| Summary: | The positive effects of export and R&D strategies upon productivity, firm profits, economic growth or innovation have been extensively studied in the economics literature (Bernard and Jensen, 1999; Greenaway and Kneller, 2007; Wagner, 2007; Girma, Görg and Strobl, 2004; Becheikh, Landry and Amara, 2006; Greenaway and Kneller, 2004). Moreover, a positive correlation between the two strategies has also been found in some studies, suggesting positive synergies if jointly adopted (Golovko and Valentini, 2011; Aw, Roberts and Winston, 2007). Therefore, adopting both strategies should be one of the priority goals for any firm. However, very little is known about the adoption dynamics behind the achievement of this target. Sunk costs, learning effects and likely decreasing marginal performance associated with diseconomies of scope from simultaneous adoption, would make it rational for any strategy to be adopted at different points in time rather than simultaneously (Battisti, Colombo and Rabbiosi, 2015; Astebro, Battisti and Colombo, 2016). Nevertheless, to the best of my knowledge, no study has looked to the most likely adoption path and to their drivers. Literature is also limited on the impact that liquidity and demand conditions, associated to both the financial and the economic crisis that started in 2008, may have had upon export and R&D adoption decisions and the depth of their adoption. To address these research gaps I studied a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms from the period 2000-2014. Interestingly, to the study, the sample covers an entire business cycle as well as the 2008 world financial and economic crisis. Drawing upon the econometric analysis, I provide new insight into the research field through three separate contributions. In the first Chapter, I examine whether sequential is more likely than simultaneous adoption for export and R&D and also whether the sequential adoption order matters. I also investigate the crisis effects upon this sequentiality. In the second Chapter, I analyse the factors that have driven the adoption of these strategies during the crisis, disentangling the effects of the dropping demand and credit crunch. Finally, in Chapter three, to observe the whole picture about the consequences of the crisis upon export and R&D strategies, I extend the analysis started in Chapter 1 to the intensive margin. Findings from these three chapters shed light on the relationship between export and R&D with important industrial policy implications.
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