R&D support programs in developing countries: The Turkish experience

In this study, the determinants of private R&D investment are examined at the level of firms in the Turkish manufacturing industry. We focus our attention on the effect of public R&D support programs. Our findings indicate that public R&D support significantly and positively affects private R&D investment. There seems to be even an “acceleration effect” on firm-financed R&D expenditures. Smaller R&D performers benefit more from R&D support and perform more R&D. In addition, technology transfer from abroad and domestic R&D activity show up as complementary processes. Given the scarcity of studies on R&D support in technologically weaker economies, our hope is that the less-developed countries can exploit these findings in constructing socially beneficial technology policies.     

Competition favors the prepared firm: Firms’ R&D responses to competitive market pressure

This paper aims to contribute to the literature on the long-debated relationship between market competition and firm research and development (R&D) by investigating the effect of competitive market pressure on firms’ incentives to invest in R&D. The paper shows that a firm's R&D response to competitive market pressure depends primarily on its level of technological competence or R&D productivity: firms with high levels of technological competence tend to respond aggressively (i.e., exhibit a higher level of R&D efforts) to intensifying competitive market pressure, while firms with low levels of technological competence tend to respond submissively (i.e., exhibit a lower level of R&D efforts). The differential effect of competitive market pressure on firm R&D, conditioned primarily by the level of firms’ technological competence, is empirically supported by unique firm-level data from the World Bank. Furthermore, the role of firm-specific technological competence in conditioning the R&D-competition relationship is more evident and statistically more significant for firms facing consumers whose utility is relatively more elastic to product quality than to price.     

R&D internationalization, R&D collaboration and public knowledge institutions in small economies: Evidence from Finland and the Netherlands

This paper investigates domestic and foreign innovating firms’ determinants of R&D collaboration with domestic universities and public knowledge institutes in Finland and the Netherlands. We put particular emphasis on the impact of incoming academic spillovers on the probability to co-operate with these public R&D institutes.Based on data from Community Innovation Surveys we find that foreign firms in the Netherlands are less likely to co-operate with domestic public knowledge institutions than domestic firms, while in Finland no significant difference can be detected. Another result is that incoming knowledge spillovers are an important determinant for R&D collaboration with domestic public knowledge institutions in both countries. In case of foreign firms in Finland, incoming knowledge spillovers affect the probability to co-operate with public knowledge institutions more positively compared to domestic firms. For the Netherlands no substantial difference could be found in this respect. Further, innovating firms in Finland that require academic or basic knowledge do not co-operate significantly more with public knowledge institutions than those that need applied knowledge. At the same time they are willing to share knowledge with public R&D partners. In the Netherlands innovating firms that require relatively more basic than applied knowledge, increase the probability of co-operation with Dutch universities and public knowledge institutions but there is reluctance to share proprietary knowledge with public R&D partners. For both countries no significant difference between foreign and domestic firms with regard to academic knowledge requirements could be found. This raises the issue whether Finnish innovation policies with a strong focus on R&D co-operation provide incentives for strategic behaviour by domestic public partners to put more emphasis on applied research.     

Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?

The various strands of extant empirical research are inconclusive about the complementarity or substitutability between different innovation mechanisms, such as internal and external R&D. Using a panel sample of 83 incumbent pharmaceutical firms covering the period 1986-2000, our empirical analysis suggests that, instead of a clear-cut answer to the question of whether internal and external R&D are complementary or substitutive innovation activities, there appears to be a contingent relationship between internal and external R&D strategies in shaping a firm's innovative output. The results from our study indicate that the level of in-house R&D investments, which is characterized by decreasing marginal returns, is a contingency variable that critically influences the association between internal and external R&D strategies. In particular, internal R&D and external R&D, through either R&D alliances or R&D acquisitions, are complementary innovation activities at higher levels of in-house R&D investments, whereas at lower levels of in-house R&D efforts, internal and external R&D turn out to be substitutive strategic options.     

