Dynamics of R&D diffusion in the computer industry: The initial communications impact of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC)

This is a case study of the dynamics of knowledge diffusion involving a new type of organization--the industrial research and development (R&D) consortium. The particular organization studied is the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC).;MCC was the first industrial research consortium to register under the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984. It was designed to strengthen the U.S. industry against international competition, but the impact of MCC and other industrial consortia was expected to reach beyond their corporate shareholders, so that MCC might serve as public good. This study focuses on that broader social impact.;Several measures are employed, which derive from bibliometric methodologies, in order to assess the pattern of information exchange. The nature and extent of interorganizational and transnational information exchange are assessed by an analysis of the co-authorship of journal articles and conference papers authored by researchers from MCC and other organizations. The diffusion of MCC's research is also assessed by analyzing how both MCC's publications and its patents are cited by researchers from other organizations. A descriptive model of the typical amounts and types of interorganizational co-authorship in the computer industry is developed so that MCC's activities may be compared with it.;Among the findings: MCC's work does have a significant influence on the work of researchers at other institutions. Its publications are cited by people representing a diverse group of organizations, academic and corporate, in the United States and many other countries. MCC's patents are contributing to the U.S. technical base. The diverse links for diffusion suggest that MCC may be a valuable node for information exchange between its shareholders and other researchers.;Three aspects of this study are of particular significance: (1) a little used method of technology assessment, patent citation analysis, is explored; (2) a relatively broad, comprehensive impact of a research organization may be measured, through the use of multiple bibliometric methods; and (3) the issue of the impact of research consortia on U.S. industry has important policy implications.