The Effects of Inward Foreign Direct Investment on Innovation in Korean Industries

외국인직접투자가 혁신에 미치는 영향

We investigate the effects of inward foreign direct investment on innovation in Korean industries from 1998 to 2015 by first dividing FDI into greenfield and M&A (mergers and acquisitions). Furthermore, we use the number of patent applications as the proxy of innovation. Our empirical results are as follows: First, inward foreign direct investment has a significantly positive effect on the number of patent applications. This result suggests that the transfer of technology or knowledge through the inward foreign direct investment has a positive impact on innovation in Korean industries. Second, the greenfield investment has a positive impact on patent applications. This result is consistent with Liu and Zou (2008)'s assertion that greenfield investment has a positive impact on innovation by increasing facilities or plants. The M&A investment, however, has no significant effect on patent applications. This result is consistent with Stiebale and Reize (2011) who argue that the host countries do not benefit from technology transfer through M&A investments. In addition, this supports Liu and Zou (2008) and Garcia et al. (2013)'s hypothesis that foreign parent firms do not influence the innovation of host countries by employing strategies to increase market power rather than R&D activities through M&A investments. It is meaningful that this study first analyzes the impact of foreign direct investment on innovation in Korean industries and uses the number of patent applications as a proxy of innovation. Our empirical evidence provides policy implications for innovation and attraction of inward foreign direct investments.

본 연구는 1998년부터 2015년까지 해외로부터 한국으로의 외국인직접투자를 그린필드형 투자와 M&A형 투자로 구분하여 혁신에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 분석 결과 첫째, 외국인직접투자는 특허출원건수에 유의한 양(+)의 영향을 미쳤다. 둘째, 그린필드형 투자는 특허출원건수에 유의한 양(+)의 영향을 끼쳤으나, M&A형 투자는 특허출원건수에 유의한 영향이 없었다. 본 연구는 처음으로 외국인직접투자를 두 유형으로 구분하여 혁신에 미치는 영향을 분석했다는 점, 설문 조사 자료가 아닌 특허출원건수를 혁신의 대용변수로 사용하여 혁신에 미치는 영향을 분석했다는 점, 그리고 M&A형 투자보다 그린필드형 투자가 특허출원건수에 유의한 양(+)의 영향이 있다는 것을 보인 점에서 의의가 있다. 본 연구 결과는 한국 산업의 혁신과 외국인직접투자 유치를 위한 정책적 시사점을 제공한다.