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1 – 10 of over 50000Paulo Maçãs Nunes, Zélia Serrasqueiro, Luis Mendes and Tiago Neves Sequeira
The purpose of this paper is to determine if the relationship between growth and research and development (R&D) intensity is of a different nature in the context of low‐ and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine if the relationship between growth and research and development (R&D) intensity is of a different nature in the context of low‐ and high‐tech Portuguese service small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The System Analysis of Iberian Balance Sheets database is used. Based on the European Union's recommendation, L124/36 (2003/261/CE), the authors select 764 low‐tech and 139 high‐tech Portuguese service SMEs for the period 1999‐2006. As method of analysis, panel data are used.
Findings
A negative relationship between growth and R&D intensity for low‐tech Portuguese service SMEs is identified, whatever the level of R&D intensity. For high‐tech Portuguese service SMEs, a quadratic U‐shaped relationship between growth and R&D intensity is identified. Moreover, the authors find that relationships between growth and determinants are of a special nature in the context of high‐tech Portuguese service SMEs with high levels of R&D intensity.
Practical implications
It is recommended that as far as possible the managers/owners of low‐tech Portuguese service SMEs, and especially high‐tech ones with non‐high levels of R&D intensity, hire qualified human resources and make more continuous investment in R&D. The authors advise managers/owners of high‐tech Portuguese service SMEs with high levels of R&D intensity to establish stable relationships with creditors. Policy‐makers should increase financial support directed, above all, to innovative Portuguese service SMEs.
Originality/value
The paper is pioneering in presenting different relationships between growth and R&D intensity in the context of low‐ and high‐tech service SMEs.
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Kamran Ahmed, John Hillier and Elisabeth Tanusasmita
The purpose of this paper is to assess the financial disclosure vis‐á‐vis economic reality of research and development (R&D) expensed by Australian firms under the pre‐2005…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the financial disclosure vis‐á‐vis economic reality of research and development (R&D) expensed by Australian firms under the pre‐2005 Australian generally accepted accounting principles (A‐GAAP) regime via the lens of market‐to‐book.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors estimated firms' R&D profit rate, measured R&D revenue intensity and modelled the impacts of these and related economic factors, via economic and financial disclosure channels, on market‐to‐book using data for 1988‐2004.
Findings
R&D, on average, was profit neutral and had undetectable impacts on market‐to‐book whether via equity valuation or financial disclosure.
Research limitations/implications
Market‐to‐book's information content is best viewed as conditional on the reference disclosure regime. Australian firms' typically at best minimal R&D profitability is an international anomaly. Data limitations in terms of the generating process and availability mean that R&D's impact on market‐to‐book via financial reporting is not definitively determined.
Practical implications
Restrictive rules on the capitalization of intangible asset‐related expenditures under A‐GAAP apparently did not adversely impact market‐to‐book's economic information. AIFRS's more permissive rule risks compromising market‐to‐book's reliability in such a role.
Originality/value
For Australia, the paper is anticipated to be the first to estimate the profit rate of R&D, measure the intensity of R&D, and model R&D's influence on the market‐to‐book ratio. It develops a framework for the economic and financial reporting impacts of investments on a key indicator of firms' financial standing and contributes to the debate on identifiable intangibles' disclosure.
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The purpose of this paper is to determine what the effects of acquisition are on R&D patterns.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine what the effects of acquisition are on R&D patterns.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper tests whether the actual post‐acquisition R&D intensity of the combined firm deviated from the predicted R&D intensity, where the predicted amount is an asset‐weighted average of pre‐acquisition values.
Findings
The results indicate that the combination of technology sourcing and technological relatedness have strong predictive powers for determining changes in post‐acquisition R&D intensity. Technology sourcing acquisition of unrelated technologies results in an increase in post‐acquisition R&D intensity, as predicted. Acquirers in this situation may be using their acquisition as a platform for research expansion.
Research limitations/implications
The dataset used in this paper was restricted to public acquirers and targets for completeness of financial information. It would be useful to determine the extent to which a technology sourcing acquirer is predicted to enter into an acquisition and also whether technology sourcing can be used as a predictor for the ultimate target company out of a pool of potential targets.
Practical implications
The results can be used to inform managers on a strategic level when research strategy deviates from what the theory would predict. For example, if a company that did a technology sourcing acquisition of an unrelated product subsequently decreased R&D intensity, then rival pharmaceutical firms can ascertain that the acquired research was ultimately determined to be too risky or unviable.
Originality/value
The value in this paper is the unique measurement for technology sourcing.
