Amaç: Ar-Ge ve yenilik günümüz rekabet dünyasında, firmaların performanslarını arttırmak ve büyümek için en çok ihtiyaç duyduğu unsurların başında gelmektedir.  OECD ülkelerinin Ar-Ge harcamaları ile karşılaştırıldığında Türkiye’deki Ar-Ge payı az da olsa yıllar itibarıyla artış göstermektedir. Yenilikçi hizmet ve ürünlerin üretilmesini mümkün kılan Ar-Ge yatırımları firmalara uzun dönemli rekabet avantajı ve büyüme sağlayan ve değer yaratan faaliyetlerdir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, önemi her geçen gün biraz daha artan Ar-Ge harcamalarının firmaların finansal performansına etkisini araştırmaktır.Yöntem: Bu amaçla BIST teknoloji ve bilişim sektöründe faaliyet gösteren firmaların Ar-Ge harcamalarının aktif karlılığına(ROA) ve öz sermaye karlılığına (ROE) etkisi panel veri analizi ile test edilmiştir.Bulgular: Analiz sonuçlarına göre Ar-Ge harcamaları ile hem ROA hem de ROE arasında uzun dönemde nedensellik ilişkisinin var olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Ar-Ge harcamalarından ROA ve ROE’ye tek yönlü bir nedenselliğin olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Nedensellik sonucundan sonra yapılan regresyon analizinde Ar-Ge harcamasının ROA ve ROE’de anlamlı ve pozitif bir etkisinin olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Sonuç: Ar-Ge harcamalarının karlılığı pozitif yönde etkilediği düşünüldüğünde, işletmelerin Ar-Ge’ye yönelik olarak yapacakları bugünkü yatırımlar gelecekte işletmelerin çağa ayak uydurabilmesinde ve yoğun rekabet koşullarında ayakta kalabilmesine yardımcı olacaktır.

Innovation and R&D (Research and Development) are the most important factors that firms need to grow and improve their performances in today's competitive world. According to the micro perspective, R&D is the activities of companies to produce and develop a new product to increase their sales and profitability. From a macro point of view, it covers the activities of the countries to gain superiority in foreign trade. Although the R&D expenditure in Turkey lags behind OECD countries, it has been increasing from year to year. By making it possible to produce innovative products and services, R&D investments provide long-term growth and competitive advantages and create value for corporations. This study aims to investigate the importance of the impact of the R&D expenditures which show on increasing scale day by day on the financial performance of the companies. To achieve this study’s aim, the impacts of the R&D expenditures on the return on assets and return on equity of were tested with panel data analysis for the firms operating in BIST technology and information sectors. The data set of the study covers the years 2009-2016. There are 16 companies in the BIST Technology Index during the study period. Five companies are selected from these 16 companies. R&D expenditures, return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) of these five companies were taken into consideration in the analysis. In the study, Lin. Ge and Goh (2011), Polat and Elmas (2016), Ehie and Olibe (2010) and Choi and Williams (2013) studies were referenced. To analyze the relationship between R&D and ROA variables, two different models were employed. In both models, ARGE variable was used as an independent variable. In the first model, active profitability was used as a dependent variable (ROA). In the second model, the equity variable (ROE) was used as the dependent variable.The correlation matrix of the variables was formed primarily. There is a “0.1397” relationship between R&D expenditures and return on assets (ROA). Again, there is a “0.2152” relationship between R&D expenditures and return on equity (ROE). The correlation between R&D expenditures and ROA and ROE is very low. The time series includes the unit root. In other words, it is non-stationary. Analyzes with non-stationary time series lose their significance. In the analysis with non-stationary series, as the problem of spurious regression will emerge, the stagnation process in series is tried to be provided by difference or logarithmic transformations. Some tests were applied to the variables to determine whether the series were stationary. Levin, Lin and Chu (LLC), ADF and Im, Pesaran and Shin As a result of W-stat (IPS) unit root tests, all of the variables were stationary for constant and constant and trend. In the study, the co-integration between the series was investigated by Kao and Pedroni test. Pedroni (2004) developed seven different test statistics in order to test the existence of a co-integration relationship between variables. The null hypothesis of Pedroni and Kao test is assumed to be no co-integration between the series. According to the results of Pedroni and Kao panel co-integration test, it is decided that there is a co-integration relation of the variables for model 1 and model 2. In other words, the variables used in the model for both models act together in the long term, and the model predictions with the level values of these variables will not include the spurious regression problem. In the long term, after the co-integration results between variables, the causality relationship between the variables used in both models was investigated by Granger causality analysis. Since both model variables are co-integration in the I(0), the error correction model (VECM) is used in the established equation. The results of Granger causality analysis show that there is causality from R&D expenditures to asset profitability in Model 1. Also in Model 2, there is a one-way causality from R&D expenditures to equity profitability. Regression analysis, which is one of the most preferred estimation methods in econometric analysis, is used to calculate the effect of the independent variable or variables on the dependent variable. In this study of using panel regression analysis, two models were analyzed. In the first model, whether an increase in R&D expenditures increases the profitability of assets, and in the second, an increase in R&D expenditures increases the profitability of equity. As a result of the regression analysis which made after the causality analysis shows that the R&D expenditure has a meaningful positive effect on ROA and ROE.In today's world where the importance of R&D and innovation is increasing day by day, businesses that want to maximize their profits and increase their sales in this way have started to give importance to R&D process by making innovations in their activities, products and services. In this study, panel data analysis was performed by taking into account R&D expenditures and assets and equity profitability of 5 out of 16 companies included in BIST Technology Index. A simple regression method was chosen, and only the effect of R&D on profitability was examined. However, there are many factors that affect the profitability of the enterprise. For this reason, it can be assumed that the coefficient of R&D effect on ROA and ROE is low. The results of this study to explain the relationship between R&D and ROA and ROE are given by Scherer (1965), Hanel and Alain (2002), Çiçek and Onat (2012), Doğan and Yıldız (2013), Kocamış and Güngör (2014) and Light and colleagues (2016). When it is thought that R&D expenditures affect profitability positively, today's investments by businesses in R&D will help future businesses to keep up with the era and survive in intense competition. The establishment of units that will work for R&D in enterprises and the human capital capable of producing innovation should be strengthened. To carry out these transactions, management should allocate sufficient budget for research and development. Turkey, as a country in the developing countries as a group, giving importance to R&D activities can provide the production of high value-added products. At this point, the public should support the research and development activities in the enterprises, and the tax exemptions to the enterprises which carry out R&D activities in certain ratios will increase the motivation of the enterprises to R&D.