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Essays in Honor of Edwin Mansfield pp 153–171Cite as

Reflections on Mansfield, Technological Complexity, and the “Golden Age” of U.S. Corporate R&D

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Abstract

We focus on two themes, among those in Mansfield’s work, particularly relevant to understanding the role of large corporations in the U.S. innovation system: (1) the development of science-based inventions into market-ready innovations, and (2) the imitation by one firm of another’s technology. Both of these phenomena, we propose, depend critically on the extent of technological and organizational complexity characteristic of current products and potential innovations. Reporting on recent survey research of our own, we argue that the origins and potentially the future of U.S. leadership in technology-based economic growth lie in the complementarity of large corporations and entrepreneurial startups, each exploring and exploiting the market potential of different types of science-based innovations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Policy, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030-4444, USA

    Philip E. Auerswald

  2. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 J.F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Lewis M. Branscomb

Authors
  1. Philip E. Auerswald
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  2. Lewis M. Branscomb
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bryan School of Business and Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA

    Albert N. Link

  2. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Emeritus, USA

    F. M. Scherer

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Auerswald, P.E., Branscomb, L.M. (2005). Reflections on Mansfield, Technological Complexity, and the “Golden Age” of U.S. Corporate R&D. In: Link, A.N., Scherer, F.M. (eds) Essays in Honor of Edwin Mansfield. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-25022-0_12

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