services, which may be provided by many firms. However, despite the prevalence of structured finance instruments in Europe, the …

classes across all sectors and all EU Member States, we identify different innovation profiles based on a firm's R …&D investment and/or innovation activities. We find that "basic" firms - i.e. firms that do not engage in any type of R&D or … innovation - are more common among young SMEs, while innovators - i.e. firms that do R&D and introduce new products, processes or …

, innovation and economic performance at the firm level. We posit that design investments may provide firms with a higher capacity … associated with a non-systematic resort to design, a higher innovation-based performance is coupled with an increasingly more …

innovative activity in Europe: the Innovation Union Scoreboard and the R&D Scoreboard. With the first, we study the determinants …Financial constraints for young and small firms can prevent them from supporting innovation and employment creation. We … of the venture capital/GDP intensity in Europe. With the second, we try to assess the contribution of stock market to R …

' innovation performance. In addition, it specifically analyses whether a firm's size affects the amount spent on design and the … return in terms of innovation output to this activity. In doing so, it partly compensates for the lack of empirical evidence …

The importance of SMEs in Europe's innovation process can be seen in both the academic and the political arena. Adopted … in June 2008, the 'Small Business Act' for Europe reflects the Commission's political will to recognise the central role … development. This kind of policy calls for a more in-depth look into the nature of the SME population in Europe. Several attempts …