Some UK and international work in progress

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Some UK and international work in progress

• Jonathan Haskel
• Imperial College Business School, London
• Financial support form EU FP7 Programme
• NBER, 4th Dec 2008
• Useful and Needed Research on Measuring Economic
  Activity in Markets for Ideas Innovation and
  Other Intangibles

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UK-based work in progress

• Implementing CHS method
• Industry level work
• IO tables EUKLEMS data
• Cross-country project
• EU FP7 funded
• Use CHS method for intang, EUKLEMS for tang
• Demand for a UK innovation index
• Innovation accounting
• TFPG share-weighted intang asset stock growth
• More data to enhance CHS method
• Design
• Apply software method to estimate in-house using
  design occupations outside the design sector
• Extended RD survey (with ONS)
• Pilot extended survey to current CIS respondents
• Ask for
• data on intangibles
• data on life lengths, following Israeli study
• Development
• Transition to production

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Extended RD survey

• Included in the sample frame if
• responded to the BERD/Community Innovation Survey
  (CIS),
• confirmed they had undertaken RD,
• indicated on the CIS form that they were willing
  to be contacted further
• 20 companies
• grouped geographically,
• six sectors,
• semistructured interview
• 18 face to face and 2 telephone.
• Mostly with technical person i.e. respondent to
  Innovs survey.

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Attempt to distinguish between types of RD

• These questionnaires are about RD that is both
  technical and non-technical. Here are some
  definitions and examples to help
• a. Technical RD is defined as original
  investigation to acquire new knowledge in order
  to resolve scientific or technological
  uncertainty.
• b. Non-technical RD is work to support the
  commercialisation of new knowledge in the
  business and/or changes in the process and
  organisation in the business itself
• Example

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Example

• Example. Consider the steps in the sale of a new
  DVD player.
• 1. An improved mechanism for the laser that reads
  the DVD. This is technical RD (i.e. RD resolves
  scientific or technological uncertainty).
• 2. Pre-production market research. Non-technical
  RD (i.e. non-technical since it is not trying to
  resolve scientific or technological
  uncertainties).
• 3. New software to improve the working of the
  DVD. Non-technical RD.
• 4. Advertising and branding spend to support the
  product. Non-technical RD
• 5. New business process to change the way the
  product is produced and sold. Non-technical RD.

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Technical RD questions

• 1) What categories of Technical RD projects go
  on in your business? (basic applied
  experimental development)
• 2) proportions of spend in these groups
• 3) how much did you spend?
• 4) share of spending giving rise to patents
• 5) Proportion of technically based knowledge in
  your business that is new in the past financial
  year comes from
• in the business in UK, in the business outside
  UK, licencesed, freely available
• 6)-8) licence production, location of RD in
  UK/outside, knowledge used at home/abroad
• 9) life lengths.

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Life lengths question

• 9) The table below attempts to better understand
  time lapses from starting a specific technical
  RD project, to developing a usable concept, to
  moving into production, through to the point
  where it no longer provides competitive
  advantage.
• Description
• i) Development Gestation period- length of
  period of production of RD (time lag between the
  start and completion of RD projects)
• ii) Transition Application period - length of
  time passing between the end of the RD phase of
  the project and the start of the use of the RD
  in commercial production
• iii) Use Length of the period that the RD is
  used in commercial production
• Using the table below, please select at most
  three technical RD projects and fill out the
  time lapses. In the case of purchased RD please
  just fill out the use row

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B Non-technical RD

• Non-technical RD is spending to support the
  commercialisation of new knowledge in your
  business, or spending to develop new business
  processes or organisation.
• Definitions
• Software and computer networks - Includes
  purchased and own account (in-house) software
  development and computerised database and
  computer networks, but excludes spending covered
  under technical RD.
• Design of new products and services - Design
  functions for the development or implementation
  of new or improved goods, services and processes.
  Design in the technical RD phase of product
  development should be excluded.
• Employer-funded training All internal or
  external training for your personnel.
• Organisation/business process improvement -
  Including purchased consultancy services and
  in-house investment of managerial time spent on
  improving the effectiveness of business
  organisations.
• Reputation and branding - Including all spending
  on advertising and market research.
• Life lengths
• Gestation
• Implementation
• Use

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Avg for 20 UK companies
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Summary feedback from pilot

• Firms understand technical/non-technical
  innovation input
• V important who we talk to, need more than one
  contact
• Boundary of firm issues with MNEs
• Hard areas
• Own-account organisational capital
• Training including opportunity cost
• Asking them to focus on a project they know
  raises response but representativeness?
• Learn from new US RD survey