Article: Assessing the impact of public support for innovation in an emerging innovation system Journal: International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development (IJTLID) 2017 Vol.9 No.1 pp.42 - 64 Abstract: In developing countries, most public programs supporting innovation are intended to enlarge firms' technological capabilities. Although these programs may induce firms to change their innovative behaviour, their effects have not been evaluated yet. This paper examines the impact of various innovation support programs upon firms' innovation inputs in the context of an emerging innovation system. Following Leuven and Oosterbeek (2008) in order to control for selection bias, we narrow down the comparison group by only taking into account the firms that applied to at least one program but were not accepted for any. Results show that only personal training and technology adoption and management programs contribute to an increase in R&D intensity, while personal training and export promotion programs increase innovation expenditures. These results suggest that in developing countries public support for innovation should be more concerned with competence building rather than with the exploitation of the existing innovation frontiers. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Assessing the impact of public support for innovation in an emerging innovation system

Authors: Juan Fernández-Sastre; Fernando Martín-Mayoral

Addresses: Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), La Pradera E7-174 y Av. Diego de Almagro, Quito, Ecuador ' Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), La Pradera E7-174 y Av. Diego de Almagro, Quito, Ecuador

Abstract: In developing countries, most public programs supporting innovation are intended to enlarge firms' technological capabilities. Although these programs may induce firms to change their innovative behaviour, their effects have not been evaluated yet. This paper examines the impact of various innovation support programs upon firms' innovation inputs in the context of an emerging innovation system. Following Leuven and Oosterbeek (2008) in order to control for selection bias, we narrow down the comparison group by only taking into account the firms that applied to at least one program but were not accepted for any. Results show that only personal training and technology adoption and management programs contribute to an increase in R&D intensity, while personal training and export promotion programs increase innovation expenditures. These results suggest that in developing countries public support for innovation should be more concerned with competence building rather than with the exploitation of the existing innovation frontiers.

Keywords: innovation support programmes; innovation capabilities; emerging innovation systems; impact assessment; public support; developing countries; technology adoption; technology management; R&D intensity; research and development; personal training; export promotion; competence building.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTLID.2017.082755

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 2017 Vol.9 No.1, pp.42 - 64

Received: 22 Mar 2016
Accepted: 21 Apr 2016
Published online: 10 Mar 2017 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article

Title: Assessing the impact of public support for innovation in an emerging innovation system

Keep up-to-date