Exploiting a non-mainstream financial scheme to innovate: SMEs in the developing world
研究利用世界银行企业调查数据，分析了非主流金融方案（如非正规信贷、企业集团关联、国有和外资所有权）如何影响撒哈拉以南非洲中小企业的创新活动，发现非正规信贷显著促进创新，而企业集团资源可能抑制创新。
Purpose The study aims to explore the role of non-mainstream financial schemes in supporting innovation within SMEs in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It investigates how informal credit, business group affiliation and foreign and state ownership arrangements influence SMEs’ innovative activities in environments with limited access to formal financial resources. Design/methodology/approach The research utilizes data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys, focusing on 8,466 firms across 11 sub-Saharan African countries from 2011 to 2020. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the impact of various financial sources on SMEs’ innovation outputs, particularly incremental innovations, due to data constraints on radical innovations. Findings The findings reveal that informal credit significantly supports SME innovation, while business group resources can hinder innovative activities by restricting firms to routine tasks. State ownership positively influences innovation, whereas the impact of foreign ownership is inconclusive. These results highlight the critical role of alternative financial mechanisms in the innovation activities of SMEs in resource-limited settings. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the effects of non-mainstream financial schemes on SME innovation in developing countries. It offers new theoretical insights into how SMEs navigate financial constraints to foster innovation and suggests policy implications for improving financial support systems for SMEs in such contexts. The research underscores the importance of contextualizing entrepreneurship studies to better understand the unique challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs in developing regions.