Customer Concentration, Managerial Ability, and Corporate Performance

We examined whether and how managerial ability affects the relationship between customer concentration and corporate performance. Based on a novel measure of managerial ability, we found that customer concentration has a significant negative effect on corporate performance, while managerial ability can mitigate this effect. The negative effect of customer concentration is only significant in the subsample of low ability and lower efficiency in asset utilization, while the moderating effect of managerial ability is significant for all levels of asset utilization efficiency and more significant for firms with a lower gross margin. The results are robust to numerous robustness tests and endogeneity concerns. Additional analysis of mechanisms shows that in addition to superior operating ability, competent managers select major customers who are more beneficial to their company and decrease the sensitivity of their research and development (R&D) investment to customers. These findings indicate that the heterogeneity of managerial ability plays an important role in the supplier–customer context when the supplier firm generally faces one or more concentrated customers.

The role of R&D and economic policy uncertainty in Sri Lanka’s economic growth

In this paper, we assess the role of investment in research and development (R&D) and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) in Sri Lanka’s economic growth experience. We do this by first determining which endogenous growth theories best explain the evolution of total factor productivity (TFP) in the country. Using historical time series data (1980–2018), we find that semi-endogenous growth theories best explain the evolution of TFP in Sri Lanka. This evidence suggests that R&D is critical to the country’s TFP expansion. We find that, through R&D, EPU has a crucial detrimental impact on TFP growth, although it is short-lived. Our findings are robust and have important implications for R&D investment and for moderating EPU.

Progress Towards Perennial Grains for Prairies and Plains

Perennial grain crops have been proposed as environmentally sustainable alternatives to annual grain crop systems that currently dominate the world's major breadbaskets. Proponents emphasize the potential of perennial grains to mimic natural systems and thereby reduce soil erosion, nutrient losses, and degradation of soil quality although need for adequate grain yield is also recognized as a prerequisite for success. Here we assess progress since 2005 (16 y) towards development of perennial grain systems with sufficient productivity to be seen as competent alternatives to annual wheat on the prairies and plains of North America and Australia. Based on reports published in refereed journals, we see little evidence that yield of Intermediate Wheatgrass or perennial wheats have improved to the point they are viable alternatives. Slow progress is attributed to lack of minimum grain yield targets for economic viability, lack of designated target regions where perennial grains are most likely to be competitive against annuals, selection methods that focused on components of yield rather than yield per se (i.e. on an area basis), and relatively small R & D investment compared to resources given to genetic and agronomic improvement of major annual grain crops. Given current status, we conclude that perennial grains will require substantial R & D investment and several decades if they are to achieve sufficient yield potential and yield persistence to become more than a niche crop for upscale health food markets in wealthy countries.

Analysis on the Relationship between Financing Constraints and Research and Development from the Perspective of the Location of Top Management Network

Taking listed Chinese companies during 2009–2019 as objects, this paper constructs a multivariate discriminant model to measure the degrees of multiple financing constraints and establishes empirical models to analyze the non-linear relationship between the financing constraints and research and development (R&D) investment. Further, the author investigated how the top management network (TMN) location acts on the relationship between financing constraints and R&D investment. The research provides a robust evidence to an inverted U-shaped relationship between the degrees of financing constraints and corporate R&D investment: appropriate financing constraints promote corporate R&D investment; once passing a turning point, excess financing constraints would suppress corporate R&D investment. Besides, it was learned that TMN location positively moderates the financing constraints and R&D investment. In addition, TMN location plays a more obvious regulating role in non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) than in SOEs. The research clarifies the relationship between financing constraints and R&D investment, as well as the moderating role of TMN location. Empirical evidence was provided to help the government reduce credit discrimination and enterprises to widen financing channels and improve innovation capability.

COVID-19's Impact on China's Strategic Emerging Industries: An Observation of Policy Difficulties

The study investigates the influence of the COVID-19 on the rate of R&D investment and foreign exchange development of China's most important emerging industry firms. From 2010 to 2020, data were collected from 26 locations across China, focusing on seven different types of critical creating companies. To analyze the data, we have applied Fourier Increased Unit Root Test, Granger causality assessments test, Pattern Assessment test, Poisson pseudo most excellent probability (PPML) approach, Wald test, and Regression analysis test. The results of the tests reveal a clear underlying association among COVID-19 relates Chinese exports and imports. COVID-19's instant effects on imports and exports lack working capital have been calculated, but the short-term, medium-to-long-term products are composite and unidentified. The article result main results are following: (i) The COVID-19 impacts the R&D investment is main industries like as high-end equipment industry, new materials industry, and new-era data innovation. (ii) The COVID-19 highly affects the imports and exports development network of Chinese strategic emerging industries which emphasizes cross-industry grouping features. The study provides the guidance to the future researchers to focus on COVID-19 affects on the strategic emerging industries of developed and underdeveloped countries to determine of foreign direct investment inflow and unemployment growth rates.JEL: G20, O10, O40

Corporate Governance and Firm Innovation

Innovation is a key factor for firms' competitive advantage in the long-term and for their financial success. Scholars highlight the underinvestment problem with respect of R&D investment. This chapter focuses on two relevant variables of corporate governance that influence firms' innovation performance: firm ownership and board of directors. In the first section, the effect of ownership structure on R&D investment is analyzed. More specifically, the chapter will illustrate the effects of family ownership and institutional ownership on innovation investments. The second section explores the main theoretical perspectives investigating the functions of board of directors and the main board tasks. Lastly, three attributes of board structure and their effect on R&D investments are explored.