Parent-subsidiary communication in international biotechnologyR&D

This paper investigates parent-subsidiary technical communication in multinational corporations (MNCs). Subsidiaries of European and Japanese MNCs operating biotechnology R&D facilities in the United States are examined to determine how technical information is transmitted to and from their parent firms. A conceptual model is developed that relates parent company and subsidiary attributes to technical communication between the parent and the US subsidiary. A multimethod approach using both survey and case study methodologies is employed to evaluate this model. The data indicate that European- and Japanese-owned subsidiaries exhibit differences in a number of organizational, cultural, and technology-related attributes, which in turn appear to lead to differences in scientific and technical communication between the subsidiaries and their parents. The concept of communication structure from the organizational communication literature is used to provide a framework for the discussion of the results. In this study. European and Japanese firms exhibit two distinct forms of communication structure characterizing parent-subsidiary technical communication     

Managing the internationalization of R&D activities

The increasing dispersion of R&D laboratories in different countries force multinational firms to take a global view in managing their research operations and to make efforts to coordinate their dispersed R&D. Few studies have so far investigated whether or not international R&D structures exist, and how forms of division of labor, interdependencies, and coordination among geographically dispersed units take place. This paper proposes a taxonomy of international R&D structures and attempts to identify why and how they are designed as they are. It is based on the findings of field research on 12 multinational companies. It shows that the shape of the structure is dependent on the type of R&D activity, namely the longer time horizon of the research activity the more dispersed structure tend to be. Moreover, the structural outcome seems to be strongly influenced by two variables: the degree of dispersion of external sources of knowledge, and the degree of dispersion of the key internal R&D resources. These factors in turn are dependent on both industry- and firm-specific variables. This helps explain why the international R&D structural outcome varies from industry to industry and from firm to firm within the same industry     

An Analysis of Global R&D Activities of Japanese MNCs in the US From the Knowledge-Based View

We examined 79 Japanese MNCs' R&D subsidiaries in the US from the knowledge-based view. We found: 1) subsidiaries' R&D strategies encouraged some types of knowledge flows, but discouraged other types; 2) autonomous R&D subsidiaries promoted knowledge flows from local environments to the subsidiary; 3) process-oriented incentives promoted technical knowledge flows between a subsidiary and its headquarters; 4) knowledge flows and R&D strategies contributed to a subsidiary's knowledge accumulation; 5) organizational factors such as autonomy and process-oriented incentives contributed more to a subsidiary's overall performance than the subsidiary's R&D strategies did.     

Information exchange and governance structures in US and JapaneseR&D consortia: institutional and organizational influences

We examine institutional and organizational influences upon information exchange and governance structures within R&D consortia in the United States and Japan. We hypothesized that national differences in institutional environments would lead to less active governance and information-exchange activities within Japanese R&D consortia relative to their US counterparts. At the consortium level, we expected that internal consortium diversity would increase information exchange and governance requirements, and that structures stabilizing relations between consortium members would reduce information exchange and governance requirements. We tested these hypotheses on 39 US and 54 Japanese multifirm R&D consortia, involving, respectively, 1801 US member organizations and 1647 Japanese member organizations. Controlling for organizational age, size, and strategic focus, we found that internal diversity and interorganizational relations are both associated with information-exchange and governance mechanisms. Our model has much greater explanatory power for the United States than for Japan     

Corporate R&D strategy portfolio in Japanese and Australiantechnology-based firms: an empirical study

This paper presents an empirical study on the strategic structure of corporate R&D in Japanese and Australian technology-based companies. The perceived importance and distribution of basic research, precompetitive strategic research and applied research within a corporate R&D portfolio are examined through a comparative analysis of survey data. The results suggest that Japanese firms tend to place great emphasis on basic and precompetitive strategic research, although applied research still retains its importance. They recognize that basic research is critical to achieve long-term competitive advantages in the marketplace. Australian firms also realize the importance of basic research and the use of portfolio approach in R&D management. However, research work in Australian firms tends to focus on applied research with only a limited involvement in medium- and long-term research. Finally, it is concluded that Japanese firms utilize a portfolio approach to corporate R&D management more systematically than do their Australian counterparts     

