{"40486":{"#nid":"40486","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Study Identifies Factors Driving Offshoring of R\u0026amp;D","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EContrary to popular belief, lower cost isn\u0027t the chief factor driving companies to locate their research-and-development (R\u0026amp;D) operations in foreign countries like China and India, according to a new study sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe quality of R\u0026amp;D personnel available and opportunities for university collaboration are often more important attractors, find Marie Thursby, professor of strategic management at Georgia Tech College of Management, and Jerry Thursby, professor and chair of economics at Emory University. They presented their research findings February 16 at a meeting of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable of the National Academies in Washington D.C.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETheir survey of more than 200 multinational companies across fifteen industries (mostly based in the United States and Western Europe) shows that China and India will continue to be major beneficiaries of R\u0026amp;D expansion over the next few years as companies seek new market opportunities, access to top scientists and engineers, and collaborative research relationships with leading universities. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDespite the trend toward offshoring R\u0026amp;D operations in Asia, companies are keeping their most cutting-edge research in developed countries where intellectual property (IP) protection is the strongest. According to the study, only 22 percent of the R\u0026amp;D effort in emerging countries is for new science. \u0022While costs are higher in the United States and other developed countries, these economies still have a comparative advantage in R\u0026amp;D because of the high caliber of their scientists, particularly given the IP environment,\u0022 says Marie Thursby. \u0022Not everything\u0027s moving to China and India.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut to remain competitive, the United States must maintain the quality of its R\u0026amp;D personnel by providing more basic-research support and removing obstacles to immigration for highly skilled workers. \u0022We are educating the world\u0027s best and brightest, but make it difficult for them to stay in America,\u0022 Thursby says. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn their study, the Thursbys identified and ranked the importance of different factors influencing the location of R\u0026amp;D facilities. They also tracked the R\u0026amp;D work coming into the United States from abroad as well as projects moving in the reverse direction, identified favored countries for locating R\u0026amp;D work, and outlined trends for future R\u0026amp;D expansion. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMore than half of the U.S.-based companies that responded to the survey report that they have either recently expanded or planned to open R\u0026amp;D facilities in China and India versus other developed countries. Of sixty-three Western European companies responding, thirteen plan on expanding or locating new R\u0026amp;D facilities in the United States. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn both developed and emerging countries, the top factors influencing corporate decisions about R\u0026amp;D locations are market growth potential, quality of R\u0026amp;D talent, university collaboration, and IP protection, according to the survey. Cost wasn\u0027t the most important consideration in either developed or emerging countries, despite what major media have often reported on multinational R\u0026amp;D locations in recent years. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the study\u0027s most surprising findings, according to the researchers, was the role university collaboration plays in the corporate decision-making process. Collaboration was a particularly important factor in the decision to expand R\u0026amp;D into emerging countries, even though they offer less IP protection, the survey shows. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The study underscores the critical role universities play in a country\u0027s national innovation system, not just in the training of new scientists and access to the best talent, but in the ease of developing and licensing technology,\u0022 said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation seeking to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve education. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, contact Marie Thursby at 404-894-6249 or \u003Ca href=\u0027mailto:marie.thursby@mgt.gatech.edu\u0027\u003Emarie.thursby@mgt.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Brad Dixon, College of Management\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Contrary to popular belief, lower cost isn\u0027t the chief factor driving companies to locate their research-and-development (R\u0026amp;D) operations in foreign countries like China and India, according to a new study sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Lower cost isn"}],"uid":"27301","created_gmt":"2006-02-16 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:00:55","author":"Elizabeth Campell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-02-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2006-02-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"40487":{"id":"40487","type":"image","title":"Marie Thursby","body":null,"created":"1449174200","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:23:20","changed":"1475894196","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:36:36","alt":"Marie Thursby","file":{"fid":"100272","name":"tza32489.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tza32489.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tza32489.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":68387,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tza32489.jpg?itok=58zXAPek"}}},"media_ids":["40487"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/mgt.gatech.edu\/directory\/thursby.html","title":"Marie Thursby faculty page"},{"url":"http:\/\/mgt.gatech.edu\/index.html?link=logo","title":"College of Management"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"802","name":"China"},{"id":"2998","name":"India"},{"id":"2997","name":"off-shoring"},{"id":"2568","name":"offshoring"},{"id":"2995","name":"overseas"},{"id":"2996","name":"R\u0026amp;D"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003ELisa Grovenstein\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=lgrovenste3\u0022\u003EContact Lisa Grovenstein\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-8835\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lisa.grovenstein@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}