Abstract

Applying a multilevel treatment model to a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms, we evaluate the joint impact of regional and national funding on firms’ cooperative relationships. A joint provision of public support from different administrative levels is termed a multilevel innovation policy mix. Because of heterogeneity in innovation behaviour and performance, we separately analyse small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms. Our empirical findings show heterogenous results with respect to both firm size and a type of cooperative partners. For SMEs, a multilevel policy mix has a synergistic effect on cooperation with customers. For other cooperative partners, the joint effectiveness depends on the comparison group. Namely, both sources jointly are more effective than regional support in isolation in promoting cooperation with suppliers and universities. For those SMEs that are funded from central government, a multilevel governance is effective in case of cooperation with government agencies and consultants. With regards to large firms, we find a limited evidence on complementarity between regional and national support. Namely, the policy mix is effective when large firms cooperate with other firms, specifically with customers and competitors. In contrast, empirical findings suggest no complementary effects for cooperation with knowledge providers.