Figure 4-21 



"Radicalness" of major U.S. innovations, 

 by groups of R&D-intensive industries, 



-irf lOCJTJ 



Mjr glUU^O Wl ItW^fc^ III 



1953-62 and 1963-73 



(Percent of Innovations) 

 30- 



25- 

 20- 

 15- 

 10- 

 5- 



— 



1953-62 



I Improvement of existing technology 

 I Major technological advance 

 ■ Radical breakthrough 



J^ 



i 



Group I 



Group II Group III 



1963-73 



(Percent of Innovations) 



Group I 



Group II 



Group III 



SOURCE: Gellman Research Associates, Inc. 



obtained through a variety of means. These 

 include basic research, applied research, licens- 

 ing, merger or acquisition of other concerns, and 

 the transfer of technology from another product 

 line. Various combinations of these means may 

 be involved in the case of a single innovation. For 

 example, the underlying technology for the 

 light-emitting diode v^as acquired through a 

 combination of internally generated basic and 

 applied research, coupled v^^ith the transfer of 

 technology from one of the firm's existing 

 product lines. 



The modes by which the technology was 

 acquired for the innovations in this study are 

 shown in figure 4-22. These data, supplied by the 

 innovating firms, represent the number of 

 innovations in which the various acquisition 

 modes were involved. Each mode is counted 

 separately, even if the underlying technology 

 involved a combination of sources; and each 

 mode, and all instances of its occurrence, are 

 treated as equally important in the innovation 

 process. It should be noted also that the 

 information collected regarding the underlying 

 technology applies only to the period between 

 conception and realization of the innovation and 

 does not include prior research activities. These 

 several limitations require that the indicators be 

 regarded as gross measures only. 



The dependence of innovation on researches — 

 applied and basic — is evident from figure 4-22; 

 applied research was involved in almost 75 

 percent of the innovations, and basic research in 

 almost 40 percent. Aside from research, the only 

 other acquisition mode of significance was the 

 transfer of technology from existing product 

 lines. Actually, research is involved even more 

 extensively in innovation than the figure 



Figure 4-22 



Sources of technology underlying major U.S. 

 Innovations, 1953-73 



(Frequency'} 

 20 60 100 140 180 220 



I I I I I I I I I I I 



Applied researcli 



Basic research 



Technology transfer-' 



Licensing 



Purchase of "know-how" 



' Multiple responses were accepted. 

 - From wtlfiin the innovating company. 

 SOURCE. Gellman Research Associates, Inc. 



-^5 See the chapter in this report entitled "Basic Research" 

 for additional information on the relationship between 

 research and innovation. 



107 



