Science-based Industries Research Articles

Organizing R&D Consortia for Path Creation and Extension: The Case of Semiconductor Manufacturing Technologies

Taking issue with the classical theory of path dependence, we capture the active agency involved in collective efforts aimed at extending a current technological path and, in parallel, at creating a new path in the field of leading-edge international semiconductor manufacturing. We apply structuration theory in order to analyse the practices of path constitution that traditional evolutionary views of lock-in and irreversibility in path processes have neglected. Drawing on 96 interviews since 2003 and extensive secondary sources in the field of semiconductor manufacturing in Europe, Japan and the United States, we perform a qualitative, longitudinal and multi-level case analysis; in this analysis we trace, in particular, the strategic development of a path-extending technological option besides a potentially path-breaking new generation of lithography for chip manufacturing systems. Our results provide deep insights into the collective and collaborative dimension of organizing R&D in processes of technology development. Thereby, we contribute to a theory of technological paths that considers collective embedded agency and takes into account interorganizational forms for an understanding of the innovation dynamics in science-based industries such as semiconductor manufacturing.

A Study on the Social Position of Scientific Technologists in Science-Based Industry

Korea's S&T communities were expanded rapidly according to the development of science-based industry. But their economic positions is low despite of their social importance. It's one of the reasons why Korean teenagers avoid S&T. Today, the global economy is relying on science and technology. Human Resource of Science and Technology is a important factor of national development. Scientific technologists' community should find their suitable social positions. The purpose of this study is to identify various issues contributing to the current issues of scientific technologists society not wanting to social activities and further explore various strategies to encourage their higher activities in the society and economy area. This result is beginning stage and has lot of things to be settled. Also presents initiative for further development of scientific technologists society. Based on information and learning that are extracted from the attempts found in several cases of scientific technologists society over the world, the initiatives would pave the way for our scientific technologists society.

Raphael Meldola, his blue and his times

Raphael Meldola (1849–1915), English industrial and academic chemist, spectroscopist, naturalist, educator and lobbyist for science, is today almost a forgotten scientist whose life is celebrated only with a medal awarded by the Royal Society of Chemistry that honors achievement by younger chemists. In the 1870–80s, however, he invented a number of important synthetic dyestuffs including the cotton dyes isamine blue and Meldola's blue, and also naphthol green B, all of which have had application in biology and medicine. I describe here the early emergence of the synthetic dye industry, the first science-based industry, Meldola's role in its development, and his own inventions. Meldola's wide ranging achievements in science led to appointments as president of important professional scientific and manufacturers' societies. He was a fervent disciple of natural selection, a correspondent of Charles Darwin, and a prominent 19th-century neo-Darwinian. In 1886, drawing on analogies with evolutionary theory, he warned the British that neglect of science, particularly chemistry, would lead to industrial decline and even extinction, though his message generally was ignored, at least until 1914.

Patent Pools and Product Development: Perfect Complements Revisited

The conventional wisdom is that the formation of patent pools is welfare enhancing when patents are complementary, since the pool avoids a double-marginalization problem associated with independent licensing. This conventional wisdom relies on the effects that pooling has on downstream prices. However, it does not account for the potentially significant role of the effect of pooling on innovation. The focus of this paper is on (downstream) product development and commercialization on the basis of perfectly complementary patents. We consider development technologies that entail spillovers between rivals, and assume that final demand products are imperfect substitutes. When pool formation facilitates information sharing and either increases spillovers in development or decreases the degree of product differentiation, patent pools can adversely affect welfare by reducing the incentives towards product development and product market competition -- even with perfectly complementary patents. The analysis modifies and even negates the conventional wisdom for some settings and suggest why patent pools are uncommon in science-based industries such as biotech and pharmaceuticals that are characterized by tacit knowledge and incomplete patents.

European competitiveness in information technology and long-term scientific performance

The reasons behind the poor competitiveness of the European information technology (IT) industry vis-á-vis the US one have been discussed many times. This paper suggests that the long-term competitiveness of science-based industries is dependent on the ability of the underlying scientific base to support fast growing, turbulent and proliferating search regimes. This requires institutional mechanisms that foster severe selection of scholars from a large base, student and researcher mobility, and strong institutional complementarity with user industries. The paper compares the history of IT in the USA, Germany, the UK and France. Based on the analysis of the curriculum vitae of the top 1,000 scientists in computer science, it shows that these conditions were only met in the US academic system.

