Effects of foreign acquisitions on financial constraints,productivity and investment in R&D of target firms in China

This paper examines whether foreign acquisitions lessen financial constraints, improve investment in research & development (R&D) and productivity of the target firms in China based on a sample of 914 cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBM&A) over the period of 1994–2011. Using investment to cash-flow sensitivity to measure financial constraints, we find that foreign acquisitions in China are associated with a reduction of target firms’ financial constraints, irrespective of the ownership type of the target firm. However, the extent of financial constraint reduction is pronounced for non-SOEs compared to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This study also provides evidence that foreign acquisitions improve Chinese target firms’ productivity and investment in R&D.     

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。     

Executive compensation incentives,risk level and corporate innovation

This paper explores the innovation of Chinese listed companies from the perspectives of CEOs' compensation and corporate risk. We find that executives' salary can effectively promote firms' investment in research and development (R&D), while equity compensation failed to promote corporate R&D investment. Besides, the level of corporate risk has a mediating effect between executives' salary and corporate R&D investment. However, corporate risk level has a moderating effect between equity compensation and corporate R&D investment. When the level of risk is higher than a certain level, the negative impact of executives' equity compensation on innovation input becomes more obvious.     

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.     

R&D expenditures,ultimate ownership and future performance: Evidence from China

This study examines the relationship between R&D expenditures and future performance, as well as the moderating effects of ultimate ownership on the relationship. Using a sample of 772 Chinese listed firms from 2007 to 2012, this study shows that R&D expenditures are positively related to firms' future performance and that the R&D expenditures of SOEs lead to better future performance than those of non-SOEs. In addition, the results also reveal that voting rights of ultimate owners positively moderate the R&D-performance relationship. We also adopt fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to reveal the interdependent and interrelated nature of the explanatory predictors of future performance. The results of fsQCA further indicate that large-sized SOEs with concentrated ownership could attain higher future performance on R&D investments if there are more patent applications and capital and operating spending. These findings complement the R&D performance literature by simultaneously considering the combinatory effect of ultimate ownership and control ability.     

State ownership and corporate innovative efficiency

In this paper, we investigate the innovative efficiency of SOEs in China. Innovative efficiency refers to output of patents per dollar spending of R&D expenditure. The data indicate that minority SOEs are substantially more innovatively efficient than non-SOEs and majority SOEs. The relative innovative efficiency of minority SOEs is more pronounced among firms with high financial constraints. The data are consistent with the view that, in the Chinese context, there are favorable benefits to partial state ownership through access to talent, connections, and technological resources that enable efficient patent outcomes from R&D expenditure.     

Entering China Today

Summary

The peripherally growing and remarkably dynamic Chinese economy is now encouraging the use of more diverse and creative entry modes for international investors. This article illustrates various entry modes of foreign direct investment available at present to foreign companies entering China. These entry modes include equity joint ventures, wholly foreign owned subsidiaries, contractual joint ventures, umbrella companies, acquisitions, representative offices, branches, build-operate-transfers, licensing and franchising. The merits and limitations of each entry mode are discussed. Some practical advice on entry strategies for international executives active in the Chinese market is also highlighted.     

Technology strategy and new venture performance: A study of corporate-sponsored and independent biotechnology ventures

