Patterns of scientific and technological knowledge flows based on scientific papers and patents

This paper examines how Korean technological development is linked with scientific activities and spreads to industrial fields through knowledge flows. It empirically assesses the linkages between scientific and technological knowledge flows and technological innovation by determining whether the quantity and quality of scientific papers cited by, and the knowledge being absorbed in, Korean patents filed in USPTO varied over time, and between technology fields. We conducted MANOVA and then canonical discriminate analysis. Our findings are: the patterns of both the absorption of scientific knowledge and the diffusion of technological knowledge differ by period and by field, and the speed of knowledge diffusion differs by technology field. This implies that the time required for Korean investment in basic and applied research to impact her industrial innovation differs by technology field.