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INNOVATION CAPACITY BUILDING IN SMES (INNOCAP)

Last registered on March 02, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
INNOVATION CAPACITY BUILDING IN SMES (INNOCAP)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005067
Initial registration date
February 25, 2020

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 02, 2020, 3:46 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Tess Landon
Affiliation
Austrian Research Promotion Agency
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Philipp Aiginger-Evangelisti
PI Affiliation
Austrian Research Promotion Agency
PI Name
Harald Hochreiter
PI Affiliation
Austrian Research Promotion Agency

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-01-22
End date
2024-08-01
Keywords
Firms & Productivity, Other
Additional Keywords
Innovation, Impact, Impact Innovation
JEL code(s)
O36
Secondary IDs
Abstract
For this study, a double blind Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) will be conducted in the funding scheme "Impact Innovation" to test if a set of complementary and easily scalable support measures, specifically innovation management software and online mentoring platform, can increase innovation capacity in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Background:
“Impact Innovation” supports non-technical innovation projects of SMEs in order to improve products and/or services through the systematic use of innovation methodologies with a strong focus on the innovation management of funded projects, of which internal resources and team capacity are highly relevant to the success of the project. A wide range of barriers inhibits SMEs from optimizing external advice and information in adopting proven technologies and better business practices, however there is evidence that SMEs are more likely to develop new and innovative products and services due to their agility and lean decision-making processes, thus SMEs are a suitable candidates.

Many funded projects in Impact Innovation present an immature methodological approach to innovation and half of them present a clear deficit in innovation know-how, pointing towards a need for extra support. Numerous support schemes on national and European level have been implemented to facilitate innovation activities in SMEs, yet there is very limited evidence on whether public support has positive benefits and what forms of support are most effective. The RCT will thus provide insights into the potential our form of support (intervention) will have in fostering successful implementation of innovation methodologies in non-technical innovation projects of SMEs, and ultimately completing the funded innovation project more successfully, in the short term, while observing if there is a lagged effect in overall business growth in the long term (measured some years after project end).

Experiment:
The sample for the RCT will consist of non-technical innovation projects by SMEs funded through Impact Innovation over the course of two years. Impact Innovation will be run as usual, however the the treatment group will additionally receive access to innovation management software and online mentoring software as the intervention. The primary outcome we will observe is the overall success of the funded project evaluated by internal experts (blind to the assignment of the projects).
External Link(s)
Link to the funding program in which this experiment takes place

Registration Citation

Citation
Aiginger-Evangelisti, Philipp, Harald Hochreiter and Tess Landon. 2020. "INNOVATION CAPACITY BUILDING IN SMES (INNOCAP)." AEA RCT Registry. March 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5067-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2020-03-09
Intervention End Date
2021-04-21

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1) Immediate outcome objective: Improve overall project execution (Hypothesis 1)
Measured by: (1) goal achievement variable in final evaluation; (2) delay of project finalization
When: approx. 3 - 6 months after project end and immediately at project end, respectively.

2) Positive effect on innovation methods employed in each project (Hypothesis 2).
Measured by: (1) Evaluation of implementation of innovation methods from project end report by innovation methods experts from external organization (evaluation scheme is to be created)
When: approx. 3 months after project end.

3)Ultimate outcome objective: Improve the project outcomes (products/services) (Hypothesis 3)
Measured by: Higher revenues and number of clients served, increased company growth, and products/services have a faster time to market
When: approx. 4 years after project end (outside of EU project scope)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We are conducting a randomized, double-blind two-arm trial. Our sample participants are SMEs who are funded in the funding program Impact Innovation at the Austrian Research Agency over the next 2 years. In line with the funding decisions in Impact Innovation, our sample will be selected in 14 rounds over 2 years ("trickle sampling"). The number of applicants and funded projects per batch cannot be determined in advance as applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Random allocation of the newly funded projects will take place following each funding decision, and will take place on the firm level. The allocation ratio will be 1:1 – half control, half treatment. The method of allocation will be simple block randomisation - as it ensures a higher likelihood of even trial arms in the context of our sampling - however, the program has been written and the actual allocation will be done by external researchers to ensure no bias enters the randomisation.

All participants are not made aware of the experiment (however, all firms will be made aware that the program is undergoing improvements led by a team of people unrelated to the outcomes of their projects and that there will be a survey or 2 in order to boost participation in these surveys) and the project evaluators, who produce one of our outcome variables, will not know which group their projects are in or not.

The treatment and all related communication will be delivered in form of emails and phone calls from the 2 main PIs (who have no relation to Impact Innovation) with periodic reminders for inactive users. In order to not interfere with the funding program itself, use of both platforms is not mandatory but advised and encouraged.
Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method
Randomization will be done on a computer by external researchers
Randomization Unit
Project level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
minimum of 120 projects/firms
Sample size: planned number of observations
120 projects/firms
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
min. 60 projects/firms control, min. 60 projects/firms treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials