Heterogeneous effects of influencing factors on innovation performance: evidence from European Union countries

This research evaluates and compares the status and trends of regional innovation efficiency (RIE) in 27 EU countries from 2004 to 2017. Regional analysis is further compared to investigate the performance differentials within the EU innovation system. In addition, the factors which influence the innovation efficiency in EU countries by performing the Tobit regression analysis are investigated. The results indicate that the innovation efficiency of EU changes slightly with high-efficiency values. Seven countries are the innovation leaders during the research period, whereas Northern and southern regions have relatively higher innovation efficiencies than other regions. Also, the regression results indicate that economic development, human capital investment and regional openness could enhance innovation efficiency in most EU regions, while industrial structure, urbanisation level and infrastructure level hinder the improvement of EU's innovation efficiency. Based on these results, recommendations are provided for policymakers aiming at stimulating innovation among the EU innovation system.Highlights This research evaluates and compares the status and trends of regional innovation efficiency in 27 EU countries from 2004 to 2017.This paper investigates the factors influencing the innovation efficiency in EU countries by applying the Tobit regression analysis.The evaluation results indicate that the innovation efficiency of EU changes slightly with high-efficiency values.Economic development, human capital investment and regional openness could enhance innovation efficiency in most EU regions.