Message and source factors, market uncertainty, and extrafunctionalinformation processing: hypotheses and empirical evidence

This article examines how the perceived quality of extrafunctional information improves the innovation management process and contributes to success with innovations. Data collected from 420 Japanese managers and 270 US managers are used to test hypotheses about the antecedents of satisfaction with extra-functional information and the impacts on new product performance. The results demonstrate that the level of marketing and R&D managers' satisfaction with extrafunctional information is an important predictor of new product success and financial performance. The results also show that marketing and R&D managers differ significantly in their preferences and criteria for evaluating extrafunctional information. The empirical evidence suggests that the factors that increase R&D's satisfaction with market information are not necessarily the same as those that increase marketing's satisfaction with R&D satisfaction. Each functional area should recognize which message factors are most related to high satisfaction with received information, and emphasize these when sending such information. The authors also discovered the moderating effects of market and technical uncertainty that should provide guidance for marketing and R&D managers on how to allocate their efforts in information transfer based on the external environment. The empirical findings also revealed some cross-cultural differences, as well as a few similarities, between US and Japanese respondents     

A multinational study of work climate, job satisfaction, and theproductivity of R&D teams

A study was conducted covering 658 industrial and 1033 academic R&D teams in 11 countries, not including the United States. The climate variable of work importance explained unique variance in publication of original articles as well as external ratings of technical quality for both samples. The climate variable of participation/cooperation accounted for unique variance in articles published in both samples, and in technical quality ratings for the industrial sample. Satisfaction with pay/advancement explained unique variance in patents for the industrial sample and in articles for the academic sample. Satisfaction with supervision accounted for unique variance in patents and technical quality ratings for the academic sample. The inclusion of country as a control variable had some effects on the results, but still left work climate and job satisfaction as relatively robust predictors of R&D team productivity. Implications for R&D managers are discussed in the paper     

Organization, autonomy, and success of internationally dispersedR&D facilities

The organization and autonomy of internationally dispersed R&D facilities and their influence on the success of R&D are analyzed from the point of view of their headquarters. It is shown that different organizational structures for internationally dispersed R&D are connected with specific degrees of autonomy. The three classical success factors-timing, performance, and budgeting-for measuring project success can be identified. Although quite a few R&D facilities are left with a high degree of autonomy, these units are not perceived, with respect to these success factors, to be as successful as those facilities with a lower degree of autonomy and a low degree of centralization     

Global R&D Alliances in China: Collaborations With Universities and Research Institutes

A learning perspective was applied to examining when multinational corporations select universities rather than local firms as partners in international R&D alliances. Data were collected on 327 international R&D alliances established over the 1995--2001 period in China, an emerging economy where intellectual property rights protection is still far from adequate, over the 1995–2001 period. The effects of factors such as the international investor's host country R&D experience and the venture's research objectives on the selection of universities or research institutes as local partners for R&D alliances were analyzed. Analysis using logistic regression models suggests that the contribution of local universities and research institutes to such R&D collaborations is likely to be high when foreign investors have had abundant prior R&D experience in the host country and when the alliance has been established primarily for research rather than development purposes. The implications for theory, practice, and policymaking are discussed.      