The impact of firm participation in R&D programmes on R&D partnerships

R&D subsidies designed to encourage innovation efforts by firms may have intended and unintended effects on the way they organize their innovation process. We present empirical evidence on how R&D subsidies affect firms’ R&D cooperation strategies. In particular, we investigate whether receiving public R&D subsidies affect the probability that a firm will set up an R&D partnership with a public research organization (PRO), or with other firms. Our main findings are: (i) public support significantly increases the chances that a firm will cooperate with a PRO, and (ii) public support also increases the likelihood that a firm will establish private partnerships, but to a smaller extent and only when firms have intangible knowledge assets. These results suggest that public R&D programmes trigger a behavioural change in firms’ R&D partnerships, alleviating barriers to cooperation.     

Does technological diversification promote innovation?: An empirical analysis for European firms

This paper analyses the impact of technological diversity on innovative activity at the firm level. The empirical study on a panel of European R&D active companies shows that both R&D intensity and patents increase with the degree of technological diversification of the firm. Possible explanations are that, on the one hand, a firm that diversifies its technology can receive more spillovers from other (related) technological fields. On the other hand, diversification can reduce the risk from technological investments and it creates incentives to spend more on R&D. The paper provides empirical evidence relevant to the diversity-specialization innovation debate.     

Regional economic integration and R&D investment

We analyze the influence of a regional economic integration agreement (REIA) on a firm's investments in research and development (R&D). A country's entry into a REIA creates two competing influences on the firm's R&D investments. On the one hand, increased competition in product markets after the REIA would induce the firm to invest in internal R&D to improve its distinctive technological competitiveness. On the other hand, better access to sources of inputs in factor markets after the REIA would induce the firm to purchase external R&D because it can outsource technology more easily. Surprisingly, the empirical analysis shows that the REIA's impact on R&D investment is driven primarily by product markets rather than by factor markets. After the REIA, product markets induce firms not only to invest more in internal R&D but also purchase more external R&D. In contrast, after the REIA factor markets have limited influence on internal or external R&D investments.     

A hidden cost of strategic alliances under Schumpeterian dynamics

Recently, proponents of interfirm R&D collaboration have emphasized its benefits. We develop a dynamic model of Schumpeterian competition to examine whether such collaboration is indeed beneficial in the long run. We find that interfirm R&D collaboration is more likely to be a losing strategy when partners form alliances mainly to reduce R&D costs. On the other hand, partners collaborating to seek synergy by accessing each other's complementary assets/capabilities are more likely to be successful. Our study suggests that firms should not use strategic alliances merely to reduce R&D costs in a catch-up situation or to avoid head-on competition with rivals.     

A theory of firm growth: Learning capability, knowledge threshold, and patterns of growth

This paper focuses on the dual role of R&D - knowledge generation and the technological-competence-enhancing effect of R&D - and its implication for the endogenous evolution of R&D productivity and the pattern of firm growth. In particular, based on the evolution of firm-specific R&D productivity or technological competence, this paper derives a simple R&D-based model of firm growth capable of explaining various aspects of firm growth. The model proposes three prototype patterns of firm growth, depending on both firm- and industry-specific characteristics. The former includes firm-specific technological-competence-enhancing capability and the initial level of technological knowledge, and the latter includes industry-specific R&D appropriability. Specifically, firms with low technological-competence-enhancing capability tend to follow a convergent growth pattern in which firm growth gradually declines, while firms with high technological-competence-enhancing capability tend to exhibit either a sustained or a vicious growth pattern depending on the initial size of their technological knowledge stock. An empirical analysis of unique data on firm growth and technological capability provides supportive evidence for the role of technological-competence-enhancing capability in conditioning the pattern of firm growth.     

R&D manpower and technological performance: The impact of demographic and task-related diversity

We assess the impact of R&D manpower diversity on firms’ technological performance. Relying on insights from two theoretical perspectives on team diversity (i.e. social categorization perspective and information decision-making perspective), we hypothesize that both demographic and task-related sources of diversity within firms’ R&D workforce influence technological performance. In addition, we expect that these two dimensions of diversity interact with each other. To test our hypotheses, we rely on survey data from 938 Singaporean firms, providing in-depth information on three sources of demographic diversity (i.e. gender, age, and nationality of R&D employees) and two sources of task-related diversity (i.e. educational and knowledge area background of R&D employees). Our findings point to significant interactions between different sources of R&D manpower diversity. In particular, we identify substitutive relationships between (a) educational and gender diversity, and (b) nationality and knowledge area diversity.     

