技术董事、研发投入与可持续增长

文章基于“特征——行为——经济后果”的研究范式,以2008-2015年中国披露了研发费用的上市公司为研究样本,采用中介变量方法对技术董事通过影响企业研发投入而作用于企业可持续增长的情况进行研究,并量化了这种中介作用的大小。研究结果显示：（1）技术董事对企业可持续增长的实现程度具有显著的正向影响;（2）技术董事对企业研发投入具有显著的正向影响;（3）技术董事对企业可持续增长的促进作用有一部分是通过研发投入实现的,企业研发投入是技术董事与企业可持续增长之间的部分中介变量。本文的研究对构建支持企业可持续发展的董事会治理结构具有重要启示,也为技术董事的创新驱动效应提供了经验证据。     

Picking cherries or lemons: A unified theory of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions

This article provides a theoretical framework that enhances understanding of empirical evidence suggesting that international mergers and acquisitions, a key source of foreign direct investment, seemingly target in‐country firms that are at the extremes of the productivity spectrum—either high‐productivity firms, so‐called cherries, or low‐productivity firms, the “lemons.” The framework demonstrates that foreign firms with intermediate inputs seek high‐productivity domestic firms, while foreign firms with managerial expertise seek low‐productivity domestic firms. We also show that because of the difference in available outside options, high‐productivity domestic firms can demand a significantly higher portion of profits in the partnership than low‐productivity domestic firms.     

A model of demand,productivity and foreign location decision among Taiwanese firms

We develop a theoretical framework to examine the relative importance of firm demand and productivity in firm decisions to export and where to locate foreign direct investments. The model shows that the equilibrium firm decision depends on product technology, consumer preference for product quality, fixed investment costs of establishing a foreign subsidiary, transportation costs and relative wages. Our empirical results confirm the predictions of the theoretical model. Firm-level demand and productivity components are important in explaining the decision to participate in foreign markets with their relative importance depending on the firm's organizational form (exports versus FDI) and the destination of the investments. In general, FDI firms are more productive than exporting firms regardless of FDI destinations. FDI firms also have a higher demand component than exporters and this demand component is stronger than productivity. Finally, among FDI firms, while those with a high demand index and productivity have a significantly higher propensity to invest in high-income countries, firm productivity is the sole determinant of firms undertaking FDI in low-income countries.     

Effects of board characteristics on post-acquisition performance: A study of cross-border acquisitions by firms in the manufacturing sector

Our study examines how acquiring firm board characteristics influence the performance of cross-border merger and acquisitions (CBMAs). It is based on a sample of 250 large transactions in the manufacturing sector undertaken by U.S. firms in 33 countries between 1991 and 2006. Our findings reveal that acquiring firms having a larger board and outside directors with greater influence exhibit superior post-acquisition shareholder value creation in CBMAs. In addition, our results indicate that acquiring firms with more dominant CEOs perform better in such acquisitions. From the standpoint of firms engaged in CBMAs, our findings suggest that they stand to benefit from having a larger board and influential outside directors who can diligently monitor and advise top management in undertaking CBMAs. Finally, acquiring firms need to recognize that the complexities and challenges generally associated with CBMAs may require dominant CEOs who can provide clear and unambiguous leadership during the pre- and post- acquisition process.     

Understanding cross‐border mergers and acquisitions of African firms: The role of dynamic capabilities in enabling competitiveness amidst contextual constraints

This article builds on existing international business literature that examines the drivers of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) within emerging and developing economy contexts, theoretically exploring how dynamic capabilities (DCs) are connected to these drivers, and how African emerging multinational enterprises (EMNEs) can pursue them to achieve competitiveness. The article's contribution is the development of a DC framework and testable propositions for African EMNEs' cross‐border M&As. The theoretical framework shows the division of DC dimensions—sensing, seizing, and transforming—and establishes explanations for their linkage with institutional and resource drivers for African EMNEs' cross‐border M&A competitiveness. In addition, the article outlines managerial implications to this effect. Overall, the article contributes to the emerging literature on the international expansion of African EMNEs through cross‐border M&As by underscoring the role of DCs.     

