Innovation In Industrial Research

Innovation in Industrial Research is a valuable resource for researchers working for industries or the public sector, managers of research projects, consultants and graduate students. --Book Jacket.

Interactions between firms and universities are key building blocks of innovation systems. This book focuses on those interactions in developing countries, presenting studies based on fresh empirical material prepared by research teams in 12 countries

Innovation in Industrial Research gives new and experienced researchers insight into how they can improve the quality of their industrial research. It discusses the methods currently available to researchers, from quality tools to the scientific method. Key aspects of research are covered, including: publications, patents, ethics and management of project teams.The book also examines responsible conduct in research, and illustrates mistakes made by researchers and how these can affect the reputation of the research being undertaken or the institutions involved. Finally, the author analyses ways of achieving innovation in industrial research.Innovation in Industrial Research is a valuable resource for researchers working for industries or the public sector, managers of research projects, consultants and graduate students.

Traditionally, industrial laboratories like AT&T's Bell Labs and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center were wellsprings of powerful new technologies. Yet in the competitive environment of the 1980s and 1990s research activities have been downsized, redirected, and restructured within most of the firms that once were major sponsors of industrial research. In this book, top technical managers of Alcoa, IBM, Intel, and Xerox along with leading scholars of the history and economics of technological change discuss the consequences of this trend. They explore new ideas for linking research with commercial markets and identify the evolving roles for industry, government, and universities in shaping a new era in industrial research.

America's global competitiveness depends heavily on the fruits of scientific research. In decades past, industrial laboratories like AT&T's Bell Labs & the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center were wellsprings of powerful new technologies. Yet the competitive environment of the 1980s & 1990s has forced managers to reassess industrial research as a business priority. In Engines of Innovation, top technical managers of Alcoa, IBM, Intel, & Xerox, along with leading scholars of the history & economics of technological change, discuss the consequences of this paradox for industry & the economy as a whole. The authors explore new ideas for linking research with commercial markets & identify the policy choices for industry, government, & universities as together they shape a new era in industrial research.

Managers are increasingly concerned with the typical methods available for organizational performance measurement and control. Research into performance measurement, within the field of innovation management, has been variously approached through frameworks for performance measurement in general (for example, the Balanced Scorecard by Norton and Kaplan), R&D performance management, and surveys on in-use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It is striking, however, that almost no research has focused explicitly on the performance measurement of research activities, or indeed tried to develop a systematic approach to setting KPIs for specific research goals. This work, in co-operation with ABB Research, Deutsche Telekom AG Laboratories, EMC2 Advanced Technology Solutions, IBM Research, Intel Research, Microsoft Research, Philips Research, and SAP Research, develops a systematic approach to performance measurement for industrial research organizations in innovation-driven companies. The following questions are addressed: (1) Which research goals do research departments have? (2) Which KPIs do they use to monitor the achievement of these goals? (3) Is there a systematic best-practice approach to selecting KPIs for performance goals? The outcome is a complete set of eleven performance clusters, such as the transfer of research results to the development or other organizational departments, and each cluster has its own set of KPIs. The eleven clusters are: Technology Transfer, Future Business Opportunities, Technical Achievements, Intellectual Property, Operational Excellence, Talent Pool, Image, Publications, Presence in Scientific Community, Collaboration with Academia, Collaboration with Partners and Customers. This work led to the creation of the Institute for Industrial Research Performance Management that provides ongoing research and insights for managers of industrial research organizations.

'It will be useful to those who already know something about the topic and want to expand their knowledge.' - Kenneth Lipartito, University of Houston, US In this new path-breaking volume, David Edgerton brings to the forefront research on the role of business and its influence on industrial research and innovation. It is commonplace to acknowledge the role of science and technology, and research and innovation specifically, in transforming the twentieth century world. Other studies, however, focuses on scientific and engineering research in general, or technological systems and paradigms, or on government-funded initiatives. Industrial Research and Innovation in Business concentrates on business and its contribution to innovation and its role in producing and using new technologies.