Knowledge sharing in cooperative research and development

• Published in: Managerial and decision economics Vol. 24; no. 2-3; pp. 117 - 132
• Main Author: Sakakibara, Mariko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-03-2003; John Wiley and Sons; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Series: Managerial and Decision Economics
• Subjects: Absorptive capacity; Alliances; Business partnership; Competition; Consortia; Cooperation; Cost functions; Cost reduction; Economic competition; Economic models; Economics; Effects; Industrial economics; Information sharing; Innovation; Intellectual property; Investments; Joint ventures; Knowledge management; Knowledge sharing; Learning; Learning rate; Nash equilibrium; Partnering; Production costs; Public assistance programs; R&D; Research & development; Research and development; Spillovers; Studies; Technological change
• ISSN: 0143-6570; 1099-1468
• DOI: 10.1002/mde.1080

This article examines the effects of knowledge sharing or endogenous spillovers among R&D consortia participants on R&D competition when R&D enhances a firm's absorptive capacity. A three-stage model illustrates how different compositions of R&D consortia affect endogenous spillover rates and R&D spending of participants. When consortium participants possess complementary knowledge, the model suggests that participation increases the degree of knowledge sharing and intensifies firms' R&D efforts to learn from other members compared with the case when no cooperation takes place. This type of R&D consortia is welfare enhancing, justifying government support for these projects.