중소기업의 기술평가등급과 재무성과 간의 연관성

This study investigates the validity of KIBO’s technology evaluation grades for SMEs by testing the association between the grades and their financial performance. A technology evaluation grade is a measure of the value of technology which the evaluated firm possesses. Thus, we expect that high technology evaluation grade would be associated with good financial performance in the past or in the future via the positive contribution of technology to a firm's business operations. As the financial performance of the evaluated firms, profitability, asset utilization, technology innovation, and stability are considered, and these are each measured by financial ratios such as income-to-sales ratio, asset turnover ratio, R&D investment-to-sales ratio, and debt-to-asset ratio. The sample consists of 2,243 firms for which technology evaluation grades and financial data are provided by KIBO during years 2005 and 2006. The results show that the higher the recent ratios of income-to-sales, asset turnover and R&D investment-to- sale, and the lower the recent debt-to-asset ratio, the higher technology evaluation grades. These provide evidence that high evaluation grades are associated with firms’ good financial performance in the past. However, only limited evidence is found, which links high technology evaluation grades to firms’ good financial performance in the future. Considering that firms’ financial performance is affected by numerous volatile market or economic factors, the results of this study can be said to support the validity of technology evaluation grades by KIBO to some extent.