To repeat or not to repeat R&D grants to firms: That is the question
Authors:
Helena Lenihan & Mauricio Perez-Alaniz, Department of Economics, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Ireland
Kevin Mulligan, Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
Christian Rammer & Alexander Ehrlich, Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics Unit, ZEW, Mannheim, Germany
Abstract:
The rationale for government support to drive firm-level Research and Development (R&D) activities has long been acknowledged. However, many issues still remain unsolved. This is especially true regarding the firm-level impacts of repeated R&D grants, which occur when firms receive R&D grants multiple times over a short span of years. This represents an important gap in existing knowledge, as repeated R&D grants are common in many countries. Despite this, only a few studies to date have focused on how repeated R&D grants impact firm-level outcomes, such as R&D expenditure and resulting innovation and firm performance effects. Our study makes a novel contribution to our understanding of this vital issue, by addressing the following research question: Do repeated R&D grants result in superior firm-level innovation and performance effects, relative to single R&D grants?
Bio
Dr Kevin Mulligan is a Lecturer in Strategy in Queen’s University Belfast. His research focus is on drivers of business innovation, using quantitative methods and firm-level data. He has published in high-impact journals such as Research Policy, Journal of Technology Transfer, and Industry & Innovation. His research has been cited by the European Commission and the Irish Senate. He is currently Principal Investigator for research project funded by the UK Innovation & Research Caucus, which examines regional inequalities in the impact of government R&D funding.