IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0289166.html

How innovation funding leads enterprises to engage in research and development: Small and medium enterprises’ perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Hui Sun
  • Xiaocong Yang
  • Xuan Tang
  • Fei Peng

Abstract

Technology-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driving force behind China’s economic and technological development. However, these enterprises often face challenges in financing their research and development (R&D) activities due to limited financing opportunities. Previous research has primarily focused on the resource attributes of government innovation subsidies, which serve as a crucial funding source for these SMEs. This paper aims to explore the impact of government innovation subsidies on firms from a novel perspective, considering the signaling characteristics of these subsidies. The theoretical foundation of this study lies in the asymmetric information theory and the signaling mechanism through which government subsidies send signals about enterprises. The study uses enterprise data from 2012 to 2019 to investigate the effect of government subsidies on the R&D investment of enterprises listed on the SMEs Board in Chinese stock market. The results reveal a significantly positive effect of government subsidies on the R&D investment of SME Board–listed enterprises and verify the mediating role of financing constraints in this effect. The extent to which government subsidies influence the R&D investment of SME Board–listed enterprises is associated with the enterprises’ ownership characteristics, debt ratios, and times interest earned ratios. This study contributes to the literature on the SMEs Board market and may provide the Chinese government insights into developing industry policies that maximize the effectiveness of government subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Hui Sun & Xiaocong Yang & Xuan Tang & Fei Peng, 2023. "How innovation funding leads enterprises to engage in research and development: Small and medium enterprises’ perspective," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(7), pages 1-20, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0289166
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289166
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0289166
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0289166&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0289166?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. Ma, Qiang & Murshed, Muntasir & Khan, Zeeshan, 2021. "The nexuses between energy investments, technological innovations, emission taxes, and carbon emissions in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    2. Gilchrist, Simon & Himmelberg, Charles P., 1995. "Evidence on the role of cash flow for investment," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 541-572, December.
    3. Beladi, Hamid & Chao, Chi Chur & Hu, May, 2018. "Does tax avoidance behavior affect bank loan contracts for Chinese listed firms?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 104-116.
    4. Stulz, ReneM., 1990. "Managerial discretion and optimal financing policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 3-27, July.
    5. Bronwyn Hall, 2004. "The financing of research and development," Chapters, in: Anthony Bartzokas & Sunil Mani (ed.), Financial Systems, Corporate Investment in Innovation, and Venture Capital, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Carpenter, Robert E. & Guariglia, Alessandra, 2008. "Cash flow, investment, and investment opportunities: New tests using UK panel data," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1894-1906, September.
    7. Saul Lach, 2002. "Do R&D Subsidies Stimulate or Displace Private R&D? Evidence from Israel," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(4), pages 369-390, December.
    8. Steven N. Kaplan & Per Stromberg, 2001. "Venture Capitalists As Principals: Contracting, Screening, and Monitoring," NBER Working Papers 8202, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. MARA FACCIO & RONALD W. MASULIS & JOHN J. McCONNELL, 2006. "Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2597-2635, December.
    10. Peter J. Buckley & Martin J. Carter, 1999. "Managing Cross-Border Complementary Knowledge," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 80-104, March.
    11. Liu, Liyun & Zhao, Zhenzhi & Zhang, Mingming & Zhou, Dequn, 2022. "Green investment efficiency in the Chinese energy sector: Overinvestment or underinvestment?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    12. Yang, Shubo & Jahanger, Atif & Hossain, Mohammad Razib, 2023. "How effective has the low-carbon city pilot policy been as an environmental intervention in curbing pollution? Evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    13. Cohen, Daniel A. & Zarowin, Paul, 2010. "Accrual-based and real earnings management activities around seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 2-19, May.
    14. Aerts, Kris & Schmidt, Tobias, 2008. "Two for the price of one?: Additionality effects of R&D subsidies: A comparison between Flanders and Germany," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 806-822, June.
    15. Himmelberg, Charles P & Petersen, Bruce C, 1994. "R&D and Internal Finance: A Panel Study of Small Firms in High-Tech Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(1), pages 38-51, February.
    16. Mamuneas, Theofanis P. & Ishaq Nadiri, M., 1996. "Public R&D policies and cost behavior of the US manufacturing industries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 57-81, December.
    17. Amir Sufi, 2009. "Bank Lines of Credit in Corporate Finance: An Empirical Analysis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1057-1088, March.
    18. Amir Sufi, 2009. "Bank Lines of Credit in Corporate Finance: An Empirical Analysis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1057-1088.
    19. Guangzhou Hu, Albert, 2001. "Ownership, Government R&D, Private R&D, and Productivity in Chinese Industry," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 136-157, March.
    20. Hossain, Md. Emran & Islam, Md. Sayemul & Bandyopadhyay, Arunava & Awan, Ashar & Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Rej, Soumen, 2022. "Mexico at the crossroads of natural resource dependence and COP26 pledge: Does technological innovation help?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    21. Preethu Rahman & Zhihe Zhang & Mohammad Musa, 2023. "Do technological innovation, foreign investment, trade and human capital have a symmetric effect on economic growth? Novel dynamic ARDL simulation study on Bangladesh," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 1327-1366, April.
    22. Steven N. Kaplan & Per Stromberg, 2001. "Venture Capitals As Principals: Contracting, Screening, and Monitoring," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 426-430, May.
    23. Chen, Jin & Heng, Cheng Suang & Tan, Bernard C.Y. & Lin, Zhijie, 2018. "The distinct signaling effects of R&D subsidy and non-R&D subsidy on IPO performance of IT entrepreneurial firms in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 108-120.
    24. Sihai Li & Huiying Wu & Xianzhong Song, 2017. "Principal–Principal Conflicts and Corporate Philanthropy: Evidence from Chinese Private Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 605-620, March.
    25. Ben S. Bernanke & Kenneth N. Kuttner, 2005. "What Explains the Stock Market's Reaction to Federal Reserve Policy?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(3), pages 1221-1257, June.
    26. Holger Görg & Eric Strobl, 2007. "The Effect of R&D Subsidies on Private R&D," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 74(294), pages 215-234, May.
    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. Dimitropoulos, Panagiotis E., 2025. "Principle-based accounting standards and earnings management in private hotel firms: The impact on government subsidies," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Chengguo Jin & Faizal Baharum & Dayao Li & Md Azree Othuman Mydin & Ernawati Mustafa Kamal, 2025. "Exploration of R&D input and technological innovation output in high-tech industries—based on the perspective of financing channels of China," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, December.
    3. Wenjing Sun & Zheng Wang & Yongxin Huang & Yifan Li, 2024. "Unlocking SME growth: Analyzing the government subsidies’ impact on financing in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(8), pages 1-29, August.
    4. Yi Zhou & Jialun Lyu & Li Li, 2025. "Can digital transformation enhance labor productivity in enterprises: An analysis from the perspective of business process reengineering," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(6), pages 1-21, June.

