IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orstsc/v10y2025i4p371-387.html

Energizing Change: How Policies and Experience Drive Research and Development

Author

Listed:
  • Nilanjana Dutt

    (Department of Management and Technology and ICRIOS, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy)

  • Colleen Cunningham

    (David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112)

Abstract

Given the significance of firm research and development (R&D) investment in supporting successful technological shifts, this paper asks whether policy incentives can drive firms to invest in R&D. We use data from the U.S. electric utilities industry, a setting in which most state governments have enacted renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) mandating renewable electricity. We examine whether these policies also motivate firms to increase investment in R&D. We find a positive relationship between RPSs and R&D investment but primarily among firms with previous experience generating renewable electricity. Notably, electric utility firms focus their investments on external R&D rather than on internal R&D projects. By highlighting how policy incentives for technological change and firm technological experience work together to stimulate R&D efforts, this research deepens our understanding of technological search.

Suggested Citation

  • Nilanjana Dutt & Colleen Cunningham, 2025. "Energizing Change: How Policies and Experience Drive Research and Development," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(4), pages 371-387, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orstsc:v:10:y:2025:i:4:p:371-387
    DOI: 10.1287/stsc.2024.0196
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2024.0196
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/stsc.2024.0196?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Atul Nerkar & Peter W. Roberts, 2004. "Technological and product‐market experience and the success of new product introductions in the pharmaceutical industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8‐9), pages 779-799, August.
    2. Mary Tripsas & Giovanni Gavetti, 2000. "Capabilities, cognition, and inertia: evidence from digital imaging," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1147-1161, October.
    3. Lori Snyder Bennear, 2007. "Are management-based regulations effective? Evidence from state pollution prevention programs," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 327-348.
    4. Anne Parmigiani, 2007. "Why do firms both make and buy? An investigation of concurrent sourcing," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 285-311, March.
    5. Becker, Randy A., 2005. "Air pollution abatement costs under the Clean Air Act: evidence from the PACE survey," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 144-169, July.
    6. Nathan R. Furr, 2019. "Product Adaptation During New Industry Emergence: The Role of Start-Up Team Preentry Experience," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(5), pages 1076-1096, September.
    7. Richard Schmalensee & Robert N. Stavins, 2025. "Policy Evolution under the Clean Air Act," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Economics of Environment, Climate Change, and Wine Selected Papers of Robert N Stavins Volume 3 (2011–2023), chapter 10, pages 267-298, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Sarah E. Wolfolds & Jordan Siegel, 2019. "Misaccounting for endogeneity: The peril of relying on the Heckman two‐step method without a valid instrument," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 432-462, March.
    9. Anil R. Doshi & Glen W. S. Dowell & Michael W. Toffel, 2013. "How firms respond to mandatory information disclosure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(10), pages 1209-1231, October.
    10. Thomas P. Lyon & Haitao Yin, 2010. "Why Do States Adopt Renewable Portfolio Standards?: An Empirical Investigation," The Energy Journal, , vol. 31(3), pages 133-158, July.
    11. John Eklund & Rahul Kapoor, 2019. "Pursuing the New While Sustaining the Current: Incumbent Strategies and Firm Value During the Nascent Period of Industry Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(2), pages 383-404, March.
    12. Wei Yu & Maria Minniti & Robert Nason, 2019. "Underperformance duration and innovative search: Evidence from the high‐tech manufacturing industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(5), pages 836-861, May.
    13. Christoph Grimpe & Ulrich Kaiser, 2010. "Balancing Internal and External Knowledge Acquisition: The Gains and Pains from R&D Outsourcing," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(8), pages 1483-1509, December.
    14. Fabrizio, Kira R., 2009. "Absorptive capacity and the search for innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 255-267, March.
    15. Kim, Jihwan & Kim, Yeonbae & Flacher, David, 2012. "R&D investment of electricity-generating firms following industry restructuring," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 103-117.
    16. Veugelers, Reinhilde & Cassiman, Bruno, 1999. "Make and buy in innovation strategies: evidence from Belgian manufacturing firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 63-80, January.
