本研究旨在探討市場衝擊對台灣上市櫃製造業企業研發支出的影響，並分析ESG表現對該影響的交叉效果。本研究將市場衝擊區分為正向與負向市場衝擊，探討企業在面對營收波動時的資源配置決策，並進一步將ESG綜合分數拆解為環境、社會及公司治理三個構面，同時考量企業相對於產業平均之ESG表現與研發支出變化之關聯。實證結果顯示，台灣製造業企業在面對正向與負向市場衝擊時，研發支出皆呈現顯著增加的趨勢，且負向衝擊下的增加幅度大於正向衝擊，支持機會成本效應假說。在ESG表現的交叉作用方面，整體製造業之ESG綜合分數與細項分數對研發支出調整之影響並不顯著。然而，針對非半導體製造業之分析發現，企業的ESG表現及其相對產業優勢，在面對市場衝擊時均能顯著減緩研發支出的增加幅度，展現出顯著的穩定與平滑效果。上述結果顯示，相較於企業整體的ESG絕對水準，企業於產業內建立之ESG相對競爭優勢，更能發揮穩定創新投入之價值。

This study aims to examine the impact of market shocks on R&D expenditures among Taiwanese listed manufacturing firms and to investigate the moderating effect of Environmental, Social and Governance performance on this relationship. Market shocks are categorized into positive and negative shocks to explore firms’ resource allocation under revenue fluctuations. Furthermore, the ESG score is decomposed into environmental, social and governance to assess how firms’ ESG performance relative to the industry average is associated with changes in R&D expenditures.
The empirical results indicate that Taiwanese manufacturing firms significantly increase their R&D expenditures when facing both positive and negative market shocks. Moreover, the increase in R&D spending is greater under negative shocks than under positive shocks, supporting the opportunity cost effect hypothesis. Regarding the moderating role of ESG performance, neither the overall ESG score nor its individual dimensions exhibit a significant effect on R&D expenditure adjustments across the manufacturing sector as a whole. However, the non-semiconductor manufacturing industry reveals that firms with stronger ESG performance and ESG advantages relative to industry peers experience significantly smaller increases in R&D expenditures when confronted with market shocks, demonstrating a stabilizing and smoothing effect. These findings suggest that, compared with a firm's absolute ESG performance level, the relative ESG competitive advantage established within the industry plays a more important role in maintaining the stability of innovation investment.

Aghion, P., Askenazy, P., Berman, N., Cette, G. & Eymard, L. (2012). Credit Constraints and the Cyclicality of R&D Investment: Evidence from France. Journal of the European Economic Association,10(5), 1001-1024.
Alves, C.F. & Meneses, L.L. (2024). ESG scores and debt costs: Exploring indebtedness, agency costs, and financial system impact. International Review of Financial Analysis, 94, 103240.
Avramov, D., Cheng, S., Lioui, A. & Tarelli, A. (2022). Sustainable investing with ESG rating uncertainty. Journal of Financial Economics, 145(2, Part B), 642-664.
Ayagi, S. & Adam, U. (2024). Cost of Capital and Investment Efficiency: A Critical Review of Empirical Literature. Gusau International Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 7, 23-37.
Balkin, D.B., Markman, G.D. & Gomez-Mejia, L.R. (2000). Is CEO Pay in High-Technology Firms Related to Innovation? The Academy of Management Journal, 43(6), 1118-1129.
Bean, C. & Pissarides, C. (1993). Unemployment, consumption and growth. European Economic Review, 37(4), 837-854.
Chasiotis, I., Gounopoulos, D., Konstantios, D., Naoum, V.-.C. & Patsika, V. (2024). Does ESG reputational risk affect the efficiency and speed of adjustment of corporate investment? European Financial Management, 30(2), 839-878.
Chen, C., Chen, S. & Wu, D. (2025). The impact of ESG performance on R&D investment stability: Evidence from China. International Review of Economics & Finance, 99, 104046.
Chen, J., Guo, X. & Liu, R. (2025). ESG Rating Uncertainty and the Cost of Debt Financing. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 30(4), 4328-4342.
Chen, Y., Li, T., Zeng, Q. & Zhu, B. (2023). Effect of ESG performance on the cost of equity capital: Evidence from China. International Review of Economics & Finance, 83, 348-364.
Coad, A. & Rao, R. (2010). Firm growth and R&D expenditure. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 19(2), 127-145.
El Ghoul, S., Guedhami, O., Kwok, C.C.Y. & Mishra, D.R. (2011). Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital? Journal of Banking & Finance, 35(9), 2388-2406.
Hall, B.H. & Lerner, J. (2009). The Financing of R&D and Innovation, NBER Working Paper, 15325.
Kang, T., Baek, C. & Lee, J.-.D. (2017). The persistency and volatility of the firm R&D investment: Revisited from the perspective of technological capability. Research Policy, 46(9), 1570-1579.
Koh, P.-.S. & Reeb, D.M. (2015). Missing R&D. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 60(1), 73-94.
Lins, K.V., Servaes, H. & Tamayo, A.N.E. (2017). Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis. The Journal of Finance, 72(4), 1785-1824.
Moyen, N. (2007). How big is the debt overhang problem? Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 31(2), 433-472.
Myers, S.C. & Majluf, N.S. (1984). Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have. Journal of Financial Economics, 13(2), 187-221.
Nguyen, V.H., Nguyen, T.H., Ho, L. & Dang, T.L. (2025). When reputation hurts: ESG risk and the cost of equity capital around the world. Journal of Multinational Financial Management, 80, 100935.
Rafferty, M. & Funk, M. (2004). The effect of demand shocks on firm-financed R&D. Research in Economics, 58(3), 187-203.
Ramey, V.A. (2011). Identifying Government Spending Shocks: It's all in the Timing*. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126(1), 1-50.
Shin, M. & Kim, S. (2011). The effects of cash holdings on R&D smoothing of innovative small and medium sized enterprises. Asian Journal of Technology Innovation, 19(2), 169-183.
Shleifer, A. & Vishny, R.W. (1997). A Survey of Corporate Governance. The Journal of Finance, 52(2), 737-783.