IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wiw/wiwrsa/ersa05p478.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Assessing the Effectiveness of Innovation Grants – Evidence from the Irish Innovation Panel

Author

Listed:
  • Stephen Roper
  • Nola Hewitt-Dundas

Abstract

Innovation grants are a ubiquitous feature of industrial support regimes across the industrial world. Evidence on their effectiveness is less widespread, however, due to a lack of consistent longitudinal or panel data on innovation outcomes and company performance. In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of R&D and innovation grants support in Ireland and Northern Ireland using panel data and a sample selection approach to the modelling of grant impacts. The study is based on the Irish Innovation Panel which provides panel data on the innovation activities of manufacturing firms in Ireland and Northern Ireland over the 1991-2002 period. The use of panel data allows us to investigate the medium to long-term effect of innovation grant support. In other words, we are able to identify whether the receipt of an innovation grant merely increases innovation activity in the short-term or has any lasting effect on either innovation capability or firms’ technological trajectory. The latter outcome is clearly desirable for any region or nation seeking to use innovation grants as a means of boosting long term competitiveness. The use of a sample selection approach allows us to identify separately the ‘selection’ and ‘assistance’ elements of the impact of any innovation grant. In other words, it allows us to control for the positive effects of any targeting of assistance on more innovative or better performing companies and isolate the ‘true’ effect of any innovation grant. To our knowledge this is the first time this approach has been used to assess the impact of innovation grant support although the technique has been used by the authors in a previous analysis of small business assistance. Our results suggest very different time profiles in terms of the benefits from product and process innovation grants suggesting alternative managerial and regional development strategies. Grant support is also found to have strong positive effects on innovation activity even allowing for a wide range of conditioning effects. Our results therefore suggest the continued value of innovation grant support as an element of regions’ industrial support regimes.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Roper & Nola Hewitt-Dundas, 2005. "Assessing the Effectiveness of Innovation Grants – Evidence from the Irish Innovation Panel," ERSA conference papers ersa05p478, European Regional Science Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p478
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www-sre.wu.ac.at/ersa/ersaconfs/ersa05/papers/478.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cefis, Elena & Orsenigo, Luigi, 2001. "The persistence of innovative activities: A cross-countries and cross-sectors comparative analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1139-1158, August.
    2. Crepon, B. & Duguet, E. & Mairesse, J., 1998. "Research Investment, Innovation and Productivity: An Econometric Analysis at the Firm Level," Papiers d'Economie Mathématique et Applications 98.15, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    3. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen, 2001. "Location and network effects on innovation success: evidence for UK, German and Irish manufacturing plants," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 643-661, April.
    4. James Love & Stephen Roper, 1999. "The Determinants of Innovation: R & D, Technology Transfer and Networking Effects," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 15(1), pages 43-64, August.
    5. Brian Ashcroft & Stephen Roper & Stewart Dunlop & James H. Love, 2000. "Industry and location effects on UK plants' innovation propensity," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 34(4), pages 489-502.
    6. Bruno Crepon & Emmanuel Duguet & Jacques Mairesse, 1998. "Research, Innovation And Productivity: An Econometric Analysis At The Firm Level," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 115-158.
    7. Malerba, Franco & Orsenigo, Luigi & Peretto, Pietro, 1997. "Persistence of innovative activities, sectoral patterns of innovation and international technological specialization," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 801-826, October.
    8. Martin, Stephen & Scott, John T., 2000. "The nature of innovation market failure and the design of public support for private innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 437-447, April.
    9. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    10. James H. Love & Stephen Roper, 2001. "articles: Outsourcing in the innovation process: Locational and strategic determinants," Papers in Regional Science, Springer;Regional Science Association International, vol. 80(3), pages 317-336.
    11. Roper, Stephen & Love, James H., 2002. "Innovation and export performance: evidence from the UK and German manufacturing plants," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1087-1102, September.
