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R&D
Kinds of R&D Terms modified by R&D Selected AbstractsThe Impact of R&D Intensity on Demand for Specialist Auditor Services,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005JAYNE M. GODFREY Abstract The audit fee research literature argues that auditors' costs of developing brand name reputations, including top-tier designation and recognition for industry specialization, are compensated through audit fee premiums. Audited firms reduce agency costs by engaging high-quality auditors who monitor the levels and reporting of discretionary expenditures and accruals. In this study we examine whether specialist auditor choice is associated with a particular discretionary expenditure - research and development (R&D). For a large sample of U.S. companies from a range of industries, we find strong evidence that R&D intensity is positively associated with firms' choices of auditors who specialize in auditing R&D contracts. Additionally, we find that R&D intensive firms tend to appoint top-tier auditors. We use simultaneous equations to control for interrelationships between dependent variables in addition to single-equation ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression models. Our results are particularly strong in tests using samples of small firms whose auditor choice is not constrained by the need to appoint a top-tier auditor to ensure the auditor's financial independence from the client. [source] Income Smoothing and Discretionary R&D Expenditures of Japanese Firms,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 2 2000VIVEK MANDE Abstract During the recent recession (1991 to present), Japanese firms decreased their spending on R&D for the first time since World War II. The decreases have raised concerns that Japanese managers may be making suboptimal allocations to R&D. We test whether Japanese managers adjust R&D based on short-term performance. Our results show that Japanese firms in several industries adjust their R&D budgets to smooth profits. Interestingly, adjustments to R&D are larger in expansion years. These results, similar to those documented with U.S. managers, point to myopic decision making by Japanese managers. [source] IS CORPORATE R&D INVESTMENT IN HIGH-TECH SECTORS MORE EFFECTIVE?CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 3 2010RAQUEL ORTEGA-ARGILÉS This paper discusses the link between R&D and productivity across the European industrial and service sectors. The empirical analysis is based on both the European sectoral OECD data and on a unique micro-longitudinal database consisting of 532 top European R&D investors. The main conclusions are as follows. First, the R&D stock has a significant positive impact on labor productivity; this general result is largely consistent with previous literature in terms of the sign, the significance, and the magnitude of the estimated coefficients. More interestingly, both at sectoral and firm levels the R&D coefficient increases monotonically (both in significance and magnitude) when we move from the low-tech to the medium- and high-tech sectors. This outcome means that corporate R&D investment is more effective in the high-tech sectors and this may need to be taken into account when designing policy instruments (subsidies, fiscal incentives, etc.) in support of private R&D. However, R&D investment is not the sole source of productivity gains; technological change embodied in gross investment is of comparable importance on aggregate and is the main determinant of productivity increase in the low-tech sectors. Hence, an economic policy aiming to increase productivity in the low-tech sectors should support overall capital formation. [source] Towards a New Logic for Front End Management: From Drug Discovery to Drug Design in Pharmaceutical R&DCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2007Maria Elmquist Under pressure to innovate and be cost-effective at the same time, R&D departments are being challenged to develop new organizations and processes for Front End activities. This is especially true in the pharmaceutical industry. As drug development becomes more risky and costly, the discovery departments of pharmaceutical companies are increasingly being compelled to provide strong drug candidates for efficient development processes and quick market launches. It is argued that the Fuzzy Front End consists less of the discovery or recognition of opportunities than of the building of expanded concepts: the notion of concept generation is revisited, suggesting the need for a new logic for organizing Front End activities in order to support sustainable innovative product development. Based on an in-depth empirical study at a European pharmaceutical company, this paper contributes to improved understanding of the actual management practices used in the Front End. Using a design reasoning model (the C-K model), it also adds to the growing body of literature on the management of Front End activities in new product development processes. [source] The Impact of Technological Opportunities and Innovative Capabilities on Firms' Output InnovationCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003María J. Oltra In this study, we analyse the effect that external sources of knowledge and absorptive capacity exert on a firm's output innovation. In addition, we examine the moderating influence of absorptive capacity on the effect that technological opportunities have on output innovation. Empirical research was carried out on a sample of 91 Spanish firms from the ceramic tile industry. Absorptive capacity is operationalized by ,systematic or continuous R&D' and output innovation by ,percentage of sales from new products'. Technological opportunities are divided into several industry and non-industry related variables. Our results show the positive effect that both the industry's technological opportunities and a systematic approach to R&D exert on output innovation. Moreover, firms with a systematic approach to R&D usually achieve higher innovation output than firms which do not follow this approach. The innovation results of this second group decrease as a result of embedded technology acquisition. [source] Creating