Abstract

As technology advances and global competition heightens, the value of existing products and services diminishes rapidly, while innovation becomes increasingly crucial. This shift is particularly notable in the IT sector, where technological advancement is integral for staying competitive. Consequently, there's been a consistent emphasis on national-level research and development (R&D) investments. R&D is pivotal in fostering the creation and dissemination of new technologies (Hottenrott & Lopes-Bento, 2014). Moreover, to ensure competitiveness and growth, it's essential to continuously innovate and commercialize developed technologies (Chen, 2009). Governments aim to support and regulate firms to enhance economic performance, maximize their value, ensure fair market competition, protect consumers, and optimize economic benefits (Garcia & Mohnen, 2010). In South Korea, the government's R&D budget for 2023 exceeded 30 trillion won ($23.4 billion) for the first time. This research aims to assess the impact of government support and regulation on the innovative R&D activities of IT firms, particularly examining whether such measures contribute to enhanced firm performance. To accomplish this, the study investigates patterns of innovation performance, government support, and regulation through the lens of complexity theory, which is suitable for contextual analysis. Utilizing data from 'the Korea Technology Innovation Survey' conducted by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Policy (STEPI), the study employs the fsQCA method for analysis. This approach has methodological significance as it identifies patterns of factors influencing outcomes through the fuzzy set method, departing from the one-way causality methodology used in previous studies to evaluate innovation performance. Additionally, this research provides insights for government policymakers to formulate tailored national strategies and offers opportunities for IT firms to improve their capabilities by leveraging innovation-inducing patterns.

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