Abstract
The R&D investment is one of the most difficult items to maintain for the firms during economic downturn due to the postponement of its effects on the business results. However, attending to our findings, the effects of R&D investment on the growth of sales are clear in those high and medium technology industries and also in the knowledge intensive service activities. The influence of R&D investment is intensified in those companies with higher levels of growth. However, those effects vanish when we analyze employment or operative profits.
