This study sought to analyze the impact of cooperation and investment in research and development (R&D) on innovation in the healthcare sector. A recent definition of cooperation for innovation is that found in the Community inquiry (CIS 2014) that innovation cooperation consists of active participation in innovation projects with other noncommercial enterprises or institutions. Cooperation does not imply that both partners derive commercial benefits. Thus, investment in innovation and development of innovative products and services related both to medical equipment and management area are key to the growth of the health sector. The promotion of strategies based on innovation generates real value for the client and is highly rewarded in a highly competitive market. Although technological innovation in healthcare is often viewed with suspicion and its adoption blocked by financial constraints, it is a key part of healthcare development. The Portuguese national innovation system has produced very positive results, not only for economic agents in particular but also for the economy in a global sense. The analysis used variables included in the Community Innovation Survey - CIS 2014 database, to which multivariate statistical tests were applied. Cooperation has an impact on non-technological innovation, unlike the investment in R&D that does not have an impact on innovation in the healthcare sector in Portugal. Cooperation and investment in R&D don't have any impact on technological innovation. This study's results contribute to validating the importance of cooperation in technological and non-technologic innovation and investment in R&D as a way to understand trends and to plan and define innovation strategies that contribute to healthcare organizational performance and customer's satisfaction. It´s important to note that this type of cooperation must necessarily involve the creation of new value and should not be merely a trade-off, that is, to obtain anything for the resources that have been made available to the cooperation, mainly in the healthcare sector. In the last decades, with the increase of competition, the cooperation among healthcare organizations assumes greater importance due to the difficulty to meet the requirements in isolation. Therefore, when moment two or more organizations realize the possibility of achieving their goals together and making gains, the cooperation between them develops.

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Cooperation,I&D research,Innovation,Healthcare sector,Performance

• Engenharia Eletrotécnica, Eletrónica e Informática - Engenharia e Tecnologia
• Engenharia Mecânica - Engenharia e Tecnologia
• Economia e Gestão - Ciências Sociais