本研究主要探討營運槓桿與未來盈餘變異的關聯性-論無形資產(專利權)的調節效果。Lev(1974)指出公司的營運策略和公司盈餘及總風險是有關聯的，公司預期有較大的資本支出，連帶營運槓桿會增加，將會增加公司的風險性。在其他情況不變的預期下，較高的營運槓桿其未來盈餘的變異性較高。一般來說，當企業增加固定資產投資，表示企業要擴大生產規模、增加生產量，然而，過多的固定資產會造成資產閒置，導致資源的浪費；過少的固定資產則造成企業無法因應市場需求的增加 而影響企業營收。當產業環境面臨大幅改變時，高營運槓桿的公司要作內部成本結構的調整較低營運槓桿公司需要較長的時間。Aboody et al. (2014)發現高營運槓桿比低營運槓桿的公司對於未來盈餘的影響有較長的反應期間，即高營運槓桿會增加未來盈餘的波動性。隨著知識經濟時代的來臨，無形資產為企業價值創造與成長所佔的比例漸漸增加，因此無形資產正快速取代有形資產成為企業創造價值的主要動因。無形資產中具有創新指標就屬研究發展及專利權，公司所擁有的專利權核准數量，表示未入帳的無形資產多寡。本研究依據Aboody et al. (2014)的研究作進一步的延伸。首先，對於營運槓桿和未來盈餘的變異相關性再次作驗證；其次，探討企業所擁有專利權核准數的多寡對於不同的營運槓桿企業其未來的盈餘變異是否有調節的效果。
本文取自西元2002年至2013年之曆年制上市上櫃公司共1984筆研究樣本。本研究的資料來源為樣本公司之各項財務資料，取自「台灣經濟新報社(TEJ)」之一般產業財務資料檔，樣本公司之各項專利權數統計資料，取自中華民國經濟部智慧財產局之「中華民國專利權資料庫」，以迴歸分析方法進行實證， 實證結果顯示：企業的營運槓桿與其未來盈餘的變異呈正相關以及企業的營運槓桿與其未來盈餘之變異的相關性，受到企業所擁有之專利權核准數的負向調節。營運槓桿，因此專利權數量愈多其調節的效果愈明顯。

This study focused on the relation between operating leverage and variance of the expected future earnings for the moderating effect of intangible assets (patents). Lev (1974) pointed out that the business strategy and earnings are related with the company's overall risk. When the company is expected to have large capital expenditure, the operating leverage and the company's risk will increase at the same time. On the same expectations, company with higher operating leverage will have higher earning variability.
Generally, when the company increases investment in fixed assets, represent enterprises to expand production scale and increase production capacity. However, too many fixed assets will result in idle assets and the waste of resources; too few fixed assets will result in company not to respond market demand and affect sales revenue. When faced with a great change in the industrial environment, companies with higher operating leverage take more time to adjust internal cost structure than the lower ones. While Aboody et al. (2014) found that the higher operating leverage companies take a longer reaction period on the future earnings of the company than the lower operating leverage companies, that is, the higher operating leverage companies will increase the volatility of future earnings. Coming the era of knowledge economy, intangible assets create value and growth for enterprises gradually increasing. So intangible assets will rapidly replace the tangible assets and become the main drivers of value creation. Patents and R&D (research and development) are both innovative indicators in intangible assets. The number of patents the company owned represents the amount of unrecorded intangible assets. This study was based on Aboody et al. (2014). First, verified the relationship between operating leverage and future earnings variability again and secondly, to investigate the moderating effect by the variance of the expected earnings from operating leverage and patents of company.
This article takes a total of 1984 study samples on publicly traded calendar-year companies from 2002 to 2013. Financial information of the sample companies for this study is taken from Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ) general industry profile. Statistic data of Patent of the sample companies are taken from the "Republic of China patent database" of the ROC Ministry of Economic Affairs Intellectual Property Bureau. This study uses regression model to analysis and the empirical results show that, the higher operating leverage of the companies, the greater variability and positive correlation for the expected future earnings; the more Patents of companies with higher operating leverage, the smaller variability and negative correlation for the expected future earnings. So the more numbers of Patents will obviously regulate the effect for the expected future earnings.

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