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Open research questions in Innovation Policy and R&D

144 gap statements mined from Innovation Policy and R&D papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,813 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • The paper highlights the challenge of experimental uncertainties, which are reported to be extremely high. The paper notes the challenge of justifying the scope of the proposal, given the limited data available for only a fraction of PFASs.

    The PFAS Conundrum—Of Logic, Science, Policy · 2025 · DOI

  • There are few studies on evaluating total factor productivity among AI enterprises. Prior studies have focused on studying the TFP of enterprises at the macro, regional, and micro levels. The study aims to fill the gap by exploring the relationship between government subsidies, green innovation, and total factor productivity of listed artificial intelligence firms in China.

    Government Subsidies, Green Innovation, and Firm Total Factor Productivity of Listed Artificial Intelligence Firms in China · 2024 · DOI

  • However, the mechanisms by which these joint tax-subsidy policies affect intelligent transformation input of manufacturing enterprises, and the optimal design of these policies have not been thoroughly explored yet.

    Coordination mechanism of financial subsidies and tax incentives for intelligent transformation of manufacturing enterprises in China · 2025 · DOI

  • Many countries have implemented R&D tax incentives to encourage R&D activities and foster innovation, yet their net economic benefits remain unclear.

    R&D Tax Incentive Reforms Around the World: The Impact on Firm Value · 2024 · DOI

  • Future research can apply the study's approach to other countries to evaluate their innovation efficiency. Future research can investigate the causes of systemic slackness in Hungary's innovation ecosystem. Future research can explore ways to improve Hungary's innovation performance.

    Unveiling the dynamics of Hungary’s innovation performance · 2026 · DOI

  • The findings reveal that the NBDCPZ policy significantly boosts green innovation quantity, aligning with domestic studies like Shen & Wang (2024), but our multi-dimensional approach highlights limitations in influence, quality, and diversity not fully explored in prior work.

    Data-driven sustainable transformation: Big Data policies and corporate green innovation · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of agreement on the impact of public assistance, with heterogeneous empirical findings. The potential of public subsidies is not entirely exploited and they only exert a partial beneficial effect on innovation spending.

    Public Subsidies and Firm Innovation in Latin America: A Non-Parametric Assessment of Policy Effectiveness · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of empirical evidence on the role of contextual factors for the development of corporate green innovation beyond the headquarters.

    Green patenting within R&D host regions: technology sourcing and reverse spillover effects · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of the pathways through which artificial intelligence applications in manufacturing enterprises empower green transformation. The need to examine the impact of the National Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Application Pilot Zones policy on corporate green innovation. The gap in identifying the underlying mechanisms of the policy effect.

    How Does Artificial Intelligence Policy Boost Green Innovation in Manufacturing?—A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the AI Pilot Zones Policy · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should examine patent quality, green productivity, labour market outcomes, and corporate social responsibility/environmental, social and governance (CSR/ESG) indicators to more directly assess how digital innovation contributes to the broader environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development.

    Digital patenting, R&D dynamics, and the economic foundations of sustainable development: Evidence from Chinese listed firms · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to understand the conditions under which innovation-supporting resources generate sustainable outcomes. The complexity of examining the impact of digital infrastructure on renewable energy patenting in different contexts.

    Digital Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Innovation: The Moderating Role of Human Capital · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of distinction between deployed human capital and human capital in formation in prior research. The need to examine the impact of digital infrastructure on renewable energy patenting in different contexts.

    Digital Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Innovation: The Moderating Role of Human Capital · 2026 · DOI

  • The existing literature has understudied the impact of DT innovation on firm operational performance. There is a need to investigate the moderating effects of financial slack and industry dynamism on the relationship between DT innovation and operational efficiency.

    The impact of digital twin innovation on firm operational performance: a knowledge-based perspective · 2026 · DOI

  • Our observation is that startups tend to have top talent but insufficient time to produce many, or any, patents, so in this case, talent comes before results and success. Furthermore, the results from the heterogenous tests above show that biologics require more talent and take longer time to obtain patents.

