Inter-firm R&D partnerships: an overview of major trends and patterns since 1960

This paper explores 40 years of data on R&D partnerships. These R&D partnerships are examples of inter-firm collaboration or strategic partnering, a topic that has recently attracted attention in both the academic literature and the popular press. The paper presents an analysis of some basic historical trends and sectoral patterns in R&D partnering since 1960. It also provides an overview of some major international (sectoral) patterns in the forming of R&D partnerships within the Triad (North America, Europe and Asia). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.