Efficiency Analysis of R&D Productivity within the Korean Renewable Energy Technology Sector

In Korea, the bulk of investment in research and development within the renewable energy sector is channeled towards technologies which are close to commercialization. In addition, the majority of financial support from government agencies reflects an investment in firms, rather than universities or small firms. However, the performance, in terms of market share and price competitiveness, of Korean renewable energy technology is still very low in the overseas market. There remains a greater amount of R&D investment is received by large firms rather than smaller firms. However, it has not been shown that the R&D efficiency of larger firms is greater than that of smaller firms.The paper estimates that a productivity of 1340 R&D projects from 2008 to 2012 in renewable energy technology by performers and by technical progress phase using output-oriented BCC modelling in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The results reveal that the efficiency of basic R&D research is higher in universities and institutes, while the efficiency achieved in applied research is higher within larger firms. However, the efficiencies achieved in development research is low in general, regardless of whether the R&D is carried out in a large firm, smaller form or university.