New ventures, companies eight years or younger, play a major role in the development of an emerging, high-technology industry. Corporate-sponsored new ventures (those supported by an established corporation) and independent ventures (those founded by independent entrepreneurs) frequently battle for industry leadership and financial success. Whereas both venture types use technology to achieve financial and market success, little is known about the differences in their technology strategies.Technology strategy is the plan that guides a new venture's decisions on the development and use of technological capabilities. This strategy covers six major areas. The first is selecting the pioneering posture, where a venture decides whether or not be among the industry's first companies to introduce new products (technologies) to the market. The second is determining the number of products to be introduced to the market. The third is choosing the extent of a venture's use of internal and external R&D sources. Internal sources usually refer to in-house R&D activities. External sources may include purchasing or licensing of technology from other companies, or joining strategic alliances to acquire that technology. The fourth is deciding the level of R&D spending. The fifth is selecting the combination (portfolio) of applied and basic research projects. Whereas basic R&D advances science, applied R&D leads to new products and technologies. The sixth, and final, dimension is the venture's use of patenting to protect any competitive advantages it might gain from its R&D activities.This article reports the results of a study that explored the differences in the technology strategies and performance of corporate and independent ventures. The biotechnology industry was chosen to test the study's hypotheses, using 112 ventures.Seven of the study's hypotheses focused on the potential variations in technology strategy between corporate and independent ventures. Independent ventures (IVs) were expected to surpass corporate ventures (CVs) in pioneering new products (technologies), using internal R&D, and emphasizing applied R&D. CVs were expected to surpass IVs in introducing new products, using external R&D sources, spending on R&D, and patenting. The study's remaining three hypotheses covered possible variations in new venture performance (NVP) and their sources.The results showed that IVs focused more on pioneering, pursued a more applied R&D portfolio, and emphasized internal R&D more than CVs. CVs utilized external technology sources, spent more heavily on R&D, stressed basic R&D, and used patenting more intensively than IVs. These results were consistent with the hypotheses. However, contrary to expectations, there were no significant differences between CVs and IVs in the frequency of new product introductions, probably because most ventures were at the invention, rather than the commercialization, stage.The results on the NVP of CVs and IVs were counter to expectations. IVs outperformed CVs, probably because of the high motivation of the IV owners who reaped the rewards of growth and profitability. Also, whereas CVs may have greater access to the resources of their sponsors, political conflicts and rigid corporate controls might have reduced their ability to achieve competitive advantages.The results also indicated that CVs and IVs appeared to gain competitive advantages from different technological choices. Pioneering, a focus on applied R&D, and extensive use of the internal R&D sources were also positively associated with the performance of IVs. Heavy R&D spending, the use of both internal and external R&D sources, frequent product introductions, and patenting were positively associated with the performance of CVs. Finding that technology strategies significantly impacted NVP should encourage executives to consider pursuing a formal technology strategy. Likewise, the finding that different dimensions of technology strategy influenced the performance of CVs and IVs in different ways has practical implications. CV managers can learn from their higher performing IV rivals. Also, because established companies frequently acquire IVs, information about their technology strategies can be valuable in assimilating the acquired ventures. Overall, the results show that technology strategy is an important factor in enhancing new venture performance.     

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.     

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.     

Collaboration for R&D Projects between the Industry and External Agents: Evidence from Manufacturing Companies in Peru

In this article we use the innovation survey of the manufacturing industry of Peru to identify cooperation behaviors for research and development (R&D) projects among companies and external agents in general. Likewise, we also find cooperation behaviors among the industry and the following external agents: university, technical centers, suppliers, customers, and companies of the same group, competitors, guilds, and consultants. Within the specific agents, the university is considered a cooperation agent for R&D projects. We use the survey of innovation in the manufacturing industry of Peru conducted in 2015, which resulted in 1447 Peruvian companies being surveyed. Evidence was obtained as to the degree of the tie between the industry and external agents for cooperation in R&D projects, giving relevance to variables such as investment, resources, and degree of innovation. Our results show that investment is an important factor for cooperation with external agents. Additionally, companies that have innovated at some point seek to cooperate with external agents. Finally, the importance of the university is demonstrable, thus, companies that invest in R&D seek to cooperate with the university.     

Firm competencies on market entry success: Evidence from a high-tech industry in an emerging market

This study explores the effects of three firm competencies, namely, business network, new product development (NPD), and marketing management on market entry success of a high-tech industry in an emerging market. Business network encompasses research and development (R&D) partnership, inter-organizational network, and government relationship (guanxi). NPD consists of R&D capability and product process innovation, while marketing management encompasses distribution channel, promotion, branding, and information management. Using data from 55 biopharmaceutical multinational companies in China, this study applies structural equation modeling technique with confirmatory factor analysis for testing and estimating relationships. We find that only marketing directly influences entry success, whereas the other two yield indirect effects. Our study also suggests the critical role of business network as a prerequisite for entry process. Simultaneously, NPD serves as the driving force of marketing through the creation of product competitiveness.     

R&D investment of start-up firms: does founders’ human capital matter?

This article examines whether founders’ human capital affects not only actual investment but also required investment in research and development (R&D), using the original data of Japanese start-up firms. The estimation results indicate that higher levels of founders’ human capital, especially their education levels, increase both actual and required investment in R&D and thus do not necessarily contribute to reducing the funding gap for R&D.     

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.     

