• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-43
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• 2019

The significance of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) is gradually highlighted as we have entered the age of "New Normal." The South Korean government support these enterprises to boost economic growth and create more jobs. It also releases numerous policies such as national R&D projects and expanding tax incentive services particularly aiming at promoting dramatic investment in R&D and technological innovation. There is a sharp contrast regarding the efficiency of direct or indirect supports for encouraging R&D investment launched by SMEs depending on researchers. However, there has been little attempt to explore the optimal combination of two policy tools. Amid promoting affiliated governmental departments in charge of SMEs policies and constantly growing R&D investment, it is an appropriate time to discuss the medium and long-term direction for the optimal policy mix of direct and indirect supports. In this study, the author obtained 32 relevant studies published earlier in the domestic journals, explored literatures more systematically, and further conducted a meta-analysis. It is dedicated to summarizing relevant controversies and organizes them empirically beyond merely verifying whether policy support stimulates private R&D investment by SMEs. The meta-analysis showed that it would be effective to support as tax for large enterprises, while subsidiary support for SMEs. However, indirect support needs to be progressively increased as direct support primarily accounts for the entire R&D support for South Korean SMEs.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technology Innovation Society Conference
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• 2016.05a
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• pp.316-321
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• 2016

우리나라는 R&D투자 정책을 적극적으로 추진한 결과 과학기술 발전을 통한 경제성장을 이룩하여 왔고, 세계 선진 각국에서도 과학기술을 중요한 국가 아젠다로 삼으면서 신기술 개발이나 사회문제 해결을 위한 해결책으로 과학기술 정책을 적극적으로 펼치면서 R&D에 대한 적극적인 투자를 시행하고 있다. 우리나라의 경우도 2014년 기준으로 정부의 R&D투자 예산은 17조 7천억원의 거대한 규모로 확대되고 있으며, 각각의 연구주체들에 의해 수행되어진 결과로 나오는 다양한 종류의 연구성과에 대한 성과관리의 중요성은 점점 더해가고 있는 실정이다. 한편, 연구개발 투자에 대한 성과의 효율성이라는 측면에 있어서 염려의 목소리도 만만치 않은 실정이다. 이는 연구성과를 창출하기 위한 프로세스, 즉 연구기획, 선정, 수행관리, 결과평가, 사후관리 및 사업화 등의 과정들을 철저하고 효율적으로 관리하여야 한다는 측면에서 접근할 수도 있겠으나, 중소기업을 지원하는 정부의 R&D 지원형태에 있어서는 정부의 지원방식에 따라, 즉 출연(국가 등이 반대급부 없이 예산이나 기금에서 지원하는 방식)지원이나 융자지원(일정한 금리와 상환기간을 정해놓고 지원하는 방식)에 따라 도출되는 성과의 차이가 있을 수 있다는 점에 착안하여 그 두가지 지원방식에 따른 성과에 있어서의 차이점을 비교해 보고, 그 결과에 따라 정부가 중소기업을 대상으로 지원하는 방식에 대한 방향성을 제시해 보고자 한다.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.279-302
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• 2013

This paper empirically examines the effect of government R&D support on the performance of the firm in Korea. In particular, we examine to what extent the government R&D support affected the firm's exploratative performance. Using a novel dataset combining patent information with national government R&D funding data and firm performance indicators from 2005-2008, we construct and run an empirical model where a firm's exploratative activity, measured by a firm patenting in a different field, is a function of the government R&D support a firm receives. The empirical results show that the government R&D support has a positive effect on the firm's exploratative activity. Especially, this effect is stronger for the small and medium size firms, while large firms are relatively relying on their own R&D funding for exploration. This result indicates that the government needs to focus more on R&D funding for small and medium size firms, if it wants more exploratative outcomes to enhance potential resources for economic development.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.197-218
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• 2012

Technological competitiveness of SMEs is an important factor of the country's industrial competitiveness. And technological competitiveness of SMEs in South Korea has been a long-term congestion. Through the study, we analyzed the correlation between SMEs technical support policy and technological competitiveness. As a result, the technological competitiveness of SMEs is positively related to R&D policy of funding, taxation and infrastructure. And on the other hand, R&D support policy positively effected the technological competitiveness of subcontractors, 5~49 people of small enterprises and innovation SMEs. We suggest that technology fund should be increased by expanding policy funds, investments and loans. Also, allocation of strategic R&D resources and supportive researching staffs are needed to strengthen high-growth innovative SMEs.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.264-291
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• 2015

