The idiosyncrasy of research and development efficiency across types of small- and medium-sized enterprises: evidence from Korea

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be the main driving force behind economic and employment growth. However, the low productivity levels of SMEs cannot be explained by lower levels of R&D investment, but are instead a consequence of a lack of research and development (R&D) efficiency that would have been adequate for making firms more competitive. To investigate any differences in R&D efficiency that impact the company overall performance in economic and employment performance, we analyze various types of SMEs in Korea. This paper applies two estimation methods: data envelopment analysis and regression analysis. This study takes three relevant factors of output: (1) the number of patents, (2) the number of success in terms of technology development, and (3) the level of profit attained through new products. Additionally, the study's model incorporates three parts of input: (1) human resources, (2) development periods, and (3) R&D budget. In the context of this paper, a comparison of the factors regarding efficiency is performed based upon the following criteria: the level of novelty, the length of a product's life cycle, and the time period of a competitor emulation of the product created by original enterprise. Comparing the factors that influence the efficiency of types within each criterion is meaningful in analyzing the differences in efficiency outcome on the various types among SMEs. Our findings indicate that SMEs vary among types in terms of efficiency and that there are also differences causing factors according to types.