Globalization of R&D

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Innovations are increasingly seen as a source of economic growth and simultaneously as a useful instrument to face the competition brought about by the forces of globalisation. Firms are increasingly turning their attention to globalize their innovation / R&D efforts.

Reasons for this 'globalization', 'internationalization' or 'offshoring' of innovation / R&D are obvious: First of all, firms need to cater to the specific needs of local consumers in a global world, particularly in emerging economies with huge potentials of purchasing power. Secondly they try to gain access to knowledge-resources that are located abroad, e.g. entry into a knowledge or production cluster. The third reason is the need / desire to locate R&D centers in the proximity of production centers. Finally, there is an attraction to gain access to cheap but skilled labor.

Our Research project has two major studies running on this front:

• The Internationalization of R&D: An Empirical Study of Small- and Medium Sized Enterprises in Germany
• The Role of Offshore R&D in Strengthening Competitive Advantage: Chances and Challenges in India

Each of these studies, in turn, are based on serveral sub-projects (see: "current projects")so that meaningful results may be obtained. The research work is focussed on following industry sectors:

• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
• Pharmaceutics and Life Sciences
• Mechanical Engineering
• Automotives and Automotive Components Industries
• Logistics

The research issues that are of interest to this project are available under 'about us'.

[ For any enquiries, please see contact ]