Identification of the importance of enterprises’ own funds in the processes of innovation activity funding at the level of Polish regions

The funding sources of innovation activities carried out by enterprises are classified by identifying the following types of funds: own, public, originating from capital-related entities, received from other enterprises outside the financial sector, obtained from the financial sector entities, transferred from transnational and international organizations, as well as other funds not listed above [Oslo Manual 2005]. Among the aforementioned, potential sources covering the outlays on innovation processes, the enterprises’ own funds are of particular importance, as they not only constitute the basis for self-funding of this activity, but also determine the access to many external sources providing funding (e.g. bank loans, aid funds and other funding sources). The purpose of this article is to assess the diversity of Polish 16 regions in terms of the funding level of innovative processes carried out by enterprises from their own funds. The research also covers changes occurring in this respect in the years 2008-2017.