Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Concurrent workshops

• Session B–1 The role of public sector actors in innovation
• Session B–2 Specialised surveys: Developing countries, remote regions, special topics
• Session B–3 Global knowledge flows – The diffusion and location of knowledge

Session B–3 Global knowledge flows – The diffusion and location of knowledge

• Measuring the globalization of knowledge networks
• Norms–based intellectual property systems: The case of French chefs
• The contribution of firm and invention–specific science linkages to patent quality
• A proposal for developing new indicators on the internationalisation of R&D by matching micro–data from national R&D surveys
• Ideas for new indicators on globalisation of R&D

Biographical Note

Caroline S. Wagner is a Senior Policy Analyst with SRI International Center for Science, Technology, and Economic Development and George Washington University. She holds a Ph.D. in Science & Technology Dynamics and an M.A. in Science, Technology, and Public Policy.

Abstract

From the earliest days of the Invisible College of experimentalists that arose in the 17th century in Europe, science has been a networked and collaborative activity. Communications among scientists have readily transcended political borders. During the 20th century, science became captive to the interests of the nation–state and tied to national prestige. Within the scientifically advanced countries, this synergy between national investment and scientific outputs fed innovation systems with spectacular results.

The process of knowledge creation in science is not changing—the networked nature of science remains the same—but the social and political dynamic within which science is managed is rapidly changing. For key reasons explored in this paper, scientific research is becoming more geographically distributed, more cross–sectoral, and more collaborative. The change in the structure of science is making national innovation systems far less influential within the knowledge–creating system than the linkages and coalitions established at the global level.

This turn in the structure of science has the potential to be more efficient for researchers and for the research process as a whole.  But distributed tasking also means that critical steps in research will not be available for local spillover, even to those funding the research.  The link between funding and returns on investment cannot be assured and are becoming much more difficult to trace. As this shift continues, the roles played in the knowledge creation process by government agencies and key institutions (universities and corporate labs) are being remade.

As the roles of institutions change, it is important to track and monitor knowledge flows within the system. An effective way to do this is through network analysis. Based on original research, this paper reveals the changes in collaborative scientific networks at the international level. Using data about international collaboration in fields of science, the case is made that global networks are growing more rapidly than other forms of communications in science.  As they grow, they are pushing the frontiers of knowledge, the management of science, and the need for indicators beyond the nation–state.

Network analysis has recently emerged as an opportunity for new tools in science policy due to enhancements in theory made possible by studies of the Internet, the Web, and large–scale scientific collaborations. Findings show regularities in very large–scale networks. When applied to evaluation of collaborative research, network analysis can reveal dynamics of group activity in a way that explicates the efficiency of operations and knowledge dissemination within an epistemic community. Network analysis can also reveal the role of dominant players, and/or the openness of networks to new members. Understanding these features can provide decision makers with a measure of efficiency and effectiveness of funding that can allow them to influence the conduct of research in real time for research being conducted at the global level. This paper will explain network theory as it applies to science, and it will demonstrate the process of using existing indicators to illustrate and track knowledge networks at the regional, national, and global levels.

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Biographical Note

Eric von Hippel manages the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at MIT. von Hippel is known for his research into the sources of innovation, finding that product development is rapidly shifting away from product manufacturers to product "lead users" in the Internet Age. This shift suggests major changes to innovation indicators would be of value.

Emmanuelle Fauchart, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers.

Abstract

In this paper we propose that "norms–based" intellectual property systems exist and are an important complement to or substitute for law–based intellectual property systems. Norms–based IP systems operate on social norms that are held in common by members of a given community and specify the nature and extent of rights that a group member can assert to intellectual property. They also include procedures for the claiming of intellectual property rights, and community–accepted types of sanctions for violators.

We document the existence of a norms–based IP system among a sample of accomplished French chefs. These chefs consider recipes they develop to be a very valuable form of intellectual property. At the same time, recipes are not a form of innovation that is effectively covered by law–based intellectual property systems. Via grounded research, we identified three strong social norms related to the protection of recipe IP. Via quantitative research, we found that accomplished chefs do rely on these norms to enhance their economic returns from their recipe–related IP.

