Cooperación en I+D e innovación entre empresas argentinas y espa？olas: una aproximación empírica

inter-firm cooperation is experiencing strong growth worldwide. this paper aims at analyzing this phenomenon considering the cooperation relationships on r&d and innovation between argentine and spanish firms. from the literature review, we surveyed a sample of 540 companies believed to have participated in cooperative projects, obtaining 104 responses. we analyzed various aspects of the process and cooperation results (firm profiles, patterns of cooperation, type of partners, leadership, agreement types, frequency, innovation activities and obstacles to cooperation). the results show that cooperation is not easy, but in contrast to the literature, it can be carried out by smes in high and medium technological sectors whose motives are primarily an opportunity for access to new markets and improved commercialization, rather than carrying out innovation activities. this has important implications for policies to support r&d and innovation, which would take into account the differences that affect cooperation in both countries according to the firms' size, the specific sector of activity and the funding conditions.