Technology outsourcing in manufacturing small-and medium-sized firms: another competitive resource?

Nicholas O'Regan, Gerhard Kling

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Based on a sample of UK manufacturing small‐ and medium‐sized firms in the engineering and electronics industry, the study identifies firm‐ and industry‐specific factors that stimulate R&D outsourcing and assesses the impact of R&D investment and outsourcing on firms' profitability. The findings indicate that (1) R&D investment fosters profitability, (2) firms with a lower turnover spend less on R&D, (3) current R&D does not explain innovation measured by revenues from new products and patents, (4) smaller firms with lower R&D investment levels tend to outsource R&D and (5) outsourcing is not inferior in terms of product innovation. Hence, outsourcing can enhance profitability – albeit the benefit of outsourcing decreases with firm size. Managers of small firms should consider outsourcing R&D, as this can reduce R&D expenditure and lead to the more effective use of resources as well as achieving a similar degree of product innovation with resultant increases in profitability.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)92-105
Number of pages14
JournalR&D Management
Volume41
Issue number1
Early online date22 Dec 2010
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2011

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Technology outsourcing in manufacturing small-and medium-sized firms: another competitive resource?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this