The Internationalization of Corporate R&D

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CORPORATE R&Dcal issues for Swedish ICT innovation policy, by focusing on key functions for innovationperformance and the ways they have been working historically in Sweden. Giventhe large public sector in Sweden, public investments and regulations should continue tobe of critical importance for the future competitiveness of the Swedish ICT industry.However, both the global and national conditions for such policy has changedconsiderably in nature, which means that the actual policy measures considered wouldneed to be quite different from those adopted during previous decades.In spite of the recent strengthening of Swedish innovation policy, there is need for adeeper review of the challenges facing the Swedish national innovation system as awhole, and for the ICT innovation system specifically. At both levels, Swedish innovationpolicy has to identify and develop new routes to replace previously dominantinnovation system regimes, several of which have been quite efficient historically. The“old” regimes were, in important respects, based on strong user-producer relationships,most of which had a substantial public-private dimension.5.5.2 ICT Policy ChallengesBased on the prospects of global and national demand and market growth for ICTgoods and services, in combination with the industrially and technologically strongSwedish ICT industry, we argue that the ICT industry should be given substantial policyattention. The potential for continued, above-average value added and employmentgrowth is promising. 12 However, these opportunities are identified by many companiesand policy makers around the world, and thus the competition for these values and thecompetitiveness requirements for ICT-based growth are increasing. National ICT policyis an important part of this competition.Public policy influences both the supply and demand of technological development inthe ICT industry through:• Procurements of ICT goods and services for public services. The volume andtechnological requirements of this demand are critical in stimulating R&D investments.• Investments in the supply and development of human resources with specialist andgeneralist competence for both hardware and software ICT development and production.• Provision of internationally competitive, technical infrastructures for ICT productionand consumption, which is critical to generating technological capabilities.• Regulation of technology and business activities that generate incentives, whichaffect the risk-reward ratio for industrial technology and business investments.12 As indicated by foresights and private and public R&D and production investments worldwide.147