Human capital, R&D, trade, and long-run productivity. Testing the technological absorption hypothesis for the Portuguese economy, 1960-2001

An important characteristic of the role of foreign trade in the technological catch-up of countries is the complementary nature with technological change, human capital development and local R&D efforts. Using cointegration techniques, evidence based on Portuguese long-run growth suggests that by investing in certain capacity-building activities, namely human capital and local R&D efforts, countries can improve their ability to identify, value, assimilate, and apply (or exploit) knowledge that is developed in other (more developed) countries. Although human capital has a stronger direct impact on total factor productivity than internal R&D efforts, the latter's indirect impact, by means of machinery and equipment imports, is tremendous. Trade also emerges as a powerful direct contributor to long-term total factor productivity, especially in its embodied form, through the acquisition of advanced machinery and equipment from more developed countries. The (smaller) productivity enhancing effect of licenses and FDI seems to be strongly dependent on institutional circumstances, namely those related to human capital investments and incentives.     

What factors determine the mode of overseas R&D by multinationals? Empirical evidence

The large expansion of MNC's overseas R&D is noteworthy. This paper investigates the factors affecting the expansion of support-oriented R&D and knowledge sourcing R&D by using qualitative data which indicate the modes of R&D conducted at a plant site and a laboratory. The empirical results suggest that (1) the export propensity of affiliate firms, relative abundance of human resources for R&D, and accumulated technological knowledge have a positive effect on both the modes of R&D at a plant site and a laboratory, and (2) the stronger enforcement of intellectual property positively affects the expansion of knowledge sourcing R&D. These results show that not only firm-specific but also country-specific factors positively affect the overseas expansion of R&D.     

Schumpeter's legacy: A new perspective on the relationship between firm size and R&D

This paper shows that firm heterogeneity in technological competence, rather than differences in industry-specific characteristics, is the primary condition determining the long-debated relationship between firm size and R&D. Specifically, by utilizing a formal model of firm R&D that shows that profit-maximizing firm R&D intensity is determined jointly by firm-specific technological competence and consumer preference regarding quality and price, this paper suggests that firm size affects firm R&D intensity not directly, but through its influence on firm-specific technological competence. In particular, four predictions are drawn and tested empirically: (1) in general, the size-R&D relationship is less-than-proportional or inverted U-shaped, especially for low-technological-competence firms; (2) however, the common less-than-proportional relationship disappears, and a more-than-proportional relationship becomes increasingly likely, for firms with high levels of technological competence, plausibly due to competence-enhancing, learning economies of scale and/or scope in R&D; (3) firms with larger accumulated R&D experience are, ceteris paribus, less likely to exhibit the common less-than-proportional relationship; (4) among industries, a greater within-industry departure from the proportional size-R&D relationship is expected for industries with seemingly high, rapidly changing technological-opportunity conditions. These predictions, especially pertaining to the conditioning role of technological competence in the size-R&D relationship, are empirically supported by the unique data by the World Bank.     

Under what conditions do firms benefit from the research efforts of other organizations?

Although R&D spillovers play a key role in the battle for technological leadership, it is unclear under what conditions firms build on and benefit from the discoveries of others. The study described here empirically examines this issue. The findings indicate that, depending on technological opportunities, firm size and competitive pressure, the net impact of R&D spillovers on productivity can be either positive or negative. Specifically, we find that although spillover effects are positively associated with the technological opportunities that a firm faces, this relationship is reversed when firm size is considered. Whilst external R&D affects large self-reliant firms negatively, its impact on the productivity of smaller firms (who usually introduce incremental innovations that are characterized by a strong reliance on external technologies) is positive, and even higher than that of their own R&D. We also demonstrate that the economic payoff for firms’ own R&D is lower when they face intense competition. In cases of low-appropriability, however, spillover effects are more positive, allowing firms to increase their performance using the inventions of others.     

