Barriers to innovation in time of economic crisis. An analysis of environmental innovation in France

In this time of climate crisis and claiming for a sustainability transitions, a technological change toward less environmental harmful paths of development appears necessary. Environmental innovations are a fundamental element for this transition. Drivers of such kind of innovations are well-known, few studies, however, have focused on their barriers. Innovation activity, moreover, is strongly influenced by the macroeconomic cycle and, in time of economic crisis its features change relevantly. This study examines the effects of economic crisis on persistence of environmental innovations and their perceived barriers. The empirical analysis is based on firms-level data from three waves of Community Innovation Surveys (CIS) in France, referring to the years 2004-2006, 2006-2008 and 2012-2014. The model examines the effect on environmental innovation activity in 2014 by previous one in 2008, as moderated by the perceived barriers to innovation assessed in the CIS 2006, in order to assess whether environmental innovation persists despite the economic crisis and if the effects of barrier to innovation perceived before the crisis last further.