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The Enrollment in an R&D Subsidy Program for SMEs: Evidence from Southwest Germany

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Technology Transfer in a Global Economy

Part of the book series: International Studies in Entrepreneurship ((ISEN,volume 28))

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Abstract

The literature on R&D subsidy programs has mainly focused on final R&D outcomes and has largely ignored the processes that operate within subsidy programs. The implementation of programs and allocation of funds might have a profound impact on the final economic outcome though.

We discuss the targeting process of R&D subsidy programs and analyze empirically the Enrolment in a particular R&D promotion program. Companies applying for the program we analyze often seem not to have complete knowledge on their projects and project partners when applying for funds. About one out of five companies does not conduct the project it was granted money for. Dropouts are not random; companies that were planning to cooperate with “high quality” R&D institutions in the scope of the project and those from core cities are more likely not to conduct their projects. In line with our expectations we are also able to show that companies which have cooperated with R&D institutions before are more likely to conduct their projects than those without cooperation experience.

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Correspondence to Niclas Rüffer .

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Rüffer, N., Keese, D., Woywode, M. (2012). The Enrollment in an R&D Subsidy Program for SMEs: Evidence from Southwest Germany. In: Audretsch, D., Lehmann, E., Link, A., Starnecker, A. (eds) Technology Transfer in a Global Economy. International Studies in Entrepreneurship, vol 28. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6102-9_11

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