IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i20p5778-d277827.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Public Support Agencies for Innovation in Multilevel Governance Systems: Exploring the Existence of Signs of Complementarity and Substitution

Author

Listed:
  • Jennifer González-Blanco

    (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Vigo, Campus Universitario, s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain)

  • Mercedes Vila-Alonso

    (Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Vigo, Campus Universitario, s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain)

  • Manuel Guisado-González

    (Department of Financial Economics and Accounting, University of Extremadura, Av. de la Universidad, s/n, 10071 Cáceres, Spain)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the existence of indications of complementarity/substitutability between the innovation agencies operating in Spain (regional, national, European, and Seventh Framework Programme), which will allow us to determine the corresponding asymmetries in the implementation of the so-called subsidiarity principle. The data used in the study come from the Panel de Innovación Tecnológica 2015 and 2016 (Spain). The empirical analysis has been carried out by the so-called adoption approach, having previously corrected the selection biases that may be present in the sample. The results obtained indicate that there are indications of substitution between the two Spanish agencies (regional and national), while other relationships between agencies exhibit indications of complementarity. These indications of complementarity/substitutability show that the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity between the two Spanish agencies seem to work correctly, while this implementation is much more diffuse between the two Spanish agencies and the two European agencies. Therefore, these results reveal that there is an obvious asymmetry in the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity between the different agencies. These findings may be an important guide in the decision making of managers. Knowing which agencies are substitutes and which are complementary is extremely relevant information, since it allows the advance determination of which combinations of agencies should be avoided. It also provides policy makers with relevant information for the design of more efficient innovation promotion policies. Finally, this research uses a new methodology for the evaluation of the interaction that takes place between the different public agencies for the promotion of innovation, thus contributing to policy analysts and academics, who conduct such evaluations, have at their disposal a new tool for analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer González-Blanco & Mercedes Vila-Alonso & Manuel Guisado-González, 2019. "Public Support Agencies for Innovation in Multilevel Governance Systems: Exploring the Existence of Signs of Complementarity and Substitution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5778-:d:277827
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/20/5778/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/20/5778/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bee Yan Aw & Mark J. Roberts & Daniel Yi Xu, 2011. "R&D Investment, Exporting, and Productivity Dynamics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1312-1344, June.
    2. Ballot, Gérard & Fakhfakh, Fathi & Galia, Fabrice & Salter, Ammon, 2015. "The fateful triangle: Complementarities in performance between product, process and organizational innovation in France and the UK," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 217-232.
    3. Lööf, Hans & Heshmati, Almas, 2004. "The Impact of Public Funding on Private R&D investment: New Evidence from a Firm Level Innovation Study," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 6, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, revised 01 Mar 2005.
    4. Schmiedeberg, Claudia, 2008. "Complementarities of innovation activities: An empirical analysis of the German manufacturing sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1492-1503, October.
    5. Simeon Djankov & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "The Regulation of Entry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 117(1), pages 1-37.
    6. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 1995. "Selection corrections for panel data models under conditional mean independence assumptions," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 115-132, July.
    7. Garcia, Abraham & Mohnen, Pierre, 2010. "Impact of government support on R&D and innovation," MERIT Working Papers 2010-034, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    8. Isabel Busom, 2000. "An Empirical Evaluation of The Effects of R&D Subsidies," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 111-148.
    9. Arora, Ashish, 1996. "Testing for complementarities in reduced-form regressions: A note," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 51-55, January.
    10. Wolfgang Keller, 2004. "International Technology Diffusion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 752-782, September.
    11. Ben R. Martin, 2016. "R&D policy instruments -- a critical review of what we do and don’t know," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 157-176, February.
    12. Alexander McKelvie & Johan Wiklund, 2010. "Advancing Firm Growth Research: A Focus on Growth Mode Instead of Growth Rate," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(2), pages 261-288, March.
    13. Blanes, J. Vicente & Busom, Isabel, 2004. "Who participates in R&D subsidy programs?: The case of Spanish manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1459-1476, December.