In our discussion, we compare the attributes of norms–based and law–based IP systems, arguing that each has different advantages and drawbacks. We also point out that the existence of norms–based IP systems means that the usage of information that is freely accessible and not legally protected may be nonetheless restricted to the benefit of innovators. Indeed, information "commons" may in fact be criss–crossed by norms–based fences, with access by those adhering to community norms controlled by IP owners.

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Biographical Note

Bruno Cassiman is associate professor of Economics and Strategy in the General Management Department of IESE Business School and a senior researcher at the Center for R&D and Innovation Policy at the University of Leuven. He earned a Ph.D. in Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences from the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University and has a degree in engineering and management from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. His research interests have centered on the economics of strategy and innovation, and he is currently involved in research to understand market and firm dynamics. He has written a number of articles on issues of innovation for a variety of academic journals including The American Economic Review, Management Science, and, Research Policy. In addition, he has been a consultant to the European Commission and the Belgian government on matters of innovation policy and to several companies on matters of (innovation) strategy.

Reinhilde Veugelers is professor of Managerial Economics, Strategy and Innovation at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. She was a visiting scholar at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management, at Sloan School of Management (MIT), Stern Business School (NYU), ECARES/Université Libre de Bruxelles, Université de Paris I (Panthéon–Sorbonne), Universitat Pompeu Fabra & Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Universiteit Maastricht.

With her research concentrated in the fields of industrial organisation, international economics and strategy and innovation, she has authored numerous publications on multinationals, R&D cooperation and alliances, industry–science links and market integration in leading international journals. She obtained research grants from the Belgian Science Policy Office, the European Commission (DG Research and DG ECFIN) and the Flemish Government (VRWB–IWT).

She is co–promotor for the Flemish Government "Steunpunt" on R&D Statistics, a CEPR Research Fellow (London) and currently an Economic Advisor at the Bureau of European Policy analysis (BEPA) of the European Commission, on leave from the KU Leuven (2004–2008).

Pluvia Zuniga, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven , Faculty of Economics and Applied Economics, B–3000 Leuven.

Abstract

Introduction

Numerous studies suggest a growing role of public scientific knowledge for private innovation. For instance, Narin et al (1997) report a threefold increase in the number of academic citations in industrial patents in the United States through the mid 1990s. Accordingly, 73% percent of the papers cited by industry patents are scientific, authored at academic, governmental, and other public institutions. At the firm level, most of the empirical analysis has focused attention on research partnerships as mechanism for firms to engage in industry science relations (e.g. Cockburn and Henderson, 1998; Veugelers and Cassiman, 2005). This research has shown that university–industry connections can contribute to increase firms' research productivity but that their contribution depends upon firms' research capabilities and abilities to absorb scientific knowledge.

However, according to recent research (e.g. Branstteter, 2004; Branstteter and Ogura, 2005; Fleming and Sorenson; 2005), the influence of science and its value for industrial innovation differs not only across firms but also across inventions and technologies. For private firms, science is more important as a source of information for innovation in science–based technology fields where breakthrough innovations (i.e. radical innovations) can be achieved and transferred to products and processes that are new to the market. Furthermore, fertilization of science on patented inventions, new firm formation (and spinoffs) and collaboration is a very recent phenomena concerning specific technology domains (e.g. the bionexus; biomedicine and nanoscale technologies; Branstetter and Ogura; 2005; Callaert et al, 2003; Van Looy et al; 2003). The evaluation of firm and invention–specific scientific linkages at the level of patented inventions has been rather neglected in the literature. This paper attempts to fill this gap. It contributes to the debate on the influence of academic research on industrial innovation by examining the contribution of science to the quality of patented inventions.

Results and conclusions

Our preliminary results suggest that citation to scientific publications is not relevant to explain forward citation and radicalness but is a significant determinant of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) affiliation. Nevertheless, firm–interactions with scientists in universities matter for de–codification of scientific knowledge: inventions citing science and coming from firms with formal collaboration linkages report a citation premium respect to firms citing science and not engaged into research collaboration with academia. Furthermore, patents without an invention–specific scientific reference, but from firms with assignee–specific linkages to science might outperform comparable patents from firms without any connection to science. Our preliminary findings suggests that the analysis of citation references, in combination with other methods, notably assignees' research characteristics (i.e. CIS data), provides important additional information about the contribution of scientific references to explain quality of inventions.

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Biographical Note

Giulio Perani, Senior Researcher and Head of the Unit for Innovation and R&D statistics at the Italian National Statistical Institute; member of the Italian delegation to NESTI.

