How Matsushita Electric and Sony manage global R & D

As companies transfer their R&D activities abroad they, will have to confro nt a challenging management issue how to successfully, operate R&D laborato ries dispersed around the world. Both Matsushita Electric and Sony, seem to have coped with this issue skillfully by introducing new management system s and practices-redefining the mission and goals of their global R&D, assig ning two types of projects at the same time, rather than specializing proje cts among different labs, coordinating not by large-scale committees or mee tings but through human relationships among a small number of top R&D manag ers, drastically, changing their organizational structures, and so on. It a ppears that both companies have already realized some of the anticipated be nefits.