The name is absent

their market position. In most of the cases the R&D co-operation is considered
to be of high importance to the well-being of the firm and has a strategic func-
tion in the innovation competition. In Eastern Germany even 66.7 % of the
firms shared this belief while the share among companies in Western Germany
was significantly lower (52.2 %).

The high esteem of this instrument is also reflected in the perspective of inno-
vation. Almost three out of four companies (72.5 %) that are involved in R&D
co-operations are planning to introduce new products and services within the
next two years. Thereby, the share of firms with such expansion plans is sig-
nificantly higher within companies which participate in R&D co-operations than
in those who do not use this instrument (39.5 %). This shows that conjoint R&D
provides advantages for companies in their attempts to remain competitive.
This optimism is shared equally by companies in Eastern and Western Ger-
many.

In addition to that more than a third of all companies participating in R&D co-
operations are planning to expand their staff within the year 2002 (38.4 %).
Here too, a higher share of companies with expansion plans can be observed
within the group of firms which are involved in R&D co-operations than within
the rest of the firms of the sample (23.7 %). This shows that the success of
R&D co-operations contributes to the growth of the firm. This is true for com-
panies in Eastern and Western Germany to nearly the same extent.

5. Model estimation: Likelihood for enterprises to join an R&D co-opera-
tion

To examine the circumstances in which companies are likely to form or join an
R&D co-operation, a logistic regression can be estimated. Companies of all
observed branches and sizes were included in the model. The test results
specify the relative importance of the determinants and their influence on the
likelihood that companies join an R&D co-operation (table 4). The model is
able to explain the likelihood of participation in R&D co-operations of compa-
nies on the highest level of significance (0.01%). The distinction of whether a
company is participating in such a strategic partnership or not could be antici-
pated in 81.2 % of all included cases.

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