    17. Mahka Moeen, 2017. "Entry into Nascent Industries: Disentangling a Firm's Capability Portfolio at the Time of Investment Versus Market Entry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(10), pages 1986-2004, October.
    18. Barry L. Bayus & Rajshree Agarwal, 2007. "The Role of Pre-Entry Experience, Entry Timing, and Product Technology Strategies in Explaining Firm Survival," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(12), pages 1887-1902, December.
    19. Rachelle C. Sampson, 2005. "Experience effects and collaborative returns in R&D alliances," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(11), pages 1009-1031, November.
    20. Anu Wadhwa & Isabel Maria Bodas Freitas & M. B. Sarkar, 2017. "The Paradox of Openness and Value Protection Strategies: Effect of Extramural R&D on Innovative Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(5), pages 873-896, October.
    21. Francisco Polidoro & Curba Morris Lampert & Minyoung Kim, 2022. "External knowledge sourcing, knowledge spillovers, and internal collaboration: The effects of intrafirm linkages on firm‐university co‐authorship linkages," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(13), pages 2742-2776, December.
    22. Hagedoorn, John & Wang, Ning, 2012. "Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1072-1083.
    23. Gautam Ahuja & Riitta Katila, 2001. "Technological acquisitions and the innovation performance of acquiring firms: a longitudinal study," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 197-220, March.
    24. Dosi, Giovanni, 1993. "Technological paradigms and technological trajectories : A suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 102-103, April.
    25. Luca Berchicci & Nilanjana Dutt & Will Mitchell, 2019. "Knowledge Sources and Operational Problems: Less Now, More Later," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(5), pages 1030-1053, September.
    26. Minyuan Zhao, 2006. "Conducting R& D in Countries with Weak Intellectual Property Rights Protection," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(8), pages 1185-1199, August.
    27. Volker H. Hoffmann & Thomas Trautmann & Jens Hamprecht, 2009. "Regulatory Uncertainty: A Reason to Postpone Investments? Not Necessarily," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(7), pages 1227-1253, November.
    28. Nilanjana Dutt & Will Mitchell, 2020. "Searching for knowledge in response to proximate and remote problem sources: Evidence from the U.S. renewable electricity industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(8), pages 1412-1449, August.
    29. repec:bla:jomstd:v:47:y:2010:i:s2:p:1483-1509 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Heather Berry & Aseem Kaul & Narae Lee, 2021. "Follow the smoke: The pollution haven effect on global sourcing," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(13), pages 2420-2450, December.
    31. Eunhee Sohn & Robert Seamans & Daniel B. Sands, 2024. "Technology adoption and innovation: The establishment of airmail and aviation innovation in the United States, 1918–1935," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 3-35, January.
    32. Zhao, Bo & Ziedonis, Rosemarie, 2020. "State governments as financiers of technology startups: Evidence from Michigan's R&D loan program," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(4).
    33. Wesley M. Cohen & Richard R. Nelson & John P. Walsh, 2000. "Protecting Their Intellectual Assets: Appropriability Conditions and Why U.S. Manufacturing Firms Patent (or Not)," NBER Working Papers 7552, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Linus Dahlander & Siobhan O'Mahony & David M. Gann, 2016. "One foot in, one foot out: how does individuals' external search breadth affect innovation outcomes?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 280-302, February.
    35. Laurence Capron & Will Mitchell, 2009. "Selection Capability: How Capability Gaps and Internal Social Frictions Affect Internal and External Strategic Renewal," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 294-312, April.
    36. Pao‐Lien Chen & Charles Williams & Rajshree Agarwal, 2012. "Growing pains: Pre‐entry experience and the challenge of transition to incumbency," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 252-276, March.
    37. Arora, Ashish & Cohen, Wesley & Lee, Honggi & Sebastian, Divya, 2023. "Invention value, inventive capability and the large firm advantage," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    38. repec:aen:journl:2010v31-03-a07 is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Constance E. Helfat & Marvin B. Lieberman, 2002. "The birth of capabilities: market entry and the importance of pre-history," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(4), pages 725-760, August.
    40. Kira R. Fabrizio, 2013. "The Effect of Regulatory Uncertainty on Investment: Evidence from Renewable Energy Generation," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(4), pages 765-798, August.