and Justifying Research and Development Value: Scope, Scale, Skill and Social Networking of R&DCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2002Aard J. Groen In this paper we describe a framework for analysing the creation and justification of Research & Development. The 4S framework is developed for analysing the scope, scale, skills and social network aspects of Research & Development value. The framework is based on social system theory, a process contingency model, and recent Research & Development metrics. We present a first empirical assessment based on a workshop using the 4S framework for leveraging Research & Development. Results that assist in the assessment of value creation utilising R & D within networks are very relevant in high tech industries. The multi,dimensional process approach of this framework seems promising for understanding and managing R&D value creation, but needs further operationalisation. Case studies are described and a Dutch network on leveraging R&D has been initiated. [source] Technological Maturity and Development without Research: The Challenge for Malaysian ManufacturingDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 2 2000Suresh Narayanan Propelled largely by direct investment via multinationals, Malaysia's manufacturing sector has grown rapidly and is changing its output-mix. In 1992, the share of high-tech products in Malaysian manufacturing exceeded that of Japan, Korea or Taiwan. However, this ,maturity' was acquired without a strong research base. This article provides a framework which looks at the role of research and development (R&D) in conferring technological maturity and assesses the progress Malaysian manufacturing has made in this regard. The authors find that while multinationals have transferred many aspects of production, they have been slow in transferring R&D expertise. Neither has indigenous innovation filled this gap. Consequently, the long-term sustainability of the industrial transformation process in Malaysia is in jeopardy. The article concludes with suggestions for corrective policies. [source] The Regional Environment and a Firm's Innovative Performance: A Plea for a Multilevel Interactionist ApproachECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2007Sjoerd Beugelsdijk Abstract: Following the recent critical debate on the role of the firm versus that of the region, this article contends that for a true test of the importance of the role of the region for a firm's innovative performance firm-specific heterogeneity needs to be minimized. Empirical studies have tended to deduce that the region matters from the macrophenomenon of regional clusters of economic activity. This deduction has led to an ecological fallacy, in which global phenomena or data aggregates that are actual representations of lower-level phenomena cannot be generalized to those lower levels. This article argues that if researchers want to analyze how a firm's environment affects its performance, they need to include firm-level strategy and structure. As an empirical illustration of this argument, the article presents a test,controlling for a number of firm-specific factors,of whether regional characteristics like the intensity of regional research and development (R&D), the number of R&D workers in the region, and the presence of a research institute are significantly related to a firm's ability to produce innovations. The findings suggest that the firm-specific drivers of innovation are more important than is a firm's regional environment. The article concludes that a renewed focus on the main actors and their interrelationships is needed, particularly those that involve the exchange of knowledge, to assess the extent to which such interactions are carried out within bounded territories. [source] Patents and R&D as Real OptionsECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 1 2004Eduardo S. Schwartz This article develops and implements a simulation approach to value patents and patent-protected R&D projects based on the Real Options approach. It takes into account uncertainty in the cost-to-completion of the project, uncertainty in the cash flows to be generated from the project, and the possibility of catastrophic events that could put an end to the effort before it is completed. It also allows for the possibility of abandoning the project when costs turn out to be larger than expected or when estimated cash flows turn out to be smaller than anticipated. This abandonment option represents a very substantial part of the project's value when the project is marginal or/and when uncertainty is large. The model presented can be used to evaluate the effects of regulation on the cost of innovation and the amount on innovative output. The main focus of the article is the pharmaceutical industry. The framework, however, applies just as well to other research-intensive industries such as software or hardware development. (J.E.L.:G31, O22, O32). [source] Do patents over-compensate innovators?ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 52 2007Vincenzo Denicolò SUMMARY Do patents over-compensate innovators? Is the current level of patent protection too high or too low? To address this issue, this paper reformulates the theoretical analysis of the optimal level of patent protection to take into account the empirical findings of the innovation production function literature. This literature finds a strong relationship between R&D spending and inventions and estimates an elasticity of the supply of inventions of 0.5 or more. The paper then assesses the current level of patent protection, exploiting estimates of the private and social returns to R&D taken from the empirical literature and other available sources. Although more research is needed for a more precise assessment, the evidence available suggests that patents do not over-compensate innovators. ,Vincenzo Denicolò [source] Parallel trade, price discrimination, investment and price capsECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 44 2005Stefan Szymanski SUMMARY Parallel trade Parallel trade is the resale of a product by a wholesaler in a market other than that intended by the manufacturer. One of its consequences is that manufacturers