This paper analyzes the relationship between firms’ innovation and growth measured by sales and labor productivity in Ecuador. The literature on this topic has focused mainly on developed countries. We apply panel data quantile regressions to analyze a sample of 99,872 private limited company and public limited company for the period 2000-2013. Quantile regression allows us to avoid conventional analysis through the study of the average impact for the average company, which can lead to the discovery of phenomena underlying relationships. The results show that firm innovation has a negative on productivity growth. In contrast, there is a positive relationship between innovation and sales growth for firms in some quantiles. These results lead us to establish a series of recommendations aimed at public policy decision-makers. In particular, the support of government entities is important ...

Entrepreneurship and business creation is a priority area for many governments worldwide. Public administration can help to promote entrepreneurship through its decisions and the definition and implementation of public policies. This study analyzes the effect of six dimensions of quality of governance in business creation. We used panel data for a sample of 206 countries over the period of 2004 to 2014, divided into four subsamples generated from the income level of the countries. Furthermore, the study adopted a dual perspective, considering both immediate effects and delayed effects, resulting in two research hypotheses. The results show that for high-income countries, the political stability and absence of violence variable is significant. Adopting two-year lags in the statistical model resulted in a greater number of statistically significant explanatory variables. No homogeneous pat...

The innovation barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises affect their innovative process and influence their company development. In this empirical work, we analyze the cost, market, and knowledge barriers that impede or delay the development of innovative activities and projects in Ecuadorian SMEs. A logit estimation model uses fixed-effects panel data on a sample of 5,205 SMEs during the period from 2009–2014. The results show that small and young companies are more vulnerable to the perceived barriers of cost and knowledge. This is mainly due to high innovation costs and a lack of skilled staff that restricts organizational growth and market competitiveness.