Title: Classifying R&D strategies in highly funded enterprises: insights from USA government-interest patents

Authors: Hsu-Chuan Chang; Dar-Zen Chen; Chun-Chieh Wang; Mu-Hsuan Huang; Chung-Huei Kuan

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 106319, Taiwan ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 106319, Taiwan ' Department of Bio-industry Communication and Development, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 106319, Taiwan ' Department of Library and Information Science, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 106319, Taiwan ' Graduate Institute of Patent, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43, Section 4, Keelung Rd., Da'an Dist., Taipei City, 106335, Taiwan

Abstract: In order to study the impact of government funding on the R&D strategy of enterprises, and explore whether the innovative development of enterprises is driven away by government policies. In this study, an evaluation method and analytical model were developed to investigate the perspective of companies that are highly receptive to funding. We focused on the top 30 companies which received substantial government funding. Specifically, this study analysed the first cooperative patent classification (CPC) with government-interest (GI) patents constituting more than 1% of all GI patents. To investigate the aforementioned characteristics and classify each company accordingly, the number and citation status of GI and non-GI patents were also compared within each company's technological domain. Assessment of patent concentration, number, and influence revealed that individual enterprises employ diverse implementation practices and R&D strategies when obtaining patents through government funding. In conclusion, this study presents a well-defined classification model for enterprise types. The proposed four-quadrant framework not only aids the government in identifying suitable partners and determining optimal funding allocation but also assists enterprises in assessing their current status and strategic positioning.

Keywords: citation ratio; CPC; cooperative patent classification; government interest patent; patent concentration; FDI; funding dependency index; PII; patent impact index; patentometrics; quadrant analysis; quantity ratio; R&D strategy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISD.2026.151642

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2026 Vol.20 No.1, pp.52 - 78

Received: 13 Nov 2023
Accepted: 18 Dec 2024
Published online: 11 Feb 2026 *

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