TAKE A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO NEGOTIATING YOUR RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT BUDGET

R&D directors continue to behave defensively when negotiating their bu dgets, while their colleagues who represent other business functions u se more aggressive approaches. It is argued that at least four differe nt reasons can explain this behavior: cultural differences between bus iness functions, lack of appropriate data, distance from value creatio n in the market, and smaller degree of activity standardization. A mor e offensive approach could be supported by developing R&D metrics that resemble the standard business metrics used in other functional areas . One could also simulate R&D budgeting procedures, the resulting budg ets and their consequences.