Innovation, catch-up, and leadership in science-based industries

In this article, we seek to shed new light on the sources of industrial leadership and catch-up in science-based industries. We propose an evolutionary model that incorporates scientists’ training and migration, endogenous R&D decisions, and the possibility of funding capital accumulation through debt. The analysis of the model allows us to characterize a robust pattern of industrial catch-up. Likewise, the sensitivity analysis shows which parameters act as pro-catch-up factors or slow down the process. The identification of stationary-state conditions of the model helps us to interpret the simulations, and highlights crucial interactions between technology-supporting institutions and market demand at the basis of industrial catch-up. Finally, the robustness analysis reveals further interdependencies among innovation, scientist mobility, and demand.

S211012 アカデミック・リサーチと発明者の関係に関する特許分析 : 製薬・バイオベンチャーを対象に([S21101]技術革新を促進するための社会制度)

We quantitatively analyze how inventors evaluate innovation induced by academic research, based on original questionnaire data. In particular, we target inventors belonging to the pharmaceutical industry, which is regarded as a science-based industry. Participants were asked how many products their firms had not been able to produce without the support of public research resources or what percentage academic research outcomes contribute to their firms' sales. The response rate was 48% out of 332 inventors. We analyzed what factors affect evaluation for academic research's contributions by ordered probit model using this data. As results, inventors who have applied patents more tend to evaluate contributions of academic research high. On the other hand, inventors with long research year tend to evaluate them low. This is a contradict result if we assume that inventors with long research year also apply patents more. However, we could consistently interpret this unless we do not apply this assumption.

Innovation and skills from a sectoral perspective: a linked employer–employee analysis

Science and engineering skills as well as management and leadership skills are often referred to as sources of innovative activities within companies. Broken down into sectoral innovation patterns, this article examines the role of formal education, actual occupation and work experience in the innovation performance in manufacturing firms within a probit model. It uses unique micro data for Germany (LIAB) that contain information about corporate innovation activities and the qualification of employees in terms of formal education, actual professional status and work experience. We find clear differences in the human capital endowment between sectors according to the Pavitt classification. Sectors with a high share of highly skilled employees engage in above average product innovation (specialised suppliers and science-based industries). However, according to our estimation results, across as well as within these sectors a large share of highly skilled employees does not substantially increase the probability of a firm being innovative.

Intellectual capital or signal? The effects of scientists on alliance formation in knowledge-intensive industries

Hiring employees with advanced education, training, and experience has been a prevalent human resource practice in dynamic science-based industries, and a growing body of literature has demonstrated the importance of scientists in such fields. Little research has attempted to distinguish the functional from the symbolic roles of scientists, however. We develop an integrative theoretical framework to separate the productive and legitimating effects of scientists on strategic alliance formation of firms. Results from a longitudinal analysis of more than 300 U.S. biotechnology firms between 1988 and 1999 suggest a positive relationship between ratio of scientists and R&D alliance partners as well as a positive relationship with finance alliance partners. Scientists influence partner attraction more strongly for firms that are less-well-connected, and they become less prominent in fostering finance ties as the industry practice of partnership becomes more institutionalized. We conclude that scientists serve more than just a research function in knowledge-intensive industries. Implications for building interorganizational networks and managing human resources in such industries are discussed.

R&D market value under weak intellectual property rights protection: the case of India

The relationship between R&D and market value has attracted the interest of many scholars within different fields, but scant attention has been paid to the countries with weak protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). This is unfortunate, since this problem is potentially highly relevant for IPR policy in developing countries. In particular, several questions arise when the problem of R&D market value is analyzed in a country where IPR protection is weak. First, there are concerns regarding incentives (i.e., private returns) for firms to invest in R&D when IPR is only weakly protected. Second, significant differences could emerge in the market valuation of R&D investments of domestic and foreign firms, above all in those industries where spillovers are more likely. To examine these issues, this paper investigates the market valuation of R&D investments of a panel of 219 R&D-reporting domestic and foreign firms publicly traded in India with an empirical analysis. First, the market valuation of the R&D capital for the whole sample is positive and higher than those obtained in U.S. or European countries from similar analyses. Second, in the sub-samples of the domestic and foreign firms, the market value of R&D investments of foreign firms is not significantly different from zero, while the valuation coefficient of domestic firms is four times higher than that obtained on the whole sample. Third, in science-based industries the difference between domestic and foreign firms is smaller than in the other industries. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.

