A program of research on the research and development process

Until recently most applications of organization theory to the industrial firm have involved the more routine activities such as production and clerical operations. In the past decade there have been increasing applications in the R & D area. At Northwestern, the joint interest in organization theory and the management of R & D has led to a program of organizational field studies in which an attempt is being made to derive and test theories about organizational behavior in the R & D context. Examples of several current projects in this program are discussed.