The WAITRO Study on R&D Organizations

Abstract

The importance of industrial R&D for technological capability-building cannot be overemphasized. At the same time, because of the various typical attributes of R&D activities, the performance of R&D organizations is subjected to regular scrutiny. One such attribute is uncertainty of return from investment in R&D over a real-time period. How can the best result be achieved from the investment made in R&D? The benchmarking exercise, therefore, has been initiated for the in-house R&D system of companies. Szakonyi (1994) has reviewed such an exercise for corporate R&D systems. Beyond corporate R&D systems, in most countries, governments have played an active role in creating a number of R&D organizations for the promotion of national science and technological capabilities. These organizations are either directly or indirectly funded by national governments. Most of these organizations are facing a tough time in terms of availability of funds and in justifying their effectiveness. Is it possible to revitalize these organizations through organizational restructuring?