Blog post: ‘UK Firms’ R&D Internationalisation: A Comprehensive and Statistical Review’
October 23, 2024
October 23, 2024
October 23, 2024
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In this blog Jun Du and Dalila Ribaudo share details of their new project ‘UK Firms’ R&D Internationalisation: A Comprehensive and Statistical Review’ – this project is part of our first round of Flexible Funding and is led by academics under the IRC Network.
Where does the UK stand in global knowledge and innovation creation in digital technologies and climate change mitigation? How can cross-border inter-firm collaboration enhance firms’ ability to achieve their innovative goals? Our rapid scoping project aims to thoroughly explore these questions by analysing extensive databases on firms, patents, and inventors.
Recent studies, including the IRC Insight Paper by Castellani and Du (2023), highlight significant gaps in our understanding of how firms across borders manage and innovate within their R&D sectors. While continuing to be a global innovation powerhouse, the United Kingdom has witnessed transformative shifts in the landscape of international R&D amidst the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brexit transition, and ongoing geopolitical tensions. This context presents a critical opportunity to delve into this complex domain.
Leaving the EU poses the UK unique challenges and opportunities for R&D. Programmes like EU Horizon were pivotal in advancing sectors such as climate change and Industrial Digital Technologies (IDTs). However, the hiatus from such programmes has not only resulted in financial strain but also stifled innovation (Garas et al., 2019). Additionally, the shift in the UK’s inward investments from production to offices and research facilities post-Brexit signals a pivotal change in the innovation landscape (The Economist, 2019; Driffield et al., 2023).
We make a first solid step to address a steep challenge in this line of research by building on required cross-country and firm level databases. The data will allow us to depict the landscape of inter-firm R&D internationalisation in the UK over the periods of interest, its concentration among firms, industries and technological domains, and further identify changes in trends in recent time.
We specifically investigate:
- How do UK firms co-create innovation with foreign partners, and to what extent do these collaborative efforts vary across industrial sectors and key technological fields, including green and digital technologies?
- How have different firms, including large multinational corporations and small domestic UK firms, responded to recent economic shocks and disruptions?
The findings from this research are expected to be instrumental for policymakers, industry leaders, and the academic community, guiding strategic decisions that enhance the UK’s economic impact and international standing in R&D. As the UK redefines its role on the global stage, understanding the dynamics of international R&D collaborations and where the country holds a technological advantage is crucial.
We encourage innovators, policymakers, and scholars to engage with our research findings, provide feedback, and contribute to shaping a dynamic future for the UK’s R&D landscape. Insights and support from the users and stakeholders of UK innovation can help transform challenges into opportunities for growth and progress.