Perception des obstacles aux activités d'innovation dans les entreprises tunisiennes

In spite of the considerable effort of the work focused on the identification of the conditions and factors favourable to innovation in developing countries, very few contributions concern the analysis of the obstacles impeding or slowing the innovation process and factors affecting their perceptions. However, the innovation behaviour of firms can be affected by their assessment of barriers and difficulties encountered in the innovation process. This work is dedicated to the analysis of the perceived barriers to innovation activities in Tunisian firms. It advocates a systemic approach to innovation policies which take into account established complementarities. We show that the perception of barriers to innovation is less pronounced for foreign firms and more important for exporters who face competitive pressure, leading to a high perception of impediments related to the lack of information technology and the lack of qualified workers. To overcome the barriers to innovation related to excessive economic risks, high costs of innovation or lack of appropriate funding sources, our results suggest an important role of public and foreign capital. The lack of financial resources is also one of the main obstacles.