Barriers to Internationalisation of Innovative Firms in the EU

The analysis of the relationship between internationalisation and innovation of European firms using CIS micro data for 21 countries shows that these two aspects are interdependent. Innovation activities are positively related to export activities, and exports stimulate further innovation. The removal of barriers to innovation encourages internationalisation efforts of innovative firms, and the elimination of barriers to internationalisation is likely to foster innovation activities of firms. Indeed, firm-specific barriers to innovation and firm-specific barriers to internationalisation are largely congruent. This implies that policies supporting innovation and internationalisation should be combined or designed in such a way that they stimulate innovation and internationalisation at the same time.