<P> In the twentieth century, scientific and technological research became increasingly systematised, as corporations developed, and discovered that continuous investment in research and development could be a key element of success in a competitive strategy . It remained the case, however, that imitation by competitors - circumventing or simply flouting patents, especially those registered abroad - was often just as successful a strategy for companies focused on innovation in matters of organisation and production technique, or even in marketing . A classic example is that of Wilkinson Sword and Gillette in the disposable razor market, where the former has typically had the technological edge, and the latter the commercial one . </P> <P> Different countries spend vastly different amounts on research, in both absolute and relative terms . For instance, South Korea and Israel spend more than 4% of their GDP on research while many Arabic countries spend less than 1% (e.g. Saudi Arabia 0.25%). </P> <P> The US spent $456.1 billion for research and development (R&D) in 2013, the most recent year for which such figures are available, according to the National Science Foundation . The private sector accounted for $322.5 billion, or 71%, of total national expenditures, with universities and colleges spending $64.7 billion, or 14%, in second place . </P> <P> Switzerland spent CHF 22 billion for R&D in 2015 with an increase of 10.5% compared with 2012 when the last survey was conducted . In relative terms, this represents 3.4% of the country's GDP . R&D activities are carried out by nearly 125,000 individuals, mostly in the private sector (71%) and higher education institutions (27%). </P>

Who pays for most of the scientific research done in the united states