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Corporate R&D and firm efficiency: Evidence from Europe’s top R&D investors

Author

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  • Subal C. Kumbhakar

    () (State University of New York at Binghamton)

  • Raquel Ortega-Argilés

    () (IN+ Centre for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research, Instituto Superior Técnico)

  • Lesley Potters

    () (Utrecht School of Economics)

  • Marco Vivarelli

    () (Università Cattolica, Milano-Piacenza)

  • Peter Voigt

    () (European Commission - JRC)

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of corporate R&D activities on firm performance, measured by labour productivity. To this end, the stochastic frontier technique is used on a unique unbalanced longitudinal dataset on top European R&D investors over the period 2000–2005. The study quantifies technical inefficiency of individual firms. From a policy perspective, the results of this study suggest that – if the aim is to leverage firms’ productivity – emphasis should be put on supporting corporate R&D in high-tech sectors and, to some ex-tent, in medium-tech sectors. On the other hand, corporate R&D in the low-tech sector is found to have a minor effect in explaining productivity. Instead, encouraging investment in fixed assets appears important for the productivity of low-tech industries. Hence, the allocation of support for corporate R&D seems to be as important as its overall increase and an ‘erga omnes’ approach across all sectors appears inappropriate. However, with regard to technical efficiency, R&D intensity is found to be a pivotal factor in explaining firm efficiency. This is true for all industries.

Suggested Citation

  • Subal C. Kumbhakar & Raquel Ortega-Argilés & Lesley Potters & Marco Vivarelli & Peter Voigt, 2010. "Corporate R&D and firm efficiency: Evidence from Europe’s top R&D investors," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation 2010-11, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    • Handle: RePEc:ipt:wpaper:201011
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    Cited by:

    1. Piva, Mariacristina & Tani, Massimiliano & Vivarelli, Marco, 2017. "Labour mobility through business visits as a way to foster productivity," MERIT Working Papers 2017-004, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    2. Maria Angeles Diaz Mayans & Rosario Sánchez, 2012. "Are large innovative firms more efficient?," EcoMod2012 4454, EcoMod.
    3. Montresor, Sandro & Vezzani, Antonio, 2015. "The production function of top R&D investors: Accounting for size and sector heterogeneity with quantile estimations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 381-393.
    4. Piva, Mariacristina & Tani, Massimiliano & Vivarelli, Marco, 2017. "The Productivity Impact of Business Mobility: International Evidence," GLO Discussion Paper Series 14, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Michele Cincera & Claudio Cozza & Alexander Tübke, 2014. "Main drivers for local and global R&D sourcing of European Multinational Enterprises," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 4(2), pages 227-245, December.
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    7. Letizia Montinari & Michael Rochlitz, 2012. "Absorptive Capacity and Efficiency: A Comparative Stochastic Frontier Approach Using Sectoral Data," Working Papers 4/2012, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca, revised Jun 2012.
    8. Subal Kumbhakar & Raquel Ortega-Argilés & Lesley Potters & Marco Vivarelli & Peter Voigt, 2012. "Corporate R&D and firm efficiency: evidence from Europe’s top R&D investors," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 125-140, April.
    9. Paul Wakke & Knut Blind & Florian Ramel, 2016. "The impact of participation within formal standardization on firm performance," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 317-330, June.
    10. Kancs, d’Artis & Siliverstovs, Boriss, 2016. "R&D and non-linear productivity growth," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 634-646.
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    12. Mohnen, Pierre, 2019. "R&D, innovation and productivity," MERIT Working Papers 2019-016, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    13. Zuzana Smeets Kristkova & Cornelis Gardebroek & Michiel van Dijk & Hans van Meijl, 2017. "The impact of R&D on factor-augmenting technical change – an empirical assessment at the sector level," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 385-417, July.
    14. Castellani, Davide & Piva, Mariacristina & Schubert, Torben & Vivarelli, Marco, 2019. "R&D and productivity in the US and the EU: Sectoral specificities and differences in the crisis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 279-291.
    15. Derya Fındık & Aysıt Tansel, 2013. "Intangible investment and Technical efficiency: The case of software-intensive manufacturing firms in Turkey," EY International Congress on Economics I (EYC2013), October 24-25, 2013, Ankara, Turkey 235, Ekonomik Yaklasim Association.
    16. Mabel Pisa & Rosario Sánchez, 2016. "Work Incentive and Productivity in Spain," Prague Economic Papers, University of Economics, Prague, vol. 2016(1), pages 99-111.
    17. Pietro Moncada-Paterno-Castello & Nicola Grassano, 2020. "The EU vs US corporate R&D intensity gap: Investigating key sectors and firms," JRC Working Papers on Corporate R&D and Innovation 2020-02, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
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    21. Derya Findik & Aysit Tansel, 2015. "​ Intangible Investment and Technical Efficiency: The Case of Software-Intensive Manufacturing Firms in Turkey," Working Papers 2015/11, Turkish Economic Association.
    22. Pedro Andres Garzon Delvaux & Heinrich Hockmann & Peter Voigt & Pavel Ciaian & Sergio Gomez y Paloma, 2018. "The impact of private R&D on the performance of food-processing firms: Evidence from Europe, Japan and North America," JRC Working Papers JRC104144, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
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    24. Pietro Moncada-Paterno-Castello & Peter Voigt, 2013. "The effect of innovative SMEs' growth to the structural renewal of the EU economy - A projection to the year 2020 –," JRC Working Papers JRC83400, Joint Research Centre (Seville site).
    25. Rosario Sanchez & Angeles Díaz, 2014. "Innovation, exports and technical efficiency in Spain," EcoMod2014 6783, EcoMod.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate R&D; productivity; technical efficiency; stochastic frontier analysis;

    JEL classification:

    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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