The pyramid structure of the SOEs along with the process of continuous reform has significantly affected the business activities and the decision-making behaviors of enterprises. Based on the data from 2007 to 2015, the paper validates the influence of the length of the control chain of SOEs on the R & D investment behavior of enterprises. Through analysis, we find that, with the control chain being lengthened, it suggests the significant decrease in R & D investment, but this correlation is not obvious for the central SOEs. Further research finds that, although there is no significant effect between the length of the control chain of the central SOEs and the R & D investment in the case of the whole sample, when the control layer is greater than median, the elongation of the control chain significantly inhibits the R & D investment of central SOEs and local SOEs. What’ s more, we find that the negative correlation of the number of control layers and R & D investment for local SOEs is only significant when the agent cost is lower.
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