Proceedings of the 16th International Academic Conference, Amsterdam

SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ROMANIAN ENTREPRENEURS THAT INNOVATE AND CARRY OUT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

VICTOR LAVRIC

Abstract:

The transition to the knowledge-based economy that we are facing now, with different degrees of intensity, has an overwhelming impact on the role of R&D and innovation, therefore it is of great interest for public and private actors to adequately assess the right tools for fostering knowledge creation and competitiveness growth within the new context. As SMEs are considered to be one of the main areas in the economy that combines both the need for support/attention and the potential to deliver growth and progress, we have focused in our paper on the investigation of some specific characteristics of the Romanian entrepreneurs and managers that are involved in innovation and R&D activities. The data we use in our analysis was collected from more than one thousand small and medium-sized enterprises during 2014, thus giving us the possibility to address in a coherent and complex way the issues regarding R&D and innovation. This paper contributes not only to a better understanding of the Romanian entrepreneurs that innovate and carry out research and development activities, but also to the elaboration of specific proposals regarding the design and substance of the public projects that aim to support R&D an innovation activities.

Keywords: R&D, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Knowledge-based economy, Romania

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2015.016.043

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