Financial Constraints on Innovative SMEs: Empirical Evidence from the Visegrad Countries

This paper empirically investigates financial constraints experienced by innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the context of Visegrad countries: Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, and Poland. At first, we examine whether innovative (product and process innovation) SMEs seek more external finance than the non-innovative firms and then we examine the likelihood of being successful with a loan application. This study uses the dataset from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS V), which was conducted by the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) during the period of 2012-2014. With respect to firm-level analysis, we find that innovative SMEs are likely to seek external finance to support their innovative ideas but the results are not statistically significant. We also did not find any evidence that innovative SMEs experience more credit constraints as compared to non-innovative firms. However, a country-level analysis suggests that firms in the Slovak Republic and Hungary are more likely to seek external finance for process and product innovation. Further, we find that mature firms, firms having audited financial statements, and risky borrowers are highly likely to apply for external finance while service-oriented firms are less likely to apply for bank finance. Finally, we find that loan application of the experienced borrowers and service firms are more likely to be accepted.