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<p>Why do R&amp;D superstar firms—the elite few that consistently dominate global R&amp;D investment—differ in their innovation performance? This study decomposes the variance in R&amp;D outcomes into firm-, industry-, and institution-level effects using the strategy tripod framework. Using the EU Industrial R&amp;D Investment Scoreboard data of 3,444 firms from 2011 to 2022 (24,107 firm–year obs.), we introduce two novel performance metrics (i)&#xa0;Return on Research Capital (RORC) and (ii)&#xa0;Price-to-Research Ratio (PRR)in addition to (iii)&#xa0;R&amp;D Intensity to capture both input- and output-based dimensions of R&amp;D success. The results show that firm-specific effects primarily drive R&amp;D Intensity, while industry and institutional factors explain greater variability in RORC and PRR, particularly among publicly listed firms. These findings suggest that the performance of R&amp;D superstars is not solely firm-centric but shaped by sectoral and institutional contexts. By integrating the strategy tripod with multidimensional measures of R&amp;D performance, this study advances understanding of what sustains superior corporate research outcomes.</p>

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Why Do R&D Superstars Differ? An Empirical Analysis of the World’s Top R&D Investors

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月18日

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  • Filip Lestan,
  • Tommy H. Clausen,
  • Sajal Kabiraj

摘要

Why do R&D superstar firms—the elite few that consistently dominate global R&D investment—differ in their innovation performance? This study decomposes the variance in R&D outcomes into firm-, industry-, and institution-level effects using the strategy tripod framework. Using the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard data of 3,444 firms from 2011 to 2022 (24,107 firm–year obs.), we introduce two novel performance metrics (i) Return on Research Capital (RORC) and (ii) Price-to-Research Ratio (PRR)in addition to (iii) R&D Intensity to capture both input- and output-based dimensions of R&D success. The results show that firm-specific effects primarily drive R&D Intensity, while industry and institutional factors explain greater variability in RORC and PRR, particularly among publicly listed firms. These findings suggest that the performance of R&D superstars is not solely firm-centric but shaped by sectoral and institutional contexts. By integrating the strategy tripod with multidimensional measures of R&D performance, this study advances understanding of what sustains superior corporate research outcomes.