The policy implications of the globalisation of innovation

The paper develops a taxonomy of the globalisation of innovation based on three categories: (a) the international exploitation of technology produced on a national basis; (b) the global generation of innovations; (c) the global technological collaborations. The most evident changes implied by the increasing globalisation of innovation and technology are the tougher and increased competition and the greater collaboration between actors, both across and within national boundaries. The advantages, just as the costs, of these tendencies can be substantial, leading to a higher risk of 'winners and losers'. The paper analyses the different impact that each category might have on the economic and innovative performance of countries and regions, with the aim of defining the implications for national policies. It is suggested that public policies play a different role in each of the three processes of the globalisation of innovation and that a single strategy does not exist, neither from a firm's nor from a government's perspective. The paper emphasis that none of the three categories in this taxonomy renders national policy obsolete. On the contrary, public policies are necessary on a far wider range than those currently implemented in the majority of countries. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.