Government Subsidies, Financial Structure and R&D Investment: Evidence from Chinese SMEs

摘要

This paper studies the influence of government subsidies and financing structure on corporate R&D investments by using the empirical data of Chinese enterprises listed in SME board. The study finds that: 1) Internal financing has the greatest effect on R&D investments, followed by debt financing and equity financing. 2) Both government subsidies and corporate financing can significantly influence corporate R&D investments. 3) Government subsidies have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between corporate financing and R&D investments, that is, the more government subsidies the small and medium-sized enterprises receive, the more willing they are to invest funds from other financing channels into R&D activities. In the further sample test, it is also find that government subsidies have a greater effect on the promotion of R&D investments in non-state-owned enterprises than in state-owned enterprises.