    41. John Eklund & Rahul Kapoor, 2022. "Mind the Gaps: How Organization Design Shapes the Sourcing of Inventions," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 1319-1339, July.
    42. Severin Borenstein & James Bushnell, 2015. "The US Electricity Industry After 20 Years of Restructuring," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 437-463, August.
    43. Grazia Cecere & Nicoletta Corrocher, 2016. "Stringency of regulation and innovation in waste management: an empirical analysis on EU countries," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7), pages 625-646, October.
    44. Natarajan Balasubramanian, 2011. "New Plant Venture Performance Differences Among Incumbent, Diversifying, and Entrepreneurial Firms: The Impact of Industry Learning Intensity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(3), pages 549-565, March.
    45. Jamasb, Tooraj & Pollitt, Michael, 2008. "Liberalisation and R&D in network industries: The case of the electricity industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6-7), pages 995-1008, July.
    46. Aaron K. Chatterji & Kira R. Fabrizio, 2016. "Does the market for ideas influence the rate and direction of innovative activity? Evidence from the medical device industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 447-465, March.
    47. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 2006. "In Search of Complementarity in Innovation Strategy: Internal R& D and External Knowledge Acquisition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(1), pages 68-82, January.
    48. Amit Nigam & Ruthanne Huising & Brian Golden, 2016. "Explaining the Selection of Routines for Change during Organizational Search," Post-Print hal-02311918, HAL.
    49. Utterback, James M & Abernathy, William J, 1975. "A dynamic model of process and product innovation," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 3(6), pages 639-656, December.
    50. Scott F. Rockart & Nilanjana Dutt, 2015. "The rate and potential of capability development trajectories," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 53-75, January.
    51. Delmas, Magali A. & Montes-Sancho, Maria J., 2011. "U.S. state policies for renewable energy: Context and effectiveness," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2273-2288, May.
    52. Carolyn Fischer, 2010. "Renewable Portfolio Standards: When Do They Lower Energy Prices?," The Energy Journal, , vol. 31(1), pages 101-120, January.
    53. M. Lourdes Sosa, 2009. "Application-Specific R& D Capabilities and the Advantage of Incumbents: Evidence from the Anticancer Drug Market," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(8), pages 1409-1422, August.
    54. Mitchell, Will & Singh, Kulwant, 1992. "Incumbents' use of pre-entry alliances before expansion into new technical subfields of an industry," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 347-372, August.
    55. Samina Karim & Will Mitchell, 2000. "Path‐dependent and path‐breaking change: reconfiguring business resources following acquisitions in the U.S. medical sector, 1978–1995," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1061-1081, October.
    56. Sanya Carley & Lincoln L. Davies & David B. Spence & Nikolaos Zirogiannis, 2019. "Author Correction: Empirical evaluation of the stringency and design of renewable portfolio standards," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 4(2), pages 167-168, February.
    57. Aseem Kaul & Brian Wu, 2016. "A capabilities-based perspective on target selection in acquisitions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1220-1239, July.
    58. Wiser, Ryan & Namovicz, Christopher & Gielecki, Mark & Smith, Robert, 2007. "The Experience with Renewable Portfolio Standards in the United States," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 8-20, May.
    59. Vikas A. Aggarwal & Hart E. Posen & Maciej Workiewicz, 2017. "Adaptive capacity to technological change: A microfoundational approach," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 1212-1231, June.
    60. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    61. Christoph Zott, 2003. "Dynamic capabilities and the emergence of intraindustry differential firm performance: insights from a simulation study," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 97-125, February.
    62. Andrew A. King & Christopher L. Tucci, 2002. "Incumbent Entry into New Market Niches: The Role of Experience and Managerial Choice in the Creation of Dynamic Capabilities," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(2), pages 171-186, February.
    63. repec:aen:journl:2010v31-01-a05 is not listed on IDEAS
    64. Nilanjana Dutt & Megan Lawrence, 2022. "Learning to Manage Breadth: Experience as Repetition and Adaptation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 1300-1318, July.
    65. Rajshree Agarwal & Constance E. Helfat, 2009. "Strategic Renewal of Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 281-293, April.
    66. Carley, Sanya, 2009. "Distributed generation: An empirical analysis of primary motivators," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1648-1659, May.
