本研究使用台灣經濟新報(Taiwan Economic Journal) 2010 年至 2022 年臺灣製造業上市上櫃企業資料，探討企業海外直接投資對專利數的影響，共採用合併普通最小平方法、公司固定效果模型及 Pooled Poisson 模型等三種方式進行實證估計。海外直接投資分別以投資金額與海外子公司數進行衡量，並進一步區分投資地點為對中國地區與中國以外地區，以進行比較分析。 實證結果顯示，對外投資金額與專利核准數之間具有正向關係。無論投資地點為中國或是中國以外地區，較高的對外投資金額皆有助於企業的專利產出，且此正向關係亦適用於發明型專利數。然而，因對中國與非中國地區的投資金額高度相關，無法在迴歸中有效區分其異質性，因此本文更著重於海外子公司數目的實證結果。在海外子公司數方面，雖然不同實證方法下的估計略有差異，但設立於中國以外地區的子公司數目皆對專利核准數與發明型專利數呈現一致的正向影響，顯示企業在中國以外地區佈局子公司，有助於其創新活動之推展。;This study uses data from the Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ) covering listed and OTC-listed manufacturing firms in Taiwan from 2010 to 2022 to examine the impact of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) on firms’ patent output. Three empirical estimation methods are employed: the pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) method, the firm fixed effects model, and the pooled Poisson model. Outward FDI is measured using both the total amount of investment and the number of overseas subsidiaries. Furthermore, investment destinations are categorized into China and non-China regions for comparative analysis. The empirical results indicate a positive relationship between the amount of outward investment and the number of approved patents. Regardless of whether the investment is directed toward China or other regions, higher levels of outward investment are associated with increased patent output, including invention patents. However, due to the high correlation between investments in China and non-China regions, it is difficult to effectively distinguish their heterogeneity in the regression analysis. Therefore, this study places greater emphasis on the empirical results concerning the number of overseas subsidiaries. Although estimates vary slightly across different empirical methods, the number of subsidiaries located in regions outside of China consistently shows a positive effect on both the number of approved patents and invention patents. This suggests that firms’ establishment of subsidiaries outside of China contributes to the enhancement of their innovation activities.