This research is to empirically analyze the effects of governmental policy including R&D subsidiary and tax reduction, which are both direct and indirect financial supports, during the examination period (2007~2009). The analysis was based on 2,751 firms that received governmental support via both R&D subsidiary and tax reduction with 7,038 panel events during the economic recession (2008~2009) and found that governmental support drives R&D investment of firms during the recession. The contribution of this research is that investigation of policy effectiveness categorized by firm sizes, particularly during the economic crisis. The result of the study is that during the recession, large firms had more elasticity increase towards tax reduction whereas smaller firms and ventures had it towards direct financial subsidiary. The elasticity increase of both large and small firms was in positive association with firms' R&D investment. The result indicates that government support obviously has positive influence on R&D investment of firms during the crisis, even enforcing the investment.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.59-85
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• 2021

This study aims to examine whether the characteristics such as a start-up company, possessing a research organization, and benefiting from government R&D programs significantly contributed to the conversion of marginal companies to normal companies, from the viewpoint of technological innovation. The result shows supporting government R&D programs to start-up companies that have become a marginal company positively contributes to the transition to a normal company, centering on the high-tech industry. In addition, it was confirmed that the research organization of marginal companies positively contributed to the transition to a normal company. These results imply that a paradigm shift from the existing industrial policy focusing on restructuring of marginal companies to a selective support policy for marginal companies with a high possibility of transition to normal companies is strongly needed. It is also necessary to strengthen the strategic use of government R&D programs to support the transition of a marginal company to a normal company.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.199-233
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• 2014

This paper attempts to investigate how and why the additionality effects occur in the case when a firm receives government subsidy as opposed to counterfactual situation. To demonstrate this, we selected 12 SMEs(small and medium enterprises) firms in Daejeon area and have conducted multiple case studies. In order to analyse the multiple cases of firms, we classified firms innovative activities into three stages which are composed of input, behaviour and output stages and related various factors. Furthermore, we investigated the differences according to types of firms and stages of firm growth. Empirical results show that various input, behaviour and output additionality effects exist when firms receive public subsidies. Compared to companies in the growth and mature stages, startup phase companies depend on government subsidy extensively and they use public subsidies strategically to develop new product and to change their strategic direction. The attitude of firms to use government subsidies is different according to their types and stage of growth as well.

• Clean Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.181-188
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• 2011

In this study, the complementary or crowding-out effects of public R&D subsidy on private R&D investment in the cleaner production were analysed between the effects and the major determinants (company size, R&D investment intensity, ratio of government investment, R&D manpower intensity). Among 207 firms' projects, the number of the complementary effect was 95 (45.9%) while that of crowding-out effect was 38 (18.4%). Resulting from logistic regression, the higher the R&D investment of sponsored companies is, the more complementary effect they show, responding to public R&D subsidy, and increase own R&D investment. The other determinants, however, showed no significant effects on firms' R&D investment. To heighten the effect of public cleaner production R&D, it is need to increase the priority of R&D investment intensity among the determinants. And to increase the performance of governmental R&D investment, further studies for the individual public R&D programs are necessary.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.222-235
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• 2022

The Government provides a financial assistance to stimulate firm R&D and innovation activities. Previous papers on the impact of public subsidies on firm R&D investments mainly had a focus on an individual policy tool regardless of potential impacts of other policy instruments. This study addresses this gap by examining the effects of policy mix regarding a subsidy and a tax credit. The empirical analyses from fixed effect model using Survey on Technology of SMEs 2015-2017 revealed valuable points. First, policy mix induces more R&D investment of SMEs, which in turn, shows a complementary relationship between two instruments. Second, even if impact of tax credit controlled, subsidy is positively associated with SMEs R&D investment. These findings justify policy mix interventions to promote SME R&D activity. Moreover, grants can be applied as a more useful policy tool for SMEs that are constrained by resources and capabilities.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1474-1492
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• 2018

This study empirically analyzes the direct effects of government support for SMEs (project success) and indirect effects (sales growth) focusing on the differences between financially difficult firms (so-called 'zombie' firms) and 'normal' firms. If the zombie firm has a problem in technology development (success of the project) and the economic resilience capability (sales growth), then excluding them from the government's R&D support programs would enhance the overall efficiency of the programs. If not, government R&D could complement the market failure and play a positive role in revitalizing marginal firms. In this study, we collected data about 7,575 firms who participated in seven government R&D programs in 2013 and 2014. As a result of the logistic regression analysis, we did not find evidence that the likelihood of success for zombie firms was lower than that for the normal firms. However, the tendency of sales growth after the project was smaller for the zombie firms than for the normal firms. For zombie firms, we also found that firms that succeeded in the project were more likely to increase sales than those that failed.