IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v129y2021icp666-678.html

Understanding the complex relationship between R&D investment and firm growth: A chaos perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Yuan, Xuchuan
  • Nishant, Rohit

Abstract

Time delays and feedback loops often introduce nonlinear, dynamic, chaotic, or disorderly business patterns. In this paper, we argue that a firm’s growth driven by R&D can also exhibit chaotic behavior, through a simple model, where R&D has two distinct impacts on its revenue through the demand-inducing and cost-increasing effects. On the basis of a revenue-based investment strategy with anchoring and adjustment, the firm’s growth dynamics are characterized by a two-dimensional dynamical system under either the cost-plus or profit-maximizing pricing policies. Theoretical and numerical studies are used to show that growth can drive stable, periodic, and even chaotic behaviors. The findings suggest that R&D investment has more complex impacts on growth than previously envisioned, and that managerial decisions about R&D investments can cause fluctuations and erratic growth patterns in nonlinear and complex business environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuan, Xuchuan & Nishant, Rohit, 2021. "Understanding the complex relationship between R&D investment and firm growth: A chaos perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 666-678.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:129:y:2021:i:c:p:666-678
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.043
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296319307192
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.043?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matsuyama, Kiminori, 2001. "Growing through Cycles in an Infinitely Lived Agent Economy," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 220-234, October.
    2. Bee Yan Aw & Mark J. Roberts & Daniel Yi Xu, 2011. "R&D Investment, Exporting, and Productivity Dynamics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1312-1344, June.
    3. Kopel, Michael, 1996. "Periodic and chaotic behaviour of a simple R&D model," Ricerche Economiche, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 235-265, September.
    4. Nick Bloom, 2007. "Uncertainty and the Dynamics of R&D," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 250-255, May.
    5. Robert E. Hoskisson & Michael A. Hitt, 1988. "Strategic control systems and relative r&d investment in large multiproduct firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(6), pages 605-621, November.
    6. Yuan, Xuchuan & Hwarng, H. Brian, 2016. "Stability and chaos in demand-based pricing under social interactions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 253(2), pages 472-488.
    7. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Shaikh, Ibrahim A. & O'Brien, Jonathan Paul & Peters, Lois, 2018. "Inside directors and the underinvestment of financial slack towards R&D-intensity in high-technology firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 192-201.
    9. Gu, Lifeng, 2016. "Product market competition, R&D investment, and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 441-455.
    10. Kevin J. Dooley & Andrew H. Van de Ven, 1999. "Explaining Complex Organizational Dynamics," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(3), pages 358-372, June.
    11. Paul D. Childs & Alexander J. Triantis, 1999. "Dynamic R&D Investment Policies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(10), pages 1359-1377, October.
    12. repec:bla:scandj:v:85:y:1983:i:2:p:147-57 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Wälde, Klaus, 2008. "Corrigendum to "Optimal saving under Poisson uncertainty" [J. Econ. Theory 87 (1999) 194-217]," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 5-9, May.
    14. Saul Lach & Rafael Rob, 1996. "R&D, Investment, and Industry Dynamics," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 217-249, June.
    15. Reinganum, Jennifer F, 1982. "A Dynamic Game of R and D: Patent Protection and Competitive Behavior," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(3), pages 671-688, May.
    16. Shantanu Dutta & Om Narasimhan & Surendra Rajiv, 2005. "Conceptualizing and measuring capabilities: methodology and empirical application," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 277-285, March.
    17. Martin Shubik, 1962. "Incentives, Decentralized Control, the Assignment of Joint Costs and Internal Pricing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 8(3), pages 325-343, April.
    18. Falk, Martin & de Lemos, Francisco Figueira, 2019. "Complementarity of R&D and productivity in SME export behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 157-168.
    19. M. Ishaq Nadiri & Ingmar R. Prucha, 1991. "Comparison and Analysis of Productivity Growth and R&D Investment in the Electrical Machinery Industries of the United States and Japan," NBER Chapters, in: Productivity Growth in Japan and the United States, pages 109-133, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. J. Robert Baum & Stefan Wally, 2003. "Strategic decision speed and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(11), pages 1107-1129, November.
    21. Wu, Y. & Zhang, D.Z., 2007. "Demand fluctuation and chaotic behaviour by interaction between customers and suppliers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 250-259, May.
    22. Mihnea C. Moldoveanu & Robert M. Bauer, 2004. "On the Relationship Between Organizational Complexity and Organizational Structuration," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(1), pages 98-118, February.
    23. Lewis, Craig M. & Tan, Yongxian, 2016. "Debt-equity choices, R&D investment and market timing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(3), pages 599-610.
    24. Jiann-Chyuan Wang & Kuen-Hung Tsai, 2004. "Productivity Growth and R&D Expenditure in Taiwan's Manufacturing Firms," NBER Chapters, in: Growth and Productivity in East Asia, pages 277-296, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Hwarng, H. Brian & Xie, Na, 2008. "Understanding supply chain dynamics: A chaos perspective," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 184(3), pages 1163-1178, February.
    26. Philip Bromiley & Devaki Rau & Yu Zhang, 2017. "Is R&D risky?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 876-891, April.
    27. Philip Anderson, 1999. "Perspective: Complexity Theory and Organization Science," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(3), pages 216-232, June.
    28. Bental, Benjamin & Peled, Dan, 1996. "The Accumulation of Wealth and the Cyclical Generation of New Technologies: A Search Theoretic Approach," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 37(3), pages 687-718, August.
