RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES: THE ROLE OF FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS AND PUBLIC FUNDING

This paper presents microeconometric evidence on financing constraints for research and development activities in German small‐ and medium‐sized firms (SME). Special attention is paid to the role of public research and development (R&D) subsidies. For this purpose SMEs in West and East Germany are compared because these regions are very different in their supply of public R&D funding. The empirical evidence suggests that West German SMEs are financially constrained in their R&D activities by both internal and external resources. In East Germany, firms are not sensitive to external constraints, possibly due to high public R&D subsidies. The results show that R&D in East Germany is to a large extent driven by public subsidies and that the usual financial market mechanisms are dysfunctional with respect to R&D in this region.     

Incorporating innovation subsidies in the CDM framework: empirical evidence from Belgium

ABSTRACT

This paper integrates innovation input and output effects of R&D subsidies into a modified Crépon–Duguet–Mairesse (CDM) model. Our results largely confirm insights of the input additionality literature, i.e. public subsidies complement private R&D investment. In addition, results point to positive output effects of both purely privately funded and subsidy-induced R&D. Furthermore, we do not find evidence of a premium or discount of subsidy-induced R&D in terms of its marginal contribution on new product sales when compared to purely privately financed R&D.     

Input and output additionality of R&D subsidies

This article analyses the effects of public R&D subsidies on R&D input and output of German firms. We distinguish between the direct impact of subsidies on R&D investment and the indirect effect on innovation output measured by patent applications. We disentangle the productivity of purely privately financed R&D and additional R&D investment induced by the public incentive scheme. For this, a treatment-effect analysis is conducted in a first step. The results are implemented into the estimation of a patent production function in a second step. It turns out that both purely privately financed R&D and publicly induced R&D show a positive effect on patent outcome.     

As times goes by. A dynamic impact assessment of the innovation policy and the Matthew effect on Argentinean firms

ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of public funds for innovation on firm’s capabilities, innovative dynamics and economic performance. A large stream of literature about the evaluation of public funds is focused on testing the existence of additionality effects on investments and results. This paper aims to provide evidence about other dimensions of the firm that public policy can alter, with focus on the time window between the treatment and the impact, and the role of the Matthew effect (recurrence) in this process. The empirical exercise is based on a dynamic panel data made of 1465 firms (3337 observations) that applied to the Argentinean Technological Fund (FONTAR), which is the main public fund for innovation in Argentina, between 2007 and 2016. Results show short-term effects of accessing to FONTAR on firms’ capabilities, medium-term effects on innovation efforts and long-term effects on productivity. Even though the effect on productivity is larger among recurrent firms, the differences among recurrent and non-recurrent firms are not conclusive in case of capabilities and innovation efforts. All in all, this research provides evidence about the ‘when’ of public policy and the need to look beyond input additionality effects when analysing its impact.     

Does Firm Size make a Difference? Analysing the Effectiveness of R&D Subsidies in East Germany

We analyse the impact of public subsidies on private sector research and development (R&D) activity for a sample of East German firms. Using propensity score matching, our empirical results indicate that subsidized firms indeed show a higher level of R&D intensity (R&D expenditures relative to total turnover) and a higher probability for patent application compared with non‐subsidized firms. We find that, on average, the R&D intensity increases from 1.5% to 3.9%. The probability of patent application rises from 20% to 40%. These results closely match earlier empirical findings for East Germany. Given the fact that the East German innovation system is particularly driven by small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), we draw special attention to the effectiveness of R&D subsidies for this latter subgroup. Here, no specific empirical evidence is available so far. Our findings indicate that policy effectiveness also holds for private R&D activity of SMEs, with the highest increase in terms of R&D intensity being estimated for microbusinesses with up to ten employees.     

