ABSTRACT
As the global economy approaches the end of the twentieth century, transnational corporations (TNCs), small-to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and governments have emerged as the principal players on the stage of industrial development. In a dynamic knowledge-and technology-driven global marketplace, characterized by the increasing democratization of national governments, the leading suppliers and producers of services and goods cannot afford to lose sight of their paying audience: individual citizens and collective consumers constituting domestic, international and global consumer demand. This volume addresses salient issues arising out of R&D-and innovation-driven economic development during the past 25 years, and their implications for regional, national and global industrial growth (economic competition) in the mature Global Age of Information of the twenty-first century.