Inventive payoff from R&D in Japanese industry: convergencewith the West

An attempt is made to determine if investment in R&D and the hiring of college-educated employees result in a higher rate of inventions. The relationship between the input of R&D and inventive output is studied in two samples of Japanese factories, 34 in 1982 and 44 in 1970. These results are compared with findings in a parallel American study. The correlations between R&D and inventive output are similar in Japan and America in the 1980s, despite some differences in the management of innovation in the two nations. Moreover, the most Westernized subsample of Japanese firms in the 1970s had correlations between R&D and invention similar to those observed in the American study. Thus, it is concluded that some degree of convergence may be taking place in R&D management strategies in the two nations     

Innovation strategy and the R&D-marketing interface in Japanesefirms: a contingency perspective

This study proposes a contingency model suggesting that a firm's strategic position will affect cross-functional involvement and information sharing between R&D and marketing departments in five major new product development stages, as well as the quality of R&D-marketing relations and organizational structure. To test the model, the authors surveyed 274 R&D managers and 264 marketing managers in 315 Japanese high-technology firms. The results indicate that, contrary to anecdotal suppositions of Japanese firm homogeneity, Japanese firms differ among themselves and among the strategic types in several important ways. The results also suggest that the level of R&D-marketing integration should be contingent on new product development strategy, making uniform promotion of cross-functional team integration questionable. Despite the differences in innovation strategy pursued by aggressive new product developers versus nonaggressive new product developers, all three strategic types rank the stages of innovation in a similar manner     

Foreign R&D in the United States

A new study reveals a marked rise in US activity of R&D by foreign companies. How large is direct foreign investment in R&D in the USA? What exactly do these facilities research and develop? Why have non-US companies set up new operations or expanded existing facilities for R&D in the USA? How do these firms decide where to locate? To address these and related questions, the operations of over 50 European, Japanese, and South Korean R&D facilities were studied. All belong to the the electronics, biotechnology or automotive industries. The results of this study are analysed     

Integrating R&D and marketing: a comparison of practices in theJapanese and American chemical industries

The authors analyze survey information collected from R&D and marketing managers working for American and Japanese chemical manufacturers. They report three key differences in the R&D marketing relationships between Japanese and American firms. Those differences involve the procedures for allocating the tasks between the functional areas, the activities assigned to each area as a result, and the potential for conflict between the two functions. Specifically, the authors find evidence that R&D departments in Japanese firms have a larger role in new product development than do marketing departments. American firms are not characterized by the same asymmetry in their relationship. Finally, the American firms studied did exhibit a greater potential for conflict between functions     

Japan's photovoltaic and related technology review

The Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP), established in 1946, is one the largest scientific associations in Japan with a membership of approximately 22,000 scientists and engineers involved in activities ranging from syperconductors to bioelectronics. About two-thirds of the society's members are industrial researchers, the remainder academics and employees of government research centres. The society organises two annual technical gatherings: a spring meeting near Tokyo, and another one in the fall held at locations far from the frantic pace of the metropolis. Almost all the presentations are given in Japanese, although overseas participation is welcome. This spring, there were 8,585 participants and 4,481 presentations. The ten-minute presentations often contain new and unpublished work, so the meetings are an excellent opportunity for assessing trends in Japanese R&D in this field. This is a review of presentations given on photovoltaic and related technology at the 49th Spring Meeting of the JSAP, held at Tokai University, Shonan Campus in March 2002.     

The effect of an investment tax credit on R and D spending

With calls occurring to the new US administration to reintroduce a capital investment tax credit, there is a need to evaluate its prospective effect on R&D expenditures. This paper explores the relationships among long-term trends in nonfederal R&D spending, and the external forces of a capital investment tax credit and a research and experimentation tax credit. Other forces over the last three decades which had been identified earlier, such as projected real interest rates, space expenditures, and oil price changes have been controlled for as intervening variables. While concluding that the underlying trend of increase in these expenditures is modestly over one percent, each of the other factors has significantly affected R&D spending: The investment tax credit has lowered R&D expenditure; while the research and experimentation credit has raised it. In the present economic climate and unemployment among engineers, continuation of the research and experimentation tax credit is supported. Equally, support should be rejected for the investment tax credit not only for its negative impact on R&D spending, but also because greater substitution of capital for labor sends the wrong message at a time of high overall unemployment     

