Benefiting from Japan's Technical Progress-R & D Strategy in the Eighties

We have entered a new technological era with advanced research activity around the globe. Future automotive technology will increasingly originate offshore. Henceforth, the ability to assimilate foreign technical progress will determine America's capacity to harness technology to enhance national wellbeing.

The internationalization of R&D raises several critical issues: what are efficient techniques for following Japan's progress, and how is external learning integrated into research planning? The findings of the first major assessment of international technical information flow are presented. The ability to monitor global developments and conduct ‘adaptive’ research involves many sophisticated skills. Fewer than ten percent of U.S. manufacturing firms have this capability.