Claudio Cozza, PhD in Economics, Research Fellow at the Italian National Statistical Institute in the field of R&D statistics.

Abstract

The paper will discuss the development of new indicators on the internationalisation of R&D activities exploiting the information collected, mainly through the national R&D surveys, on individual R&D performing enterprises in Italy and other selected OECD countries.

The currently available indicators on R&D internalisation/globalisation are produced according to the recommendations of both the 2002 Frascati Manual and the OECD's Handbook on Economic Globalisation Indicators. They cover two main areas: R&D expenditure flows to/from abroad and R&D activities performed by foreign–controlled affiliates, on the inward side and by affiliates abroad of domestic multi–national enterprises (MNEs), on the outward side. All existing indicators are produced on the basis of statistical macro–data (at national level) or meso–data (at sectoral level). As a result, the statistical coverage of the financial and knowledge flows managed by MNEs involved in R&D outsourcing/off–shoring is still very poor.

In this perspective, several OECD countries have been undertaking ad–hoc analyses (mainly matching micro–data from national R&D surveys with data from administrative sources) to improve their knowledge about the behaviour of domestic MNEs. Also the OECD is collecting—at a pilot level— macro and meso–data from several member countries on R&D activities by inward and outward foreign affiliates with the aim of identifying relevant international, intra and extra–firm, R&D flows.

We argue that, in addition to current efforts at international level, it is crucial to consider matching micro–data from different countries involved in R&D co–operation in order to address some core questions about the internationalisation of R&D activities:

• Motivations and directions of outsourcing/off–shoring R&D activities by MNEs;
• Relationships between "outward" foreign affiliates and the innovation system of the host country;
• Effects on the domestic innovation systems of off–shoring R&D abroad (testing the risk of "hollowing out" national research capabilities).

In the paper will be presented the methodological and analytical results of a research project undertaken by the Italian Statistical Institute (ISTAT) to develop new indicators on the integration between national the innovation system (NIS) of Italy and those of its partner countries.

The project includes three main activities:

• In the first stage, the feasibility of setting up a national database on research and technological activities by foreign–owned affiliates and domestically–owned affiliates abroad will be assessed. At this stage ISTAT business statistics data (including R&D statistics), patent data and TBP micro–data will be used to assess the internationalisation of the Italian NIS.
• In the second stage, a pilot exercise to match R&D performers' micro–data from Italy and from other countries with relevant inflows and outflows of R&D towards Italy (including France, Germany and Switzerland ) will be undertaken.
• In the third stage, a proposal for developing a set of new indicators to provide some basic measurement about the level of integration among NISs with R&D co–operation, as well as about the level of integration of foreign affiliates performing R&D with the host country's NIS , will be discussed.

The paper will, obviously, consider the results of the ISTAT project in close connection with the activities of the NESTI Task Force on R&D internationalisation in order to provide some general guidelines for statistical production on R&D internationalisation.

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Biographical Note

Mikael Åkerblom, senior advisor, Statistics Finland. Since 1969 in charge of development of science and technology indicators, member of NESTI since 1971, also work and consultancy experience from OECD, Eurostat, Unesco and the Nordic Ministerial Council.

Tero Luhtala has a Masters degree in human geography. He has been working in Statistics Finland since March 1999 and from May 2000 on as a senior statistician in the unit for Science, Technology and Information Society statistics. His work covers the annual research and development and government R&D funding surveys. He is also responsible for high technology statistics and currently he is involved in the KEI (Knowlegde Econonomy Indicators) project as researcher.

Abstract

The paper is the result of work within the EU funded KEI (knowledge economy indicators) project. Globalisation of R&D is a phenomenon attending more and more policy interest in these days. Indicators on globalization of R&D exist in some countries, but mainly as results from ad hoc studies. The aim of the work is to propose for more regular production of a set of relevant new indicators, which could be produced at relatively low cost. The paper starts with a discussion of user needs for new indicators. A comprehensive review of various studies to increase the knowledge of R&D globalization is the basis for the methodological part of the paper trying to outline various methodological options for producing data. The focus is on measurement of outward R&D where the gaps are the biggest. Several survey approaches are discussed as well as matching data from R&D surveys and company records. In the conclusions some ideas are presented for ways to go further in the development of indicators on R&D globalization.