An exploration of factors affecting the integration of in-houseR&D with external technology acquisition strategies of a firm

Results of an empirical study of 31 cases of external technology acquisition are reported. A ten-stage framework of the external technology acquisition and implementation process is proposed, and the effect of a number of variables on the extent of research and development (R&D) involvement in each of these stages is explored. The relative importance of these variables in influencing R&D's involvement is also discussed. Having formal procedures to include in-house R&D in the process has an impact in the acquisition phase of the process, while in the implementation phase R&D's involvement seems more influenced by the possession of appropriate capabilities in-house. Maturity of the technology, urgency of its need and its importance to the firm are important variables which are found to be negatively correlated with the extent of R&D's involvement and are influential in a number of staged. This finding is discussed     

Resource-Constrained Innovation for Emerging Economies: The Case of the Indian Telecommunications Industry

A daunting challenge that enterprises face today is how to design and diffuse innovations to effectively tap into local demand in emerging country markets. Although extant literature focuses on the dominant innovation models of multinational enterprises from developed countries, little attention is directed to carefully examining the alternative models of innovation offered by local players from emerging markets. The aim of our study was to gain an in-depth insight toward understanding “what kind of innovation models effectively suit emerging markets needs?” Using the case of an indigenous enterprise, Centre for Development of Telematics from India, we demonstrate how the emphasis on developing affordable and locally sustainable products has provided an alternative model of resource-constrained innovation in the telecommunications sector. The three critical factors for innovation were identified as: entrepreneurial leadership and vision; modular designs to meet user demands of affordability, functionality, and operability through architectural innovation; and exploitation of the local knowledge base and the creation of local innovation clusters. Our study provides insights into the labor-intensive, but capital-sensitive, processes involved in shaping and managing technology development and diffusion to meet the unique demands of mass markets in emerging economies.      

A comparison of R&D project termination factors in fourindustrial nations

With firms establishing R&D facilities abroad, it is important for R&D managers to understand how decisions are made and the factors that affect them in different countries. The decision to terminate an ongoing R&D project is made based on a number of factors. Some of these are objective and based on actual data, while others are mostly qualitative and subjective. Previous studies have identified a number of factors found to be important in the context of firms in the United States. Some recent studies have identified such factors in Germany and in the United Kingdom. This study examines the factors in the Japanese context in addition to the three countries. It further compares these factors from the four countries and provides some explanations for the similarities and the differences between the factors. Based on the results of this comparative study it suggests the implications for R&D management     

Pan European R&D: a perspective

New goals for Europe-wide technology policy are emerging, perhaps rather late in the day. In the early 1980s, Europe's leadership was seeking ways to help its large electronics producers hold their own against stiff US and Japanese competition. Now, nearly two decades later, many European companies still lack a competitive edge, and worry about unemployment has deepened. Yet, because of maturing views about the world economy, the focus of the policies of the European Union (EU) has changed. Large companies are seen as fighting for shares of intensely competitive global markets, in which uncertainty and innovation have become a way of life. While retaining a base in their home country, they conduct business around the world. Thus, most multinationals collaborate on the one hand at the regional and local levels, with many firms both large and small, and on the other hand at the global level, with other multinationals. Why, then, adopt technology policies that pay them to collaborate in conducting R&D, which they all do anyway. It would seem far more sensible to encourage the diffusion of new technologies and promote the health of smaller, under-capitalized companies. European technology policies have already influenced tendencies in this direction. They have encouraged collaboration among firms and research institutions across the European Community. Thanks to the Brussels-based R&D programs, companies have learned to work with firms beyond their national borders as a matter of routine, to seek new opportunities beyond their traditional home markets, and generally to think in European terms     

国内外MEMS器件现状及发展趋势

介绍了MEMS器件的发展历史 ,国内外研究和应用现状 ,对国内外差距进行了比较 ,给出了MEMS器件今后的一些发展趋势。同时 ,提出了推进MEMS器件产业化的建议