The connection between science and technology in the Basque Country. Analysis of patents in literature.

Resumen

Citations of non-patent literature contained in patents are widely used as an indicator of the relationship between Science and Technology. From the beginning up to later studies, there could, however, no agreement on their usefulness as robust indicator of the flow of knowledge between Science and Technology be found. Using a sample of 2.438 patents from the Basque Country, this article presents new results in order to evaluate the usefulness of citations in non-patent literature as indicators that show the flow of knowledge between the scientific activity and the technical innovation of the companies in that region.