International operations and corporate R&D investment: Evidence from China

This paper presents an examination of the relationship between international operations and corporate R&D investment. Using a large sample of Chinese listed firms for the 2009–2022 period and the ordinary least squares method, we find that international operations have a positive effect on corporate R&D investment. The finding remains valid after a battery of robustness tests. Mechanism tests show that international operations increase corporate R&D investment by diversifying product demand instead of increasing firms’ international knowledge acquisition. This paper provides new evidence on the role of international operations in innovation activities.