Research collaboration and behavioural additionality: A New Zealand case study

Generating the greatest benefit from public research programmes is a major aim for industry managers and policy administrators alike. However, how to measure whether benefit has occurred createsf a considerable dilemma for managers and policy-makers. One approach centres upon the concept of ‘additionality’ or ‘what difference the policy has made’. Traditional ‘input additionality’ measures of subsequent research and development activity, for example, neither incorporate all impacts nor give adequate signals about adequate signals about aspects of ‘output additionality’, such as the impact on increased competitiveness at the level of the firm, or national competitiveness, the ultimate goal for the majority of research policies. An intermediate form of impact, ‘behavioural additionality’, centred upon changes in a firm's subsequent managerial behaviour, is considered to provide an alternative, yet compelling perspective on the impact of public support on the conduct of research. This study outlines empirical eveidence found for the various forms of additionality in a New Zealand collaborative research programme. It discusses how managers and policy administrators can exploit the occrrence of behavioural additionality to maximize the impact of a research policy, on the basis that modified behaviour is likely to strengthen a policy' latent abilityto influence the creation of output additionality. In such circumstances, the study suggests that managers and policy-makers should be identifying those interventions that lead to sustained improvements in mangerial practice, and in competitiveness, and should be managing their diffusion within firms and throughout industries.     

The impact of technology intermediaries on firm cognitive capacity additionality

Whereas the provision of R&D subsidies has been central to public policy for many years, governments have recently become increasingly involved in stimulating cooperation for innovation and R&D. In many countries, financial support for technology intermediaries has become one of the key measures of indirect public support. However, little research has assessed the impact of indirect policy measures. In this paper, we shed light on the conditions under which technology intermediaries contribute to knowledge and networking outcomes generated by the firms that call upon them. We hereby focus on firm network and competence additionality as measures for cognitive capacity additionality and study the impact of technology intermediaries on firms. In doing so, we distinguish between R&D and R&D related activity technology intermediaries engage in. The results indicate that absorptive capacity of the technology intermediary does not affect cognitive capacity additionality generated by firms in R&D activities, while the results for R&D related activities are mixed and depending on the type of cognitive capacity additionality studied. The absorptive capacity of firms does not directly affect cognitive capacity additionality, but the results of mediation analysis show that firms with higher levels of absorptive capacity use the services of the technology intermediary more intensively, and subsequently generate higher levels of cognitive capacity additionality.     

Effectiveness of R&D subsidies during the crisis: firm-level evidence across EU countries

This paper is one of the first attempts in the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of R&D policies in Europe during the great crisis of the late 2000s. Using homogenous firm-level data for the largest EU Member States over the period 2007–2009, we test whether manufacturing firms receiving public subsidies spent more on R&D. The analysis is performed using both non-parametric techniques and parametric estimation methods accounting for the possible endogenous selectivity of R&D subsidies. The hypothesis of full crowding-out is rejected in all countries under exam as firms did not replace their own resources with public grants. However, these firms did not allocate additional funds to research and hence, differently from earlier works, we do not find evidence for additionality effects of R&D subsidies. Our estimates indicate that, albeit not expansive, public subsidies to R&D thwarted the reduction of firm R&D efforts in the aftermath of economic crisis.     

R&D税收激励、知识产权保护与企业的专利产出

文章以中国上市公司微观数据为样本,运用能克服样本自选择性的计量方法估计R&D税收激励的专利效应,并以知识生产函数分析其作用机制.结果表明,与没有获得R&D税收激励的厂商相比,获得R&D税收激励的厂商并不具有更高的专利产出.从作用机制上看,尽管R&D税收激励产生了显著的额外研发支出效应,但该效应并未直接增加企业的专利产出,中国的R&D税收激励面临类似"欧洲悖论"的困境.仅在知识产权保护的调节下,R&D税收激励引致的额外研发支出能间接增加专利产出,知识产权保护缓解了R&D税收激励政策失灵的风险.前述结论通过了稳健性检验.未来,为改善我国R&D税收激励的创新效应,走出"欧洲悖论"困境,需要优化R&D税收激励政策设计和强化知识产权保护的激励功效.     

