The Impact of Venture Capital Funds on Innovative Activities: The Case of European Union Countries
Purpose: The purpose of the article is to assess the extent to which venture capital funds can affect the development of innovative activities in selected European Union countries. This is important from the point of view of the development of a country that strives for rapid economic development by raising the level of innovation. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses the DEA method belonging to the group of non-parametric decision-making methods (DMU), which was used to demonstrate the role of venture capital funds in the development of innovative enterprises. In this study, the DEA methodology was used to create a ranking of EU states (decision-makers) by determining the effectiveness of innovation activities. Efficiency in nonparametric methods is defined as the relation of actual productivity to the greatest possible productivity. Statistical data comes from The Invest Europe Yearbook and covers the years 2010-2015. Findings: Thanks to this method, the degree of effectiveness of individual European Union countries in using venture capital funds to develop innovative activity was measured. It has been confirmed that there is a noticeable difference between EU countries in the use of risk capital. The results confirm the assumption that venture capital funds operate most effectively in the most innovative economies of the EU. Practical Implications: The results of the study may have practical application and serve as an instrument of innovation policy, industrial policy to prevent or quickly detect imperfections in the use of vc in the development of innovation activities of individual countries. Originality/Value: The article indicates the methods and scope of acquiring knowledge on the use of venture capital funds in EU.