The impact of private research and development expenditures and tax incentives on sustainable corporate growth in selected OECD countries

Abstract

Investment in research and development (R&D) plays a vital role in sustainable economic growth in many countries around the world. In addition, also companies are aware of that R&D investment is becoming more and more important since it can generate future benefits, which may ultimately result in the sustainable corporate growth. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of private R&D expenditures and R&D tax incentives on sustainable corporate growth. Using multiple regression analysis, a panel dataset of 1372 companies investing the largest amounts in R&D activity is analysed. The results of this paper reveal that private R&D expenditures as well as R&D tax incentives (in interaction with private R&D expenditures) have a positive impact on sustainable corporate growth at the firm level in selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The comparison between different subgroups of companies reveals that private R&D expenditures represent one of the main driver of sustainable corporate growth especially in high-tech companies, while R&D tax incentives (in interaction with private R&D expenditures) are key determinant of sustainable corporate growth in both subgroups of companies. The results may help governments in the formulation of relevant R&D tax incentive policy in the future.