Investment in research and development (R&D) is an important sustainable strategy for firms in developing unique products to own their differentiation and competitive advantages. Financial leverage is influential in R&D investment. However, previous studies identified different relationship between financial leverage and R&D investment. This study revisits this puzzle from a unique perspective that targets firms undertaking international cross-listings. This specification allows us to test whether firms are willing to prioritize R&D funding when debt capacity is enhanced. This is a new perspective that has never been explored in the relationship between debt financing and R&D investment. We find that the launch of cross-listing significantly increases the level of firm financial leverage, which is followed by a significant increase in corporate investment in R&D. The aggressive strategy of cross-listing firms that enhance financial leverage to support more investment in R&D further significantly influences their industrial rivals to increase investment in R&D as a responding strategy. Overall, these results show that firms exploit the timing of international cross-listing to increase their leverage to further fund R&D, which also stimulates an intra-industry contagion effect. Our findings suggest a new viable path for funding R&D that carries important implications for corporate sustainability.