Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of internal R&D and patent applications by Latin American firms on firm performance. Patents should have a positive direct influence on performance. Internal R&D, in turn, should have a positive direct and indirect influence (mediated by patents) as R&D generates innovations regardless of whether they are patented or not. A sample of 751 firms from six Latin American countries showed that when performance is measured by turnover growth, internal R&D has a positive influence and patents have a negative influence. Internal R&D also affects patents, showing a negative indirect influence on performance. The discussions that follow seek to explain these unexpected results.

摘要

本文调查了拉丁美洲公司内部研发和专利申请对公司绩效的影响。专利应该对性能产生积极的直接影响。反过来，内部研发应该具有积极的直接和间接影响力（由专利来调节），因为研发无论是否获得了专利都会产生创新。对来自六个拉丁美洲国家的751家公司的抽样调查显示，以营业额增长来衡量业绩时，内部研发会产生积极影响，而专利会产生负面影响。内部研发也会影响专利，对绩效产生间接的负面影响。随后的讨论试图解释这些意外的结果。