Global R&D project management and organization: A taxonomy

This work studies the management and organization of global R&D projects, i .e. projects leading to innovations to be exploited in multiple countries. It provides a taxonomy of how firms conduct such projects. The empirical ba se is composed of twelve multinational companies, from the thr ee major are as (Europe, Japan, North America), operating technology-intensive businesse s. Two basic structures are identified: the specialization based where one foreign lab (the firm's center of excellence) is assigned the responsibilit y for developing a new product, process or technology on the basis of a glo bal mandate, and the integration based where different units contribute to technology development programs and global innovations are the result of th e joint work of these units. In each categories two sub-cases have been fou nd: the center of excellence and the supported specialization, on the one h and, and the network and specialized contributor structures, on the other. The four structures have been studied in relation to: the key characteristi cs of the organization and management of global projects (in each phase, fr om conception to introduction into the market), the organizational factors affecting the success, the context conditions in which the structure is con sidered appropriate. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.