Effect of R&D activity on level of innovation of EU countries in 2014 and 2020

Research and development carried out by companies are pivotal for innovative economies of countries, especially in the unpredictable and changing social, economic and political environment. In this context, it is very important to answer, which factors identify the effectiveness of measures in relation to R&D activity and innovativeness in EU countries and how should the degree of development of a country be assessed in terms of R&D activity? The purpose of this article is to verify level of innovativeness and degree of research and development (R&D) activity in EU countries in the years 2014 and 2020 using Hellwig's measure of development. To achieve this, qualitative and quantitative analysis, synthesis, deduction and induction, comparative analysis, and reasoning by analogy of phenomena were employed. The research was conducted on the basis of the expertly selected variables for their relation to R&D activity from a number of sources, such as Eurostat, World Bank Data, etc.. The indicated variables were analysed using statistical methods and then subjected to a linear ordering procedure based on the Hellwig development pattern method. Thanks to the research results, it is possible to indicate areas in which the initiation of activities would have the greatest degree of influence on development of R&D activity, thus influencing the increase in the level of innovativeness of a country. Indicators relating to R&D activity were selected and then used as variables to study the effect of the degree of R&D activity in EU countries in the years 2014 and 2020 on the level of innovativeness of these countries. The conducted research coincides with the results presented in the European Innovation Scoreboard. There is a significant correlation between the development of R&D activities and innovation performance.