Publication details
Demand-side policies under scrutiny: triggering process innovations and innovative sales of European firms
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Peer-reviewed scientific article |
| Magazine / Source | Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13511610.2026.2676831 |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2026.2676831 |
| Keywords | Public procurement for innovation; government-facilitated export support; demand-side policy; innovation system; Europe |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Demand-side innovation policies are increasingly encouraged as complements to R&D subsidies, yet firm-level evidence on how such instruments translate into firms’ both internal upgrading and commercialization activities – especially across heterogeneous European innovation systems – remains limited. This study helps to address this gap by examining the effects of public procurement for innovation (PPI) and government-facilitated export support on firms’ process innovation and innovative sales, comparing European innovation leaders and strong innovators with moderate and emerging innovators. By employing Flash Eurobarometer data from 1,911 firms in 29 European countries, along with treatment effect analysis, we demonstrate that PPI is positively and significantly associated with both process innovation and innovative sales in both analysed groups. Such findings indicate its dual link to upgrading and commercialization. By contrast, we show that government-facilitated export support is only positively associated with innovative sales. This study advances the analysis of the impact of demand-side policy instruments on firms’ innovation-related outcomes, thereby contributing to the current state of the art. The final part of this study offers tailored policy implications for different country groups. |