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Economic returns to industrial research

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  • Kafouros, Mario I.
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    Abstract

    This paper investigates the relationship between R&D and corporate performance. The study extends previous research by examining the conditions under which firms benefit from R&D; by incorporating in the analysis the varying costs of R&D inputs; and by employing an opportunity-cost approach that estimates the monetary returns to R&D. The findings indicate that industrial research generates revenues that are significantly higher than the returns that other investments yield. The study also resolves previously conflicting results concerning firm size, and offers new insights on the role of technological opportunities that contradict past studies. Although the potential for innovation is greater in high-tech industries, intense R&D competition prevents technologically dynamic firms from enjoying high returns to R&D. By contrast, the results demonstrate that low-tech firms use R&D successfully as part of their strategies, implying that prior research underestimates the importance of R&D for these firms.

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    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148-2963(07)00271-8
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    Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Business Research.

    Volume (Year): 61 (2008)
    Issue (Month): 8 (August)
    Pages: 868-876

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    Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:61:y:2008:i:8:p:868-876
    Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres

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    1. Rachel Griffith & Stephen Redding & John Van Reenen, 2004. "Mapping the Two Faces of R&D: Productivity Growth in a Panel of OECD Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(4), pages 883-895, November.
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    4. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Returns to Research and Development Expenditures in the Private Sector," NBER Chapters,in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 49-81 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    7. Hall, Bronwyn H. & Mairesse, Jacques, 1995. "Exploring the relationship between R&D and productivity in French manufacturing firms," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 263-293, January.
    8. Richard R. Nelson, 1959. "The Simple Economics of Basic Scientific Research," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67, pages 297-297.
    9. James D. Adams & Adam B. Jaffe, 1996. "Bounding the Effects of R&D: An Investigation Using Matched Establishment-Firm Data," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 27(4), pages 700-721, Winter.
    10. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Issues in Assessing the Contribution of Research and Development to Productivity Growth," NBER Chapters,in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 17-45 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Erik Brynjolfsson & Lorin M. Hitt, 2000. "Beyond Computation: Information Technology, Organizational Transformation and Business Performance," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 23-48, Fall.
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    13. Ariel Pakes & Mark Schankerman, 1984. "The Rate of Obsolescence of Patents, Research Gestation Lags, and the Private Rate of Return to Research Resources," NBER Chapters,in: R&D, Patents, and Productivity, pages 73-88 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Paul Stoneman & Otto Toivanen, 2001. "The Impact of Revised Recommended Accounting Practices on R&D Reporting by UK Firms," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 123-136.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Devins & George Lodorfos & Ioannis Kostopoulos & Don Webber, 2016. "Innovation And Growth In The City Region: Microeconomic Evidence Of Asymmetries," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(02), pages 1650032-01 .
    2. Meyer, John & Subramaniam, Mohan, 2014. "Appropriating innovation's technical value: Examining the influence of exploration," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2860-2866.
    3. Selma Regina Martins Oliveira & Roberto Sbragia, 2015. "Modelling to assess the impact of technological innovation capacity in the performance of high complexity environments," International Journal of Business Performance and Supply Chain Modelling, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 12-35.
    4. Pietro Moncada-Paternò-Castello & Peter Voigt, 2010. "Proceedings of CONCORD 2010: 2nd European Conference on Corporate R&D "An Engine for Growth, a Challenge for European Policy". Academic Forum - Summary Report," JRC Working Papers JRC60863, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    5. Moncada-Paternò-Castello, Pietro & Ciupagea, Constantin & Smith, Keith & Tübke, Alexander & Tubbs, Mike, 2010. "Does Europe perform too little corporate R&D? A comparison of EU and non-EU corporate R&D performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 523-536, May.
    6. Kafouros, Mario I. & Forsans, Nicolas, 2012. "The role of open innovation in emerging economies: Do companies profit from the scientific knowledge of others?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 362-370.
    7. Wang, David Han-Min & Yu, Tiffany Hui-Kuang & Liu, Hong-Quan, 2013. "Heterogeneous effect of high-tech industrial R&D spending on economic growth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 1990-1993.
    8. Chowdhury, Reza H. & Maung, Min, 2012. "Financial market development and the effectiveness of R&D investment: Evidence from developed and emerging countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 258-272.
    9. Lo, Chu-Ping, 2016. "Intellectual property, research intensity, and scale effect," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 2297-2301.
    10. Wang, Chengqi & Kafouros, Mario I., 2009. "What factors determine innovation performance in emerging economies? Evidence from China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 606-616, December.

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