Innovation,productivity and foreign direct investment-induced R&D spillovers

This article examines the effect of foreign direct investment on innovation and productivity in the host and home countries. I investigate how the flows of knowledge transmitted through FDI affect the production of knowledge in both source and recipient countries, as well as how these flows affect productivity. Using patent citations within FDI as the measure of the degree of ‘access’ that one nation gains to the R&D knowledge of another, and new patents as the measure of innovation, results reveal that there are large differences in the way FDI affects innovation and productivity between countries that are technological leaders, and technological followers. Both inward and outward FDI are found to have a strong positive effect on domestic innovation and productivity in countries that are technological followers. For technological leaders, outward FDI is highly conducive to increased domestic innovation, while inward FDI seems to increase competition between domestic and foreign firms, making it more difficult to come up with new viable ideas. As for domestic productivity, inward FDI is highly beneficial for technological leaders, while outward FDI does not have a significant effect. I conclude that technological followers have much to gain from FDI-induced R&D spillovers, and therefore governments in these countries will find it worthwhile to attract foreign multinationals, while those in the more technologically advanced economies need to weigh the costs and benefits of FDI carefully.     

Country Relational Distance,Organizational Power and R&D Managers: Understanding Environmental Challenges for Foreign R&D in China

This study examines the challenges of foreign research and development (R&D) in China, based on interviews with 32 senior R&D managers. It confirms the findings from previous research that many barriers still exist in China for foreign R&D, and such barriers include institutional environment, infrastructure and labour management. Among the three categories, issues related labour management, such as increasing labour cost and mobility, lack of experience and creativity and cultural differences among the research staff, prove to be most challenging for management, while China's institutions and infrastructure do not seem to pose big problems for foreign companies. This study also finds that responses from R&D managers are not consistent, and the differences could be largely explained by three types of factors: relational distance between the parent country and China, the strength and experience of foreign companies, and the manager's personal experience and closeness with China. Further research is needed to explore these issues due to the small sample size of this study.     

Drivers of R&D investment: The interaction of behavioral theory and managerial incentives

This research explores the interaction of behavioral theory and agency theory, investigating their joint effects on firm-level R&D investment. Based on the logic of organizational routines driving R&D investment, we rely on the effects of organizational slack, performance relative to aspirations and distance from bankruptcy as the foundation for our research model. We argue that managerial incentives moderate the relationships between these behavioral theory variables and R&D investment, albeit in contrasting directions. Specifically, we hypothesize that stock option pay positively moderates these relationships while managerial stock ownership has a negative moderating effect. Using panel data for 573 publicly-traded manufacturing firms, we find support for several of our hypotheses, highlighting the interdependence of these two perspectives on R&D investment.     

Globalization of R&D and China: An Introduction

In this introduction, we discuss the recent changes in multinational corporations' (MNCs) research and development (R&D) strategies and China's rising role in this new development. Significant changes include: 1) More and more corporations have started overseas R & D operations; 2) the missions of many overseas R&D facilities have shifted from the traditional supplementing and supporting roles to become critical and strategic components of MNCs' global R&D networks; and 3) MNC overseas R&D operations have expanded their geographic reach to carefully selected developing countries. China has benefited from such changes and has become one major attraction for such R&D facilities due to its rich endowment of low-cost and well- trained scientists and engineers as well as its fast growing domestic market and burgeoning foreign investment in manufacturing. The explosion of foreign R&D investment has also been accompanied by the rapid growth of China's domestic investment in R&D. The growth in both domestic and foreign investment in R&D implies that China will improve its position in global economic and technological competition. However, it is unclear to the rest of the world about the implications of China's rising R&D and whether or not China can capture the value from the presence of foreign R&D centres. We conclude that issues related to China's science and technology development in general and foreign R&D in China in particular warrant more research in the future.     

Science and Technology Take-off in China?: Sources of Rising R&D Intensity

China's ratio of research and development (R&D) spending to its gross domestic product (GDP) more than doubled from 0.6 per cent in 1996 to 1.4 per cent in 2005. This study documents the pattern of science and technology (S & T) take-off, characterized by an abrupt increase in the R&D to GDP ratio. This abrupt increase, observed in many of the now Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, typically drives R&D intensity from below 1 per cent to the range of 2–3 per cent. The question addressed in this work is whether China has begun a similar S & T take-off. The study reviews several conditions identified in the endogenous growth literature that drives R&D intensification and notes their emergence in China during the past decade. It also speculates why China's R&D intensification appears to be starting at such a low level of income per capita.     

R&D spending,strategic position and firm performance

Based on R&D investment data from Chinese listed manufacturing firms, this paper examines the effect of R&D spending on firms’ future performance conditional on their strategic positions. We find that firms pursing a product differentiation strategy have more R&D spending than those with a cost leadership strategy. In addition, we document a positive effect of R&D spending on firms’ future performance if they adopt a product differentiation strategy. Meanwhile, for the firms that adopt a cost leadership strategy, the relationship between R&D spending and firm performance resembles an inversed U-shape. Furthermore, we find this inversed U-shape relationship only exists for non-state-owned firms. Overall, this paper provides guidance and useful suggestions on the efficient allocation of R&D resources for Chinese manufacturing firms.     

