Research On The Impact Path Of R&D Investment On Cost Stickiness Of Listed Companies In Manufacturing Industry

R&D investment and cost management are necessary guarantees for enterprises to obtain core competitiveness;therefore,it is profoundly important to conduct research on both of them both at the theoretical level and business level.General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed in the report of the 20 th National Congress that China should still adhere to the core position of innovation in the overall situation of modernization.R&D activities,as a powerful tool to promote the long-term development of enterprises,have received more and more attention from listed companies in recent years with the inclination of national policies.Increasing investment in R&D can actively produce innovative results and realize enterprise value feedback;cost management,as a fertile ground to guarantee the long-term survival of enterprises,can bring direct economic benefits through effective management of it.Cost stickiness is one of the main elements of cost management,and R&D investment will lead to large cost changes in enterprises,which in turn will change cost stickiness.The previous body of scholarly research on cost stickiness has gradually approached maturity,but there is less literature that explores in detail the path of R&D investment impact on cost stickiness.Based on this,the article uses normative research method and empirical research method,guided by theoretical foundations such as technological innovation theory,asset specificity theory and principal-agent theory,and incorporates enterprise R&D investment and cost stickiness into the same research framework,using China’s manufacturing industry relevant financial data of listed companies from 2016-2020,construct research indicators,establish relevant models,conduct fixed-effects regression analysis.The empirical results show that(1)cost stickiness exists in listed companies in China’s manufacturing industry,and cost stickiness is characterized by inversion;(2)R&D investment in listed companies in China’s manufacturing industry has a significant positive impact on cost stickiness,and the higher the intensity of R&D investment,the higher the level of cost stickiness;(3)R&D investment affects cost stickiness mainly through the adjustment costs path and the managerial optimistic expectation path,rather than through the agency conflicts path.Based on the conclusions drawn,the article proposes that enterprises should use their remaining resources rationally and view cost stickiness correctly;national preferential policies for innovation should include outcome assessment;enterprises should realize whole process supervision of R&D activities,and strengthen the management of dedicated assets and improve the supervision of internal control level of managers’ emotions.The conclusion of the article not only provides a logical basis for data to analyze the influence path of R&D investment on cost stickiness,but also has important implications for improving the management measures of R&D investment in enterprises.