A Study on Policy effects on Boosting R&D Intensity of Domestic Companies

Background/Objectives: A variety of R&D policies for small businesses are being implemented, but R&D investment of small businesses is extremely weak. The aim of this study is to find the causes for this and to suggest effective policies. Methods/Statistical Analysis: To find the causes for weak R&D investment of small companies, a survey was conducted with 300 small companies, which had invested in R&D from 2012 to 2014. For this survey, structured questionnaires were distributed and there was an interview using telephone and fax from August 19th to September 22nd 2015. Also, a survey was conducted with 829 of 1,675 mid-sized companies that belong to the Association of High Potential Enterprises of Korea and 102 effective responses were analyzed. Findings: The rate of R&D success in the small companies that received government support was 59.2%, but it was mostly focused on performance or quality improvement. At every stage, the companies considered insufficiency of funds and complex administrative procedures as major failure factors. They preferred funding and prototype production support as the most required policies. On the contrary, the mid-sized companies showed a lot of demands for professional manpower, facilities and equipment purchase support. This demonstrates there is a need to offer opportunities for joint use of specialized test equipment’s. Application/Improvements: This study has big significance by studying the demands of the companies, but further research would need to observe if the policies suggested serve as continued growth engines.