    12. Oerlemans, L.A.G. & Meeus, M.T.H. & Boekema, F.W.M., 1998. "Do networks matter for innovation? The usefulness of the network approach in analysing innovation," Other publications TiSEM b5b01e96-86f7-4fdf-95c0-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. Leon A.G. Oerlemans & Marius T.H. Meeus & Frans W.M. Boekema, 1998. "Do Networks Matter for Innovation? The usefulness of the economic network approach in analysing innovation," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 89(3), pages 298-309, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stephen Roper & Nola Hewitt-Dundas & James H Love, 2003. "An Ex Ante Evaluation Framework for the Regional Impact of Publicly Supported R&D Projects," ERSA conference papers ersa03p100, European Regional Science Association.
    2. Roper, Stephen & Smallbone, David & Vickers, Ian & North, David & Hewitt-Dundas, Nola, 2002. "Innovation and business performance - a provisional multi-regional analysis," ERSA conference papers ersa02p365, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Roper, Stephen & Hewitt-Dundas, Nola & Love, James H., 2004. "An ex ante evaluation framework for the regional benefits of publicly supported R&D projects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 487-509, April.
    4. Olga Slivko & Bernd Theilen, 2014. "Innovation or imitation? The effect of spillovers and competitive pressure on firms’ R&D strategy choice," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 253-282, July.
    5. Andræs Barge-Gil, 2013. "Open Strategies and Innovation Performance," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(7), pages 585-610, October.
    6. Roper, Stephen & Hewitt-Dundas, Nola, 2015. "Knowledge stocks, knowledge flows and innovation: Evidence from matched patents and innovation panel data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1327-1340.
    7. JUSTIN DORAN & NOIRIN McCARTHY & MARIE O’CONNOR, 2019. "The Importance Of Internal Knowledge Generation And External Knowledge Sourcing For Sme Innovation And Performance: Evidence From Ireland," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(07), pages 1-30, October.
    8. Bettina Peters, 2009. "Persistence of innovation: stylised facts and panel data evidence," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 226-243, April.
    9. Priit Vahter & James H. Love & Stephen Roper, 2014. "Openness and Innovation Performance: Are Small Firms Different?," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(7-8), pages 553-573, November.
    10. Cristiano Antonelli & Francesco Crespi & Giuseppe Scellato, 2018. "Productivity growth persistence: firm strategies, size and system properties," Chapters, in: The Evolutionary Complexity of Endogenous Innovation, chapter 8, pages 176-202, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Cristiano Antonelli & Gianluca Orsatti & Guido Pialli, 2023. "The knowledge-intensive direction of technological change," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 1-27, March.
    12. Juan Máñez & María Rochina-Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis-Llopis & Juan Sanchis-Llopis, 2015. "The determinants of R&D persistence in SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 505-528, March.
    13. Love, James H. & Roper, Stephen & Bryson, John R., 2011. "Openness, knowledge, innovation and growth in UK business services," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1438-1452.
    14. Justin Doran & Declan Jordan & Eoin O'Leary, 2012. "The Effects of National and International Interaction on Innovation: Evidence from the Irish CIS: 2004--06," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(5), pages 371-390, July.
    15. Tavassoli, Sam & Karlsson, Charlie, 2021. "The role of location on complexity of firms’ innovation outcome," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    16. Dirk Crass & Christian Rammer & Birgit Aschhoff, 2019. "Geographical clustering and the effectiveness of public innovation programs," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(6), pages 1784-1815, December.
    17. Matthias Deschryvere, 2014. "R&D, firm growth and the role of innovation persistence: an analysis of Finnish SMEs and large firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 767-785, December.
    18. Roper, Stephen & Du, Jun & Love, James H., 2008. "Modelling the innovation value chain," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6-7), pages 961-977, July.
    19. Stephen Roper, 2001. "Benchmarking Regional Innovation: A Comparison of Bavaria, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland," ERSA conference papers ersa01p39, European Regional Science Association.
    20. Antonelli Cristiano & Crespi, Francesco & Scellato, Giuseppe, 2013. "Path Dependent Patterns of Persistence in Productivity Growth," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201310, University of Turin.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa05p478. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Gunther Maier (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ersa.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.