A note on the changing appropriability conditions and technological opportunities for innovation in Japan; 1994–2020

We report findings obtained by comparing two innovation surveys in Japan conducted in 1994 and 2020. A comparison of statistical means at two points in time, controlling for firm size and industry as covariates, reveals that the following three changes have occurred for appropriabilities and technological opportunities of innovation during the past quarter-century. First, the effectiveness of almost all the mechanisms by which firms' appropriate profits from innovation declined. Second, the imitation lag has lengthened considerably. Third, while universities and government research institutes have become more important sources of technological information, internal sources and competitors have become less important. These results suggest that Japan's innovation system has undergone a fundamental transformation between the two time points.