SME innovation in Poland – Policy and institutional environment

Innovation of Polish economy as assessed by international institutions (OECD, EU) is below the average for EU-27 although one must note the progress from the group of catching up countries to that of moderate innovators (2010). Summary Innovation Index (SII) for Poland is lower than the average for all the EU member states but its growth rate is higher than the EU average. Monitoring of innovation indexes for Polish economy does not give a clear-cut picture of the progress made as changes follow different directions. Dynamics of innovation outlays is one among positive symptoms. Businesses operating in Poland allocate more and more resources for innovation. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) constitute the core of Polish economy. They represent 99,8% of all economic operators, employ 70,1% of the working population, generate 47,7% of the GDP and become increasingly active in innovation. When it comes to the latter one of its key conditioning factors are innovation policy pursued by the state and institutional environment. That environment consists of the network of training and advisory centres, technology transfer centres, incubators, technological parks and financial instruments that support enterprise and innovation. The main objective of the paper is to study the institutional environment and state policy as fundamental factors that impact the increase in SME innovation in Poland