IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/aecrev/v92y2002i1p143-159.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

When Do Research Consortia Work Well and Why? Evidence from Japanese Panel Data

Author

Listed:
  • Lee G. Branstetter
  • Mariko Sakakibara

Abstract

We examine the impact of a large number of Japanese government-sponsored research consortia on the research productivity of participating firms by measuring their patenting in the targeted technologies before, during, and after participation. Consistent with the predictions of the theoretical literature on research consortia, we find consortium outcomes are positively associated with the level of potential R&D spillovers within the consortium and (weakly) negatively associated with the degree of product market competition among consortium members. Furthermore, our evidence suggests that consortia are most effective when they focus on basic research. (JEL O32, O31, L52)

Suggested Citation

  • Lee G. Branstetter & Mariko Sakakibara, 2002. "When Do Research Consortia Work Well and Why? Evidence from Japanese Panel Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 143-159, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:92:y:2002:i:1:p:143-159
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/000282802760015649
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/000282802760015649
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rebecca Henderson & Iain Cockburn, 1996. "Scale, Scope, and Spillovers: The Determinants of Research Productivity in Drug Discovery," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 27(1), pages 32-59, Spring.
    2. Tor Jakob Klette & Jarle Moen & Zvi Griliches, 1999. "Do Subsidies to Commercial R&D Reduce Market Failures - Microeconomic Evaluation Studies?," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1861, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    3. Yannis Katsoutacos & David Ulph, 1998. "Endogenous Spillovers and the Performance of Research Joint Ventures," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 333-357, September.
    4. Irwin, Douglas A. & Klenow, Peter J., 1996. "High-tech R&D subsidies Estimating the effects of Sematech," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-4), pages 323-344, May.
    5. Leahy, Dermot & Neary, J Peter, 1997. "Public Policy towards R&D in Oligopolistic Industries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 642-662, September.
    6. Kamien, Morton I & Muller, Eitan & Zang, Israel, 1992. "Research Joint Ventures and R&D Cartels," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(5), pages 1293-1306, December.
    7. Lee Branstetter & Mariko Sakakibara, 1998. "Japanese Research Consortia: A Microeconometric Analysis of Industrial Policy," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 207-233, June.
    8. Sakakibara, Mariko, 1997. "Evaluating government-sponsored R&D consortia in Japan: who benefits and how?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4-5), pages 447-473, December.
    9. Branstetter, Lee & Sakakibara, Mariko, 1998. "Japanese Research Consortia: A Microeconometric Analysis of Industrial Policy," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 207-233, June.
    10. Jaffe, Adam B, 1986. "Technological Opportunity and Spillovers of R&D: Evidence from Firms' Patents, Profits, and Market Value," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 984-1001, December.
    11. Spence, Michael, 1984. "Cost Reduction, Competition, and Industry Performance," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(1), pages 101-121, January.
    12. Michael L. Katz, 1986. "An Analysis of Cooperative Research and Development," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(4), pages 527-543, Winter.
    13. Ashenfelter, Orley C, 1978. "Estimating the Effect of Training Programs on Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 60(1), pages 47-57, February.
    14. Kamien, Morton I. & Zang, Israel, 2000. "Meet me halfway: research joint ventures and absorptive capacity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(7), pages 995-1012, October.
    15. Donald S Siegel & Vasilis Zervos, 2002. "Strategic research partnerships and economic performance: Empirical issues," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(5), pages 331-343, October.
    16. Branstetter, Lee, 2000. "Vertical Keiretsu and Knowledge Spillovers in Japanese Manufacturing: An Empirical Assessment," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 73-104, June.
    17. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    18. Moulton, Brent R., 1986. "Random group effects and the precision of regression estimates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 385-397, August.
    19. Klette, T.J. & Moen, J. & Griliches, Z., 1999. "Do Subsidies to Commercial R&D Reduce Market Failures? Microeconometric Evaluation Studies," Papers 16/99, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration-.
