An Empirical Study on the Impact of R&D Investment on Firm Performance based on Total Factor Productivity Mediation Effect

Abstract

Using the data of GEM listed companies from 2012-2019 as the research sample, this paper explores the impact of R&D investment on firm performance in terms of the mechanism by which R&D innovation investment affects the internal productivity of firms and then transmits to firm performance, and determines whether the internal productivity of firms plays a mediating role in promoting the relationship between firm innovation and firm performance. It is found that R&D investment can effectively improve firm performance, and total factor productivity plays an incomplete mediating role between the two, i.e., the improved effect of R&D investment on firm performance is partly achieved by increasing total factor productivity.