Firm characteristics and the cyclicality of R&D investments

Abstract

The aim of this study is to combine micro-aspects of firm behavior with macro aspects of business development and identify market conditions (e.g. price competition) and firm characteristics (e.g. type of R&D partners) that enable a firm to have a pro-cyclical, anti-cyclical, or non-systematic R&D investment behavior. The empirical results confirm to large extent a series of hypotheses as to innovation-relevant firm characteristics that underline the three different behavior categories and allow us to make profiles of the three types of R&D behavior.