R&D, Organization Structure, and the Development of Corporate Technological Knowledge
Strategic Management Journal Special Issue, 2004
Posted: 30 Jun 2004
Abstract
We explore the link between a firm's organization of research - specifically, its choice to operate a centralized or decentralized R&D structure - and the type of innovation it produces. We propose that by reducing the internal transaction costs associated with R&D coordination across units, centralized R&D will generate innovations that have a larger and broader impact on subsequent technological evolution than will decentralized research. We also propose that by facilitating more distant (capabilities-broadening) search, centralized R&D will generate innovations that draw on a wider range of technologies. Our empirical results provide support for our predictions concerning impact, and mixed results for our predictions concerning breadth of search. We also find that control over research budgets complements direct authority relations in contributing to innovative impact. We propose several extensions of this research.
Keywords: Organization Structure, Research and Development, Innovation
JEL Classification: D21, D23, L22, L23, O31, O32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation