Title: The dilemma of US industrial research and development focusing on the short term

Authors: Kevin J. Kennedy

Addresses: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Room 3E325, 6200 E. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43213, USA

Abstract: An overview of current trends covering US industry-based research and development (R&D) is presented. Despite yearly increases in R&D by US industry as a whole, numerous signs of change and decline exist. The data presented highlight this dilemma in gauging the health of the US R&D enterprise and the deficiency of using overall expenditures as the figure of merit. Finally, data are presented from a longitudinal study that shows publication rates have dropped in many industrial segments. This supports the observation of others that US industrial R&D investment choices continue to move away from longer-term opportunities in favour of product development.

Keywords: industrial R&D, USA; trends; metrics; expenditures; publications; R&D funding; United Sates; research and development; short term R&D; R&D investment; product development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.1994.025560

International Journal of Technology Management, 1994 Vol.9 No.1, pp.15 - 29

Published online: 23 May 2009 *

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