The Tangible Contribution of R&D Spending Foreign-Owned Plants to a Host Region: a Plant Level Study of the Irish Manufacturing Sector (1980-1996)

Both categories of non-European plants have a higher average number of
plants undertaking R&D spend. The highest percentage is for North
American plants, with almost 30 per cent undertaking some R&D spend.
North American plants also undertake a scale of annual R&D investment
that is four times the level of European and other Non-European plants.
They also have the highest R&D intensity (4.7%) followed by the
European plants (3.2%). This slight decrease for the North American
plants reflects the fact that their scale of R&D investment has not
increased as fast as their sales over this period. The mean R&D personnel
is 80 persons for North American plants, a five-fold increase from 1986.
European plants report a lower intensity of (49), equivalent to over a four
fold increase in personnel. North American plants are more likely to have
a formal R&D department (18%) compared with plants from Europe and
Asia-Pacific (14%).

IV Tangible Contribution of Foreign-owned Plants to the Host
Region

The importance of foreign-owned firms in national R&D activities
reflects at least in part state policy in attracting the subsidiaries of
companies operating in highly R&D intensive and globally fast-growing
industries. The policy of supporting plants in high-tech sectors and the
desire for R&D activities in all plants was designed to ensure (i) a
deepening of the plant's commitment to Ireland as measured by the lower
propensity to exit of R&D-active relative to non-R&D-active plants and
(ii) a higher quantity of high income net jobs created as measured by a
higher level of job persistence in R&D-active relative to non-R&D-active
plants.

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