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Dmitri G. Markovitch and Jonathan O'Brien
Research finds that investors initially under-react to increases in R&D intensity. The phenomenon is commonly viewed as mispricing. We draw on behavioral theory of the firm (BTF…
Abstract
Purpose
Research finds that investors initially under-react to increases in R&D intensity. The phenomenon is commonly viewed as mispricing. We draw on behavioral theory of the firm (BTF) to propose an alternative explanation that increased R&D intensity is often indicative of problemistic search in firms. We empirically explore three contextual factors that may help discriminate between mispricing and problemistic search effects when capital markets frown on increased R&D intensity.
Design/methodology/approach
We use econometric methods to analyze longitudinal data on 4,561 US manufacturing firms.
Findings
We find that market reactions to R&D investments are consistent with the view that managers often engage in R&D-based search to correct anticipated problems. We show that increased R&D intensity is a stronger indicator of diminished expected future performance for firms with greater inertia, including larger firms and high-performing firms. However, greater R&D intensity is less indicative of problemistic search in slack-rich firms.
Originality/value
Whilst the BTF has been used extensively in management research, ours is one of the few studies which link the BTF to stock market phenomena.
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This study aims to explore the strategic impact of R&D and export activity on the diverse dimensions of US manufacturing firms’ performance. It also explores, using a predictive…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the strategic impact of R&D and export activity on the diverse dimensions of US manufacturing firms’ performance. It also explores, using a predictive analytic model, the interactive synergistic effect that R&D and exports have on firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents an innovative two-stage regression-neural network approach. Complementing conventional statistical analysis, the predictive backpropagation neural network explores the relative impact of R&D and exports and their synergistic effect on firm performance.
Findings
This study demonstrates the significant and positive effect of R&D and export strategy/activity on the economic performance of leading US manufacturing firms, particularly on their market-based performance (i.e. sustained growth rate or SGR). Furthermore, this study finds that the synergistic effect of R&D and exports on short-term performance (i.e. return on investment) is positive in high-tech firms but negative in low-tech firms. However, the synergistic effect on SGR is increasingly positive regardless of the level of technology.
Originality/value
In addition to traditional statistical analysis, this study uniquely investigates the relative importance of selected strategic variables, along with R&D and export activity and their differential synergistic effects, for firms’ economic performance in contrasting industry settings (high-tech vs low-tech).
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Orly Carvache-Franco, Glenda Gutiérrez-Candela, Paola Guim-Bustos, Mauricio Carvache-Franco and Wilmer Carvache-Franco
This paper aims to examine the relationship between research and development (R&D) intensity and innovative performance and R&D intensity as a moderating variable in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between research and development (R&D) intensity and innovative performance and R&D intensity as a moderating variable in the relationship between sources of information and innovative performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study of the data collected from national surveys of innovation activities from Ecuador, Peru and Chile where the investigation was carried out. A bivariate probit regression was applied.
Findings
The results of the investigation pinpoint that R&D intensity is positively related to the innovation of products and processes in Ecuador and Peru. However, no relationship was found in Chile. As a moderating variable of the information sources (customers, suppliers and competitors), and the innovation of products and processes, it shows different results in the three countries examined.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the literature with evidence in countries with low rates of investment in R&D in the countries examined, this relationship does not always exist; this relationship is considered to be dependent on the complexity of the knowledge and internal capabilities of the company required to achieve innovation, and this complexity could vary according to the type of manufacturing and technology level of the companies. Thus, in manufacturing companies of less complexity to achieve the necessary knowledge for innovation, low rates of investment in R&D are sufficient for the relationship to exist.
Practical implications
By increasing their R&D intensity, companies acquire technology and develop internal skills and capabilities that boost their innovative potential. Nevertheless, it is not enough to increase R&D intensity to take advantage of external sources of information, it is also necessary to boost the absorptive capacity to assimilate and take advantage of external knowledge.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the scarce evidence that exists, on the literature in developing countries, on the effect of R&D intensity on innovative performance and provides evidence of R&D intensity as a moderating variable of the relationship between sources of information and innovative performance.
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Emmanuel Adu-Ameyaw, Albert Danso, Linda Hickson and Theophilus Lartey
This study provides a large sample comparison of research and development (R&D) spending intensity in private and public firms and the extent to which these firms' unique…
Abstract
Purpose
This study provides a large sample comparison of research and development (R&D) spending intensity in private and public firms and the extent to which these firms' unique characteristics affect their R&D spending rate.
Design/methodology/approach
The study compares both private and public data from UK firms for the period 2006–2016, generating a total matched 232,029 firm-year observations, and applies a probability model technique to our large panel datasets.
Findings
The authors uncover that private firms show lower R&D spending intensity compared to their public counterparts. The authors evidence also shows that privately owned firms in the technological (non-technological) sector display higher (lower) probability of R&D spending intensity. Compared with public firms, the authors further observe that the intensity of private firms' R&D spending increases with higher internal cash flow, leverage and industry information quality. The authors results remain robust to alternative econometric models.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the findings of this study, the authors would like to point out that the use of a single country's data limits the generalisability of our findings. Thus, future studies may also consider extending this study across multiple countries.
