Abstract
ABSTRACT Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) drive economic growth especially in developing countries. Nonetheless, it is empirically challenging to identify the key attributes that predict the long-run success of SMEs. We analyse a detailed nationwide innovation survey of 4,075 companies in Korea, as well as their performance metrics, and demystify the key features that predict outperformance in the long horizon. We draw conditional causal inferences for SMEs by utilizing coarsened exact matching. Both the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regularization technique and the elastic net method unveil that, among a variety of factors that include innovative activities, government support, and other external factors in the SME ecosystem, in-house research and development (R&D) are the most important factors for the success of SMEs. Government support in the form of product purchase plans or government-wide acquisition contracts also matters for SME success, but the association is transient and short-lived. Hence, accumulating intangible capital by internalizing R&D activities is of the utmost importance for SME success in the long run.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
