Measuring the globalisation of Corporate Invention

Abstract : Public policies regarding globalisation of R&D have a limited evidence base. Two major reasons explain that situation. In the first place, analysts in policy - and academics- circles are still far from understanding properly the dynamics of globalisation of industrial R&D (OECD 2008). How does a firm combine the various motives for locating its R&D locations? What are their respective weights? Many key questions remain to date unanswered. Secondly, the lack of quantitative and qualitative characterisation makes it often difficult for policy designer to go beyond anecdotal evidence; the quality of available data on R&D internationalization remains weak (IPTS 2007). This paper tackles this second difficulty. It focuses on the inventive component of R&D. It aims at characterising quantitatively to what extent firms make use of the global technological pool of competencies across the world rather than accessing knowledge locally relying on domestic proximity. This research uses an original very large data set for testing the main hypothesis explored in the field of international generation of technology concerning the structural and technological business features that facilitate the globalisation of R&D.