Abstract

The United States has long been considered a pioneer in emerging technologies. But there is an abundance of literature to document that other nations are catching up and that developing nations adopt advanced technologies by leapfrogging state of the art technology platforms. Countries such as Japan, Korea and more recently China, have emerged as contenders for technology leadership in various areas. In this paper, we first analyze the literature to identify the key factors that determine global technology leadership. Based on the literature, we develop a model to analyze the relationship between these factors and technology leadership. In addition, we propose that government support, such as incentives and expenditure on R&D etc., impact this relationship and strengthen it. We use panel data analysis to test this relationship and our findings indicate that R&D and main science and technology indicators (MSTI) are significant determinants of technology leadership. This work presents several implications and a path forward for global technology leadership.

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