may be prevented from price discriminating between markets that have different willingness to pay for the product in question. Some legal regimes give the manufacturer the right to prohibit parallel trade, but others do not. We examine the policy implications of parallel trade in a world in which manufacturers invest in product quality, and have the possibility to develop different quality variants of their goods. We also consider the possibility that the authorities may impose price caps and compulsory licensing (as commonly occurs for some pharmaceutical products). We find that taking investment incentives into account makes parallel trade much less likely to enhance overall welfare, which implies that parallel trade in products intensive in R&D, such as pharmaceuticals, is less desirable than in fields such as branded consumer products. We also find that, somewhat surprisingly, the threat of parallel trade does not induce firms to market inferior versions of their products in poor countries. However, parallel trade is less likely to be detrimental to welfare when there are price caps, since compulsory licensing can mitigate the major cost of parallel trade (namely a refusal to supply a poor country market). , Stefan Szymanski and Tommaso Valletti [source] The Effect of R&D Subsidies on Private R&DECONOMICA, Issue 294 2007HOLGER GÖRG This paper investigates the relationship between government support for R&D and R&D expenditure financed privately by firms using a comprehensive plant level data set for the manufacturing sector in the Republic of Ireland. We find that for domestic plants small grants serve to increase private R&D spending, while too large a grant may crowd out private financing of R&D. In contrast, evidence for foreign establishments suggests that grant provision causes neither additionality nor crowding out effects of private R&D financing, regardless of the size of the subsidy. [source] Cocaine Rapid Efficacy Screening Trial (CREST): a paradigm for the controlled evaluation of candidate medications for cocaine dependenceADDICTION, Issue 2005Deborah B. Leiderman ABSTRACT Aim Development of effective medications for the treatment of cocaine dependence remains a major priority for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health. The Cocaine Rapid Efficacy Screening Trial (CREST) paradigm was developed by the Division of Treatment Research and Development (DT R&D) at NIDA with the goal of enhancing pilot clinical trial validity when systematically assessing a range of medications and drug classes for potential utility in treatment of cocaine dependence. Design CREST utilizes a randomized, controlled, parallel group, blinded methodology for comparing one or more marketed medications against a standard, pharmaceutical grade placebo. The trial design is comprised of a flexible 2,4-week screening/baseline period followed by randomization to an 8-week treatment period. Measures Standard measures of outcomes for the CREST included urinary benzoylecgonine (primary metabolite of cocaine), retention, cocaine craving, depression, clinical global impression and HIV-risk behaviors. In order to facilitate comparisons of data from the CREST studies across sites, drug classes and time, standardized procedures, measures and psychosocial counseling were used. Results A total of 19 medications were evaluated in out-patient treatment research clinics in Boston, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. Conclusions Findings supported decisions to move forward three medications (cabergoline, reserpine, tiagabine) using full-scale, adequately powered, randomized placebo-controlled trial designs. Lessons learned from the CREST experience continue to shape cocaine pharmacotherapy trial design and execution. [source] Cocaine Rapid Efficacy Screening Trials (CREST): lessons learnedADDICTION, Issue 2005Kyle M. Kampman ABSTRACT Aims The Cocaine Rapid Efficacy Screening Trials (CREST) were designed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Division of Treatment Research and Development (NIDA, DT R&D) to rapidly screen a number of medications potentially useful for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Design Each CREST trial was designed to compare several medications in a single trial against an unmatched placebo. The placebo group was included in each trial to avoid the nearly universal positive response to medications seen in open-label trials. In addition, a common set of procedures and outcome measures were employed throughout to increase comparability of results obtained from different trials and from different times. Participants In all, 18 medications were screened in seven different trials, conducted in four different sites throughout the United States involving 398 cocaine-dependent patients. Findings Three medications were found to be promising enough to include in subsequent larger trials. Common statistical procedures for evaluating medications were developed to facilitate comparisons across sites and across time. A portion of the data were pooled and analyzed, which yielded some useful insights into cocaine dependence and its treatment. Finally, a review of individual trials together with the pooled analysis revealed several potential improvements for future screening trials. Conclusions Overall, the CREST trials proved to be useful for rapidly screening medications for treatment of cocaine dependence, but several modifications in design should be made before this framework is applied further. [source] The Internationalisation of UK R&DFISCAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2001Nicholas Bloom Abstract Policies to promote research and development (R&D) are high on the government's agenda. R&D and innovation are seen as key drivers of economic growth and important for raising UK productivity. This paper considers recent trends in UK R&D performance. We show that UK R&D is more internationalised than that of other G5 countries and is becoming increasingly so at a faster rate. A rising share of UK R&D is funded from abroad and UK firms are undertaking more of their R&D overseas. Using an international panel of countries, we show that R&D in one country responds to a change in the price in another ,competitor' country. This suggests that UK innovation policies could play an important role in determining whether increasingly footloose R&D locates in the UK or moves overseas. [source] Novel Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Automotive Applications , Requirements and Benefits,FUEL CELLS, Issue 4 2004C. Wieser Abstract During the past few years, the feasibility of using polymer electrolyte fuel cells in automotive power trains at an impressive performance level has been proven repeatedly. However, current fuel cell stacks are still largely based on decade-old polymer electrolyte membrane technology thus limiting performance, durability, reliability, and cost of the fuel cell systems. The major challenge for membrane R&D constitutes the demand for polymer electrolytes that allow for system operation at higher temperatures and lower water management requirements without increased conduction losses. None the less, demanding automotive requirements will not compromise on other properties such as mechanical and chemical stability and gas permeability. [source] China's Changing National and Regional Innovation Systems and Regional Distribution of R&DGEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2010Fangzhu Zhang This article examines the transformation of China's national and regional innovation systems. We review an emerging literature on innovation research on China, especially geographical studies of innovation, and argue that China's national innovation system has become more enterprise-centered since the economic reform started in 1979. This article systematically evaluates the strength and weakness of China's national innovation system and argues that the new innovation system has a significant regional dimension demonstrated through attempts to establish regional innovation systems. R&Ds are concentrated in high-tech development zones in China. However, these zones are more manufacturing oriented. In other words, there is more development than research. These regional systems, however, play a role in promoting economic competitiveness in their respective regions. [source] Effectiveness versus Efficiency: Growth-Accelerating Policies in a Model of Growth without Scale EffectsGERMAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Bettina Büttner Endogenous growth; scale effects; welfare Abstract. Recent R&D growth models without strong scale effects imply that long-run growth rates depend only on parameters that are usually taken to be exogenous. However, integrating human capital accumulation into models of this type, Arnold (2002) demonstrates that subsidizing education accelerates growth. The present paper addresses welfare issues in Arnold's model. The main theoretical finding of the paper is that a system of subsidies that implements the optimal balanced growth path as a decentralized equilibrium includes zero subsidies to education, while R&D activity should be either subsidized or taxed. To shed further light on the latter result, the model is calibrated and it turns out that along the balanced growth path, the decentralized economy underinvests in R&D, i.e. R&D activities should be subsidized. [source] Knowledge Transfer through Human Capital MobilityGERMAN RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006Matthias Kleiner Prof. Dr.-Ing. The existing opportunities for exchanging research findings between university research labs and commercial R&D are in need of a boost [source] Toward a More Embedded Production System?GROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2009Automotive Supply Networks, Localized Capabilities in Poland ABSTRACT The article addresses the embeddedness of automotive production in Poland in terms of supply networks. A comprehensive analysis of more than 550 suppliers, supported by company interviews, shows that foreign-owned producers become embedded in Poland in the automotive supplier networks they have largely created themselves. Numerous local suppliers gain access to export markets and become integrated in a Europe-wide production system. This trend has been accompanied by significant upgrading of foreign affiliates and domestic firms in terms of product quality, cost efficiency, adaptability, and fast response, but far less in nonproduction competences such as R&D. It is argued that the competences of automotive suppliers in Poland are built upon the localized capabilities, which are a product of the dynamic interplay between the activity of foreign firms and the changing local environment comprising various stakeholders. The localized capabilities constitute elements of a company's sunk costs and are embedding automotive producers in Poland. At the same time, the dependence on decisions and innovations from abroad and the limited development of local design and brands may constrain the future role of suppliers from the semiperipheral economy of Poland. [source] From R&D to Innovation and Economic Growth in the EUGROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 4 2004Beñat Bilbao-Osorio ABSTRACT Over the last two decades many European governments have pursued ambitious research and development (R&D) policies with the aim of fostering innovation and economic growth in peripheral regions of Europe. The question is whether these policies are paying off. Arguments such as the need to reach a minimum threshold of research, the existence of important distance decay effects in the diffusion of technological spillovers, the presence of increasing returns to scale in R&D investments, or the unavailability of the necessary socio-economic conditions in these regions to generate innovation seem to cast doubts about the possible returns of these sort of policies. This paper addresses this question. A two-step analysis is used in order to first identify the impact of R&D investment of the private, public, and higher education sectors on innovation (measured as the number of patent applications per million population). The influence of innovation and innovation growth on economic growth is then addressed. The results indicate that R&D investment, as a whole, and higher education R&D investment in peripheral regions of the EU, in particular, are positively associated with