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Are firms withdrawing from basic research? An analysis of firm-level publication behaviour in Germany

Krieger, Bastian ; Pellens, Maikel ; Blind, Knut ; Gruber, Sonia and Schubert, Torben LU (2021) In Scientometrics 126(12). p.9677-9698
Abstract

Previous research has expressed concerns about firms engaging less in basic research. We contribute to this debate by studying trends in the scientific publishing activities of firms located in Germany. Our results indicate that the firms’ aggregate volume of scientific publications stayed constant between 2008 and 2016. However, the number and share of publishing firms declined, and publication activities became more concentrated among publishing firms. Beyond that, we observe positive trends in publishing in basic research journals compared to journals focused on applied research, and publishing in collaboration with academic partners compared to publishing alone. Thus, our results paint an ambiguous picture. While they do not confirm... (More)

Previous research has expressed concerns about firms engaging less in basic research. We contribute to this debate by studying trends in the scientific publishing activities of firms located in Germany. Our results indicate that the firms’ aggregate volume of scientific publications stayed constant between 2008 and 2016. However, the number and share of publishing firms declined, and publication activities became more concentrated among publishing firms. Beyond that, we observe positive trends in publishing in basic research journals compared to journals focused on applied research, and publishing in collaboration with academic partners compared to publishing alone. Thus, our results paint an ambiguous picture. While they do not confirm a decrease in firms’ basic research engagement in the aggregate, the figures document a concentration of publishing activities on fewer firms. We argue that this concentration of basic research activities in firms may pose a threat to the longer-term innovativeness of the German economy.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Basic research, Corporate publishing, R&D strategy
in
Scientometrics
volume
126
issue
12
pages
9677 - 9698
publisher
Akademiai Kiado
external identifiers
  • scopus:85116727376
ISSN
0138-9130
DOI
10.1007/s11192-021-04147-y
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This study was funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research; grant number: 01PU17008. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).
id
d3a616e3-fa6f-4bcd-8fcd-cdbb04cb9b8e
date added to LUP
2021-10-27 10:22:33
date last changed
2024-01-20 15:10:09
@article{d3a616e3-fa6f-4bcd-8fcd-cdbb04cb9b8e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Previous research has expressed concerns about firms engaging less in basic research. We contribute to this debate by studying trends in the scientific publishing activities of firms located in Germany. Our results indicate that the firms’ aggregate volume of scientific publications stayed constant between 2008 and 2016. However, the number and share of publishing firms declined, and publication activities became more concentrated among publishing firms. Beyond that, we observe positive trends in publishing in basic research journals compared to journals focused on applied research, and publishing in collaboration with academic partners compared to publishing alone. Thus, our results paint an ambiguous picture. While they do not confirm a decrease in firms’ basic research engagement in the aggregate, the figures document a concentration of publishing activities on fewer firms. We argue that this concentration of basic research activities in firms may pose a threat to the longer-term innovativeness of the German economy.</p>}},
  author       = {{Krieger, Bastian and Pellens, Maikel and Blind, Knut and Gruber, Sonia and Schubert, Torben}},
  issn         = {{0138-9130}},
  keywords     = {{Basic research; Corporate publishing; R&D strategy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{12}},
  pages        = {{9677--9698}},
  publisher    = {{Akademiai Kiado}},
  series       = {{Scientometrics}},
  title        = {{Are firms withdrawing from basic research? An analysis of firm-level publication behaviour in Germany}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11192-021-04147-y}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s11192-021-04147-y}},
  volume       = {{126}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}