Organization, autonomy, and success of internationally dispersed R&D facilities

The organization and autonomy of internationally dispersed R&D facilities and their influence on the success of R&D are analyzed from the point of view of their headquarters. It is shown that different organizational structures for internationally dispersed R&D are connected with specific degrees of autonomy. The three classical success factors-timing, performance, and budgeting-for measuring project success can be identified. Although quite a few R&D facilities are left with a high degree of autonomy, these units are not perceived, with respect to these success factors, to be as successful as those facilities with a lower degree of autonomy and a low degree of centralization.