تعهد منابع استراتژیک شرکت های با فن آوری پیشرفته: مقایسه بین المللی

This study investigates the dynamics of three strategic variables across three countries in the high-technology sector. The variables under investigation are research and development (R&D) expenditure, capital expenditure (CPX), and sales and administrative (S&A) expenditure and the three countries are the US, Japan, and the UK. We estimate the contemporaneous responsiveness of each of the three strategic variables in response to changes in revenues across the three countries. We also test the statistical causality among the three variables as it impacts revenues. Based on our analysis, we observe that the highest R&D intensity is among the US firms in comparison to firms from Japan and UK. American firms maintain R&D intensity at a stable level with an elasticity of one. We find that Japanese firms have the highest R&D elasticity. Japanese firms show the highest intensity in the area of CPX, whereas American firms have the highest elasticity. Our results show a less globally integrated high-tech sector in each country.

With the increasing rate of technological change in most competitive industries, research and development (R&D) has assumed a key functional role in many firms. In the technology intensive (or high-tech) industries, its role is even more significant. Just from a pure expenditure point of view, the firms in this sector spend on average 5% of their annual sales on R&D, whereas the low-technology sector spends approximately only 1% of their annual sales on R&D (Anon., 1994). The business dictionary and the US government define high-tech industries as those involved in biotechnology, computers, audio–video equipment, electronic components, aircraft parts, spacecraft, scientific instruments, medical instruments, and photographic instruments. However, R&D is only but one among many key variables that are strategically important to a high-tech firm. The three variables that we chose are labeled as “strategic inputs” and they are R&D expenditures, capital expenditures (CPX), and marketing and selling (S&A) expenditures. Collectively, these three expenditures account for a major portion of a firm's funds commitment. Funds committed by high-tech firms for these activities have greater emphasis on long-term results. For the high-tech sector, it is easier to make the case for the effects of R&D and CPX on a firm's performance from a long-term point of view Lach and Schankerman, 1989 and Echevarria, 1997. But, the incorporation of S&A expenditures as a strategic commitment by firms needs an explanation. Marketing is an integral part of a firm's overall corporate strategy. In the case of high-tech firms, innovations have to be successfully introduced for the long-term success of the product and viability of the high-tech companies. From a strategic perspective, corporate and brand image has to be cultivated and bolstered via direct and indirect resource commitment. Sales force efforts, advertising expenditures, and other promotional activities are necessary to successfully launch innovations and extend the lifecycle of old products. In addition, other expenditures such as after-sales service, warranties, etc. are an integral part of corporate strategy with long-term outlook. Marketing efforts in conjunction with R&D expenditures have been identified as critical drivers for new product introductions among high-tech firms (Song et al., 1997). However, within a firm, at the corporate level, these three variables often compete amongst themselves. Top management carries the responsibility of allocating funds for these areas in some optimal manner. The focus of this study is not on the optimality or effectiveness of a firm's expenditures but on the interaction of these three strategic variables across countries. Specifically, the objective of the paper is to (1) compare the high-tech sector firms in the three countries in terms of contemporaneous responsiveness of each of the three strategic variables to changes in sales revenues and (2) measure the statistical causality among the three variables and sales revenues. The sample used in this study consists of high-technology sector firms from Japan, UK, and US for the years 1986–1996. These three countries collectively account for roughly 70% of the world's total R&D expenditure (Cookson, 1998). Of the three countries, Japan and the US spend far more on R&D about 5% of annual sales than UK whose companies spend about 2% (Gow, 1998). In recent years, business leaders and policymakers have questioned the R&D efforts of businesses, especially firms in the high-technology sector. They are concerned that firms in Japan, UK, and the US underinvest in R&D. It is noted that the expenditures in the R&D area have remained stagnant in Japan and declined in the UK and the US Gow, 1998, IDG News Service, 1998 and Yoshida, 1998. These claims raise interesting questions such as: Is there underinvestment in R&D in the developed countries? What are the interactive effects of R&D and other strategic expenditures such as plant and equipment and selling and administration? In this context, the empirical investigation of elasticities and intensities of R&D as well as other strategic inputs will help us understand the high-technology sector of each country better. Elasticity or the contemporaneous response is closely related to the changes in the intensity level of the corresponding input. For example, when the R&D elasticity is greater than 1.0, we expect the R&D growth rate to exceed the growth rate of sales. This results in a higher R&D intensity, especially in the long-term. The second area of inquiry covers the statistical causality or precedent/antecedent relationship among changes in R&D expenditure, CPX, S&A expenditure, and sales revenue. These tests assess the adaptive and dynamic nature of the high-technology sector in the three countries. Variables are deflated by sales to control for heteroskedasticity. We also use year-to-year change in the variable rather than the level measurement of the variables, which minimizes problems due to autocorrelation and spurious regression.

This paper analyzed empirically the dynamics of the strategic variables of high-technology firms in the US, Japan, and UK. In studying the three strategic variables (R&D expenditures, CPX, and S&A expenditures), this paper has tried for the first time to link these key variables among high-tech firms in an international context. The results indicate a less integrated and heterogeneous high-tech sector among the three countries. It is interesting to note that in terms of intensities, each country has its own unique source of strength. That is, US, Japan, and UK show high intensities in R&D, CPX, and S&A expenditure, respectively. The source of the differences in these intensities may govern some of the strategic actions of companies that operate in these countries. This could be related to competitive advantages that each country possess in each line of strategic activity. These differences in intensities are likely to persist in the near future. This is consistent with the concept that “once you are behind, you are behind” in the competitive high-technology sector. The notion of US firms lag the Japanese firms in R&D is not supported by R&D intensities and elasticities. Performance measures and the interactive nature of the causality test results reflect a more dynamic and adaptive high-tech sector in the US. This combination is probably the reason for the economic dynamism and growth of the US high-tech sector during the 90s. This should lead US policymakers to continue their emphasis on technology as the engine that drives the overall economy. Other country-specific factors such as earnings management, restructuring, downsizing, productivity differences, and lifetime employment policy have the ability to explain some of the differences in resource commitments across the three countries. As reported by Hundley et al. (1996), the success of Japanese firms and their R&D intensities may have been a result of the Japanese firms operating as a coalition of stakeholders, each of whom has a significant interest in the long-term growth and viability of the enterprise. Definitely, the factors that determine long-term changes in a firm's investment program are also responsible for the allocation of resources for the three strategic variables of R&D, CPX, and S&A expenditure. Viewing a global firm as an ongoing entity, the conclusion is for these firms to recognize the interrelationships between the above three strategic variables. In order to explore the abovediscussed issues further, one should investigate these variables across a broader framework that may involve low-technology firms in these three countries. Also, an investigation of the interactive effects of the three strategic variables on a firm's performance may be useful for global companies and their executives.