O30 - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights: GeneralReturn

Innovation activities at firm-level are often significantly influenced by factors that determine the outcome of the innovation process. The primary aim of this paper is to study and empirically verify the role of several determinants that affect company innovations in the European Union. The dataset for the analysis comes from Flash Eurobarometer 394 survey carried out in early 2014 and covers issues related to innovation activities, commercialization of innovation and also public support. We summarize the answers on selected questions from the survey by country, and subsequently based on the dataset, we perform regression analysis. In line with our primary assumptions, our results suggest that R&D activities on firm-level and their support represent the key factors substantially responsible for innovations. The work emphasizes the importance of firm characteristics and substantial differences between different types of innovation. Public sector support of innovation is also crucial.