Some Gleanings from Recent Publications

Among the number of publications on industrial R&D in recent years there are certain underlying features which are worth noting. Some of these publications include research papers which are based on extensive data from diverse industries spread across the USA, Europe and Japan – countries in which most of the industrial R&D is carried out. Incidentally, the majority of the authors of these publications have a background in social sciences, finance or management studies. Many of the investigators have attempted to fit their findings and data into different forms of unified hypothesis and mathematical formulae, in attempts to impart a quantitative rigour to their interpretations and conclusions; in contrast, some of the data represented in graphical form lack quantitative rigour which, as a consequence, detracts from their interpretative value. Some of the research is without doubt excellent. But if anyone in industry, whether an R&D manager or a finance manager, or a business head for that matter, were to try and seek useful directions to help decide R&D funding or to choose R&D priorities, most of these publications offer limited help, even if the reader persists in trying to use some of their complex equations. Finally, it is also curious that so few of the authors are either practising scientists or scientists who have moved on to become R&D managers in industry.