33%
Reading: 30 % of firms wich belongs to group 1 participates in a “pôle de compétitivité” when just 12 % of all the innovative firms participate in such a
cluster.
Note : A “pôle de compétitivité”, or competitiveness cluster, brings together large and small firms, research bodies and educational establishments, all
working together in a specific region to develop synergies and cooperative efforts around a shared theme.
Source: French 2012 community innovation survey, Insee
Figure 2: Public cooperation by sector of activity
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
HT MHT MLT LT Computer
and
information
services
Professional,
scientific and
technical
activities
Other
services
3 154 4 840 4 977 7 8122 000 2 220Number of firms : 1 000
Source: French 2012 community innovation survey, Insee.
Note: Firms from primary sector were allocated in different industries sectors, because of their low numbers.
When possible, firms from financial and insurance activities and professional, scientific and technical activities were
reallocated into their R&D sector.
HT: High-technology industries. MHT: Medium-high-technology. MLT: Medium-low-technology. LT: Low-technology.
35% of French innovative firms cooperate in R&D.
For their innovative activities between 2010 and 2012, 15% of French firms cooperated
with at least one public partner (University or public research organization). We note that
vertical cooperation is much more widespread with a percentage of 25%.
Figure 1: Firms’ cooperation frequencies for their innovative activities
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
At least one R&D
partner
Customer or
Supplier
(Vertical
Cooperation)
Group Public partner
Source : French 2012 community innovation survey, National Institute of Statistics and Economis Studies (Insee).
The propensity to cooperate with public research partners is strongly
differentiated by industry. It is very high in the high-technology industries (38%),
lower in Professional, scientific and technical activities (26%), medium-high-
technology industries (23%), and Computer & information services (18%), but
much lower in medium-low-technology industries (12%), low-technology
industries (11%) and especially in other services (8%).
Figure 3: Diversification of cooperation partners
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Group Private R&D
organization
Private client Competitor Supplier Public partner
No other partners 1 or 2 other partners At least 3 other partners
Source: French 2012 community innovation survey, Insee
Only 7 % of the firms which cooperate with public research actors are engaged exclusively in
this type of cooperation, while more than a half (53%) have at least three other partners for their
innovation activities. Public-private cooperations often come on top of other types of
cooperation.
Firms cooperating with private R&D organizations, customers or competitors also use a high
number of partners for their innovation activities. By contrast, firms engaged in cooperation
within group or with suppliers diversify less their partnerships to innovate. Thus, about quarter
of companies (23%) cooperating with groups have no other types of cooperation, and this
percentage drops to 18% for firms cooperating with supplier.
More Public-Private cooperations in HT sectors
Firms that cooperate with public partners are
more likely to have other types of cooperation
PhD student, Paris 13 University Statistician at French Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research,
Statistical Service, Sub-directorate of Information Systems and Statistical Studies