www.stip.gatech.edu

Abstract: Our contribution to the expanding literature on the globalization of research and innovation is to investigate the extent to which sector-specific developments in an emerging technology (such as increasing interdisciplinarity and complexity) affect inventive activities developed abroad. We look at how technological diversity and scientific excellence of host countries in the field of nanotechnology affect the development of inventive activities by US multinational companies (MNCs). We identify the most active US-based MNCs in nanotechnology-related patenting and examine location decisions of these companies and their international subsidiaries. Econometric results confirm our hypothesis that the technological breadth of host countries positively influences the expected number of inventions developed abroad by US MNCs. Science capabilities of countries also have a positive impact on the decision to invent abroad, while the influence of market specific factors is less clear. We interpret these results as suggesting that host country science capabilities are important to attract innovative activities by MNCs, but as the interdisciplinary and convergent nature of nanotechnology evolves, access to a broadly diversified knowledge base becomes important in increasing the relative attractiveness of host locations. Keywords: Multinationals - Innovation - Location - Patents - Nanotechnology

Journal Link: DOI - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10961-008-9090-2
MBS Working Paper [PDF]

Journal Link: DOI - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11051-008-9360-9

Abstract: Attention has increasingly shifted towards the long-run perspective on technological innovation, which suggests that progress comes in waves, each one originating with a major breakthrough or general purpose technology (GPT). This paper seeks to assess whether nanotechnology is likely to be (or become) a GPT, a characteristic that other researchers have sometimes assumed though not necessarily documented. Based on a survey of existing literature, this paper will explore the extent to which nanotechnology addresses three primary characteristics of a GPT: pervasiveness, innovation spawning, and scope for improvement. The paper draws on patent and patent citation databases to highlight the types of quantitative and qualitative information that would be necessary, and in some instances is still lacking, to characterize fully the nature of nanotechnology. Keywords:  Nanotechnology - General purpose technology - Patent analysis

 

Journal Link: DOI - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10961-007-9030-6

Abstract: The ability to delineate the boundaries of an emerging technology is central to obtaining an understanding of the technology’s research paths and commercialization prospects. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the case of nanotechnology (hereafter identified as “nano”) given its current rapid growth and multidisciplinary nature. (Under the rubric of nanotechnology, we also include nanoscience and nanoengineering.) Past efforts have utilized several strategies, including simple term search for the prefix nano, complex lexical and citation-based approaches, and bootstrapping techniques. This research introduces a modularized Boolean approach to defining nanotechnology which has been applied to several research and patenting databases. We explain our approach to downloading and cleaning data, and report initial results. Comparisons of this approach with other nanotechnology search formulations are presented. Implications for search strategy development and profiling of the nanotechnology field are discussed. Keywords: Bibliometric analysis - Nanoscience and engineering - Nanotechnology publication - Nanopatenting - Research profiling - Search strategies - Nanoinformatics

Journal Link: DOI - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11051-007-9266-y
Earlier Working Paper [PDF]

Abstract: Multiple economic development theories suggest that research and innovation in emerging technologies will cluster in certain locations rather than being equally distributed among all regions. If this is the case, this distributional pattern has implications for where future economic opportunities and future risks will be concentrated. In this article, the authors probe nanotechnology research and commercialization at a regional level. The study examines the top 30 U.S. “nanodistricts,” or metropolitan areas that lead in nanotechnology research activity, during the 1990 to 2006 time frame. The authors explore the factors underlying the emergence of these 30 metropolitan areas through exploratory cluster analysis. The results indicate that although most of the leading nanodistricts are similar to top cities in previous rounds of emerging technologies, new geographic concentrations of nanotechnology research have surfaced as a result of having made concentrated investments in nanotechnology R&D into a single institution. Keywords: nanotechnology; regional clusters.

Journal Link: DOI -

Working Paper [PDF]

Shapira, P., Youtie, J. Carley, S., 2008. Prototypes of emerging metropolitan nanodistricts in the United States and Europe. Georgia Tech Program in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Working Paper (Presented at NBER Conference on Emerging Industries, May 2008). 

Working Paper [PDF]