Internal and external discipline: The effect of project leadership and government monitoring on the performance of publicly funded R&D consortia

R&D consortia have been regarded as an effective means of promoting innovation. Several R&D consortia obtain public financial support, which may affect their governance structure and performance. This study investigates the governance mechanisms of publicly funded R&D consortia and their effects on innovation performance. Few studies have empirically addressed the effect of project monitoring by the government or the role of project leadership in R&D consortia. Focusing on a major support program for R&D consortia in Japan and using a sample of 251 firms that participated in publicly funded R&D consortia from 2004 to 2009, we empirically confirm that to enhance firms’ innovation performance, both project leadership as internal discipline and government monitoring as external discipline matter. Our results show that project leadership directly improves firms’ innovation performance, while firms’ commitment indirectly affects performance. Project leadership and government monitoring also promote commitment. Furthermore, both factors are complementary: consortia members are more willing to accept a project leader’s coordination under stricter government monitoring.     

Location, collocation and R&D alliances in the European ICT industry

This paper argues that spatial proximity plays a role in determining the propensity of firms to engage in R&D alliances. Drawing from economic geography, network theory and innovation theory, we discuss how prior collocation can affect the propensity to engage in R&D alliances, arguing that alliances can act both as a substitute and as a complement to collocation. Using a novel dataset matching alliances and patent data for the European ICT industry, we show that alliances are complementary to prior collocation (at both national and sub-national regional level) of firm’s R&D labs. In such an intra-industry, oligopolistic scenario, firms strategically use R&D alliances as a means to limit knowledge flows and protect competences, rather than to promote knowledge flows. Furthermore, while a common institutional context is important to promote collaboration, because of the high level of R&D internationalisation as well as the complex social networks within an oligopolistic industry, national institutional contexts are less relevant.     

R&D cooperation and innovation activities of firms—evidence for the German manufacturing industry

The aim of the paper is to investigate in a simultaneous equation framework the role of R&D cooperation in the innovation process—in context with other factors—from two specific aspects. First, analysis focuses on the impact of R&D cooperation on firms’ innovation input and output. Second, analysis is undertaken as to how the number of cooperation partners affects the innovation behaviour of firms. Starting with the discussion of theoretically expected effects of successful R&D cooperation on the innovation activities of firms, the importance of inter-organizational arrangements in R&D is empirically investigated in respect of firms in the German manufacturing industry. The estimation results can be summarized as follows: joint R&D is used to complement internal resources in the innovation process, enhancing the innovation input and output measured by the intensity of in-house R&D or the realization of product innovations. On the input side, the intensity of in-house R&D also stimulates the probability and the number of joint R&D activities with other firms and institutions significantly.     

Innovation in economically developed and lagging European regions: A configurational analysis

Regional innovation in Europe is analyzed with Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, distinguishing between different economic development level categories and between innovation performance groups within each category. Different mechanisms were identified based on varying conjunctions of business and public sector R&D, spatial proximity to external R&D, networks of collaborations, tolerance and inclusion, and human capital. More developed regions present four main mechanisms that lead to regional innovation. Namely, a technologically driven mechanism, a business R&D driven technological mechanism, a mechanism driven primarily by internal R&D competencies and tolerance and inclusion, and a general path to regional innovation, supporting a public R&D driven technological mechanism. When the analysis focuses on moderate innovators, the absence of skilled human capital is added as a relevant condition owing primarily to the lack of technological and technical skills in some regions. For lagging regions, the relevant innovation definition excludes patenting as these regions focus on ‘softer’ innovation aspects than technological innovation. Innovation in lagging regions is primarily driven by public R&D supported by tolerance and inclusion or by networks of collaboration. The latter might work as a condition compensating for -often unfavorable- geography.     

Overseas R&D, knowledge sourcing, and patenting: an empirical study of Japanese R&D investment in the US

This paper purports to study the contribution of R&D at home and abroad to the firm’s inventive activity, using a sample of 137 Japanese multinationals. The empirical analysis relates the number of inventions in Japan and that in the US, as measured by the number of patents issued by the USPTO, to the parent’s R&D, the US subsidiaries’ R&D, the presence of R&D in Europe, the firm’s experience in the US, entry mode, and industry dummies. In addition, to study the subsidiary’s role in sourcing local technological knowledge, we construct indices of local technological strength of the state in which the subsidiary is located. The results, most importantly, indicate that these indices positively contribute to inventions at home and in the US among Type R firms, whose R&D subsidiaries mainly aim to research, suggesting that knowledge sourcing is an important function of these subsidiaries and locational choice is important for this purpose. These results do not hold among Type S firms, whose R&D subsidiaries mainly aim to support local manufacturing and sales activities.