    20. Suzumura, Kotaro, 1992. "Cooperative and Noncooperative R&D in an Oligopoly with Spillovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(5), pages 1307-1320, December.
    21. Mariko Sakakibara, 1997. "Heterogeneity Of Firm Capabilities And Cooperative Research And Development: An Empirical Examination Of Motives," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(S1), pages 143-164, July.
    22. Richard C. Levin & Peter C. Reiss, 1988. "Cost-Reducing and Demand-Creating R&D with Spillovers," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 19(4), pages 538-556, Winter.
    23. Katsoulacos, Yannis & Ulph, David, 1998. "Endogenous Spillovers and the Performance of Research Joint Ventures," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 333-357, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Belderbos, Rene & Carree, Martin & Diederen, Bert & Lokshin, Boris & Veugelers, Reinhilde, 2004. "Heterogeneity in R&D cooperation strategies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(8-9), pages 1237-1263, November.
    2. Masao Nakamura & Mariko Sakakibara, 2003. "Knowledge sharing in cooperative research and development," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2-3), pages 117-132.
    3. Masao Nakamura & Mariko Sakakibara & Lee Branstetter, 2003. "Measuring the impact of US research consortia," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2-3), pages 51-69.
    4. Kaiser, Ulrich & Kuhn, Johan M., 2012. "Long-run effects of public–private research joint ventures: The case of the Danish Innovation Consortia support scheme," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 913-927.
    5. Bruno Cassiman & Reinhilde Veugelers, 1998. "R&D cooperation and spillovers: Some empirical evidence," Economics Working Papers 328, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    6. Leahy, Dermot & Neary, J. Peter, 2007. "Absorptive capacity, R&D spillovers, and public policy," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1089-1108, October.
    7. Kaiser, Ulrich, 2002. "An empirical test of models explaining research expenditures and research cooperation: evidence for the German service sector," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 747-774, June.
    8. Graevenitz, Georg von, 2004. "Spillovers Reconsidered: Analysing Economic Welfare under complementarities in R&D," Discussion Paper Series of SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems 29, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich.
    9. Dirk Czarnitzki & Bernd Ebersberger & Andreas Fier, 2007. "The relationship between R&D collaboration, subsidies and R&D performance: Empirical evidence from Finland and Germany," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(7), pages 1347-1366.
    10. Luis Aguiar & Philippe Gagnepain, 2011. "European Cooperative R&D And Firm Performance," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00622969, HAL.
    11. Kaiser, Ulrich, 2002. "Measuring knowledge spillovers in manufacturing and services: an empirical assessment of alternative approaches," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 125-144, January.
    12. Amir, Rabah, 2000. "Modelling imperfectly appropriable R&D via spillovers," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(7), pages 1013-1032, October.
    13. Aikaterini KOKKINOU, 2010. "Economic growth, innovation and collaborative research and development activities," Management & Marketing, Economic Publishing House, vol. 5(1), Spring.
    14. Sakakibara, Mariko, 2001. "Cooperative research and development: who participates and in which industries do projects take place?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 993-1018, August.
    15. De Bondt, Raymond, 1997. "Spillovers and innovative activities," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, February.
    16. Tombak, Mihkel & Röller, Lars-Hendrik & Siebert, Ralph, 2000. "Strategic Choice of Partners: Research Joint Ventures and Market Power," CEPR Discussion Papers 2617, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Siebert, Ralph Bernd, 2017. "A structural model on the impact of prediscovery licensing and research joint ventures on innovation and product market efficiency," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 89-124.
    18. Fier, Andreas & Aschhoff, Birgit & Löhlein, Heide, 2006. "Detecting Behavioural Additionality: An Empirical Study on the Impact of Public R&D Funding on Firms' Cooperative Behaviour in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-037, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    19. Mari­n, Pedro L. & Siotis, Georges, 2008. "Public policies towards Research Joint Venture: Institutional design and participants' characteristics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6-7), pages 1057-1065, July.
    20. Lee Branstetter & Mariko Sakakibara, 1998. "Japanese Research Consortia: A Microeconometric Analysis of Industrial Policy," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 207-233, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:92:y:2002:i:1:p:143-159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.