A taxonomy of countries based on inventive activity

Technological innovation is a major competitive input that directly translates into long‐term competitive advantage. Presents the results of research that examines innovative activity by country, based on several measures of technological performance. The patterns of inventiveness reported reflect present product development activities that will in the future directly impact the ability of a country to bring unique and high value‐added new products to market. Develops a taxonomy that suggests that there are distinctively different patterns of inventiveness by country. Discusses marketing implications of the taxonomy and proposes future research.