Transactional dynamics in European R&D networks: an assessment of Eureka

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to verify the impacts of the transaction costs rationale on economic agents’ innovative results when they engage in European R&D networks, supplying both firms and policymakers with empirical support for improved decision making toward economic competitiveness and construction of the European research area. Furthermore, unlike many transaction cost economics assessments, the authors evaluate the existence of transaction costs following a dynamic framework of analysis (instead of using solely ex ante governance choice as a driver of inter-firm“friction” management), offering a novel perspective on these phenomena.