An empirical analysis of nanotechnology research domains

Research activities in nanotechnology have been strengthened worldwide since the last decade to provide a foundation for technological advancement by grasping nanoscience and technology opportunities. This paper aims to make a refined classification to understand the whole research spectrum in nanotechnologies. We also provide an insight into horizontal comparisons between the research domains using tech mining (Porter 2005) method. The findings show the regional strengths and weaknesses in nanotechnology research domains, indicating that the US has gained much strength in bionanotechnology research relative to other domains, and the other regions (e.g. the EU, Japan, China, South Korea and India) have gained their research strength in nanomaterials, nanoelectronics and nanomanufacturing and tools. The paper contributes to the literature of nanotechnology management by providing a categorization of nanotechnology research and offers a useful insight for academic and industry practitioners in nanoscience and technology fields.