Effect and limit of the government role in spurring technology spillover - a case of R&D consortia by the Japanese government

Why should rivals cooperate? This is the fundamental question posed by R&D consortia. The answer to this question provides a reasonable elucidation of the inside of the black box which enabled Japan to achieve the high-technology miracle in the 1980s. One reasonable answer to the question can be a virtuous cycle spurring technology spillover among participants, and also between consortia and economy as a whole. Prompted by this postulate, this paper attempts to analyze the effect and limit of the role of the government in spurring technology spillover through an emprical analysis of R&D consortia initiated by the Japanese Government over the last four decades. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.