Institutional Voids, Economic Adversity and Inter-firm Cooperation in an Emerging Market: The Mediating Role of Government R&D Support

This paper examines the mediating mechanism of the relationship between institutional voids (IVs) and inter-firm cooperation and the moderating role of economic adversity in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in emerging markets. The hypotheses are tested using time-lagged survey data from 214 SMEs in Ghana. The findings provide support for the hypotheses by showing that: (1) IVs positively influence the use of government research and development (R&D) support; (2) the use of government R&D support mediates the relationship between IVs and inter-firm cooperation; and (3) economic adversity positively moderates the relationship between IVs and the use of government R&D support. The findings contribute to understanding the role of IVs in inter-firm cooperation. The wider implications for theory and practice are examined.