Seeking Finance, Perceived Financial Constraints and R&DEngagement

This study empirically examines the association among R&D engagement, seeking finance and perceived financial constraints in high-tech SMEs. R&D engagement includes the decision of R&D engagement (whether a firm was engaged in R&D) and the degree of R&D engagement (actual R&D expenditure). I take into account both financial constraints and the former process, seeking finance. This paper proposes two sequential hypotheses. Firstly, I postulate that the decision of R&D engagement has a positive relationship with seeking finance in high-tech SMEs. Next, for those high-tech SMEs that applied for fund, I presume that perceived financial constraints are negatively related with the degree of R&D engagement. The empirical results are consistent with my expectations and thus the hypotheses are supported.