Do credit constraints always impede innovation? Empirical evidence from Vietnamese SMEs

Abstract

Intrigued by literature findings that credit constrained firms are less likely to be innovative and bearing in mind that the evidence has so far largely been from developed economies, this study ventures to explore the relationship in the case of a developing economy. Focussing on Vietnam, using a biennial survey-based dataset spanning the 2005–2013 period, with around 2,500 SMEs per round, and a mix of econometric strategies, the findings of the study shed a new light in the literature on credit constraints vis-à-vis innovation relationships: credit constraints may not always impede innovation. Implications are discussed.