Abstract
The paper answers two questions: which innovation capabilities most strongly differentiate CEECs and highly developed European economies and to what extent CEECs’ performance within each of the innovation capabilities has changed over a decade. The research method is based on construction of composite indicators describing national performance within five innovation capabilities in two periods: 1998–2000 and 2010–2012 as well as regression analysis in order to test the accuracy of the main findings. The study has allowed to arrive at a conclusion that CEECs have been able to catch up to highly developed European economies with respect to absorptive capacity related to the existence and use of technological infrastructure as well as participation in inward technology transfer in the form of FDI and capital goods imports. There is, however, a lingering performance gap in new knowledge and innovation creation capabilities and R&D effort. Continuation of this trend and lack of considerable improvement also in terms of absorptive capacity related to the quality of human resources might result in CEECs’ permanent inability to catch up to their highly developed European counterparts.
Highlights
Since the early 1990s when Central and East European countries (CEEC) stepped on a path of transition towards internationally integrated market economies the restructuring of their domestic economies began
While absorptive capacity related to human resources development and technological infrastructure have significantly lost in importance as far as differences in national performance are concerned, new knowledge and innovation development, technology transfer and absorptive capacity related to R&D effort remain strong differentiating factors
At the beginning of the analysed period (1998–2000) CEECs were characterised by relatively poor performance within all of the innovation capabilities and the overall predominance of the Western and Northern European countries was clearly visible
Summary
Since the early 1990s when Central and East European countries (CEEC) stepped on a path of transition towards internationally integrated market economies the restructuring of their domestic economies began. The process was aimed at catching up with highly developed countries in terms of economic growth and per capita income levels. It involved considerable changes in their economic structure as well as transformation of their political and social systems. Developed OECD countries rely on their innovation capabilities as the main drivers of economic growth, which is something most of the CEECs countries find hard to duplicate/follow. Innovation capabilities in EU countries: have Central and Eastern European
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