Based on a survey of Korean waste-to-energy (WTE) firms, this article analyzes the R&D effectiveness of the WTE industry, which accounts for the largest proportion of new and renewable energy power generation in Korea, using multiple and logistic regression. A company’s R&D can be considered effective if its R&D inputs (e.g., R&D expenditure/sales, R&D manpower/employees, education/training, and reward systems) or R&D outputs (e.g., patent applications and approvals, the introduction of new products and services, and the redesign of products and processes) contribute to an increase in R&D outcomes (e.g., decrease in production costs, the creation of employment, and market entry). It was found that market entry is not affected by R&D inputs but is positively influenced by R&D outputs, indicating that Korean WTE firms have focused on market entry via the technology transfer of new products and services and/or the redesign of products and processes. In the WTE industry, the creation of employment does not have a statistically significant relationship with R&D expenditure/sales, R&D manpower/employees, or the redesign of products, but it does exhibit a positive relationship with education/training, reward systems, patent applications and approvals, and the introduction of new products and services. Finally, the decrease in production costs is not influenced by R&D expenditure/sales, R&D manpower/employees, reward systems, or patent applications and approvals, but is positively affected by education/training, the introduction of new products and services, and the redesign of products and processes. A policy implication of these results is that market entry show the virtual cycle on expanding R&D expenditure/sales and/or R&D manpower/employees.

The waste-to-energy (WTE) industry draws global attention by using wastes as energy resources. Korean government is very inclined to invest in the WTE industry. Therefore, it is believed that there will be an industrial scale-up. Also it is needed to make proper strategies for promoting the industry by creating the added value of related companies. This study analyzes whether the value-added structure of Korean WTE industry exhibits a virtuous cycle through the value chain (VC) within related companies by using a regression analysis based on a survey to Korean WTE companies. As a result, the government’s R&D support is analysed not to contribute to an increase in the R&D investments of the WTE companies. Also an increase in corporates’ R&D investments does not lead to an increase in corporates’ R&D outputs. An increase in corporates’ R&D outputs, however, has the positive influence on an increase in production. In contrast, an increase in production does not have an effect on a decrease in production costs. And a decrease in production costs does not lead to an increase in profit rates per sales. In addition, it is shown that an increase in profit rates per sales does not contribute to an increase in production and R&D investments. Therefore, it is estimated that the Korean WTE companies do not organize the virtuous cycle of the VC yet. This study has a policy implication to need further efforts to create the virtuous cycle in the VC of Korean WTE industry.