FIRMS IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES - THE CASE OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY

This article deals with three main questions. First, what types of fir ms are engaged in the development and exploitation of a young and perh aps future key technology? Second, on which subfields of that particul ar technology do certain types of firms concentrate? Third, are there any differences in industry structure and firm activity with respect t o national technology policies? These aspects are discussed in terms o f a case study on superconductivity. The article is empirical in chara cter. The main pillar of the analysis rests on European patent applica tions, which we use for comparisons among the United States, Japan, an d Germany at the corporate and national levels. To discover difference s in national technology policies and their impact on corporate activi ty, we screened available information on sources, volumes, and aims of national programs concerning superconductivity. The period covered ra nges from 1981 to 1992 and thus includes the ''paradigm'' shift to hig h-temperature superconductivity around 1987. We find that large multin ational firms account for the largest part of all external patent appl ications in this area. Another outcome of the analysis clearly points to rising shares of patenting by small firms after the technological b reakthrough in 1987. But most of these small firms have confined their activities to the national environment so far. One possible explanati on may be found in differences in national technology programs support ing the start-up new firms in niche markets. Most of these small new f irms are located in the United States, where public programs have crea ted favorable conditions and an increasing domestic demand for them. T hus, although the development of new technologies is increasingly inte rnational in scope, current industry patterns and firms' traditional s pecialization in related fields of activity still determine the buildi ng up of new science- and technology-based industries. At least in the United States, however, the impact of national technology policy may be felt widely in creating new and shaping existing structures in favo r of more competition and faster diffusion. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.