Аннотация:
Purpose – Innovation output around the world is concentrated in very few economies possessing the
requisite skills, knowledge and market acumen to capitalize on emerging technologies. Within the broader
European Union, Central and Eastern Europe countries persistently lag in innovation rankings compared to
their Western Europe counterparts. The existence of cultural barriers to innovation has been offered as an
explanation for the lag, in the sense that perceptions about innovation affect innovation performance. The
purpose of this paper is to provide evidence-based analysis on whether there are divergent perceptions at the
firm level between East and West.
Design/methodology/approach – The focus is on four countries with distinct socioeconomic profiles
(Germany, Poland, Portugal and North Macedonia) for which innovation data of sufficient granularity exist.
Using Probit analysis across the regressors of firm size, sector and innovativeness, a detailed picture of
perceptions of innovation emerges naturally.
Findings – The analysis demonstrates that there is no discernible East-West cultural divide but rather a
palette of shades regarding perceptions of innovation, entrenched in firm-level characteristics. Specifically,
firm size colors perceptions of innovation and such perceptions in turn are moderated by whether a firm is
involved or not in innovation activities.
Originality/value – A better understanding of innovation culture at the firm level is essential to drive
policy interventions aiming to remove barriers to innovation. The results of this study provide sufficient clues
for more refined interventions, both internal (“procedures”) and external (“policies”) to the firm, targeting well defined size segments as well as addressing differently innovative and non-innovative companies