海外研发如何影响中国企业的专利实施水平?

How does Overseas R&D Affect the Patent Implementation of Chinese Enterprises?

提升专利实施水平是创新驱动发展战略的重要环节,也是推动经济高质量发展的有效方式。基于2019年中国企业专利调查数据,实证检验企业开展海外研发对其发明专利实施水平的影响。研究发现,海外研发有利于提升企业发明专利的实施水平,在利用倾向得分匹配法和工具变量法缓解内生性问题后仍然成立。机制检验结果表明,海外研发主要通过改善专利质量来提升企业的专利实施水平。异质性分析发现,海外研发对专利实施水平的正向影响,在研发方式为跨国联合研发、研发地点为欧洲的企业中更加显著。企业应通过调整创新战略、积极开展海外研发以提升专利质量,进而带动专利实施水平的提升。

In order to cultivate international competitive advantage,many Chinese enterprises are turning to overseas R&D as a strategic choice to strengthen their innovation capabilities.However,achieving high-quality and leapfrog development require enterprises not only to enhance their innovation capabilities,but also to improve their level of patent implementation and transform their innovation achievements into productivity.Most of the existing literature has investigated the impact of overseas R&D on enterprises’innovation performance,but there are few studies involving the impact of overseas R&D on enterprises’transformation of innovation achievements.Based on data from the Chinese Enterprise Patent Survey in 2019,this paper uses an ordered probit model to empirically examine the impact of overseas R&D on the transformation of valid invention patents.We find that overseas R&D can improve the transformation of Chinese enterprises’invention patents.In order to alleviate the endogeneity issues,we further use the propensity score matching(PSM)method and the instrumental variables(IV)method for causal inference,the finding of which is still robust.The mechanism analysis indicates that overseas R&D mainly promotes the level of patent transformation through improving patent quality.The heterogeneity analysis shows that the promotion effect of different modes and locations of overseas R&D on enterprises’patent transformation is heterogeneous.Compared with the establishment and acquisition of overseas R&D institutions,the multinational joint R&D mode is more conducive to promoting the level of enterprises’patent transformation;and compared with the United States and Japan,overseas R&D located in Europe has a more prominent effect on patent transformation.This paper contributes to the existing literature in the following three aspects.First,this paper systematically investigates the effect and the internal mechanism of overseas R&D on the level of enterprises’patent transformation.This paper expands studies on the factors influencing the level of patent transformation from the perspective of overseas R&D on the one hand,and provides new evidence for how overseas R&D affects enterprise innovation from the perspective of patent transformation on the other hand.Second,by subdividing different modes and locations of overseas R&D,heterogeneous effects of overseas R&D can be explored,which deepens the understanding of the effects of overseas R&D on the level of patent transformation.Third,based on existing studies focusing on how overseas R&D affects the transformation of innovation achievements(patents),we further explore the impact of overseas R&D on the transformation of enterprises’innovation achievements(patents),by using the unique data from the Chinese Enterprise Patent Survey.It helps to systematically gain insight into the complete innovation path of enterprises from the acquisition of overseas R&D resources to the realization of patent value.Since 2011,China has ranked first in the world in both the number of patent applications and the number of the patent granted.However,China still faces problems such as low patent quality and low level of patent transformation.How to transform this patent quantity advantage into quality advantage,and how to promote the transformation of innovation achievements into productivity remains an important issue for China’s economy to achieve high-quality development.This paper provides insights into this critical issue from the perspective of conducting overseas R&D by enterprises.In the context of economic globalization and“go global”strategy,Chinese enterprises can spontaneously adjust their innovation strategies and actively conduct overseas R&D.Besides,it is important to note that when enterprises are conducting overseas R&D,they should focus on enhancing patents’technological sophistication and its coupling with the market,so as to strengthen the quality of patents,improve the level of patent transformation,and boost China’s high-quality development.