Les business angels, révélateurs, plus que moteurs, de l’engagement des entreprises dans l’innovation

Whereas the funding of the first years of the life cycle of companies is presented as a key condition for their survival and growth, the attention given to business angels (BA noted below) by academics have been growing steadily during the past years. This article proposes to discuss the extent, which they contribute to innovation from a unique database of 432 French companies financed by one of the members of the network France Angels (French Federation of Business Angels networks) during the period 2004-2011. We compare it to a test group constituted of 2,160 similar companies. We specify an econometric model specifying the determinants of innovation approximated by the share of non-financial intangible assets in total assets explained by the presence or absence of a BA and control variables. The use of the estimation method using a Fixed Effects Vector Decomposition method shows the positive effect of BA on innovation. Elements of explanation of these results are provided from a qualitative survey of BA members of France Angels and from a subset of companies extracted from the population of 432 ones backed by BA. They illustrate how the specific behavior of BA at the time of selection of companies and their attitude during the accompaniment period explains these different trajectories.