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Access to finance and innovative activity of EU firms: A cluster analysis

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  • Ferrando, Annalisa
  • Lekpek, Senad

Abstract

The way firms finance their investments can potentially explain the heterogeneity of firms in terms of their innovation. We use a novel firm-level survey of the European Investment Bank (EIBIS) which provides information about a wide range of financing sources that firms use to fund their investment activities. The aforementioned survey also reveals a firms' degree of innovativeness. By applying a cluster analysis to group firms using information on their financing decisions, we investigate the link between finance and innovation of EU firms. We identify seven financing clusters to show that the degree of innovativeness (defined in terms of R&D or software investment, R&D and software turnover ratios, and the introduction of new products) increases with the diversification of financial instruments. Firms that use several financing instruments are more likely to invest in R&D and software activities and develop new products compared to firms that use a more limited number of financing instruments.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferrando, Annalisa & Lekpek, Senad, 2018. "Access to finance and innovative activity of EU firms: A cluster analysis," EIB Working Papers 2018/02, European Investment Bank (EIB).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:eibwps:201802
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation; R&D; internal and external finance; cluster analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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