China R&D: A High-Tech Field of Dreams1

This study highlights the rapid pace at which new commercial research and development (R&D) centres are being established by foreign investors in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It recounts the motivations behind this growing trend, subtle changes in this trend over time, some lessons learned, and asks what it could mean for future Asia-Pacific relations. The essay emphasizes China's distinct role in attracting R&D through its extensive investment in municipal services, infrastructure and regulatory reforms as well as policy incentives that have helped to spur ever-greater levels of foreign R&D investment over the past decade.     

中国地区间研发资源错配测算与影响因素分析

随着中国的研发投入总量进入世界第一梯队,研发投入(资源)的配置状况成为决定研发产出效率的关键因素之一。本文基于一个包含研发资源价格扭曲的多部门竞争均衡模型,以2001—2016年各省份规模以上工业企业数据为样本,对中国地区间研发资源错配情况及其影响因素进行全面考察。研究发现:(1)各省份之间的研发劳动错配高于研发资本错配,多数省份倾向于过度配置研发资源,省份之间研发资源配置效率总体上呈逐步改善趋势,纠正错配可以使研发产出提升约16%;(2)东部各省份研发资源配置相对较为合理,但研发劳动配置略有不足,中部、西部和东北各省均存在不同程度的研发资源过度配置现象,东部和西部的研发资源配置效率一直在改善,东北和中部则没有表现出持续的改进态势;(3)市场发育程度、偏向性政策扶持、地区创新环境是研发资源错配的主要影响因素,在研发资源过度配置地区,这些因素的作用更为显著。本文的启示是,在当前全面实施创新驱动发展战略的大背景下,政府相关部门在积极引导全社会加大研发投入力度的同时,还应以市场为导向,进一步优化不同地区间的研发资源配置,实现研发效率的提升和经济的高质量发展。     

Effects of foreign acquisitions on R&D and high-skill activities

Using Swedish microdata, we find no evidence for the concerns circulating in the public debate that foreign acquisitions lead to reductions in both R&D expenditures and high-skilled activities in targeted domestic firms for either MNEs or non-MNEs. Previous studies have only focused on larger firms. In this paper, we are able to study the impact on smaller firms (fewer than 50 employees), which is important because 90% of the firms acquired by foreign enterprises meet this criterion. For this group of firms, there is no information on R&D, but by using the register of educational attainment, we obtain data on the share of high-skilled labour in all Swedish firms, irrespective of size. Interestingly, we find that among smaller firms, foreign enterprises tend to acquire high-productive, skill-intensive firms (cherry-picking). After the acquisitions, skill upgrading appears in acquired smaller, non-MNE firms, particularly in the service sector.     

Uncertainties,Imitative Behaviours and Foreign R&D Location: Explaining the Over-concentration of Foreign R&D in Beijing and Shanghai within China

This study examines the location of foreign research and development (R&D) establishments in China and reveals that such facilities are overly concentrated in Shanghai and Beijing, the two first- tier cities. We argue that the spatial concentration of R&D in Shanghai and Beijing is more intense than what can be expected based on the spatial concentration of foreign investment, science and technology resources and general economic activities. The spatial concentration is also greater than what is observed in more developed countries. This degree of concentration cannot be convincingly explained by the conventional, rational choice model that relies mostly upon factors such as market size, labour costs and infrastructure, among others. Our analysis suggests that site location decisions are also the product of imitative behaviours among decision makers faced with uncertainties and multiple risks, particularly in a transitional economy such as China's. We further discuss the implications for second-tier cities in competition for foreign R&D investment, suggesting that these cities should aggressively market their cities to foreign investors in order to reduce the perceived risks undermining their ability to attract R&D. We also speculate that as foreign investors become more knowledgeable about the rest of China, more companies will begin to establish R&D facilities in such second-tier cities.     

The complementarity effect of exporting,importing and R&D on the productivity of Ukrainian MNEs

After two decades of research on Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises (EMNE), the debate still concerns the antecedents and strategies of their foreign expansion. However, much less has been said on the effects of international participation on their productivity. Building on insights from the Resource-Based View of the firm and agency theory, we develop hypotheses on the presence of complementarities among export, import and R&D and their impact on productivity. Our empirical analyses on a panel of 23,000 time-year observations of Ukrainian MNEs over the period 2000–2006, confirm that: (i) EMNEs benefit from complementarities stemming from the assimilation and integration of knowledge from international external sources (import and export) with internal knowledge (own R&D investment); (ii) the effect is more pronounced for private-owned enterprises (POEs) rather than state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and (iii) especially when they trade with partners in/from advanced markets.     