中小企业集群创新能力差异性与绩效分析

融合新增长理论和演化经济学理论,从开放创新的视角,以全国54个国家级高新技术产业开发区为样本,分析了中小企业集群创新能力与集群绩效之间的作用机制。实证结果表明,集群内企业的创新投入对集群国际市场绩效影响最大。其中,集群科技活动人员投入只对集群的国际市场绩效产生影响,而集群内科技活动经费投入对集群国际、国内市场绩效以及生产绩效均产生显著的正面影响。大学R&D经费支出、研究机构R&D经费支出和省内技术市场成交合同金额等开放创新来源均对集群创新能力产生正向溢出效应,从而影响集群绩效。     

R&D投入对地区创新绩效的影响

政府已成为国家创新体系的主导力量。现有文献普遍认为,政府补贴对创新绩效具有间接影响,但并未深入探讨其作用机理。从中介效应视角探讨了政府R&D投入对创新绩效的影响机理。研究结果表明,企业R&D投入在政府R&D投入与地区创新绩效的关系中起中介作用;政府R&D投入对企业R&D投入存在显著正向影响,支持诱导效应理论。     

广东省大中型工业企业研发效率区域差异及其收敛性

基于中间-最终产出效率的视角,运用随机前沿分析和β收敛性检验,利用2002—2010年广东省的统计数据研究了广东省大中型工业企业研发效率的区域差异及其收敛性。结果表明:广东省三大区域(珠三角地区、粤东粤西两翼地区和粤北山区)的大中型工业企业的研发中间产出效率的差异不明显,研发最终产出效率存在显著差异,该差异主要是由环境因素造成;三大区域的大中型工业企业研发中间产出效率不存在绝对收敛,而研发最终产出效率存在明显的"俱乐部收敛",并分化出珠三角地区和粤东粤西两翼地区-粤北山区两大俱乐部。     

我国自主创新能力影响因素的实证研究

以2004—2006年我国31个省、市、自治区自主创新投入和产出的面板数据为研究样本,运用因子分析和多元回归分析相结合的方法,对影响我国自主创新能力的因素进行了实证研究。研究结果表明,R&D人员全时当量、当地政府科技活动经费投入和科技活动经费支出与我国自主创新能力存在显著的正相关。然而,各地大中型工业企业R&D投入对创新能力的影响都不显著。     

政府补助方式对新能源汽车企业绩效影响研究

以2010－2015年新能源汽车行业上市公司面板数据为样本,区分政府补助方式,实证分析政府研发补助和非研发补助对企业绩效的影响。研究表明：政府研发补助对企业创新绩效有显著正向影响;政府非研发补助对企业经营绩效有显著正相关作用,且随着企业经营绩效提升,政府非研发补助对企业研发投入起到间接正向作用;企业研发投入在政府补助与企业创新绩效中存在部分中介效应。根据企业成长性对样本进行分组,进一步发现政府研发补助对高成长性企业创新绩效具有显著促进作用,而对低成长性企业无显著影响;政府非研发补助对企业经营绩效均有显著正向影响,对高成长性企业的影响更突出。     

开放式创新对制造业企业研发投入的影响——政府补助与市场竞争的调节作用

开放式创新已成为发展趋势,但是关于开放式创新如何影响制造业企业研发投入尚未达成一致结论。以2009-2019年中国沪深A股制造业上市公司为研究样本,对开放式创新与企业研发投入关系进行理论和实证检验,并探讨政府补助和市场竞争的调节作用。研究表明：①开放式创新有助于提高企业研发投入;②企业获得政府研发补助越多,外部组织越愿意与其进行开放式创新,企业可用于研发投入的内外部资源也越多;③企业所在行业市场竞争越激烈,企业越倾向采取开放式创新,以通过与外部资源拥有者合作增加研发投入、保持竞争优势。该研究发现可为推动制造业企业实施开放式创新以及加快转型升级提供决策依据与理论支持。     

行业知识产权风险与企业自主创新投资研究

基于2005-2007年广东省高技术企业调查数据,结合我国的知识产权制度和市场背景,首次从行业层面界定并衡量企业自主创新中的知识产权风险——知识外溢风险与知识产权法律风险,并实证检验了两种风险对企业研究与开发投资的影响。研究发现,知识外溢程度的提高并未降低企业的研究与开发投资,知识外溢的正外部性效应大于风险效应,而知识产权法律风险则不利于企业的研究与开发投资。最后,为企业的自主创新管理和知识产权管理提供有益的建议。     