The Growth and Development of New Economy Industries

This study explores the industrial dimensions of the New Economy. It examines the growth and development of industries that provide the technological and scientific foundations for the New Economy — a collection of information and communications technology (ICT) industries, both in services and in manufacturing, along with a larger group of science-based industries, which includes most elements of the technology sector, along with many other goods and service industries that make proportionately large investments in research and development (R&D) and human capital. Focusing on the 1980s and 1990s, our comparative profile examines whether the production and performance characteristics of ICT and science industries differ from more traditional elements of the business sector. A range of production characteristics and performance measures are examined. We explore differences in labour markets by examining the knowledge-intensity of the (industry) workforce, the growth in labour quality, and patterns of remuneration. Our analysis of capital structure includes investment-to-GDP and investment-to-labour ratios, based, first, on all capital investments, and second, on a subset of high-technology assets (computers, software and communications equipment). Patterns of R&D expenditure are also evaluated. Our exploration of industry performance is based on patterns of labour and multifactor productivity. Differences in corporate profitability are examined, focusing on margins and rates of return. We also investigate Canada’s trade in ICT and science-based commodities.

Industrial leadership in science-based industries: A co-evolution model

In this paper, we seek to analyse the role of national university systems in combination with technological and market factors as sources of industrial leadership and industry growth in science-based industries. We propose a model in which national university systems and their respective national firms and industries are considered as co-evolving. National firms compete on a worldwide level and they rely on the progress of science and the availability of scientists to innovate. As the global industry develops, firms try to mold their national university systems, but they achieve different degrees of success. Apart from highlighting the role of institutional responsiveness as a source of competitive advantage, our model points to the access to essential inputs for production, the technological and strategic characteristics of firms, the international diffusion of knowledge, and the initial distribution of market demand as key sources of leadership and industry growth. The international mobility of scientists seems to foster the emergence of industrial leadership shifts.

A Decade of Growth: The Emerging Geography of New Economy Industries in the 1990s

Economic analysts have expressed significant interest in the transition of the industrial base towards knowledge-intensive production. A central aspect of this transition is the growth and development of industries that provide the technological and scientific foundations for what is often termed the New Economy. This paper explores the geographic structure of two innovative sectors: (1) information and communications technology (ICT) industries, and (2) science-based industries. ICT industries develop and support products that are at the heart of the technology revolution. Science-based industries make important contributions to systems of innovation via large investments in research and development (R&D) and human capital.This empirical study develops a geographic profile of ICT and science-based industries in Canada. It investigates differences in the evolution of these industries across provincial boundaries, along the urban/rural hierarchy, and in different metropolitan areas. Patterns of ICT and science-based growth are examined by focusing on changes in employment intensity between 1990 and 2000. The paper also investigates why certain cities have enjoyed more intensive growth in their local ICT economies than other cities.

Enhancing R&D in science-based industry: An optimal stopping model for drug discovery

Drug discovery is a process of science work full of exploration and complexity. Drug researchers face the dilemma of either working ‘forever’ to create a perfect drug or delivering a workable drug within an acceptable deadline to both save lives and make a profit. Specifically, in the compound screening and optimization stage, drug researchers must decide whether or not to stop the research and deliver the result for clinical testing. This paper proposes a model of optimal stopping time to help drug researchers make such decisions. It examines the decision strategies drug researchers should take through maximizing their objective function. The numerical examples given here show that this model is widely applicable. The model offers potential merits in terms of its ability to clarify drug researchers’ decision-making practices and helping managers maneuver through the jungle of science work.