Practical implications
A key implication of our study is that private firms are more likely to finance R&D intensity from the internally generated cash flow compared to the public ones. This stems from the fact that private firms are more likely to experience higher costs in raising external finance for innovative activities than public firms. Thus, easy access to funding for private firms is vital for enhancing R&D activities of the private firms.
Originality/value
By combining both private and public firms' datasets, the authors are able to provide new evidence to suggest that the intensity of private firms' R&D spending is dependent on internal cash flow, leverage and the industry information level. In fact, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explores these relationships.
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Sharad C. Asthana and Yinqi Zhang
This paper sets out to test the effects of firms’ and industry's R&D intensity on persistence of abnormal earnings.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to test the effects of firms’ and industry's R&D intensity on persistence of abnormal earnings.
Design/methodology/approach
Ohlson's valuation model is used with pooled regressions along with Fama–Macbeth methodology on yearly regressions and partitioning on Herfindahl index to conduct the tests.
Findings
It was found that firms’ and industries’ R&D intensities are both positively correlated with persistence of abnormal earnings. The evidence suggests that the positive effect on earnings persistence caused by R&D's effectiveness in mitigating competition dominates the negative effect brought by more risk from R&D projects
Practical implications
The fact that the firm's own R&D investment leads to incremental earnings persistence beyond that of the industry suggests the importance of incorporating both industry and firm's R&D intensity in earnings persistence. While industry R&D investment leads to competition mitigation via creation of entry barriers, a firm's own investment in R&D differentiates its products from those of its competitors, and thereby results in further competition mitigation by creating replacement barriers.
Originality/value
Finally, since R&D intensity is correlated with earnings persistence, inclusion of R&D intensity in future earnings persistence studies may lead to better model specification by reducing the problem of correlated omitted variables.
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Qayoom Khachoo and Ruchi Sharma
The study is an attempt to analyze the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on research and development (R&D) behavior of incumbent firms’, both domestic and foreign…
Abstract
Purpose
The study is an attempt to analyze the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on research and development (R&D) behavior of incumbent firms’, both domestic and foreign, operating in Indian manufacturing sector. FDI inflows into the host country escalates the level of competition compelling domestic as well as existing foreign firms to adjust their spending on R&D. The purpose of this paper is to propose that response of domestic and existing foreign firms to the FDI entry vary, with domestic firms increasing their spending on R&D whereas foreign firms reducing it.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a rich firm level data set from Indian manufacturing for the period 2000-2012, the study utilizes Heckman’s two- step estimation strategy to estimate the impact of FDI entry on R&D behavior of incumbents.
Findings
FDI entry significantly increases the tendency of domestic and foreign firms to invest in R&D; however, the impact on R&D intensity for both domestic and foreign firms appears to be minimal.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the existing literature on two fronts. One, unlike other studies, it examines the impact of FDI entry not only on R&D behavior of domestic firms but also on the R&D behavior of existing foreign firms. Second, it addresses the problem of selection bias that has been largely ignored by majority of empirical studies on R&D.
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Manali Chatterjee and Titas Bhattacharjee
This study aims to understand the influence of R&D intensity and ownership concentration on performance of Indian technology SMEs, at the intersection of “value creation”…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand the influence of R&D intensity and ownership concentration on performance of Indian technology SMEs, at the intersection of “value creation” perspective of corporate governance and country cultural context in innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-sectional data of 264 Indian technology SMEs have been employed to probe the impact of ownership and R&D intensity on market performance of the technology SMEs.
Findings
This study does not find support of individual influence of R&D intensity on SME performance. The authors find support for the “value creation” hypothesis of corporate governance in Indian technology SME context. This study finds that interaction of promoter's ownership concentration and R&D intensity has a positive influence on the performance of Indian technology SMEs.
Research limitations/implications
This study has deployed cross-sectional data. Future studies can examine the “value creation” hypothesis based on panel data for a long-run understanding. Ownership can be further segregated into different categories of ownership in future studies.
Practical implications
This study underscores on distinct necessity in the concentrated ownership in the context of Indian technology SMEs. The findings of the study may encourage policymakers to focus on the “value creation” of the technology SMEs than “value protection.”
Originality/value
This study aims to understand the market value of R&D practice of SMEs. The findings of this study establish that R&D intensity individually may not have any significant influence on SME performance. R&D intensity coupled with concentrated ownership can significantly increase SME performance. Thus, this study identifies factors that can help in SME innovation and growth options. Additionally, this study advocates for the fact concentrated ownership in technology SMEs of India by establishing the link with SME performance.
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