    14. Katrin Hussinger, 2008. "R&D and subsidies at the firm level: an application of parametric and semiparametric two-step selection models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(6), pages 729-747.
    15. Huergo, Elena & Moreno, Lourdes, 2014. "National or international public funding? Subsidies or loans? Evaluating the innovation impact of R&D support programmes," MPRA Paper 54218, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Emilio Huerta Arribas & Carmen García Olaverri & Lucía Garcés Galdeano, 2016. "El tamaño de las empresas y la calidad del recurso empresarial: ¿causa o efecto?," EKONOMIAZ. Revista vasca de Economía, Gobierno Vasco / Eusko Jaurlaritza / Basque Government, vol. 90(02), pages 30-53.
    17. Aminata SISSOKO, 2011. "R&D Subsidies And Firm-Level Productivity: Evidence From France," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2011002, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 24 Oct 2013.
    18. Dirk Czarnitzki & Cindy Lopes-Bento, 2014. "Innovation Subsidies: Does the Funding Source Matter for Innovation Intensity and Performance? Empirical Evidence from Germany," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(5), pages 380-409, July.
    19. Huergo, Elena & Trenado, Mayte & Ubierna, Andrés, 2016. "The impact of public support on firm propensity to engage in R&D: Spanish experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 113(PB), pages 206-219.
    20. Beck, Mathias & Lopes-Bento, Cindy & Schenker-Wicki, Andrea, 2016. "Radical or incremental: Where does R&D policy hit?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 869-883.
    21. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    22. Jeroen Hinloopen, 1997. "Subsidizing cooperative and noncooperative R&D in duopoly with spillovers," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 151-175, June.
    23. Belderbos, Rene & Carree, Martin & Diederen, Bert & Lokshin, Boris & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2004. "Heterogeneity in R&D cooperation strategies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(8-9), pages 1237-1263, November.
    24. Rogge, Karoline S. & Reichardt, Kristin, 2016. "Policy mixes for sustainability transitions: An extended concept and framework for analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 1620-1635.
    25. George Gelauff & Arjan Lejour & I. Grilo, 2008. "Subsidiarity and economic reform in Europe," CPB Special Publication 73.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    26. Manuel Guisado-González & Jennifer González-Blanco & José Luís Coca-Pérez & Manuel Guisado-Tato, 2018. "Assessing the relationship between R&D subsidy, R&D cooperation and absorptive capacity: an investigation on the manufacturing Spanish case," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(6), pages 1647-1666, December.
    27. Heshmati, Almas & Loof, Hans, 2005. "The Impact of Public Funds on Private R&D Investment: New Evidence from a Firm Level Innovation Study," Discussion Papers 11862, MTT Agrifood Research Finland.
    28. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    29. Huergo, E. & Trenado, Mayte / M. & Ubierna, Andrés / A., 2013. "Impact of low-interest credits on business R&D expenditures: Spanish firms and CDTI loans for R&D projects," MPRA Paper 44221, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    30. Eugenio J. Miravete & José C. Pernías, 2006. "Innovation Complementarity And Scale Of Production," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 1-29, March.
    31. Elena Huergo & Mayte Trenado, 2010. "The Application for and the Awarding of Low-Interest Credits to Finance R&D Projects," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 37(3), pages 237-259, November.
    32. Manuel Guisado-González & Manuel Guisado-Tato & Ángeles Sandoval-Pérez, 2013. "Determinants of innovation performance in Spanish hospitality companies: analysis of the coexistence of innovation strategies," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 580-593, May.
    33. Guerzoni, Marco & Raiteri, Emilio, 2015. "Demand-side vs. supply-side technology policies: Hidden treatment and new empirical evidence on the policy mix," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 726-747.
    34. Athey, Susan. & Stern, Scott, 1969-, 1998. "An empirical framework for testing theories about complementarity in orgaziational design," Working papers WP 4022-98., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    35. Kevin Mulligan & Helena Lenihan & Justin Doran, 2019. "More subsidies, more innovation? Evaluating whether a mix of subsidies from regional, national and EU sources crowds out firm-level innovation," Regional Studies, Regional Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 130-138, January.
    36. Laura Abramovsky & Elisabeth Kremp & Alberto Lopez & Tobias Schmidt & Helen Simpson, 2009. "Understanding co-operative innovative activity: evidence from four European countries," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 243-265.
    37. Laranja, Manuel & Uyarra, Elvira & Flanagan, Kieron, 2008. "Policies for science, technology and innovation: Translating rationales into regional policies in a multi-level setting," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 823-835, June.
    38. George Gelauff & Isabel Grilo & Arjan Lejour (ed.), 2008. "Subsidiarity and Economic Reform in Europe," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-540-77264-4, September.
    39. Jeroen Hinloopen, 2000. "More on subsidizing cooperative and noncooperative R&D in duopoly with spillovers," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 295-308, October.
    40. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2006. "In Search of Complementarity in Innovation Strategy: Internal R& D and External Knowledge Acquisition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(1), pages 68-82, January.
