The inter-industry distribution of technological capabilities. A case study in the application of the Italian patenting in the U.S.A

In this paper patent statistics are used as a technological indicator for the purpose of identifying the inter-industry distribution of technological capabilities. A matrix of Italian patents in the U.S.A. by industrial sectors and technological fields is discussed. This matrix, which is complementary to those devoted to inter-industry technology flows, is of interest to technology policy, since it indicates the sources of a given technological capability. The same matrix shows that the companies, and consequently the industrial sectors involved, are multi-technological in that they produce inventions in a wide range of technological fields. The present paper is an initial attempt to quantify this known fact. © 1988.