Lagging SME participation in European research programs: An empirical assessment of its determinants for the Netherlands

This study investigates the incentives and barriers for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to participate in European research programs. Based on the resource-based and resource-dependence views, we formulate a set of hypotheses about factors that influence the likelihood of this SME participation. These hypotheses are empirically tested using a survey of 247 Dutch SMEs. We find that participation of the investigated SMEs is primarily based on the trade-off they made between the incentive of cost sharing between collaborating partners and the barriers formed by the costs involved in the application for participation in these programs, and whether or not they have prior experience with international collaboration. The results also demonstrate that the incentives for Dutch SMEs to participate in European research programs derived from the resource-dependence view dominate those derived from the resource-based view. Based on these results we give policy recommendations and indicate avenues for further research.