Cooperation in Research and Development provides an empirical and
theoretical analysis of a distinct form of inter-firm collaboration in
Research & Development (R&D): research joint ventures (RJVs). Of all
types of cooperation, RJVs have received the most attention in both
formal industrial organization and science and technology policy
literature. The emerging theoretical economic literature on incentives
of firms to join RJVs has not been followed by much empirical work.
Cooperation in Research and Development attempts to fill the void
caused by this lack of consistent data on the rate of RJV formation, RJV
characteristics, and RJV member characteristics.
Significant attention is paid to the role of RJVs in facilitating
`virtual' firm diversification as necessary to pursue particular
technological objectives. An effort is also made to blend the reported
theoretical and empirical analyses with conceptual models of the process
of technological innovation and models of industrial evolution in order
to provide answers beyond the reach of the received economic theory.
Cooperation in Research and Development should be of interest to
academic economists, policy makers, and business representatives. The
microeconomic issues the book deals with overlap significantly with the
interests of decision makers both in government and business.