ABSTRACT

Research and Technology Outsourcing

CRIC Discussion Paper No. 6

Dr Jeremy Howells

This paper discusses the process of externalisation and the contracting out of R&D and technical activity. The focus of the analysis is on the outsourcing of R&D and technical activity formally undertaken by manufacturing and service firms and now outsourced to firms and organisations which supply the ‘Contract Research and Technology’ (CRT) market. The paper highlights that firms, even large multinational corporations, can no longer expect to be totally dependent on their own in-house research and technical resources to maintain their innovative performance. The rest of the paper then investigates the implications of these dynamic trends for the conduct of the R&D function, particularly towards research externalisation and outsourcing via the use of firms and organisations involved in contract research and technology.

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