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Does the analysis of innovation barriers perceived by high growth firms provide information on innovation policy priorities?

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  • Hölzl, Werner
  • Janger, Jürgen

Abstract

High growth firms and reducing innovation barriers figure high in the European innovation policy debate. Do high growth firms face specific innovation barriers which are relevant for innovation policy? In this paper we study the robustness of the perception of innovation barriers when alternative definitions of high growth firms are used. Using data from two waves of the European Innovation survey (CIS 4 and CIS 2006) we show not only that different definitions of high growth firms lead to quite different results across country groups, but also that the results are quite different for the CIS 4 and CIS 2006 samples. We argue that in the light of the available empirical evidence this non-robustness should not come as a surprise and that this negative result makes it difficult to specifically target high growth firms with public policies. Fostering the emergence of high growth innovative firms in Europe may not be feasible with targeted funding policies only but needs a systemic approach.

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  • Hölzl, Werner & Janger, Jürgen, 2013. "Does the analysis of innovation barriers perceived by high growth firms provide information on innovation policy priorities?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 80(8), pages 1450-1468.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:80:y:2013:i:8:p:1450-1468
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2013.05.010
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    Cited by:

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    2. Robert Gampfer & Jessica Mitchell & Blagoy Stamenow & Jana Zifciakova & Koen Jonkers, 2016. "Improving access to finance: which schemes best support the emergence of high-growth innovative enterprises? A mapping, analysis and assessment of finance instruments in selected EU Member States," JRC Research Reports JRC102928, Joint Research Centre.
    3. Calza, Elisa & Goedhuys, Micheline, 2016. "Entrepreneurial heterogeneity and the design of entrepreneurship policies for economic growth and inclusive development," MERIT Working Papers 2016-043, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    4. Alex Coad & Nestor Duch-Brown, 2017. "Barriers to European cross-border E-commerce," JRC Working Papers on Digital Economy 2017-03, Joint Research Centre.
    5. Zhang, Dongyang & Guo, Rui & He, Xiaodan, 2022. "How does the exclusive license stimulate firm’s subsequent innovation? The role of innovation financial input," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    6. Szerb, László & Varga, Attila & Komlósi, Éva, 2017. "Gyors növekedésű vállalatok Magyarországon. Az innovatív, a rejtélyes és a virtuális gazellák [Fast-growing businesses in Hungary: The innovative, mysterious and virtual gazelles]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 476-506.
    7. Davide Antonioli & Alberto Marzucchi & Maria Savona, 2017. "Pain shared, pain halved? Cooperation as a coping strategy for innovation barriers," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 841-864, August.
    8. Arif Hartono & Ratih Kusumawardhani, 2019. "Innovation Barriers and Their Impact on Innovation: Evidence from Indonesian Manufacturing Firms," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 20(5), pages 1196-1213, October.
    9. Jürgen Janger & Anna Strauss-Kollin, 2020. "Die Leistungsfähigkeit des österreichischen Innovationssystems," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 66555, February.
    10. Retkoceri Betim & Kurteshi Rinor, 2018. "Barriers to innovation in services and manufacturing firms: The case of Kosovo," HOLISTICA – Journal of Business and Public Administration, Sciendo, vol. 9(2), pages 73-94, August.
    11. Alb Maria, 2015. "Theoretical And Practical Considerations On Financial Autonomy And Balance Local Budgets In Romania," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1, pages 239-245, February.
    12. Neil Lee, 2014. "What holds back high-growth firms? Evidence from UK SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 183-195, June.
    13. Sanasi, Silvia & Ghezzi, Antonio & Cavallo, Angelo, 2023. "What happens after market validation? Experimentation for scaling in technology-based startups," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    14. Gabriele Pellegrino, 2015. "Barriers to innovation: can firm age help lower them?," Working Papers 2015/3, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    15. Ortiz, Rodrigo & Fernandez, Viviana, 2022. "Business perception of obstacles to innovate: Evidence from Chile with pseudo-panel data analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    16. Gabriele Pellegrino, 2018. "Barriers to innovation in young and mature firms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 181-206, January.
    17. de-Oliveira, Fernando & Rodil-Marzábal, Óscar, 2019. "Structural characteristics and organizational determinants as obstacles to innovation in small developing countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 306-314.
    18. Hölzl, Werner & Janger, Jürgen, 2014. "Distance to the frontier and the perception of innovation barriers across European countries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 707-725.
    19. Pavla Matulova & Petra Maresova & Mohammad Ali Tareq & Kamil Kuča, 2018. "Open Innovation Session as a Tool Supporting Innovativeness in Strategies for High-Tech Companies in the Czech Republic," Economies, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-13, December.
    20. Nina Bockova, 2015. "Research, Development And Innovations In Czech Manufacture Of Electronic Products," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 10(4), pages 163-180, December.
    21. Giuseppina Testa & Katarzyna Szkuta, 2018. "Improving access to finance for young innovative enterprises with growth potential: evidence of impact on firms' output - Part 2. R&D grant schemes: lessons learned from evaluations," JRC Research Reports JRC109879, Joint Research Centre.
    22. Carpio Freire, Carlos Raúl & Afcha Chávez, Sergio Moisés, 2020. "Efecto de las barreras de innovación en la capacidad de absorción de las empresas innovadoras || Effect of innovation barriers on the absorptive capacity of innovative companies," Revista de Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa = Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, vol. 30(1), pages 3-22, December.
    23. Giovanni Marin & Alberto Marzucchi & Roberto Zoboli, 2015. "SMEs and barriers to Eco-innovation in the EU: exploring different firm profiles," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 671-705, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation barriers; High growth firms; European Union; Innovation policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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