Financing constraints and the timing of innovations in the German services sector

Abstract

Using newly available data at the firm level, this study provides convincing evidence of the importance of financial constraints in explainingthe timing of innovations in the German services sector. Based on a dynamic model of firms' optimalR & D behavior under financial constraints, we estimate various versions of aneconometric specification of the model with dichotomous innovation data by using a univariateordered probit model. Additionally, a new estimation technique is applied to account forthe scaling of the regressor variables. Our results are consistent with the theoretical view that,because of capital market imperfections, internal finance should be an important determinant ofinnovative activities by private firms not only in the manufacturing sector but as well as inthe services sector.