Are patents with multiple inventors from different countries a good indicator of international R&D collaboration? The case of ABB

Based on the critical case of ABB, this paper questions the relevance of using patents with multiple inventors from different countries (“cross-country patents”) as an indicator of international R&D collaboration. The study shows that less than half of ABB's cross-country patents are the re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research policy 2010-12, Vol.39 (10), p.1321-1334
Main Authors: Bergek, Anna, Bruzelius, Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collaboration
Cross-country patents
Cross-national analysis
Enterprises
Indicators
Innovation
International
Inventors
Multinational corporations
Multinational enterprises
Patent data
Patent data R&D collaboration Cross-country patents
Policies
R&D
R&D collaboration
Research & development
Research and development
Studies
Subsidiaries
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Items that cite this one
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Summary:Based on the critical case of ABB, this paper questions the relevance of using patents with multiple inventors from different countries (“cross-country patents”) as an indicator of international R&D collaboration. The study shows that less than half of ABB's cross-country patents are the result of international R&D collaboration as described by one of the more inclusive definitions found in previous literature. Only a third of the patents are the result of joint R&D activities between different MNC subsidiaries or firms. We also discuss the implications of our study for the assignment of patents to countries based on inventor addresses.
ISSN:0048-7333
1873-7625
DOI:10.1016/j.respol.2010.08.002