Influence of business support organizations on innovation activity in manufacturing companies in the Masovian Voivodeship in Poland

Research background: The first business support organizations (BSO) appeared in Poland in the 90s of the last century. They were transferred from Western Europe and the United States, where they provided system solutions and played an important role in stimulating innovation activity. However, the latter regions are economically developed, while Poland is playing catch-up. The important question is whether business support organizations will significantly increase the innovative potential of Polish enterprises. Purpose of the article: The purpose of this paper is to probe the impact of business support organizations on innovation activity in Polish industrial companies. It remains to be determined whether enterprises which use BSO services are more likely to engage in innovation activities than enterprises which do not use such services. Methods: To carry out the study, a multi-factor logit regression method was used. In this study, the method allows the determination of the odds ratio for the likely occurrence of innovation activity in companies that used the services of BSOs compared to enterprises that did not do so. The attributes of innovation activity have been singled out in accordance with the international standards of the Oslo methodology. The study was conducted in 2015 for the years 2012–2014 based on a sample of 951 manufacturing companies in the Masovian Voivodeship. Findings & Value added: In the Masovian Voivodeship it is the technological parks and training and consulting centres which have the most advanced degree of influence on the innovation activity of enterprises. The roles of technology incubators, and loan and guarantee funds are also significant. With regard to cooperation on innovation, there is a much better arrangement in sectoral systems, i.e., with suppliers, customers and competitors, than with scientific institutions.