Publication

What are the barriers to start-up and scale-up in R&D intensive firms?

Published: 14 November 2018

ERC SOTA No 11

Associated Themes

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  Innovation

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R&D investments enhance knowledge, underpin innovation and facilitate the creation of new firms; this recognised source of economic development has become integral to government policy in many countries. While all firms face difficulties engaging in R&D, new and young firms are most affected facing internal and external factors that inhibit investment or impede the process. A decision to invest in R&D often stalls due to concerns about appropriation and/or limited access to appropriate finance, but once engaged the barriers are found in the nexus of knowledge, networks and skills that underpin dynamic capabilities and the enhancement of a firm’s absorptive capacity. In particular, the emphasis placed in the beginning upon science/technology expertise, at the expense of managerial acumen, undermines a firm’s ability to recognise and exploit commercial opportunities.

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