    67. Bird, Lori & Bolinger, Mark & Gagliano, Troy & Wiser, Ryan & Brown, Matthew & Parsons, Brian, 2005. "Policies and market factors driving wind power development in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 1397-1407, July.
    68. Menz, Fredric C., 2005. "Green electricity policies in the United States: case study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(18), pages 2398-2410, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Nilanjana Dutt & Will Mitchell, 2020. "Searching for knowledge in response to proximate and remote problem sources: Evidence from the U.S. renewable electricity industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(8), pages 1412-1449, August.
    2. Peeters, T.J.G., 2013. "External knowledge search and use in new product development," Other publications TiSEM 300ebb34-b090-4210-b95e-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    3. Bahoo-Torodi, Aliasghar & Fontana, Roberto & Malerba, Franco, 2026. "Pre-entry experience and the heterogeneity in startup performance: Evidence from the nascent artificial intelligence industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    4. Nilanjana Dutt & Megan Lawrence, 2022. "Learning to Manage Breadth: Experience as Repetition and Adaptation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 1300-1318, July.
    5. Luca Berchicci & Nilanjana Dutt & Will Mitchell, 2019. "Knowledge Sources and Operational Problems: Less Now, More Later," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(5), pages 1030-1053, September.
    6. Mahka Moeen & Will Mitchell, 2020. "How do pre‐entrants to the industry incubation stage choose between alliances and acquisitions for technical capabilities and specialized complementary assets?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(8), pages 1450-1489, August.
    7. Mahka Moeen, 2017. "Entry into Nascent Industries: Disentangling a Firm's Capability Portfolio at the Time of Investment Versus Market Entry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(10), pages 1986-2004, October.
    8. Popli, Manish & Raithatha, Mehul, 2025. "Pace of pro-market reforms, performance feedback, and strategic renewal actions of emerging economy firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 60(4).
    9. Jonathan D. Bohlmann & Michael A. Stanko & Jelena Spanjol, 2024. "Incumbent inertia, innovativeness, and performance (dis)advantages: A demand-side learning perspective," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 14(1), pages 122-142, June.
    10. Kavusan, K., 2015. "Essays on capability development through alliances," Other publications TiSEM 8eb736a5-b217-4718-ac13-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. Jaideep Anand & Louis Mulotte & Charlotte R. Ren, 2016. "Does experience imply learning?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1395-1412, July.
    12. Konstantinos Grigoriou & Frank T. Rothaermel, 2017. "Organizing for knowledge generation: internal knowledge networks and the contingent effect of external knowledge sourcing," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 395-414, February.
    13. Tang Wang & Vikas A. Aggarwal & Brian Wu, 2020. "Capability interactions and adaptation to demand‐side change," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(9), pages 1595-1627, September.
    14. Stefan, Ioana & Bengtsson, Lars, 2017. "Unravelling appropriability mechanisms and openness depth effects on firm performance across stages in the innovation process," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 252-260.
    15. Anavir Shermon & Mahka Moeen, 2022. "Zooming in or zooming out: Entrants' product portfolios in the nascent drone industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(11), pages 2217-2252, November.
    16. Ralph Siebert & Zhili Tian, 2020. "Dynamic Mergers Effects on R&D Investments and Drug Development across Research Phases in the Pharmaceutical Industry," CESifo Working Paper Series 8303, CESifo.
    17. Cucculelli, Marco & Le Breton-Miller, Isabelle & Miller, Danny, 2016. "Product innovation, firm renewal and family governance," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 90-104.
    18. Sunasir Dutta & Gurneeta Vasudeva, 2025. "How Demand Shocks “Jumpstart” Technological Ecosystems and Commercialization: Evidence from the Global Electric Vehicle Industry," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(1), pages 1-31, March.
    19. Zhi Cao & Hart E. Posen, 2023. "When Does the Pre-entry Experience of New Entrants Improve Their Performance? A Meta-Analytical Investigation of Critical Moderators," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(2), pages 613-636, March.
    20. Polzin, Friedemann & Egli, Florian & Steffen, Bjarne & Schmidt, Tobias S., 2019. "How do policies mobilize private finance for renewable energy?—A systematic review with an investor perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1249-1268.

    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:inm:orstsc:v:10:y:2025:i:4:p:371-387. 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: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    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.