earticle

영어

This study aims to examine whether there are some differences in the cost stickiness of R&D expenses of IT companies before and after the COVID-19 crisis. Before COVID-19, IT companies did not reduce R&D expenses even if sales decreased, resulting in cost stickiness. As a result, it appears that during the COVID-19, IT companies adjust R&D expenses in proportion to changes in sales. This is interpreted as a reduction in R&D investment, which takes a long time to create results, in case of a decrease in sales due to uncertainty in future management performance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In other words, during the COVID-19 risk period, IT companies, like other companies, reduced R&D expenses as sales decreased, resulting in reduced cost stickiness. This study differs from existing literature in that it examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the R&D expenditure behavior of companies in the IT industry.