IBM and Du Pont; Eastman Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, and Upjohn: just a few of tile U.S. corporations famous for being on the cutting edge of scientific research. And although each of these companies has long operated across international boundaries, this research has traditionally been conducted within the U.S. Increasingly, however, that is changing. In the past five years, all of these industry leaders have opened research facilities in Europe or Japan— regarding a new era of truly multinational industrial research.
And these firms aren’t alone. The National Science Foundation reports that U.S. corporations as a group are spending an increasing amount of money on overseas research. In 1985, according to NSF figures, U.S. firms spent $3.7 billion on R&D abroad, versus $5 1.4 billion at home. By the end of 1986, overseas research had grown some 27%, to $4.7 billion, while domestic research was up just 6.5%, to $52.8 billion. And ...
