Effects of SME support: Part B

Purpose and goal

Despite the fact that public R&D support often is motivated by ambitions to generate systemic effects, this has rarely been the focus of previous studies. The project aims to validate earlier results regarding the impact of VINNOVA support for a selection of SMEs with broad VINNOVA support. The study included analysis of three types of impacts and effects: Direct effects (the projects’ impact on the company) Spill-over effects (the projects’ and company’s impact on other partners) Effects on the functioning of the system (both the SMEs and their partners)

Expected results and effects

The results show that there is a small percentage of companies that account for a large part of the economic value creation. In the majority of the cases, the SMEs´ collaboration with other partners resulted in economic spill-over effects for their partners. The partners themselves influence other collaborative partners. It is also clear that the SMEs, as well as their partners, have a frequent and extensive influence on the system´s functions. This is especially clear for the system´s knowledge development, direction of search, and entrepreneurial experimentation.

Planned approach and implementation

The project included both quantitative and qualitative studies. This includes both a cross-sectional analysis (88 SMF) and case studies with ten SMEs. In these case studies, an additional 30 interviews have been conducted with different partners in order to validate previously presented effects on both business, collaborative and system level.