RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
The phrase research and development (also R and D or, more often, R&D), according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to …
“creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications”.
Research and development is often scientific or towards developing particular technologies and is frequently carried out as corporate or governmental activity.
R&D IN BUSINESS
Research and development is nowadays of great importance in business as the level of competition, production processes and methods are rapidly increasing.
It is of special importance in the field of marketing where companies keep an eagle eye on competitors and customers in order to keep pace with modern trends and analyze the needs, demands and desires of their customers.
Unfortunately, research and development are very difficult to manage, since the defining feature of research is that the researchers do not know in advance exactly how to accomplish the desired result.
As a result, higher R&D spending does not guarantee “more creativity, higher profit or a greater market share”.
R&D ALLIANCE
An R&D alliance is a mutually beneficial formal relationship between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed goals while remaining independent organisations, where acquiring new knowledge is a goal by itself. The different parties agree to combine their knowledge to create new innovative products.
For Example, funding from government organizations, like the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and modern advances in technology, R&D alliances have now become more efficient. Every company has their own research and develop department.
On a technical level, high tech organizations explore ways to re-purpose and repackage advanced technologies as a way of amortizing the high overhead.
They often reuse advanced manufacturing processes, expensive safety certifications, specialized embedded software, computer-aided design software, electronic designs and mechanical subsystems
Research has shown that firms with a persistent R&D strategy outperform those with an irregular or no R&D investment programme.