本研究旨在探討臺灣科技業持有現金之動機，以及該現金政策究竟是企業績效的助力或阻力。本研究以 2000 年至 2024 年臺灣上市科技公司為研究樣本，首先參考 Brown and Petersen (2011) 的研發平滑假說；隨後採用 Baron and Kenny (1986) 的三步法搭配 Cluster Bootstrap 檢定，探討研發支出是否在現金變動與企業績效之間扮演中介角色。
實證結果顯示：首先，，有證據支持企業傾向透過動用現金來抵銷外部融資衝擊，以維持研發活動的穩定性，證實研發平滑的機制存在。第二，在績效影響方面，現金變動對會計績效（ROA）具有顯著的正向直接效果，顯示充足的流動性有助於穩定營運；然而，研發支出在現金持有與績效之間的中介效果並不成立。第三，研發支出對市場價值，（Tobin's Q）呈現顯著負向影響，反映出在樣本期間經歷多次技術轉折與經濟泡沫（如 2000 年網路泡沫、2007 年金融海嘯）下，市場對於研發不確定性給予折價評價。最後，透過將現金變動替換為自由現金流量（FCF）變動，以及排除網路泡沫與金融海嘯等極端經濟波動期之穩健性測試，上述結果依然成立，證實研究結論具備高度穩定性。
綜言之，現金持有主要透過提供財務上的彈性直接有利於會計績效，而非經由研發的中介路徑提升價值。

This study investigates the motivations behind cash holdings in the Taiwanese technology industry and examines whether such cash policies serve as a help or a hindrance to firm performance. Utilizing a sample of Taiwanese listed technology firms from 2000 to 2024, the research first tests the "R&D Smoothing" hypothesis based on Brown and Petersen (2011). Subsequently, it employs the three-step mediation approach of Baron and Kenny (1986) with Cluster Bootstrap inference to analyze whether R&D expenditures mediate the relationship between cash holdings and firm performance, specifically Return on Assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q.
The empirical results yield three major findings: First, Taiwanese tech firms utilize cash reserves to stabilize R&D activities, thereby confirming the existence of the R&D smoothing mechanism. Second, regarding performance, changes in cash holdings have a significant direct positive effect on ROA, suggesting that liquidity enhances operational stability; however, the mediation effect of R&D expenditure is not supported. Third, R&D expenditure has a significant negative impact on Tobin's Q. This reflects market discounting due to the high uncertainty of R&D investments during historical periods of technological shifts and economic bubbles, such as the 2000 dot-com crash and the 2022 interest rate hikes. Finally, robustness tests—including the substitution of cash changes with Free Cash Flow (FCF) changes and the exclusion of extreme economic volatility periods such as the dot-com bubble and the global financial crisis—demonstrate that the aforementioned results remain consistent, confirming the high stability of the research conclusions.
In summary, cash holdings primarily benefit accounting performance directly through financial flexibility rather than through the indirect path of R&D-driven value enhancement.

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