The impact of R&D intensity on corporate reputation: Interaction effect of innovation with high social benefit

Abstract

Purpose: This article analyzes the effect that Research and Development (R&D) intensity has on corporate reputation, and how this effect can be positively moderated when innovation yields some kind of social benefits.

Design/methodology/approach: As a theoretical framework we use the resource based view theory and the institutional theory. For the empirical analysis we used the panel data technique to estimate our models, the sample is composed of 257 US firms and covers a four-year period from 2004 to 2007.

Findings: The results of this research demonstrates that R&D with the moderation of innovation with high social benefits will produce a greater positive effect on corporate reputation than R&D by itself, since R&D activities can produce innovations that do not produce any social benefit which may not be perceived by stakeholders.

Practical implications: Innovative firms should focus their efforts on identifying opportunities in their R&D processes to initiate related corporate social responsibility activities that could help them build a good reputation, which in the long run can give them a competitive advantage and profitable results.

Originality/value: Recently several studies have seen that R&D is related with corporate social responsibility and that it is important to include both variables when studying financial performance. Our research is novel in the sense that we are applying the same logic but studying the relationship with corporate reputation, which has been scarcely talked about in existing literature.