Research and Development

Volkswagen R&D, Wolfsburg

In research and development (short R & D , R & D , R & D or FE ) can be depending on the emphasis to an expression for applied research or the first language summary of basic research and engineering development act, as in commercially oriented large enterprises , a coupling of the two Areas in favor of production or sales-increasing innovations is desired and sought.

General

The strong combination of research and development with application-oriented research is, on the one hand, a new way for university institutes to acquire third-party funding by agreeing on cooperation with companies . On the other hand, companies see more future opportunities if they engage in longer-term research topics.

One of the dangers of too strong a combination, however, is that basic research could be neglected.

Definitions

There are different definitions of the term “research and development” in the literature, but they essentially contain the same characteristics. Research & development includes all planned and systematic activities based on scientific methods, the aim of which is to acquire new knowledge . "New" is to be understood in relation to the respective organizational unit. Research and development is an independent area in most production companies and - depending on the size of the company - either represented by a member of the board of directors or, in medium-sized and small companies, subordinated to technical management .

species

A distinction must be made between the following operational sub-segments:

• Company research is the systematic search for new production processes and new technologies that can be used in the company . It is very risky because it creates costs that may not contribute to marketable products.
  • The basic research seeking new knowledge , their economic benefits , however, is for a company uncertain . It is designed for the medium to long term and does not aim to be applied or implemented.
  • The applied research (including applied research ), however, is pursuing a purposeful economic use and is a practical application or implementation, while consumer-related problem solving should.
• The product development studied by constructing and advance development for the creation of new products or improving existing products. An achievable economic benefit is highly probable here .
  • The final stage of the new development involves marketable products / services that are absolutely or relatively new on the market.
  • A further development exists when already existing products or services are technically or economically improved.
• The experimental development consists of systematic work that uses the findings from research and practice with regard to the manufacture of new materials, products or processes. The goal is usually the development of new production processes , production methods or service systems or the considerable improvement of existing methods.

The financial sector has to provide the capital required for investments in R&D property , plant and equipment , operating resources and personnel . These cause the cost types depreciation , material , maintenance and repair costs and personnel costs , which are summarized as research and development costs .

The research quota is calculated from this as a business indicator .

Structure of R + D

With regard to their application relevance, research and development can be divided into four functions , which can only be vaguely delimited from one another and which mostly overlap in the context of a single R&D project.

Basic research

The aim of basic research is to gain new knowledge and experience without basically aiming at a direct practical benefit. Rather, the knowledge base should be expanded, i. This means that theories and legal hypotheses are to be drafted and checked in order to create the basis for application-oriented knowledge. Since the results of basic research often cannot be protected or used economically, it is only extremely rarely the subject of private-sector efforts. As a rule, basic research takes place in universities , but also in other institutions such as the Max Planck Society and, in some cases, the Fraunhofer Society .

Technology development

Technology development deals with the acquisition and further development of knowledge and skills, the aim of which is to solve practical problems with the help of technology. In doing so, she makes use of the results of basic research, application-oriented knowledge and practical experience. The aim is to develop and maintain technological performance potentials or technological core competencies that enable direct practical applications. The term technology development is roughly equivalent to the term applied research in the natural and engineering sciences .

Pre-development

The pre-development is about the preparation of the series and market-oriented product development. New technologies are checked for their feasibility in products and processes. Product concepts are designed and functional models are built. The aim of pre-development is to anticipate the technical risk from the series / market development projects. In the preliminary development, new active principles from research (not industrial) are checked for transferability to the company's own product portfolio. There is a concentration on demanding, high-risk components or products that stand in the way of a quick and largely safe product launch.

The innovation management with its strategic derivation from the corporate strategy is based in the advance development. With a systematic idea management, using creativity techniques, the pre-development affects the entire company in order to generate new product ideas. So-called innovation scouts maintain contact with relevant external network partners in order to monitor relevant technological changes at an early stage.

Product and process development

In this last phase, all previously created potentials (knowledge, skills, processes, product prototypes) are converted into concrete, marketable products or processes. The goal is to launch a new or modified product.

Well-known research organizations

• German Research Foundation (as the most important transnational research organization for R&D funding at German universities)
• Fraunhofer Society
• Leibniz Association
• Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers
• Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (as an example of a Dutch R&D organization)
• Research network AREA Science Park, Trieste

See also

• List of countries by spending on research and development
• List of the German federal states by spending on research and development
• Preparatory competition
• For accounting for research and development costs

Web links

• Graphic: Headquarters of the 1,000 largest companies according to R&D expenditure , from: Facts and figures: Globalization , Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb)
• Graphic: The five largest research sectors (by company headquarters) , from: Facts and Figures: Globalization , bpb
• Graphics: Research and Development (R&D) in Europe , from: Facts and Figures: Europe , bpb

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hans-Horst Schröder, On the problem of a production function for research and development , 1973, pp. 29–30.
2. ↑ Hans H. Herold, Research and Development Management , in: Fritz Neske / Markus Wiener (eds.), Management-Lexikon, Volume II, 1985, p. 447
3. ↑ Günter Wöhe , Introduction to General Business Administration , 2013, p. 716
4. ↑ Günter Wöhe, Introduction to General Business Administration , 2013, p. 716
5. ^ ^{A b c d e} Günther Specht / Christoph Beckmann / Jenny Amelingmeyer, R&D Management - Competence in Innovation Management , 2002, pp. 14-16.
6. ↑ Pre-development on Der F&E Manager , online edition 4/2007 ( Memento of the original dated November 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .