İşletme Bilimi Dergisi

Öz

Innovation and R&D (Research and Development) are the most important
factors that firms need to grow and improve their performances in today's
competitive world. According to the micro perspective, R&D is the
activities of companies to produce and develop a new product to increase their
sales and profitability. From a macro point of view, it covers the activities
of the countries to gain superiority in foreign trade. Although the R&D
expenditure in Turkey lags behind OECD countries, it has been increasing from
year to year. By making it possible to produce innovative products and
services, R&D investments provide long-term growth and competitive
advantages and create value for corporations. This study aims to investigate
the importance of the impact of the R&D expenditures which show on
increasing scale day by day on the financial performance of the companies.

To achieve this study’s aim, the impacts of the R&D expenditures on the
return on assets and return on equity of were tested with panel data analysis
for the firms operating in BIST technology and information sectors. The data
set of the study covers the years 2009-2016. There are 16 companies in the BIST
Technology Index during the study period. Five companies are selected from
these 16 companies. R&D expenditures, return on assets (ROA) and return on
equity (ROE) of these five companies were taken into consideration in the
analysis. In the study, Lin. Ge and Goh (2011), Polat and Elmas (2016), Ehie
and Olibe (2010) and Choi and Williams (2013) studies were referenced. To
analyze the relationship between R&D and ROA variables, two different
models were employed. In both models, ARGE variable was used as an independent
variable. In the first model, active profitability was used as a dependent
variable (ROA). In the second model, the equity variable (ROE) was used as the
dependent variable.

The correlation matrix of the variables was formed primarily. There is a
“0.1397” relationship between R&D expenditures and return on assets (ROA).
Again, there is a “0.2152” relationship between R&D expenditures and return
on equity (ROE). The correlation between R&D expenditures and ROA and ROE
is very low. The time series includes the unit root. In other words, it is
non-stationary. Analyzes with non-stationary time series lose their
significance. In the analysis with non-stationary series, as the problem of
spurious regression will emerge, the stagnation process in series is tried to
be provided by difference or logarithmic transformations. Some tests were
applied to the variables to determine whether the series were stationary.
Levin, Lin and Chu (LLC), ADF and Im, Pesaran and Shin As a result of W-stat
(IPS) unit root tests, all of the variables were stationary for constant and
constant and trend. In the study, the co-integration between the series was
investigated by Kao and Pedroni test. Pedroni (2004) developed seven different
test statistics in order to test the existence of a co-integration relationship
between variables. The null hypothesis of Pedroni and Kao test is assumed to be
no co-integration between the series. According to the results of Pedroni and
Kao panel co-integration test, it is decided that there is a co-integration
relation of the variables for model 1 and model 2. In other words, the
variables used in the model for both models act together in the long term, and
the model predictions with the level values of these variables will not include
the spurious regression problem. In the long term, after the co-integration
results between variables, the causality relationship between the variables
used in both models was investigated by Granger causality analysis. Since both
model variables are co-integration in the I(0), the error correction model (VECM)
is used in the established equation. The results of Granger causality analysis
show that there is causality from R&D expenditures to asset profitability
in Model 1. Also in Model 2, there is a one-way causality from R&D
expenditures to equity profitability. Regression analysis, which is one of the
most preferred estimation methods in econometric analysis, is used to calculate
the effect of the independent variable or variables on the dependent variable.
In this study of using panel regression analysis, two models were analyzed. In
the first model, whether an increase in R&D expenditures increases the
profitability of assets, and in the second, an increase in R&D expenditures
increases the profitability of equity. As a result of the regression analysis
which made after the causality analysis shows that the R&D expenditure has
a meaningful positive effect on ROA and ROE.

In today's world where the importance of R&D and innovation is
increasing day by day, businesses that want to maximize their profits and increase
their sales in this way have started to give importance to R&D process by
making innovations in their activities, products and services.

In
this study, panel data analysis was performed by taking into account R&D
expenditures and assets and equity profitability of 5 out of 16 companies
included in BIST Technology Index. A simple regression method was chosen, and
only the effect of R&D on profitability was examined. However, there are
many factors that affect the profitability of the enterprise. For this reason,
it can be assumed that the coefficient of R&D effect on ROA and ROE is low.
The results of this study to explain the relationship between R&D and ROA
and ROE are given by Scherer (1965), Hanel and Alain (2002), Çiçek and Onat
(2012), Doğan and Yıldız (2013), Kocamış and Güngör (2014) and Light and
colleagues (2016). When it is thought that R&D expenditures affect
profitability positively, today's investments by businesses in R&D will
help future businesses to keep up with the era and survive in intense
competition. The establishment of units that will work for R&D in
enterprises and the human capital capable of producing innovation should be
strengthened. To carry out these transactions, management should allocate
sufficient budget for research and development. Turkey, as a country in the
developing countries as a group, giving importance to R&D activities can
provide the production of high value-added products. At this point, the public
should support the research and development activities in the enterprises, and
the tax exemptions to the enterprises which carry out R&D activities in
certain ratios will increase the motivation of the enterprises to R&D.