The location and organisation of research and development: new horizons

An outline is presented of the relationship between the organization and location of corporate R&D. The paper in particular outlines the role of information and communication flows in this relationship. The importance of good intra-corporate contracts in the research process is stressed in the overall spatial organization of R&D. It is argued, however, that a number of recent trends within R&D are affecting the existing balance of organization and locational factors within research operations. These are: the increasing scale, intensity and specialization of research; the internationalization of R&D; the growing number of inter-organizational research links and ventures; and the impact of computer-communication networks on research activity. It is suggested that these developments will have a major influence on the shaping of the organization and location of corporate R&D activities in the 1990s and beyond.