Research, development and growth in state-owned enterprises: empirical evidence from Ecuador

Resumen

Investment in R&D is essential for the survival and growth of organizations. Recent literature has focused on the study of effects of R&D on the growth of private companies. However, there is no research studying the effects of R&D on the growth of Latin American public companies. This paper estimates, using an endogenous growth model, the effect of investments in R&D on sales growth in public enterprises of Ecuador. Data corresponding to a sample of 86 public companies have been taken from the Survey of Activities of Science and Technology (ACTI) of Ecuador for the period 2012 to 2014. These data are estimated by OLS. The results show that there is a statistically significant positive relation between investment in research and development and the growth of sales in public companies.