Sources of Business Growth at Different Levels of Innovativeness: Case of Firms in EU Countries.

The purpose of this research is to explore howinvestment in r&d, training of employees, branding and reputation, design and acquisition of technology affect business performance measured in terms of turnover growth in firms operating in eu countries at different levels of innovation performance. This study contributes to the literature by identifying activities that lead to business growth of firms in less innovative countries for which r&d is less relevant. Empirical part of the paper relies on survey data from Flash Eurobarometer 433 (European Commission 2016). Research findings reveal rather complex story behind business growth of firms across eu countries. Impact of r&d on business growth indeed varies across eu countries at different levels of innovativeness. In countries at lower level of innovativeness business growth relies on training of employees, branding and reputation as well as acquisition of new technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]