Technological innovation survey of manufacturing firms: The case of Korea

Initiated as a primitive report on public research in early 1960s, R&D survey of Korea has been augmented and elaborated over the last few decades, to cover such diverse features as RED expenditure, workforce, patents and technological balance of payments. However, as private sector took the leading role in the national innovation system, vis-a-vis public sector, the needs for an innovation survey have became increasingly urgent. This paper presents the report of the first national innovation survey of Korea in an abridged form. The survey investigated the characteristics of innovative firms in terms of indicators of industrial innovation. The results have been briefly presented and important determinants of different kind of innovation have been discussed. Although the survey signifies a considerable departure from the conventional R&D survey, it is only exploratory in nature and by and large incomplete. Additional efforts are required to accommodate both customized needs of developing countries and international compatibility with foreign surveys.