Descriptive statistics.

Existing innovation literature has assumed that the relationship between firms’ R&D intensity and innovation take place without the interplay of other organizational factors. However, the reality differs, and research to date has shown that other factors affecting firms’ innovation need to be considered. This is important especially in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries, which are highly dependent on both internal and external R&D and are associated with an inability to use R&D resources effectively. This study therefore responds to calls for further analysis, especially within the CEE region, and focuses on the role of two factors affecting SMEs’ innovativeness and their effects, which have been mixed so far. First, we investigate the effects of SMEs’ R&D intensity and capacity utilisation on product innovation. Second, we reveal the moderating role of SMEs’ different ownership structures (ownership concentration; private/public ownership; family/non-family ownership) in the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. We confirm that CEE SMEs’ ownership concentration and private ownership moderate the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. In contrast, we reject our hypothesis expecting that family ownership of SMEs can significantly moderate the relationship between R&D intensity and product innovation. Interestingly, we also show that the relationship between capacity utilisation and innovation is non-linear (inverted U-shaped). This study makes a significant contribution in the form of analysis within the CEE region, whose innovation systems are seen to be weak, and it is therefore necessary to bring new knowledge and recommendations to managers and public policymakers.

现有创新研究文献普遍假设，企业研发（Research and Development, R&D）强度与创新产出之间的关联，不受其他组织因素的交互影响。然而现实情况并非如此，迄今已有研究表明，影响企业创新的其他因素必须纳入考量。这一点在中东欧（Central and Eastern Europe, CEE）国家尤为关键：这些国家高度依赖内外部研发资源，且普遍存在研发资源利用效率低下的问题。因此，本研究响应学界呼吁，针对特定区域尤其是中东欧地区开展进一步分析，并聚焦于两类影响中小企业（Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, SMEs）创新能力的因素及其迄今尚存争议的作用效果。其一，本研究探讨中小企业研发强度与产能利用率对产品创新的影响效应；其二，本研究揭示了中小企业不同产权结构（股权集中度、私有/公有产权、家族/非家族产权）在研发强度与产品创新关联中的调节作用。本研究证实，中东欧中小企业的股权集中度与私有产权，会对研发强度与产品创新之间的关联产生调节作用。与之相反，本研究推翻了原假设——即认为中小企业家族产权可显著调节研发强度与产品创新关联的假设。值得注意的是，本研究还发现产能利用率与创新之间的关联呈非线性特征，即倒U型曲线关系。鉴于中东欧地区的创新系统普遍被认为较为薄弱，本研究通过针对该区域的分析做出了重要贡献，可为企业管理者与公共政策制定者提供全新的理论参考与实践建议。