Coordination of multinational R & D: A Swedish case study

The need to coordinate multinational R & D increases in many corporations which want to take advantages of scale, synergy and multinationality on a world-wide basis. The Swedish engineering corporation SKF has tackled this problem as an early internationalized but lately diversified corporation working in mature technologies and markets. Substantial coordination has been achieved through a heavy resource commitment in a foreign corporate R & D lab, and a subsequent build-up of a rather elaborate system for R & D management throughout the corporation. The structure and processes of the system are described, together with experiences of coordinating effects, and a project case is given. The chosen mode of coordination is finally compared with situations in other industries.     

R & D management practices:* chemical industry in Europe

The paper summarizes the results of interviews with R & D managers in forty-three chemical companies in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.K. covering questions concerned with: R & D planning, size and distribution of R & D efforts, organization of R & D and project management. The results are presented in quantitative and qualitative terms, and the differences between various categories of chemical industry and between various national practices are discussed.     

Leadership styles and planning and monitoring techniques in R & D

There is no shortage of literature on the subject of planning and control in research and development. There is less evidence that many of the more formal techniques are effectively used in practice. It can be argued that some of these techniques are very valuable aids to project managers, and to individual team members, if seen as components of leadership style, In this paper a link is made between a number of planning and control methods and the leadership model of Hersey and Blanchard. In conclusion it is argued that the potential value, and hence use, of different methods will be increased if more attention is paid to the contribution they can make to understanding and promoting individual development and project team performance.     

A study of communication behaviour in an R & D laboratory

There is still much uncertainty about the determinants of technical communication flow in UK R & D laboratories and even more uncertainty about the causal link between communication behaviour and performance. Hence it is not clear what managerial action should be taken to improve technical communication flow and what effect such action would have on research productivity. In this study the main factors influencing communication flow are identified and the role of basic human characteristics in determining both communication behaviour and performance are studied and discussed.     

A Kantian Analysis of Pricing and R & D

Review of Industrial Organization - Can cooperation offer an innovative alternative to competition among firms? This design problem is analyzed in the context of Kantian cooperation among firms in...     

A utility approach to R & D decisions

The traditional monetarily based economic model is inadequate as a guide to responsible R & D decisions. Modern utility theory, on the other hand, can incorporate intangible factors and has a value system base. Both techniques are compared via a case example, which results in some social implications of utility based decisions.     

Assessment of profiles in R & D: a tool for analysis and development of R & D potential

A study sponsored by the State Committee for Science and Technical Progress of Bulgaria aimed at providing a theoretically sound and easy to apply method for the needs of R & D management on government, organization and team levels, to be used in assessing and managing both present and future R & D potential.
The method draws inferences about R & D potential from the accumulated experience and performance of the researchers, analysed along research topics. A specific 'man-topic unit of analysis helps identify individual researchers, teams and projects' profiles and also helps translate the specific characteristics of R & D work and the requirements for R & D internal effectiveness into the language of R & D management.     

Ten years of R & D Management-some major themes: the role of communication in R & D

Fifteen papers on the role of interpersonal communication in R & D appearing in the first ten volumes of R & D Management are reviewed. The conclusions reached by the various contributors on three major themes are compared. The themes are: the relation of communication to performance, the effect of physical separation on communication rate, and the role of communication stars in information transfer. A clear division of opinion emerges on the extent to which managers can impose or create effective communication patterns as distinct from merely being able to stimulate those that already exist. Differences in experimental approach and the existence of methodological gaps prevent any judgment being made between the two viewpoints based only on the evidence in the papers under review.     

