<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>It is a well-known fact that research and development (R&amp;D) activities are an important factor in maintaining a business on the market. Nowadays, not only is conducting R&amp;D crucial for entities from new technology sector, but also for companies from each sector, including service entities. The aim of the study was to investigate R&amp;D activities among the biggest publicly traded entities in Poland and to examine the way economists and engineers understand the notion of R&amp;D. We hypothesize and find that R&amp;D expenditure is underestimated or unrecognized in financial reports disclosed by service sector enterprises. Further, we surveyed professional economists and engineers to investigate their knowledge about R&amp;D notion and ability to distinguish operational (day-to-day) actions from R&amp;D activities. The study results indicated difference between the opinions expressed by economists and engineers. Our findings are important for regulators and practitioners as they pinpoint that a substantial change in the definition of R&amp;D is required in order to facilitate a wider adoption of R&amp;D by companies rendering services.</p></abstract>

It is a well-known fact that research and development (R&D) activities are an important factor in maintaining a business on the market. Nowadays, not only is conducting R&D crucial for entities from new technology sector, but also for companies from each sector, including service entities. The aim of the study was to investigate R&D activities among the biggest publicly traded entities in Poland and to examine the way economists and engineers understand the notion of R&D. We hypothesize and find that R&D expenditure is underestimated or unrecognized in financial reports disclosed by service sector enterprises. Further, we surveyed professional economists and engineers to investigate their knowledge about R&D notion and ability to distinguish operational (day-to-day) actions from R&D activities. The study results indicated difference between the opinions expressed by economists and engineers. Our findings are important for regulators and practitioners as they pinpoint that a substantial change in the definition of R&D is required in order to facilitate a wider adoption of R&D by companies rendering services.

Research and Development in the Service Sector – Vague Definition and Problematic Application

Management Systems in Production Engineering

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

It is a well-known fact that research and development (R&D) activities are an important factor in maintaining a business on the market. Nowadays, not only is...

Research and Development in the Service Sector – Vague Definition and Problematic Application

Published Online: Mar 17, 2020

Page range: 53 - 59

Received: Sep 01, 2019

Accepted: Nov 01, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mspe-2020-0009

Keywords
research and development, financial reporting, definition

© 2020 Ewa W. Maruszewska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Research and Development in the Service Sector – Vague Definition and Problematic Application

Published Online: Mar 17, 2020

Page range: 53 - 59

Received: Sep 01, 2019

Accepted: Nov 01, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mspe-2020-0009

Keywordsresearch and development, financial reporting, definition

© 2020 Ewa W. Maruszewska et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
research and development, financial reporting, definition