Support of innovation activity in small and medium-sized enterprises in the Greater Poland Voivodeship

Abstract

Motivation: Small and medium-sized enterprises, due to their large number, play an important role in the development of the Polish economy. Therefore, the focus should be on creating the right frameworks for their functioning — they should allow them to develop and stimulate the implementation of innovative solutions. Business support organizations (BSOs) are one of the entities that can facilitate development ant stimulation. The main types of BSOs in Poland are: technological parks and incubators, academic business incubators, centers for technology transfer, business angels networks, local/regional load funds, credit guarantee funds, and training and consulting centers. These entities should contribute to the implementation of new solutions in the surveyed enterprises and improve their competitive position. Aim: The aim of the article is to identify impact of business support organization on the innovation activity in industrial enterprises in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The research hypothesis is the claim that BSOs increase the odds of implementation of new products and process in enterprises, but their impact will be different. The hypothesis will be validated on a sample of 442 small and medium-sized, manufacturing companies, which are located in Greater Poland Voivodeship. To carry out the study a multi-factor logit regression method will be used. Results: The research hypothesis is confirmed — BSOs increase the chances on innovation activity but their influence is different. Most effective are training and consulting centers and financing organizations, but this institution stimulate the implementation of new products and processes on the scale of the enterprise and innovation centers (technology parks, academic business incubators and technology transfer offices) of the country.