Another survey on globalized R&D, this one from Booz Allen and INSEAD. If you don't enjoy reading these studies, at least take a look at exhibit 6 on page 5, which shows "drivers" of foreign R&D placement. Interestingly, France edges out the US for attracting R&D centers because of "business environment." The survey does not indicate whether this metric includes local regulations, or commercial policies however.

The survey specifically addresses: “Current and future levels and drivers of innovation R&D dispersion; if and how this dispersion was leveraged in multi-site projects; approaches to finding new knowledge; the extent to which external partners play a role in innovation; the organizational structures and processes that support dispersed innovation and the barriers to global innovation.” Metrics came from 186 companies, based in 19 countries (exhibit 18), across 17 sectors (see exhibit 19) with combined 2004 R&D spending of $76 billion.

The study has two major findings: 1) as companies expand into global business markets, their R&D activities follow suit, 2) drivers of R&D globalization have changed, with R&D centers developing in previously unexpected places. Some detailed conclusions include:

Companies in Western Europe have the most “dispersion”, although they tend to place R&D centers in other European countries. 3.
Less than half of total North American company R&D sites are based outside America, however the percentage has dropped from 59% to 52% over the past decade. 3.
China and India may soon overtake Western Europe as the top destinations for foreign R&D centers of US companies. 4.
The most cited reason for foreign R&D placement, after traditional factors of access to markets and proximity to production centers, was qualified staff. Wage differentials and local regulations ranked low on the scale for some regions. See exhibit 6. 5.
There are marked differences in R&D sent to foreign nations, which often consists of customization for local markets or requirements for specific expertise. See exhibit 7. 6.
With increased dispersion of R&D, managing facilitates, business processes and personal becomes more important. 7.