Value Creation and Capture in R&D Investments: International and Finnish evidence

It is generally argued that R&D investments contribute to wealth creation both on the firm level and economy-wide. So far there is, however, only limited firm-level evidence on the positive effects of R&D investments and the necessary conditions for realizing them. Understanding the role of R&D investments for wealth creation is particularly important in small economies, such as Finland, that base their prosperity on the creation and utilization of advanced knowledge. While firms have themselves been reducing their R&D investments in recent years, there are a number of public sector organizations that fund the knowledge creation activities of firms without specifically knowing under what conditions the benefits of R&D are maximized and when the benefits will accrue to the nation and society that funded the R&D or whether they will incur to outside firms that then cheaply acquire the fruits of poorly directed and managed R&D investments. Taking primarily the perspective of a growth-oriented technology-based firm, the proposed research project examines value creation and capture in R&D investments keeping in mind both the firm and the economy-level implications of R&D. The research project is carried out as an international comparative study.

Professor Tomi Laamanen, D.Sc, D.Sc., Helsinki University of Technology,
Professor Wolfgang Bessler, D.Sc.,Justus-Liebig University, Germany
Professor Juha-Pekka Kallunki, D.Sc., University of Oulu
Professor Thomas Keil, D.Sc., York University, Canada