Final answer:
No, a company cannot be guaranteed all the social benefits of a new invention because of positive externalities that benefit others beyond the company. Additionally, competition and potential copying can discourage investment in research and development.
Step-by-step explanation:
Can a company be guaranteed all the social benefits of a new invention? The answer is false. When a firm invests in new technology, it cannot capture all the extensive social benefits that result from its innovation. This is due to the presence of positive externalities, which are benefits enjoyed by other parties aside from the company that developed the technology. While the firm receives private benefits in the form of profits, the social benefits include improvements in societal well-being, innovation spurred in other companies, and potentially, industry-wide advancements that the innovating firm cannot solely appropriate.
Moreover, competition and the potential for new inventions to be easily copied reduce the incentives for the original inventor to invest in research and development (R&D). The private benefits an innovator receives are often less than the total social benefits once externalities are included. This discrepancy can lead to underinvestment in R&D by private firms, as they do not get the full return on their investment. To counteract this issue and encourage innovation, governments can implement policies such as patents, subsidies, and grants to better align private incentives with the broader social good.