Comparison of R&D Efficiency of System, Application and Service Software Companies

R&D efficiency has a profound impact on the competitiveness of software companies, which is the typical knowledge-intensive business service. The software companies is divided into system software companies, application software companies and service software companies according to the types of product or service of software companies. Using software companies in top 1000 R&D investment as the research sample, the R&D efficiency of system, application and service companies are measured and compared based on DEA. Through the comparison measurement of enterprises overall efficiency, technical efficiency and overall efficiency of three types, the research shows that the technical composition of system software products is complex and the product development is difficult. The system software company may take advantage of open source software or form industry alliances. The application software company may focus on the local market demand and satisfy it through introducing advanced technology from upstream companies. The service companies should improve system integration capabilities, thus providing customized software solutions for customers.