THE TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE OF FIRMS - INVESTMENTS IN INFRATECHNOLOGY

Few technologies can be successfully commercialized and achieve market penetration without the availability and use of a critical technology infrastructure. This paper presents estimates of manufacturing firms' expenditures on internal investments in one class of technology infrastructure-infratechnology-and examines, in an exploratory fashion, the relationship between such investments and industry productivity growth. Emphasis is placed on the need for additional inquiry into a fuller understanding of the R&D process and the interactions between proprietary and infrastructure research activities.