Productivity, Financial Performance, and Corporate Governance: Evidence from Romanian R&D Firms

We study the impact of financial performance and corporate governance on the productivity of the Romanian Research and Development (R&D) sector. We draw on a dataset consisting of 116 Romanian R&D companies covering the time span from 2007 to 2016. Firm productivity is computed using several metrics of TFP (total factor productivity). We show, based on bootstrap panel quantile regressions, that size, financial profitability, and foreign ownership are key drivers of R&D companies’ productivity. Intangible assets and taxation have no significant effect on R&D firms’ productivity, while the degree of independence in decision-making and owners’ presence in firms’ management negatively impact TFP. With women on the board, state-owned applied research institutes benefit from higher productivity compared with R&D private firms, if they are in lower quantiles.