연구개발-산출 탄력성을 활용한 중소기업 기술혁신 역량과 성장의 관계 분석

In order to formulate effective R&D support policies for sustainable growth of SMEs through technological innovation, it is required to properly evaluate their technological capabilities. Meanwhile, the heterogeneity in capabilities at each process of technological innovation is pronounced for SMEs; they often exhibit significant differences in their levels of R&D capabilities and commercialization capabilities, making it difficult to assess their overall technological capabilities and predict growth with conventional indicators. Hence, we introduce R&D-output elasticity as a comprehensive indicator encompassing the entire technological innovation process and empirically examine whether the measure can explain SMEs' future growth. Our analyses show that firms with higher R&D-output elasticity experience greater growth in sales and employment, though the effect diminishes over time. It implies that R&D-output elasticity provides a long-term competitive advantage, requiring continuous efforts by each firm and policy support to enhance or maintain this advantage. In sum, this study offers a methodology using financial data to evaluate SMEs' technological capabilities and demonstrates the explanatory power of the measure for SME growth, providing implications for strategic decisions on resource allocation and the establishment of effective R&D support policies.