The Business(es) of the Chinese State

The state industrial sector is the Achilles heel of China's otherwise remarkable economic performance over the past two decades. Most other countries in transition from socialism have transformed SOEs into commercial entities through systematic, market‐driven restructuring and privatisation to become more efficient and competitive. In China, a series of innovative, if often administrative, insitutional reforms since 1978 have begun to achieve the Chinese authorities' goal of ‘separating governemtn from business.’ But the Chinese State still maintains ownership of key enterprises, and government agencies carry out shareholder functions typically performed by private owners in a market economy. Although privatisation and restructuring of SOEs is occurring, it mostly pertains to small and medium sized firms. For the principal businesses, by contrast, the creation of large state enterprise groups and holding companies (and experiments in other forms of ‘state asset management’) have become the main form of restructuring. Today, China's SOEs still account for more than one‐quarter of national production, two‐thirds of total assets, more than half of urban employment and almost three‐quarters of investment. While direct budgetary subsidies have declined, explicit and implicit subsidies are still making their way to prop up loss‐making SOEs through the financial system and other routes. At the same time, SOEs are still producing non‐marketable products, resulting in a sizeable inventory overhang. These inefficiencies and distortions represent a drain on the country's resources and thus present a challenge to the Chinese leadership for reform. This paper sheds light on these challenges by analysing the incentives and constraints on China's SOE reform programme. Four critical aspects of the reforms are highlighted and evaluated against the backdrop of international experience: clarification of property rights; establishment of large group/holding companies and other new organisational structures; improved corporate governance incentives; and implementation of international financial accounting and auditing practices. The paper concludes with policy recommendations.     

The importance of equity finance for R&;D activity

This article analyzes the importance of equity finance for the R&D activity of small- and medium-sized enterprises. We use information on almost 6,000 German SMEs from a company survey. Using the intensity of banking competition at the district level as an instrument to control for endogeneity, we find that a higher equity ratio is conducive to a higher R&D intensity. Owners may only start R&D activities if they have the financial resources to sustain them until successful completion. We find a larger influence of the equity ratio for young companies. Equity may be more important for young companies which have to rely on the original equity investment of their owners since they have not yet accumulated retained earnings and can rely less on bank financing.     

Intangibles Trade and MNEs: Supply-Chain Trade in R&D Services and Innovative Subsidiaries

This paper contributes to the literature on vertical specialization in R&D (or ‘R&D fragmentation’) and trade in intermediate services by examining the role of multinational enterprises (MNE) activities associated with bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI). Prior work in production networks (or global value chains [GVCs]) and R&D fragmentation suggests a complementarity relationship between FDI in R&D and technological knowledge flows. The paper examines this proposition empirically for R&D services trade by extending the gravity framework of supply-chain trade for intermediate services with bilateral MNE operations as economic mass variables. The results are partially consistent with the hypothesized complementarity. The econometric strategy accounts for zero trade observations. The latter addresses possible selection and consistency issues of traditional gravity trade specifications, and allows exploring extensive vs. intensive margin of trade. Understanding the role of MNEs in these transactions may be useful for policies aimed at increasing participation and upgrading in MNE-driven GVCs.     

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.     

The Effects of UK Pharmaceutical Policy on Government Drug Expenditure: Cost Control and Incentives for R&D

This paper investigates the impact of UK pharmaceutical policy on the level of NHS pharmaceutical expenditure. UK pharmaceutical policy is one which has managed to control costs, but at the same time, has not sacrificed the rewards for conducting long-term R&D in the UK. The analysis provides evidence that the government policies which encourage long-term R&D and the development of new drugs actually lead to lower overall pharmaceutical expenditure by the NHS. The reason for this is attributed to the savings associated with the replacement of new drugs for other less effective drugs. Additional results show that the UK receives positive spillovers from the R&D conducted by US firms and this R&D has a cost reducing impact on NHS pharmaceutical expenditure.     

The Impact of Revised Recommended Accounting Practices on R&D Reporting by UK Firms

The R&D reporting practices of UK quoted companies are analysed and the impact of the introduction of a revised Statement of Standard Accounting Practices in 1989, SSAP13 (Revised), recommending separate R&D disclosure for companies meeting certain size thresholds, explored. Using hazard rate models the preferred results indicate that the hazard of a firm reporting its R&D in its annual accounts shows positive time dependence and that large firms, by sales, are more likely to announce than small firms. It is also found that the introduction of SSAP13 impacted considerably upon the extent of reporting by all firms (whatever their size) with an anticipation effect in 1988, and large positive impacts in 1989 and 1990. Post-1989 those firms that exceeded the size thresholds embodied in the new standard also had a higher hazard of reporting their R&D.