Navigating Complexity: Firm Age and Multi-Project Participation of SMEs in Horizon 2020

This paper investigates the role of firm age in shaping the funding efficiency of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participating in Horizon 2020, the EU's flagship research and innovation programme. Using a comprehensive dataset covering 1,593 SMEs, the analysis distinguishes between firms engaged in a single project and those involved in multiple projects over the programme's duration. A novel project-level measure - contribution per project - is introduced to assess how effectively firms secure and utilise public research and development funding. The econometric analysis reveals that younger SMEs achieve higher funding efficiency in single-project contexts, reflecting their agility and innovation focus. However, they face significant challenges in multi-project participation due to limited administrative capacity and structural constraints. In contrast, older SMEs perform better in complex, multi-project environments, benefiting from accumulated experience and organisational maturity. These findings underscore the importance of firm age as a determinant of absorptive capacity and funding success, offering critical insights for the design of targeted innovation policies that support SMEs at different stages of development.