The Characteristics of SMEs Preferring Cooperative Research and Development Support from the Government: The Case of Korea

Hyoung Sun Yoo, Chul Lee and Seung-Pyo Jun
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Hyoung Sun Yoo: Division of Data Analysis, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), 66, Hoegi-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02456, Korea
Chul Lee: Division of Data Analysis, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), 66, Hoegi-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02456, Korea
Seung-Pyo Jun: Division of Data Analysis, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), 66, Hoegi-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02456, Korea

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: To find ways to make the government’s cooperative research and development (R&D) support policy for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) more effective, we analyzed the characteristics of SMEs that prefer such support. Through decision tree and discriminant analysis of 3300 Korean SMEs, we derived rules to distinguish between groups that prefer cooperative R&D support and those that do not. Based on the results, the important influencing factors were found to be the time required for R&D planning, prior experience in cooperation, the availability of equipment, the ratio of self-procured R&D funding, the attempts at R&D and the firm’s level of performance. The results suggested that if the policy objective is to encourage more active involvement of SMEs in cooperative R&D support programs, it is desirable to attract SMEs with less cooperative experience and not to give too much weight to past achievements when selecting beneficiaries. Furthermore, we believe that policies offering supports in the R&D planning stage and the joint utilization of equipment could be solutions to reduce the practical difficulties experienced by SMEs related to cooperative R&D.

Keywords: cooperative R&D; support policy for SMEs; open innovation; decision tree; discriminant analysis; preferences of SMEs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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