Firm performance over innovation cycle: evidence from a small European economy

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

A Systems View Across Time and Space

Table 3 Factor analysis

Set 1: Initial innovation capabilities, internal resources, and market environment	F 1.1	F 1.2	F 1.3	F 1.4
% of variance explained	25.10	20.46	19.33	14.37
Competent personnel	0.804	0.338	0.112	0.100
Financial resources for R&D&I	0.689	0.438	0.111	0.306
Modern technological equipment	0.688	0.087	0.386	0.341
Demand for R&D&I results	0.186	0.809	0.177	0.286
Cooperation with other firms/institutions when doing R&D&I	0.435	0.713	0.099	0.055
Competition in our business field	0.326	− 0.006	0.828	− 0.061
Interest of foreign partners in cooperation with our firm	− 0.010	0.320	0.797	0.256
Securing IPR	0.288	0.242	0.100	0.881

Set 2: Highest benefits of the support	F 2.1	F 2.2	F 2.3	F 2.4
% of variance explained	23.56	20.44	11.23	9.69
We registered IPR and derived income from these	0.855	0.034	− 0.033	− 0.126
The project enabled higher investment in applied research in the future	0.748	0.128	0.190	0.181
We improved cooperation with partners from public and private sectors	0.053	0.783	− 0.177	0.239
New/innovative products/services improved our competitiveness	0.135	0.662	0.336	− 0.017
We have modern technological equipment now	− 0.454	0.483	0.193	− 0.354
Certifications and accreditations of products/services increased our revenue	0.117	0.003	0.795	0.105
We are cooperating more than before with partners from abroad	0.010	0.435	0.536	0.303
We have cut costs via energy and material savings	− 0.397	0.063	0.497	-0.450
Professional capabilities of our employees increased	− 0.007	0.181	0.219	0.809

Set 3: Future priorities	F 3.1	F 3.2	F 3.3	F 3.4
% of variance explained	55.98	14.46	6.97	5.12
Improving technological equipment for R&D&I	0.863	0.134	0.130	0.222
Increasing R&D&I spending to improve the competitiveness of our firm	0.787	0.284	0.310	0.011
Increasing the share of R&D&I-related income out of total income	0.785	0.064	0.385	0.167
Improving cooperation with domestic firms/institutions in R&D&I	0.747	0.325	0.247	0.037
Improving professional capabilities of our researchers	0.731	0.024	0.298	0.358
Investing in marketing to promote innovative products and services	0.102	0.902	0.206	0.097
Seeking new market opportunities, competing with innovative products/services	0.232	0.839	0.017	0.265
Putting more effort into the registration of IPR	0.310	0.157	0.878	0.100
Participating in international networks of cooperation in R&D&I	0.537	0.125	0.709	0.111
Developing new market-oriented products and services	0.259	0.403	0.136	0.826

Extraction method: principal component analysis. Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalisation