The Internationalization of Corporate R&D

THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CORPORATE R&DHow Do Small Swedish Innovative Companies Grow and Go Global?The small innovative companies in Silicon Valley are expected to grow the most, togenerate most of the new jobs and to create most of the new products. There are alsosigns that small and startup companies go global very early often through initiativefrom investors. These trends should be further explored and the associated policy implicationscarefully considered.Does the Educational Structure Require Adjustment?Are the R&D skill levels in Sweden, like in Silicon Valley, climbing up the valuechain? Does Sweden need to adjust its educational structure to meet new market demandsand to keep its workforce competitive in the global marketplace?Market Swedish Strengths in the Global EconomyThe ability to manage and coordinate external relationships and global distributedfunctions will be a very important competitive advantage in the future. Sweden hasmajor strengths in this area that could be used, marketed and perhaps further developedto a greater extent.Assess Sweden’s Potential to Become Active Player – or Nexus – inGlobal R&D NetworksIt has been argued that Silicon Valley has the potential to become a nexus of globalR&D networks, which will orchestrate networks of global research projects. In a globalizedeconomy it is of great importance for Sweden to monitor, and be an active playerin, these networks. In some areas, Sweden may be well-positioned to serve as a nexusof internationally distributed R&D activities.203