创新要素的空间分布及其对区域创新产出的影响——基于中国省域的ESDA-GWR分析

以我国31个省域为研究单元,通过Moran指数I的全局分析,发现创新要素存在正向的空间相关性。Moran散点图和LISA聚类表的局部分析结果显示,不同的省域各个创新要素有着空间相关性的差异和不同的集聚模式。在此基础上,进一步运用GWR,分析我国省域创新要素对创新产出的空间影响差异。结果表明,R＆D经费支出对专利授权量有正相关性,绝大部分沿海省市的R＆D经费支出（对数）估计系数值较大;每万人口在校大学生数对专利授权量具有负相关性;其他变量的参数估计值都有正有负,其中,R＆D人员占总就业人员的比例（对数）的回归系数都不大;高等院校数对专利授权量的影响,新疆和内蒙古具有较大的正相关性,浙江、福建、江西、海南具有较大的负相关性。大多数省区技术合同项目数对专利授权量的影响具有正相关性,福建、广东和海南省除外。     

中国新能源企业政府环境研发补贴的动态激励效应

选取2011—2017年中国新能源行业122家上市公司面板数据,建立面板向量自回归模型（PVAR）,通过研究政府环境研发补贴、企业研发投入和环境绩效之间的动态交互关系,考察政府补贴对企业创新的激励效应以及补贴的配置合理性问题。结果表明：一方面,环境研发补贴对企业研发投入和环境绩效均存在滞后1~4年的影响。政府补贴促进企业研发投入,非国企比国企显著;政府补贴对环境绩效的影响在不同产权性质企业中存在较大差异,补贴显著抑制了国企环境绩效,但有效促进了非国企环境绩效。另一方面,企业研发投入与环境绩效对于后续政府补贴投入分别具有滞后1~4年和1~2年的正向反馈作用。针对国企,政府补贴决策是结果导向的,即更关注其环境绩效;对于非国企,政府补贴决策偏好过程导向,即更多地考察企业对研发活动的投入情况。研究结论可为完善中国新能源企业环境补贴政策,提高新能源企业环境研发水平和环境绩效提供参考。     

中国新能源企业政府环境研发补贴的动态激励效应

选取2011—2017年中国新能源行业122家上市公司面板数据，建立面板向量自回归模型（PVAR），通过研究政府环境研发补贴、企业研发投入和环境绩效之间的动态交互关系，考察政府补贴对企业创新的激励效应以及补贴的配置合理性问题。结果表明：一方面，环境研发补贴对企业研发投入和环境绩效均存在滞后1~4年的影响。政府补贴促进企业研发投入，非国企比国企显著；政府补贴对环境绩效的影响在不同产权性质企业中存在较大差异，补贴显著抑制了国企环境绩效，但有效促进了非国企环境绩效。另一方面，企业研发投入与环境绩效对于后续政府补贴投入分别具有滞后1~4年和1~2年的正向反馈作用。针对国企，政府补贴决策是结果导向的，即更关注其环境绩效；对于非国企，政府补贴决策偏好过程导向，即更多地考察企业对研发活动的投入情况。研究结论可为完善中国新能源企业环境补贴政策，提高新能源企业环境研发水平和环境绩效提供参考。     

女性董事长如何影响上市公司研发投入——企业生命周期视角

以2007—2019年中国A股上市公司为样本，探讨女性董事长如何影响企业研发投入强度。结果表明，女性董事长对企业研发投入强度具有显著抑制效应，且这种抑制效应在成熟期表现最为显著，成长期次之，衰退期最弱。进一步研究发现，专利申请数和发明专利申请数均与女性董事长显著负相关，女性董事长的风险规避行为会遏制企业创新。结论进一步丰富了创新管理领域相关研究，同时具有一定实践启示。