Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/325280 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Citation: 
[Journal:] Intereconomics [ISSN:] 1613-964X [Volume:] 60 [Issue:] 4 [Year:] 2025 [Pages:] 235-242
Publisher: 
Sciendo, Warsaw
Abstract: 
This paper investigates the role of firm age in shaping the funding efficiency of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participating in Horizon 2020, the EU's flagship research and innovation programme. Using a comprehensive dataset covering 1,593 SMEs, the analysis distinguishes between firms engaged in a single project and those involved in multiple projects over the programme's duration. A novel project-level measure - contribution per project - is introduced to assess how effectively firms secure and utilise public research and development funding. The econometric analysis reveals that younger SMEs achieve higher funding efficiency in single-project contexts, reflecting their agility and innovation focus. However, they face significant challenges in multi-project participation due to limited administrative capacity and structural constraints. In contrast, older SMEs perform better in complex, multi-project environments, benefiting from accumulated experience and organisational maturity. These findings underscore the importance of firm age as a determinant of absorptive capacity and funding success, offering critical insights for the design of targeted innovation policies that support SMEs at different stages of development.
JEL: 
O32
L26
O38
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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