Who Trains' High-Tech Industries or High-Tech Workplaces'

This study contributes to the expanding body of research in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT). Using data on business sector workplaces from the 1999 Workplace and Employee Survey (WES), we investigate factors related to the incidence and intensity of training. The study focuses on whether training incidence and training intensity are more closely associated with the technological competencies of specific workplaces than with membership in ICT- and science-based industry environments. The study finds that training incidence depends more on the technological competencies exhibited by individual workplaces. Among workplaces that decide to train, these technological competencies are also important determinants of the intensity of training.

Measuring performance in biopharmaceutical product development process: What counts?

Biopharmaceutical industry is a science-based industry with exceptionally long, expensive and complicated product development processes. Measuring performance in the industry is not a simple task, as the conventional indicators of performance can rarely be used in this context. Young biopharmaceuticals can be defined as cash-burning non-profit companies, which are in continuous need of external finance. This paper describes the performance metrics in different stages of the biopharmaceutical product development process and evaluates the importance of these metrics in attracting investors. The empirical study focuses on Finnish biopharmaceutical companies. The data consists of both interviews and secondary sources.

Patenting trends & innovation in industrial biotechnology

Industrial BiotechnologyVol. 4, No. 4 INDUSTRY REPORTPatenting trends & innovation in industrial biotechnologyKatherine Linton, Philip Stone, and Jeremy WiseKatherine LintonSearch for more papers by this author, Philip StoneSearch for more papers by this author, and Jeremy WiseSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:22 Dec 2008https://doi.org/10.1089/ind.2008.4.367AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byKnowledge Creation and Research Policy in Science-Based Industries: An Empirical Agent-Based Model30 September 2016Mapping the evolving patterns of patent assignees’ collaboration networks and identifying the collaboration potential20 April 2014 | Scientometrics, Vol. 101, No. 2Knowledge Determinant in University Commercialization: A Case Study of Malaysia Public UniversityProcedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 40 Volume 4Issue 4Dec 2008 InformationCopyright 2008, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:Katherine Linton, Philip Stone, and Jeremy Wise.Patenting trends & innovation in industrial biotechnology.Industrial Biotechnology.Dec 2008.367-390.http://doi.org/10.1089/ind.2008.4.367Published in Volume: 4 Issue 4: December 22, 2008PDF download

PATENT CITATIONS INDICATING PRESENT VALUE OF THE BIOTECHNOLOGY BUSINESS

In this paper our aim is to assess the potential of using patent statistics in predicting the future sales anticipations and present value of a company active in the science-based industry. Instead of using conventional patent and patent application counts as indicators, we constructed patent citation weighted portfolios for each company. This way the heterogeneity of patents can be taken into account. Our data covers biotechnology patents held by Finnish biotechnology companies. Empirical results imply that particularly backward citations are related to present value estimations of the companies. In contrast to some previous studies, forward citations do not seem to predict the present value estimations. The findings provide some important implications on interpreting the significance of patent citations regarding valuation of science-based companies, and planning technology and innovation policies.

EDUCATION NRC report supports professional science master’s degree

Congress needs to ensure that funds are directed to federal agencies to support professional science master’s (PSM) degree programs in the natural sciences, according to a report released by the National Research Council at a press briefing on July 11. Like traditional master’s programs, PSM programs offer advanced science courses, but they also include business skill components. The report, “Science Professionals: Master’s Education for a Competitive World,” notes that PSM degrees play a vital role in the 21st-century workforce and science-based industry in the U.S. “Industry, government, and nonprofits need employees who have deep scientific knowledge, as well as skills to apply that knowledge in innovative ways,” report committee Chair Rita R. Colwell, a former NSF director, said at the briefing. PSM programs provide this training (C&EN, June 16, page 65). And their importance is evidenced by the fact that graduates are being snatched up by biotech companies, Colwell tells C&EN. Currently, NSF is the ...

Oxfordshire biomedical university spin-offs: an evolving system

The creation of university spin-offs and the development of its biotechnology industry are two of the UK's and many other countries' top research-to-commercialisation priorities. Usually more is known about the numbers of spin-offs than their performance. This paper analyses the performance of 56 biomedical spin-offs from Oxfordshire's universities and public sector research laboratories with respect to human resources, the degree of innovative capability and internationalisation. In so doing, it explores the contribution of this group of firms to the evolution of science-based industry in this particular location which is one of the UK's leading centres of research and innovation.