ON THE SUPPLEMENTARY FUNCTIONS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INDICATORS - THE CASE OF WEST-GERMAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT

Starting from a simple phase model for scientific and technological progress the supplementary functions of various science and technology indicators are discussed. In particular, patent and literature indicators in the field of telecommunications R&D in West Germany are presented and compared. In addition, a few selected technometric, R&D expenditure, and trade data are included for the sake of completeness. This network of science and technology indicators is employed to analyse the institutional set up and the trends in telecommunications R&D on the macro-level (national level) as well as for single R&D actors (institutional or micro-level). Further, the role of academic and other public R&D in West Germany, including the regional distribution of activities and the specialization with respect to telecommunication subfields, are assessed. It is concluded that the various science and technology indicators - at least in the case of West German telecommunications -supplement each other. Synergisms between indicators do exist and should be explored better in future work. The case of telecommunications is ideal for such an exploratory assessment as it includes basic and applied research as well as strong industrial development activities. © 1990 Akadémiai Kiadó.