R&D 100 [IEEE Spectrum's fourth annual survey]

This paper presents the results of the IEEE Spectrum's fourth annual survey of the world's top 100 R&D spenders. While the top three spots were captured by the automobiles and components sector, the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector ranked as the second most research-intensive industry, just behind the software and services sector. Meanwhile, the trend in the technology hardware and equipment sector has been much more volatile, with its R&D intensity dropping 9 percent from 2000 to 2004. Like the auto industry, capital goods also had relatively low R&D intensity. However, the sector increased its share of the top 100 from 9 to 10 percent. Also increasing its share is the consumer durables and apparel sector.