The path of R&D efficiency over time

• Autores: Pilar Beneito López, María Engracia Rochina Barrachina, Amparo Sanchis
• Localización: International journal of industrial organization, ISSN 0167-7187, Vol. 42, Nº. 0, 2015, págs. 57-69
• Idioma: inglés
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• Dialnet Métricas: 1 Cita
• Resumen

  • In this paper we investigate the pattern of R&D efficiency in terms of the number of product innovations achieved by firms over time. Using a panel dataset of Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1990–2006, we follow the innovative performance of R&D active firms and observe that innovation rates change over firms' R&D histories. To explain these facts we propose a model that explicitly acknowledges the twofold composition of firms' R&D expenditures, comprising spending on both physical capital for R&D projects and payments to researchers. We regard this latter component of R&D as a source for dynamic returns to firms' R&D investments. Consequently firms' innovation outcomes clearly depend on how long they have been investing in R&D and also on whether there have been any interruptions in the temporal sequence of R&D activities. Our results suggest that R&D activities exhibit dynamic returns that are positive but at a decreasing rate, and that interruptions in R&D engagement reduce R&D efficiency