Making R&D efforts profitable: the role of absorptive capacity and policy implications in an emerging economy setting

Journal title ECONOMIA E POLITICA INDUSTRIALE
Author/s Claudio Petti
Publishing Year 2014 Issue 2014/2
Language English Pages 31 P. 67-97 File size 131 KB
DOI 10.3280/POLI2014-002004
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This paper explores the influence of a firm’s absorptive capacity on the profitability of one thousand ninety-six Chinese firms. In addition to extending the findings of prior studies on the positive effects of absorptive capacity on a firm’s performance in the context of an emerging economy, empirical results support the main hypothesis of the positive mediating role of absorptive capacity in the relationship between R&D efforts and profitability. These effects, together with the attempt to investigate absorptive capacity outside the usual R&D context using a capability-based operationalization, will lead the discussion towards the role of public policies in enhancing the impact of a firm’s internal R&D efforts through sustaining the development of their "soft" absorptive capacity with complementary investments in compensation, motivation and the development of human resources.

Keywords: Research and development, absorptive capacity, performance, China

Jel codes: O320, L250

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Claudio Petti, Making R&D efforts profitable: the role of absorptive capacity and policy implications in an emerging economy setting in "ECONOMIA E POLITICA INDUSTRIALE " 2/2014, pp 67-97, DOI: 10.3280/POLI2014-002004