Strategic technology alliances by European firms since 1980: questioning integration?

This paper evaluates the extent to which private, non-subsidised cooperative agreements in R&D by EU firms has evolved, paying particular attention to the extent to which economic integration may have influenced intra-EU activity relative to extra-EU agreements (i.e., EU-US and EU-Japan alliances) over the period 1980-1994. Essentially, EU firms'' partnering habits reflect the need to seek strong partners regardless of nationality within a given industry, although intra-EU partnering enjoyed a brief popularity during the latter half of the 1980s.research and development ;