Les « business angels », révélateurs, plus que moteurs, de l’engagement des entreprises dans l’innovation

?Whereas the funding of the first years of the life cycle of companies is presented as a key condition for their survival and growth, the attention given to business angels (BA noted below) by academics has been growing steadily over the past years. This article proposes to discuss the extent to which they contribute to innovation from a unique database of 432 French companies that are financed by one of the members of the network France Angels (French Federation of Business Angels networks). We compare it to a test group comprised of 2,160 similar companies. We make use of an econometric model specifying the determinants of innovation approximated by the share of non-financial intangible assets in total assets explained by the presence or absence of a BA and control variables. The use of the estimation method using a Fixed Effects Vector Decomposition method shows the positive effect of BA on innovation. Elements of explanation of these results are provided from a qualitative survey of BA members of France Angels and from a subset of companies extracted from the population of 432 ones backed by BA. They illustrate how the specific behavior of BA at the time of selection of companies and their attitude during the accompaniment period explain these different trajectories.?