Abstract
This article briefly reviews research on the determinants and impacts of firms’ internal R&D structures. The focus is on the relative advantages of centralization and decentralization of R&D activities within large firms. Other important topics related to R&D organization are mentioned as well.
This entry was originally published on Palgrave Connect under ISBN 978-1-137-49190-9. The content has not been changed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Argyres, N. 1995. Technology strategy, governance structure and interdivisional coordination. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 28: 337–358.
Argyres, N., and B. Silverman. 2004. R&D, organization structure, and the development of corporate technological knowledge. Strategic Management Journal 25(winter special issue): 929–958.
Arrow, K. 1962. Economic welfare and the allocation of resources to invention. In The rate and direction of inventive activity: Economic and social factors, ed. National Bureau of Economic Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Bercovitz, J., and M. Feldman. 2007. Fishing upstream: Firm innovation strategy and university research alliances. Research Policy 36: 930–948.
Christensen, C., and J. Bower. 1996. Customer power, strategic investment and the failure of leading firms. Strategic Management Journal 17: 197–218.
Cohen, W., and D. Levinthal. 1990. Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly 35: 128–152.
Daft, R. 1989. Organization theory and design, 3rd ed. St. Paul: West Publishing.
Egelhoff, W. 1991. Information-processing theory and the multinational enterprise. Journal of International Business Studies 22: 341–368.
Galbraith, J. 1977. Organization design. Reading: Addison-Wesley.
Galunic, D., and K. Eisenhardt. 2001. Architectural innovation and modular corporate forms. Academy of Management Journal 44: 1229–1249.
Helfat, C. 1994. Evolutionary trajectories in petroleum R&D. Management Science 40: 1720–1747.
Henderson, R., and K. Clark. 1990. Architectural innovation: The reconfiguration of existing product technologies and the failure of established firms. Administrative Science Quarterly 35: 9–30.
Henderson, R., and I. Cockburn. 1994. Measuring competence? Exploring firm effects in pharmaceutical research. Strategic Management Journal 15(winter special issue): 63–84.
Hounshell, D., and J.K. Smith. 1988. Science and corporate strategy: DuPont R&D 1902–1980. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Jaworski, B., A. Kohli, and A. Sahay. 2000. Market-driven vs. driving markets. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 28: 45–54.
Jensen, M., and M. Meckling. 1992. Specific and general knowledge, and organization structure. In Contract economics, ed. L. Werin and H. Wijkander. Oxford: Blackwell.
Kay, N. 1988. The R&D function: Corporate strategy and structure. In Technical change and economic theory, ed. G. Dosi, C. Freeman, R. Nelson, G. Silverberg, and C. Soete. London: Pinter.
Kogut, B., and I. Zander. 1992. Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities, and the replication of technology. Organization Science 3: 383–397.
Kuemmerle, W. 1999a. Foreign direct investment in industrial research in the pharmaceuticals and electronics industries – Results from a survey of multinational firms. Research Policy 28: 179–193.
Kuemmerle, W. 1999b. The drivers of foreign direct investment into research and development: An empirical investigation. Journal of International Business Studies 30: 1–24.
Kuznets, S. 1962. Inventive activity: Problems of definition and measurement. In The rate and direction of inventive activity: Economic and social factors, ed. National Bureau of Economic Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Lerner, J., and J. Wulf. 2007. Innovation and incentives: Evidence from corporate R&D. Review of Economics and Statistics 89: 634–644.
Levinthal, D., and J. March. 1993. The myopia of learning. Strategic Management Journal 14: 95–112.
Milgrom, P., and J. Roberts. 1992. Economics, organization and management. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
Nelson, R. 1990. Capitalism as an engine of progress. Research Policy 19: 193–214.
Nelson, R., and S. Winter. 1982. An evolutionary theory of economic change. Cambridge, MA: Belknap.
Nerkar, A., and A. Paruchari. 2005. Evolution of R&D capabilities: The role of knowledge networks within a firm. Management Science 51: 771–786.
Reagans, R., and E.W. Zuckerman. 2001. Networks, diversity, and productivity: The social capital of corporate R&D teams. Organization Science 12: 502–517.
Rosenkopf, L., and A. Nerkar. 2001. Beyond local search: Boundary-spanning, exploration, and impact in the optical disk industry. Strategic Management Journal 22: 287–306.
Siggelkow, N. 2002. Misperceiving interactions between substitutes and complements: Organizational consequences. Management Science 48: 900–917.
Singh, J. 2005. Collaborative networks as determinants of knowledge diffusion patterns. Management Science 51: 756–770.
Singh, J. 2008. Distributed R&D, cross-regional knowledge integration and quality of innovative output. Research Policy 37: 77–96.
Thompson, J. 1967. Organizations in action: Social science bases of administrative theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Tushman, M., and C. O’Reilly. 1996. Ambidextrous organizations: Managing evolutionary and revolutionary change. California Management Review 38: 8–30.
Von Hippel, E. 1988. The sources of innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.
Williamson, O. 1975. Markets and hierarchies. New York: Free Press.
Williamson, O. 1985. The economic institutions of capitalism. New York: Free Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this entry
Cite this entry
Argyres, N. (2016). Research and Development (R&D) Organization. In: Augier, M., Teece, D. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94848-2_245-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94848-2_245-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-94848-2
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Business and ManagementReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences