suggests. First, much of the transferred 

 technology itself is based on prior research. But 

 even more important is the contribution from 

 the total body of knowledge gained from 

 centuries of scientific research — knowledge 

 upon which innovation in general draws. 



The research directly underlying the in- 

 novations was reported by the firms to have 

 been performed primarily by the innovating 

 companies themselves. This was particularly 

 true for applied research, but significantly less so 

 for basic research. In some 96 percent of the 

 cases, applied research was performed within 

 the innovating firm, compared with 73 percent 

 for basic research. Although no attempt was 

 made to determine where the external portion of 

 the basic research was performed, it may be 

 presumed to have been performed largely in the 

 university sector. As indicated in the "Basic 

 Research" chapter of this report, industrial 

 innovation (as represented by major patented 

 technological advances) depends heavily upon 

 basic research performed in universities — a 

 dependency which has increased over the years. 



Research figures prominently in the sampled 

 innovations of all industries, the least R&D- 

 intensive as well as the most intensive (figure 4- 

 23). Applied research was involved in some 70 

 percent of the innovations in each of the three 

 groups of industries (Groups I, II, and III) which 

 vary from high to low in their R&D inten- 

 siveness. Basic research, on the other hand, was 

 more frequently associated with the innovations 

 of Group I industries than with those of Groups 

 II and III — 44 percent versus 32 and 28 percent, 

 respectively.-^" 



A similar pattern of dependency was found 

 between research and the "radicalness" of 

 innovations (figure 4-24). Applied research was 

 reported with nearly equal frequency for 

 innovations representing radical breakthroughs, 

 major technological advances, and im- 

 provements in existing technologies. Basic 

 research, however, was more often involved in 

 innovations characterized as radical 

 breakthroughs than it was in the other two 

 categories. Such research was reported as a 

 source of innovation in 68 percent of the new 

 products and processes regarded as radical 

 innovations, compared with less than 50 percent 

 in the case of other innovations. 



Figure 4-23 



Research underlying major U.S. innovations, 



by groups of R&D intensive industries, 



1953-73 



(Percent of innovations in each group in which 

 applied and basic research were involved)' 



80 90 100 



I 1 I 



Applied research 



Group 



Group II 



Group I 



■ Multiple responses were accepted. 

 SOURCE: Gellman Research Associates. Inc. 



-^'' The percentages reported in this section are based on 

 the innovations within each group of R&D-intensive in- 

 dustries. 



The U.S. innovations included in the study 

 conducted by Gellman Research Associates, Inc., 

 were examined to identify the more specific 

 fields of science which had contributed in a major 

 way to the realization of these innovations. 

 These fields are listed below, along with the 

 principal industries and product areas to which 

 the fields contributed most directly. Associated 

 with each field is a sample of the innovations in 

 which the specific field played a significant role. 



108 