R & D and the company's requirements

Numerous models have been put forward in the literature for the selection and evaluation of projects, many of which are based on optimizing the return on investment by the company in R & D projects. This is a noble aim but in practice the financial data available are often of dubious accuracy and so many other factors are involved in actually adopting a portfolio of selected projects that project selection often becomes a theoretical exercise. It is suggested that the selection of projects is in essence the adoption of a strategy which is within the policy and long-term aims of the company and also within the policy and scientific development of the R & D part of the company. Such a strategy is usually sub-optimum for both the company and the R & D division, as it is a compromise between a desire for high pay-back investments by the company and the maintenance of a scientifically balanced R & D involving some long-term, unknown return, investments. A method is currently being experimented with by Unilever Research which illustrates where conflicts arise between the policy of the main company and that of research, and assists management in arriving at a strategy which most closely fulfils the needs of both policies. Both the concept of the method and its practical use are described in this paper.     

A simple model of R & D project dynamics

A simple dynamic model is developed that describes some of the important aspects of research and development projects. Its purpose is illustration of the applicability of dynamic modelling to understanding the key factors affecting R & D performance. The model recognizes the differences among real, perceived, and reported progress on the job. It also includes the effect of schedule pressures on productivity. Simulation results are presented that, among other things, illustrate the trade-off between meeting schedule and maintaining organizational stability, the effects of rapid problem detection and response, and the difficulties due to the intangible nature of R & D progress.     

A study of the diffusion of management concepts and techniques amongst R & D managers

The management of R & D has been the focus of a great deal of research and writing during the past decade. It is, however, by no means certain that these have produced a significant effect amongst R & D decision makers. This paper describes a study of the extent to which R & D managers are aware of management concepts and techniques. The subjects were 57 senior R & D managers from British and Continental organizations who attended courses at the Management Centre, University of Bradford in 1974/5. The study was conducted by means of a questionnaire and a 100 question forced choice Quiz. The paper suggests that knowledge of modern management thinking has, to date, made only a limited penetration into R&D.     

Creativity and organization in pharmaceuticals R & D

This paper reviews the results of a study carried out in conjunction with the Chemical and Allied Products Industry Training Board to link internal environmental factors of an organization to measures of creativity in R & D in the pharmaceutical industry. The methods adopted have been described and the preliminary results of the pilot study carried out in one organization in order to develop, refine and test methodology. It is hoped in the future that the techniques developed will be extended to provide comparisons in other organizations in the pharmaceutical industry in order to draw firm conclusions. The paper also sets the study in the context of a brief historical review of other studies in this field. It is concluded that the investigation has evolved a methodology capable of identifying and measuring some facilitatory and inhibitory influences on creativity in an R & D environment, allowing comparisons to be drawn between environmental influences in different parts of the same organization.     

The economics of industrial R & D

The relationship between research and commercial operation is examined in terms of production using a simple Cobb-Douglas production function, where output is expressed in terms of inputs of labour, capital and‘technical progress’. The model was tested in a single company environment by multiple regression analysis of output as the dependent variable on various measures of research, labour and capital. The results of the regression analysis are in full agreement with the model as outlined and the assumption that output is dependent simultaneously on labour, capital and the cumulative research investment.     

Communication networks in R & D Laboratories

Communication networks in R & D laboratories are shown to have structural characteristics, which when properly understood can be employed to more effectively maintain the laboratories' personnel abreast of technological developments. Informal relations and physical location are shown to be important determinants of this structure. Informal relations can be developed through formation of project teams and intergroup transfers and loans. The effect of physical location on communications is especially strong and should be given serious consideration when designing research facilities.     

Controlling R & D projects by networks

Abstract . This paper discusses the use of network analysis in the management of a large scale engineering project carried out within the R & D department of an engineering company. It describes the use of precedence diagrams and concludes that these are simpler to use than the more commonly encountered PERT nomenclature. This method has now been extended to cover other projects in the R & D department and it is concluded that their successful introduction has been encouraged by the interest and support of top management.     

Human aspects of R & D organization

Abstract. The organization structure of an R & D Division should seek to establish conditions in which creative ideas flourish. The nature of the R & D activity and needs of its staff must be clearly understood. The essential core of the organization should comprise a number of commercial target groups around which lie a flexible array of disciplinary and service groups. It is essential that group managers are seen to be scientists or engineers of distinctive competence. There should not be more than three tiers of management.