Whither Foreign R&D in China: Some Concluding Thoughts on Chinese Innovation

The purpose of this article is to highlight the impact of a new range of field-work driven scholarly research regarding foreign R&D in China on the field of Chinese innovation studies. The field of China innovation studies is positioned for a major take-off with the opening up and broadening of the field to a new generation of scholars and experts, including the growing participation and contributions of Chinese nationals from the People's Republic of China (PRC). With the continued opening of China to the outside world has come also increased scholarly access which is allowing for research on issues that heretofore was constrained due to the limited availability of information as well as political and national security sensitivities. The field also is benefiting from the increased visibility being given to innovation matters by the Chinese government and the rise in the number of foreign R&D centres that have been established by foreign companies. New ‘internally-focused’ questions related to R&D spending, the cultural and historical setting for innovation, and the institutional structure are being addressed with some promising results. In addition, a whole new series of ‘externally-focused’ questions also are beginning to dominate the research agenda as more and more foreign firms seek to take advantage of China's improved climate for overseas business as well as the growing number of scientists and engineers at the higher end of the Chinese talent pool. The more we seem to find out, however, the more we realize we need to know to truly understand China's technological potential. That said, it is increasingly clear that foreign influence is having an important shaping effect on the nature of the PRC's R&D system, especially with respect to the strategic role played or potentially being played by returned scholars and experts whose more cosmopolitan perspectives serve as a real asset in building bridges between Chinese traditional attitudes and modes of behaviour towards new knowledge creation and the current institutional constraints on China's innovation trajectory since 1949.     

R&D investments in family and founder firms: An agency perspective

Investments in R&D can influence a firm's ability to develop new products and to create and adopt innovative technologies that may enhance productivity. However, due to uncertainty regarding the outcome, investments in R&D may lead to an agency problem between the owners and the managers of a firm. Family and founder firms are often considered to be different in their agency situation than other firms, which may have an influence on R&D investments. This paper analyzes R&D spending in family and founder firms versus other firms. The results show that while family ownership decreases the level of R&D intensity, ownership by lone founders has a positive effect not only on R&D intensity but also on the level of R&D productivity. The paper contributes to the understanding of the role of entrepreneurship in making high risk/high return R&D decisions.     

The function-specific microfoundations of dynamic capabilities in cross-border mergers and acquisitions

In mergers and acquisitions, the acquiring firm must combine two firms’ resources and capabilities so that the outcome yields value. In individual firms, the marketing & sales, and R&D functions have typically developed intertwined and complex relationships over time. These multifaceted dependencies may obscure the integration of the firms and their functions. In order to reveal to what extent cross-functional relationships determine the success or failure of an acquisitions, we have made one of the first attempts to study merging firms’ function-specific capabilities, underlying microfoundations, and their cross-functional relationships during the integration process—instead of focusing on acquisition capabilities as such. We use longitudinal data from two cross-border acquisitions between US and Finnish SMEs. Our results indicate that major differences between merging firms’ cross-functional microfoundations—that is, their structures, processes, routines, and skills—might either enforce or erode the seemingly promising synergies at the product and market levels, depending on managerial awareness of their nature.     

International R&D spillovers in emerging markets: The impact of trade and foreign direct investment

While economic theory predicts that growth in developing countries will gain significantly from technology spillovers, the empirical evidence on this issue remains relatively scarce. The present study focuses on a panel of 27 transition and 20 developed countries between 1990 and 2006 and uses the latest developments in panel unit root and cointegration techniques to disentangle the effects of international spillovers via inflows of trade and FDI on total factor productivity (TFP). The findings show that imports remain the main channel of diffusion for both sets of countries, while FDI, although statistically significant, has a lower impact on productivity of the recipients. The domestic R&D capital stock plays an active role in Western Europe while in the Eastern part it is less significant owing to lower levels, transitional disinvestment and relative obsolescence. Human capital affects TFP directly as a factor of production as well as indirectly by enhancing a country's absorptive capacity. In aggregate, the results show that transition countries from Eastern Europe and Central Asia seem to enjoy bigger productivity gains from the international diffusion process than their Western counterparts.