International Journal of Technology Management (5 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Relationship between Profitability and U.S. Firm Strategies for Research and Development Intensity and Capital Investment  
  by Takayuki Suzuki, Hiroshi Imahashi, Kiminori Gemba 
  Abstract: Research and development (R&D) has been associated with the accomplishment of business results through capital investment. In recent years, the efficiency of R&D investment by U.S. firms has declined; however, there is a lack of empirical evidence. Therefore, this study empirically analyses the relationship between R&D, capital investments, and the U.S. firms' profitability. A regression analysis was conducted using data from U.S. stock market-listed firms between fiscal years (FY) 2010 to 2021. The results indicate a significantly negative R&D ratio coefficient for all years. Additionally, the capital investment ratio coefficient was significantly positive in FY2019 and FY2021. However, for FY2011 it was positive but insignificant. The coefficients were significantly negative for all other years. The results indicate decreased efficiency of R&D investments by U.S. firms, indicating opportunities to enhance their profitability. Moreover, the findings contribute to the existing literature and will assist practitioners make more informed management-related decisions.
  Keywords: research and development expenses; capital expenditure; profitability; research and development intensity; U.S. firms' strategy; investment efficiency; quantitative analysis; longitudinal study.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2025.10069662
   
  
• ESG Ratings and Innovation Performance of Listed Companies in China - Based on tests of mediating and regulating effects  
  by Mingran Wu, XiangYi Zhang 
  Abstract: This paper empirically examines the impact of ESG ratings on the innovation performance of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2022. The results show that improvements in the ESG ratings are significantly beneficial to the innovation performance of enterprises in the next year. Moreover, corporation age, power concentration, liquidity, the proportion of independent directors, the leverage ratio and the book-to-market value are conducive to the adjustment effect of ESG ratings. Especially, corporate profitability can play a positive mediating role, but corporate growth plays a negative role. Furthermore, competitive level actively enhances the innovation performance and profitability of enterprises. However, the pursuit of high ESG scores can incentivise monopolistic enterprises to innovate. In addition, the marginal effect of ESG investment on polluting enterprises is stronger than that on clean enterprises and that the effect on private enterprises is stronger than that on government-owned enterprises.
  Keywords: ESG; listed company; innovation; financial performance; market competition degree.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2025.10075910
   
  
• Assessing International Knowledge Spill-Overs from Government Funded R&D: Evidence from Japanese National Projects  
  by Naoki Takada, Yaichi Aoshima, Kazunari Matsushima, Akira Izumi 
  Abstract: This study investigates international knowledge spillovers arising from government-funded R&D projects (GFPs). While GFPs are often justified by their domestic benefits, their international effects remain less clear. We posit that GFPs amplify international spillovers by signalling technological promise: government selection legitimises priority fields and attracts foreign attention. Using patent data from Japanese GFPs and a matched sample of private R&D, we find that GFPs patents receive significantly more international forward citations, especially when projects are highlighted in national budget plans. These results suggest that GFPs, though designed to enhance national competitiveness, simultaneously strengthen the global circulation of knowledge. The findings highlight the need for policy designs that balance openness with appropriation by enhancing absorptive capacity and incentivising follow-up innovation.
  Keywords: government funded R&D project; GFPs; international knowledge spillover; innovation policy; national competitiveness; patent citations; signalling; attention; project selection; Japan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2025.10076336
   
  
• From Matching to Integrating: Iterative Development of Business Models in China’s B2B E-commerce  
  by Xinyu Chen, Shan Liu, Junzhi Luo, Ziyang Wang, Tian Wu, Shuyang Xiao, Liming Xiong 
  Abstract: Adopting a platform-economy perspective, this study investigates the iterative evolution of business models in Chinas B2B sector, framing firms as multi-sided intermediaries that orchestrate ecosystem interactions. Through a longitudinal multi-case analysis, the research identifies distinct developmental pathways shaped by initial resource configurations, revealing how companies transform from transaction facilitators to ecosystem designers. The findings demonstrate that value is created through three synergistic mechanisms: improving operational efficiency, optimising activity systems, and reconfiguring the division of labour across upstream and downstream participants. Crucially, these business model innovations enable platforms to leverage bilateral network effects and collaborative resource utilisation, embodying key sharing economy characteristics such as shared infrastructure and the pooling of idle capacities. By explaining how platforms align their activity systems with resource-sharing logic, this paper contributes a comprehensive framework to platform economy theory and the broader literature on B2B digital transformation
  Keywords: B2B e-commerce; Business model innovation; Ecosystem integration; Value creation; Case study.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2025.10076337
   
  

Special Issue on: Innovation in a Bifurcated World Challenges and Opportunities for High-Tech Firms

• To Span the Valley of Death in Emerging Markets: New Scientific Knowledge, Bridging Scientists, and Science-Based Firm Innovation  
  by Xinrong Li, Jiasu Lei, Yuan Tian, Miao Yang 
  Abstract: This study investigated the correlation between new scientific knowledge and science-based firm innovation, and the mediating role of bridging scientists, in emerging markets. The study presents new insights into how new scientific knowledge exhibits a unique benefit in establishing sustainable competitive advantage for firms. It contends that bridging scientists, an emerging class of scientific human intellectual capital in firms, can improve science-based firm innovation owing to their dual role in patenting and publishing, enabling firms to deal with different and divergent logics of new science and innovation development and spanning the valley of death between science and innovation. Our hypotheses are supported by a robust empirical analysis of 146 publicly listed Chinese biopharmaceutical companies. This study offers valuable evidence for emerging markets and proposing an expanded classification of bridging scientists to provide valuable supplementary evidence in response to the call for the heterogeneity of scientific human capital.
  Keywords: knowledge-based view; new scientific knowledge; science-based firm innovation; bridging scientists; emerging markets; China.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2025.10073391