R&D Internationalization and Innovation Performance: Evidence from Chinese Enterprises

Abstract

In the process of R&D internationalization, enterprises in emerging economies represented by China seek advanced knowledge and technological resources from overseas to improve their innovation capability and performance. Taking the listed companies in Chinese information technology industry from 2009 to 2020 as the research sample, this paper investigates the impact mechanism of R&D internationalization on innovation performance, and tests the moderating effects of state-owned equity and absorptive capacity on the relationship between them. The empirical findings show that R&D internationalization significantly improves enterprise’s innovation performance, and both state-owned equity and absorptive capacity positively moderate the relationship. This enlightens that in the process of R&D internationalization, emerging multinational enterprises can not only obtain the support and services from the home government by increasing the proportion of state-owned equity or establishing political connections, but can also better realize the absorption and transformation of external advanced knowledge and technology by increasing R&D investment, thereby improving the enterprises' innovation performance.