    41. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1990. "The Economics of Modern Manufacturing: Technology, Strategy, and Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 511-528, June.
    42. Kieron Flanagan & Elvira Uyarra, 2016. "Four dangers in innovation policy studies -- and how to avoid them," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 177-188, February.
    43. Arora, Ashish & Gambardella, Alfonso, 1990. "Complementarity and External Linkages: The Strategies of the Large Firms in Biotechnology," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 361-379, June.
    44. Huergo, Elena & Moreno, Lourdes, 2017. "Subsidies or loans? Evaluating the impact of R&D support programmes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1198-1214.
    45. Scott J. Wallsten, 2000. "The Effects of Government-Industry R&D Programs on Private R&D: The Case of the Small Business Innovation Research Program," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 31(1), pages 82-100, Spring.
    46. Jennifer González-Blanco & José Luis Coca-Pérez & Manuel Guisado-González, 2019. "Relations between technological and non-technological innovations in the service sector," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(2), pages 134-153, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jugend, Daniel & Fiorini, Paula De Camargo & Armellini, Fabiano & Ferrari, Aline Gabriela, 2020. "Public support for innovation: A systematic review of the literature and implications for open innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michel Dumont, 2015. "Working Paper 05-15 - Evaluation of federal tax incentives for private R&D in Belgium: An update," Working Papers 1505, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.
    2. Huergo, Elena & Moreno, Lourdes, 2017. "Subsidies or loans? Evaluating the impact of R&D support programmes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1198-1214.
    3. Dumont, Michel, 2017. "Assessing the policy mix of public support to business R&D," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1851-1862.
    4. Gilli, Marianna & Mancinelli, Susanna & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2014. "Innovation complementarity and environmental productivity effects: Reality or delusion? Evidence from the EU," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 56-67.
    5. Marino, Marianna & Lhuillery, Stephane & Parrotta, Pierpaolo & Sala, Davide, 2016. "Additionality or crowding-out? An overall evaluation of public R&D subsidy on private R&D expenditure," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1715-1730.
    6. Bettina Becker, 2013. "The Determinants of R&D Investment: A Survey of the Empirical Research," Discussion Paper Series 2013_09, Department of Economics, Loughborough University, revised Sep 2013.
    7. Sergio Afcha & Jose García-Quevedo, 2016. "The impact of R&D subsidies on R&D employment composition," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(6), pages 955-975.
    8. González, Xulia & Pazó, Consuelo, 2008. "Do public subsidies stimulate private R&D spending?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 371-389, April.
    9. Spyros Arvanitis & Boris Lokshin & Pierre Mohnen & Martin Woerter, 2015. "Impact of External Knowledge Acquisition Strategies on Innovation: A Comparative Study Based on Dutch and Swiss Panel Data," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 46(4), pages 359-382, June.
    10. Tea Petrin & Dragana Radicic, 2023. "Instrument policy mix and firm size: is there complementarity between R&D subsidies and R&D tax credits?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 181-215, February.
    11. Vlasova, Valeriya, 2021. "Industry-science cooperation and public policy instruments utilization in the private sector," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 519-528.
    12. Sancho-Bosch, Diego & Guerrero, Alex J. & Heijs, Joost, 2022. "Technology policy evaluation: The interaction between the financial constraint of firms and level of financial additionality," MPRA Paper 114659, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. José Ángel Zúñiga-Vicente & César Alonso-Borrego & Francisco J. Forcadell & José I. Galán, 2014. "Assessing The Effect Of Public Subsidies On Firm R&D Investment: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 36-67, February.
    14. Liu, Xiaolu & Li, Xiaoyu & Li, Honglin, 2016. "R&D subsidies and business R&D: Evidence from high-tech manufacturing firms in Jiangsu," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-22.
    15. Giovanni Cerulli, 2008. "Modelling and measuring the effects of public subsidies on business R&D: theoretical and econometric issues," CERIS Working Paper 200803, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY.
    16. Caroline Mothe & Uyen T. Nguyen-Thi & Phu Nguyen-Van, 2015. "Assessing complementarity in organizational innovations for technological innovation: the role of knowledge management practices," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(29), pages 3040-3058, June.
    17. Thomas H. W. Ziesemer, 2021. "The Effects of R&D Subsidies and Publicly Performed R&D on Business R&D: A Survey," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 236(1), pages 171-205, March.
    18. Resende, Marcelo & Strube, Eduardo & Zeidan, Rodrigo, 2014. "Complementarity of innovation policies in Brazilian industry: An econometric study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 9-17.
    19. Bianchini, Stefano & Llerena, Patrick & Martino, Roberto, 2019. "The impact of R&D subsidies under different institutional frameworks," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 65-78.
    20. Heijs, Joost & Guerrero, Alex J. & Huergo, Elena, 2020. "Matching methods for impact evaluation of public subsidies to business R&D: Measuring heterogeneous effects," MPRA Paper 103874, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5778-:d:277827. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.