Breadth and Depth of Main Technology Fields: An Empirical Investigation Using Patent Data

Recently work on technological change has emphasized the importance and implications of di¤erent knowledge bases among industries in terms of innovative potential. In some industries, products and processes have become more complex, as well as there appears to be increased convergence in some market segments. Although increasing attention has been given to features of knowledge bases, there have been limited empirical research on how to measure them. In this paper a method is proposed to measure empirically the breadth and depth dimensions of main technology …elds, sectors and …rms in the economy. For this purpose, we measure the knowledge bases of 30 main technology …elds by using the concepts of breadth and depth. Breadth corresponds to the range of di¤erent subjects that a technology …eld draws upon. Depth refers to the extent to which a certain …eld is exploited in detail. We position the main technology …elds in the breadth and depth space by utilizing the EPO (European Patent O¢ ce) database between 1978-2000. We also present the evolution of breadth and depth through time, as well as the breadth and depth dimensions of 40 largest …rms in biotechnology and telecommunications. Our results reveal that the both technology …elds and …rms are largely scattered in the breadth and depth space. Biotechnology stands out to have the highest breadth and depth. Key Words: Patents, Breadth and depth, technology …elds, knowledge base.