Title: Economic-innovation efficiency in EU countries: a multi-perception DEA approach

Authors: Georgios Tsaples; Anastasia Blouchoutzi; Jelena J. Stanković; Ivana Marjanović; Milan Marković

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, 54636, Thessaloniki, Greece ' Department of International and European Studies, School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, University of Macedonia, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece ' Faculty of Economics, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia ' Faculty of Economics, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia ' Innovation Centre of the University of Niš, University of Niš, 18000 Niš, Serbia

Abstract: The extended literature on the efficiency of the innovation sector is indicative of the value the academic community as well as policymakers attribute to R&D for promoting economic growth. However, there is a literature gap as regards potential co-relations between the aforementioned parameters. This paper aims at developing a combined indicator with the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and measuring it with different methodological approaches to overcome the limitations already identified in the relevant literature. The DEA results provide evidence that the EU countries are generally poor performers when combining economic performance with knowledge capacity. This paper offers a foundation for further investments in the sector of innovation and future research on developing and utilising more representative indicators that could capture the dynamics of the complicated relationship between economic performance and innovation capacity.

Keywords: economic-innovation efficiency; data envelopment analysis; DEA; exploratory modelling and analysis; EMA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDSS.2024.137235

International Journal of Decision Support Systems, 2024 Vol.5 No.1, pp.52 - 74

Received: 18 Oct 2022
Accepted: 02 Feb 2023
Published online: 06 Mar 2024 *

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