Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/327073 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Citation: 
[Journal:] BRQ Business Research Quarterly [ISSN:] 2340-9444 [Volume:] 28 [Issue:] 2 [Year:] 2025 [Pages:] 349-370
Publisher: 
Sage Publishing, London
Abstract: 
Much research has examined the drivers of firms' R&D investments. However, many questions remain with respect to the role of R&D as a learning target and as a means of achieving legitimacy, particularly in the context of imitative R&D strategy. We develop a theory that integrates different explanations of why firms engage in imitation, highlighting efficiency-enhancing learning and legitimacy and focusing on firms' R&D investment decisions. We argue that deviations in firm performance from social aspiration levels determine the salience of learning and legitimacy goals. Specifically, as performance moves from lying below to being above social aspiration levels, organizations gradually shift from a primary focus on learning vicariously from others' R&D investments toward a focus on mimicking them to maintain legitimacy. An analysis of a sample of 2,081 Spanish manufacturing firms, as well as an online experiment with 863 participants from the manufacturing industry largely support our hypotheses.
Subjects: 
Learning
legitimacy
imitation
R&D investment
performance-aspiration discrepancies
JEL: 
D22
M10
O32
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc Logo
Document Type: 
Article

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.