    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. Anders Gustafsson & Andreas Stephan & Alice Hallman & Nils Karlsson, 2016. "The “sugar rush” from innovation subsidies: a robust political economy perspective," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 43(4), pages 729-756, November.
    2. José Ángel Zúñiga-Vicente & César Alonso-Borrego & Francisco J. Forcadell & José I. Galán, 2014. "Assessing The Effect Of Public Subsidies On Firm R&D Investment: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1), pages 36-67, February.
    3. Z. Jun Lin & Shengqiang Liu & Fangcheng Sun, 2017. "The Impact of Financing Constraints and Agency Costs on Corporate R&D Investment: Evidence from China," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 17(1), pages 3-42, March.
    4. Álvarez-Ayuso, Inmaculada C. & Kao, Chihwa & Romero-Jordán, Desiderio, 2018. "Long run effect of public grants and tax credits on R&D investment: A non-stationary panel data approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 93-104.
    5. Didier, Tatiana & Levine, Ross & Llovet Montanes, Ruth & Schmukler, Sergio L., 2021. "Capital market financing and firm growth," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    6. Ugur, Mehmet & Trushin, Eshref, 2018. "Asymmetric information and heterogeneous effects of R&D subsidies: evidence on R&D investment and employment of R&D personel," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 21943, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
    7. Fabio Bertoni & Massimo G. Colombo & Annalisa Croce, 2010. "The Effect of Venture Capital Financing on the Sensitivity to Cash Flow of Firm's Investments," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 16(4), pages 528-551, September.
    8. Li, Yafei & Dong, Xiaoqi & Sun, Jinping, 2024. "R&D project subsidy V.S. government innovation reward: The effectiveness on corporate innovation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Simona Mateut, 2018. "Subsidies, financial constraints and firm innovative activities in emerging economies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 131-162, January.
    10. Kwangsoo Shin & Minkyung Choy & Chul Lee & Gunno Park, 2019. "Government R&D Subsidy and Additionality of Biotechnology Firms: The Case of the South Korean Biotechnology Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-22, March.
    11. Bernd Ebersberger, 2011. "Public funding for innovation and the exit of firms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 519-543, August.
    12. Huergo, Elena & Trenado, Mayte & Ubierna, Andrés, 2016. "The impact of public support on firm propensity to engage in R&D: Spanish experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 113(PB), pages 206-219.
    13. Albert G.Z. Hu & Deng Yongxu, 2019. "Does government R&D stimulate or crowd out firm R&D spending? Evidence from Chinese manufacturing industries," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 497-518, February.
    14. Thomas H. W. Ziesemer, 2021. "The Effects of R&D Subsidies and Publicly Performed R&D on Business R&D: A Survey," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 236(1), pages 171-205, March.
    15. Takashi Hatakeda, 2012. "R&D Investment Smoothing and Corporate Diversification," Discussion Papers 2012-42, Kobe University, Graduate School of Business Administration.
    16. Roberto Gabriele & Anna Giunta, 2012. "R&D Incentives: The Effectiveness Of A Place-Based Policy," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0169, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    17. Martinsson, Gustav, 2010. "Equity financing and innovation: Is Europe different from the United States?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1215-1224, June.
    18. Andrea Bellucci & Luca Pennacchio & Alberto Zazzaro, 2019. "R&D Subsidies and Firms’ Debt Financing," CSEF Working Papers 527, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    19. Bettina Becker, 2013. "The Determinants of R&D Investment: A Survey of the Empirical Research," Discussion Paper Series 2013_09, Department of Economics, Loughborough University, revised Sep 2013.
    20. Hans B. Christensen & Valeri V. Nikolaev & Regina Wittenberg‐Moerman, 2016. "Accounting Information in Financial Contracting: The Incomplete Contract Theory Perspective," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 54(2), pages 397-435, May.

    More about this item

    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:plo:pone00:0289166. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.