Technological relevance of science: An assessment of citation linkages between patents and research papers

Patent citations to the research literature offer a way for identifying and comparing contributions of scientific and technical knowledge to technolog ical development. This case study applies this approach through a series of analyses of citations to Dutch research papers listed on Dutch-invented an d foreign patents granted in the US during the years 1987-1996. First. we examined the general validity and utility of these data as input for quantitative analyses of science-technology interactions. The findings provide new empirical evidence in support of the general view that these ci tations reflect genuine links between science and technology. The results o f the various analyses reveal several important features of industrially re levant Dutch science: (1) the international scientific impact of research p apers that are also highly cited by patents, (2) the marked rise in citatio ns to Dutch papers on foreign-invented patents; (3) the large share of auth or-inventor self-citations in Dutch-invented patents; (4) the growing relev ance of the life sciences, (5) an increase in the importance of scientific co-operation. We also find significant differences between industrial secto rs as well as major contributions of large science-based multinational ente rprises, such as Philips, in domestic science-technology linkages. The paper concludes by discussing general benefits and limitations of this bibliometric approach for macro-level analysis of science bases in advanced industrialised countries like the Netherlands.