Export activity, R&D investment, and foreign ownership: does it matter for productivity?

Abstract

PurposeThe paper examines the impact of export activity on productivity and how this effect is moderated by R&D investment and foreign ownership.Design/methodology/approachA time-lag effect is taken into account when examining the proposed model. Data are collected from the Annual Industrial Survey of the National Bureau of Statistics of China. A dataset containing 117,340 firms across the sample period (2001–2007) are used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicate that while R&D investment plays a significant role in strengthening the positive effect of export activity on a firm's productivity, foreign ownership surprisingly has a negative moderating role.Originality/valueScholarly interest in the links between export activity and productivity is on the rise. However, the bulk of research has been focused on understanding the effects of export activity on productivity at the country or industry level. Little has been done at the firm level. Another gap in the literature is that the mechanism through which the impact of export activity can be leveraged to enhance the firm's productivity has been largely ignored. To address these issues, the study adopts the learning-by-exporting theory to examine the relationship between export and productivity at the firm-level and how R&D investment and foreign ownership may explain how learning can be leveraged to enhance the firm's productivity. Finally, these relationships are examined in the context of firms from an emerging market, China, which is especially relevant for the learning-by-exporting argument used in this study.

Launching new products in international markets: waterfall versus sprinkler strategy of Korean SMEs

“…, 2013). Investments in R&D activities enable firms to offer notably valuable products and better prices than their competitors through the development of new products or processes (Berchicci, 2013; Sousa et al. , 2021), hence giving them a competitive advantage based on cost or differentiation.…”

“…First, investments in R&D enhance technological knowledge and learning capabilities, which, in turn, improve firms' capacity to develop cost-and differentiation-based international competitive advantages (Filipescu et al, 2013). Investments in R&D activities enable firms to offer notably valuable products and better prices than their competitors through the development of new products or processes (Berchicci, 2013;Sousa et al, 2021), hence giving them a competitive advantage based on cost or differentiation. These advantages help firms to compete better against more skilled and resource-rich local and global competitors (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994;Filipescu et al, 2013), which subsequently allows such firms to pursue a simultaneous product introduction.…”

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“…The theoretical and methodological basis of this study is the main provisions and conclusions formulated in the scientific fundamental works of domestic and foreign economists in the fields of economic and financial analysis, financial management, and marketing. The issues of the functioning of the economic activity of an enterprise are widely covered primarily in foreign scientific literature (Okawa, 2008;Boyk, 2019;Sousa et al, 2021). In The purpose of the article is to identify the main ways to improve the economic activity of enterprises in the context of a model for ensuring economic security in mechanical engineering.…”

Model of ensuring economic security in mechanical engineering

“…The theoretical and methodological basis of this study is the main provisions and conclusions formulated in the scientific fundamental works of domestic and foreign economists in the fields of economic and financial analysis, financial management, and marketing. The issues of the functioning of the economic activity of an enterprise are widely covered primarily in foreign scientific literature (Okawa, 2008;Boyk, 2019;Sousa et al, 2021). In…”