    Educational Attainment and Drug Firm Innovation · 2026 · DOI

  • Public ownership does not automatically make state capital a developmental force. There is a need to examine how shifts in state capital allocation shape firm behavior and the direction of innovation-led industrial upgrading.

    State Capital Refocusing and Innovation-Driven Development: Evidence from Beijing Municipal SOEs · 2026 · DOI

  • While high-value patent technology search is crucial for enhancing the total factor productivity (TFP) of international entrepreneurial firms (IEFs), its exact impact remains debated, with some studies reporting negative effects.

    Complementarity or substitutability? The impact of technology search on the total factor productivity of international entrepreneurial firms · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap in understanding the long-term effects of funding changes on the research ecosystem. Prior work has focused on retrospective or regression-based analyses, which may miss time-lagged and feedback-driven effects.

    Modeling the impacts of budget reductions at the U.S. NIH on research and innovation · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of how digitalization affects green innovation in areas with ecological endowment advantages. The need for a more comprehensive assessment of regional ecological endowment from both economic value and natural observation perspectives.

    How digitalization unleashes endowment advantages for green innovation: evidence from China’s county-level panel data · 2026 · DOI

  • The literature shows that factors such as age, sex, speciality, geography, and practice type play a role in determining physician income, but the extent to which they do so varies depending on the respective healthcare system. There is a lack of research on the earnings of self-employed physicians in Austria, particularly in terms of the differences between contracted and non-contracted physicians.

    What determines earnings of self-employed physicians in Austria? Evidence from quantile regressions using linked tax records · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited availability of data for some indicators. Bias towards small or English-speaking countries due to the coverage of Scopus' publication data.

    Unveiling the dynamics of Hungary’s innovation performance · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited innovation resources and heavy financing pressure faced by firms. High transformation costs and weak internal motivation of firms. Possible estimation bias caused by an uneven regional distribution of the sample.

    Innovation Element Agglomeration and Enterprise Green Innovation: Mechanism Analysis Based on Cost Effect and Factor Matching Effect · 2026 · DOI

  • The study uses a simulated model, which may not capture all the complexities of the real-world system. The model is calibrated to historical data, which may not reflect future trends.

    Modeling the impacts of budget reductions at the U.S. NIH on research and innovation · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in understanding the factors affecting the implementation of Digital Transformation. The study identifies a gap in understanding the causal relationship between Digital Transformation and new product/service innovation.

    The Challenge of Digital Transformation for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Japan · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore the impact of digitalization on GTI in different regions - Further studies could investigate the relationship between digitalization and ecological…

    How digitalization unleashes endowment advantages for green innovation: evidence from China’s county-level panel data · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research could investigate how the income of self-employed physicians compares to other occupations or the general population, - Research could explore the impact of increasing fees on the decision to apply…

    What determines earnings of self-employed physicians in Austria? Evidence from quantile regressions using linked tax records · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Innovation Policy and R&D

Most recent work

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Future research can apply the study's approach to other countries to evaluate their innovation efficiency (“Unveiling the dynamics of Hungary’s innovation performance”, 2026); (2) There is a lack of agreement on the impact of public assistance, with heterogeneous empirical findings (“Public Subsidies and Firm Innovation in Latin America: A Non-Parametric…”, 2026); (3) There is a lack of empirical evidence on the role of contextual factors for the development of corporate green innovation beyond the headquarters (“Green patenting within R&D host regions: technology sourcing and reverse…”, 2026); (4) The lack of understanding of the pathways through which artificial intelligence applications in manufacturing enterprises empower green transformation (“How Does Artificial Intelligence Policy Boost Green Innovation in…”, 2026); (5) The lack of distinction between deployed human capital and human capital in formation in prior research (“Digital Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Innovation: The Moderating Role of…”, 2026). 144 gap statements have been mined from Innovation Policy and R&D papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,813 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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