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Redefining the Internationalization of R&D Activities: How Far Have the Firms’ R&D Members of US and Japanese Companies Been Diversified?

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Paradigm Shift in Technologies and Innovation Systems

Abstract

This paper examines that the role played by foreign researchers and engineers engaged in R&D activities in the US and the overseas R&D activities of US multinational corporations are no longer negligible. This paper focuses on the fact that foreign scientists and engineers residing in the US make considerable contributions as inventors of US patents, and it examines the extent to which the internationalization of R&D by US companies would result if the outcomes of their activities in the US were included in the internationalization of R&D. Specifically, the level of internationalization of R&D is verified by studying the nationality of the inventor’s institution (i.e., IBM), which has consistently been the top US patent collector from 1993 to 2017. Additionally, looking at Canon Inc., which has been exceptionally ranked in the top five from 1985 to 2017 in both the US and Japan, this paper examines the inventors and the nationalities of the organizations to which the inventors work, thereby confirming the internationalization of the company’s R&D in the same way. Finally, we examine how much the internationalization of R&D activities differs between IBM and Canon.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The number of H1-B visa approved includes that from overseas applicants, of which India accounts for about 71% in 2015 (USCIS 2017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan

    Takabumi Hayashi

  2. Tokyo Fuji University, Tokyo, Japan

    Takabumi Hayashi

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  1. Takabumi Hayashi
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Correspondence to Takabumi Hayashi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA

    John Cantwell

  2. Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan

    Takabumi Hayashi

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Hayashi, T. (2019). Redefining the Internationalization of R&D Activities: How Far Have the Firms’ R&D Members of US and Japanese Companies Been Diversified?. In: Cantwell, J., Hayashi, T. (eds) Paradigm Shift in Technologies and Innovation Systems. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9350-2_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9350-2_11

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-32-9349-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-32-9350-2

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