RT Generic T1 Windows of technological opportunity : do technological booms influence the relationship between firm size and innovativeness? A1 Degner,Harald WP 2010/03/22 AB Many papers have been written about the effect of firm size on innovativeness, revealing a positive, a negative or a mixed impact. To this day, the so-called Schumpeterian hypothesis of the above-average innovativeness of large firms has been neither confirmed nor rejected, often because of insufficient data or a too-short observation period. Many studies concentrate only on a specific region or a specific sector, or they analyze a very short time period. Windows of technological opportunities, providing technological booms for both firms and sectors, have not yet been investigated. An analysis of Germany?s chemical, metal and electronic-engineering sectors between 1877 and 1932 reveals that the sector-specific long-term relationship between firm size and innovativeness is negative, except during times of specific technological booms. In combination with firm-specific characteristics, this new aspect can contribute to a better understanding of the long-term relationship between firm size and innovativeness. K1 Innovation K1 Unternehmensgröße K1 Technischer Fortschritt K1 Schumpeter, Joseph Alois K1 Konjunkturaufschwung PP Hohenheim PB Kommunikations-, Informations- und Medienzentrum der Universität Hohenheim UL http://opus.uni-hohenheim.de/volltexte/2010/439