    29. Gerhard Glomm & B. Ravikumar, 1994. "Growth-Inequality Trade-Offs in a Model with Public Sector R&D," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 27(2), pages 484-493, May.
    30. Coldbeck, Beata & Ozkan, Aydin, 2018. "Comparison of adjustment speeds in target research and development and capital investment: What did the financial crisis of 2007 change?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 1-10.
    31. John D. Sterman, 1989. "Modeling Managerial Behavior: Misperceptions of Feedback in a Dynamic Decision Making Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(3), pages 321-339, March.
    32. Whitby, Simon & Parker, David & Tobias, Andrew, 2001. "Non-linear dynamics and duopolistic competition: a R&D model and simulation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 179-191, March.
    33. Julio J. Rotemberg, 2003. "Stochastic Technical Progress, Smooth Trends, and Nearly Distinct Business Cycles," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(5), pages 1543-1559, December.
    34. Walde, Klaus, 2002. "The economic determinants of technology shocks in a real business cycle model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 1-28, November.
    35. Sterman, John D., 1989. "Misperceptions of feedback in dynamic decision making," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 301-335, June.
    36. Kiminori Matsuyama, 1999. "Growing Through Cycles," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(2), pages 335-348, March.
    37. Feichtinger, Gustav & Kopel, Michael, 1993. "Chaos in nonlinear dynamical systems exemplified by an R & D model," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 145-159, July.
    38. Jukka Luoma & Sampsa Ruutu & Adelaide Wilcox King & Henrikki Tikkanen, 2017. "Time delays, competitive interdependence, and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 506-525, March.
    39. Patel, Pankaj C. & Guedes, Maria João & Soares, Nuno & da Conceição Gonçalves, Vítor, 2018. "Strength of the association between R&D volatility and firm growth: The roles of corporate governance and tangible asset volatility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 282-288.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lai, Jieji & Liu, Bin, 2025. "Executives’ institutional reform experience, IP protection and R&D investment: Evidence from China's reform and opening up," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    2. Yuan, Xuchuan & Brian Hwarng, H., 2023. "Examining the dynamics of reactive capacity allocation through a chaos lens," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 308(2), pages 912-928.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Olaf, POSCH & Klaus, WAELDE, 2005. "Natural volatility, welfare and taxation," Discussion Papers (ECON - Département des Sciences Economiques) 2005009, Université catholique de Louvain, Département des Sciences Economiques.
    2. Walde, Klaus & Woitek, Ulrich, 2004. "R&D expenditure in G7 countries and the implications for endogenous fluctuations and growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 91-97, January.
    3. Wang, Xun & Disney, Stephen M. & Wang, Jing, 2014. "Exploring the oscillatory dynamics of a forbidden returns inventory system," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PA), pages 3-12.
    4. Wälde, Klaus, 2003. "Endogenous business cycles and growth," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 12/03, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    5. Liao, Zhong-Wei & Shao, Jinghai, 2024. "Stability and mean growth rate of stochastic Solow model driven by jump–diffusion process," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    6. Klaus Wälde, 2005. "Endogenous Growth Cycles," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 46(3), pages 867-894, August.
    7. Manzoor Ahmad, 2025. "Green R&D Cycles, Innovation Disruptions, and the Interplay of Sustainable Growth and Pollution Emission Trends," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 8781-8806, June.
    8. Ingrid Kubin & Laura Gardini, 2022. "On the significance of borders: the emergence of endogenous dynamics," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 17(1), pages 41-62, January.
    9. Shinagawa, Shunsuke, 2013. "Endogenous fluctuations with procyclical R&D," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 274-280.
    10. Christian Bayer & Klaus Waelde, 2011. "Existence, Uniqueness and Stability of Invariant Distributions in Continuous-Time Stochastic Models," Working Papers 1111, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, revised 21 Jul 2011.
    11. H. Norouzi Nav & M. R. Jahed Motlagh & A. Makui, 2017. "Robust controlling of chaotic behavior in supply chain networks," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 68(6), pages 711-724, June.
    12. Iong, Ka-Kit & Irmen, Andreas, 2021. "The supply of hours worked and fluctuations between growth regimes," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    13. Katsoras, Efthymios & Georgiadis, Patroklos, 2022. "An integrated System Dynamics model for Closed Loop Supply Chains under disaster effects: The case of COVID-19," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    14. Danmo Lin, 2023. "Accelerability vs. Scalability: R&D Investment Under Financial Constraints and Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(7), pages 4078-4107, July.
    15. Whitby, Simon & Parker, David & Tobias, Andrew, 2001. "Non-linear dynamics and duopolistic competition: a R&D model and simulation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 179-191, March.
    16. Wälde, Klaus, 2001. "Capital accumulation in a model of growth and creative destruction," Dresden Discussion Paper Series in Economics 09/01, Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Economics.
    17. Francois, P. & Lloyd-Ellis, H., 2003. "Co-movement, Capital and Contracts : 'Normal' Cycles Through Creative Destruction," Discussion Paper 2003-62, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    18. Taiji Harashima, 2005. "The Pro-cyclical R&D Puzzle: Technology Shocks and Pro-cyclical R&D Expenditure," Macroeconomics 0507012, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Jul 2005.
    19. Steinmetz, Alexander, 2010. "Competition, innovation, and the effect of knowledge accumulation," W.E.P. - Würzburg Economic Papers 81, University of Würzburg, Department of Economics.
    20. Patrick Francois & Huw Lloyd-Ellis, 2005. "I - Q Cycles," Working Paper 1040, Economics Department, Queen's University.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:129:y:2021:i:c:p:666-678. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.