innovation. The existence and strength of this association are, however, contingent upon region-specific socio-economic characteristics, which affect the capacity of each region to transform R&D investment into innovation and, eventually, innovation into economic growth. [source] Examining the link between price regulation and pharmaceutical R&D investmentHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2005John A. Vernon Abstract This paper examines the link between price regulation and pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) investment. I identify two mechanisms through which price regulation may exert an influence on R&D: an expected-profit effect and a cash-flow effect. Using established models of the determinants of pharmaceutical R&D, I exploit a unique fact to quantify firm exposure to pharmaceutical price regulation: relative to the rest of the world, the U.S. pharmaceutical market is largely unregulated with respect to price. Using this fact within the context of a system of quasi-structural equations, I simulate how a new policy regulating pharmaceutical prices in the U.S. will affect R&D investment. I find that such a policy will lead to a decline in industry R&D by between 23.4 and 32.7%. This prediction, however, is accompanied by several caveats. Moreover, it says nothing about the implications for social welfare; therefore, these issues are also discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Financial factors in R&D budget setting: the impact of interfunctional market coordination, strategic alliances, and the nature of competitionACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 2 2004Alan S. Dunk Abstract Increasingly demanding markets, changes in technology and greater international competition have made the effective management of product R&D together with its associated costs essential. The magnitude of R&D costs are of concern to many companies, potentially inhibiting organizations from investing in new product development. Although rising costs of R&D and the growing dependence of companies on R&D for product leadership increase the need to plan and evaluate R&D activities more effectively, difficulties have been experienced in applying budgetary control systems to R&D. Despite such concerns, the published literature indicates that an emphasis on financial factors in setting the size of R&D budgets is becoming a competitive necessity. A review of the published literature suggests that interfunctional market coordination, the relative use of strategic alliances and the nature of competition in terms of product cost versus product innovation are potentially instrumental in influencing the degree of emphasis on financial factors in R&D budget setting. The results of the present study indicate that these three organizational and environmental variables result in an emphasis on financial factors in setting the size of R&D budgets. Implications drawn from the findings are discussed. [source] Making R&D More Than Research Plus DevelopmentHIGHER EDUCATION QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2000Geoff Stanton Much criticism of educational research has focussed on the problem of its effective dissemination to practitioners. This paper explores an alternative model, in which research, in some of its modes at least, is linked with development rather than dissemination. This argument is made in the context of further education. Most further education colleges have a tradition of involvement in development work, and many have a senior member of staff responsible for it. An examination of this has led to the conclusion that a two-way link needs to exist between researchers and those who have the role of development manager in colleges. It is argued that a well developed model embracing both research and development could be very powerful, and could establish a new and more productive relationship between colleges and universities. However, it is also argued that this relationship cannot be fully effective without some form of mediation. This requires the creation of a new kind of professional to undertake this function. The model proposed is one in which research and development remain distinct activities, each with their own disciplines and expertise, but where R&D as an integrated concept becomes more than the sum of its parts. [source] Analysis of cooperative mechanism of industry,academy R&D alliance lab and case studyHUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS IN MANUFACTURING & SERVICE INDUSTRIES, Issue 2 2010Jingyuan Zhao Abstract With a knowledge-based economy emerging, knowledge and innovations have been the core elements of organizations' competitive advantages. Universities, institutes, and enterprises can reach the goal of advantage complement and innovation cooperation by establishing a research and development (R&D) alliance lab. This article focuses on an industry,academy R&D alliance lab, analyzes its motivations and impacting factors, and discusses its cooperative mechanisms. The alliance lab of Tsinghua-Sohu Search Technology is studied as a typical case to provide a reference for industry,academy alliance R&D labs in terms of cooperative mechanisms. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Relational quality and innovative performance in R&D based science and technology firmsHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2006Marc Thompson The knowledge-based view of the firm implies that the innovative performance of R&D based organisations is strongly influenced by the quality of their relational capital. However, the quality of the employment relationship has been underplayed in this perspective. A model is developed that tests the quality of three dimensions of the employment relationship , the psychological contract, affective commitment and knowledge-sharing behaviours , and their consequences for innovative performance amongst 429 R&D employees in six different science and technology based firms. Analysis found that affective commitment plays an important role in mediating psychological contract fulfilment on knowledge-sharing behaviour, which in turn is strongly related to innovative performance. More specifically, fulfilment of the job design dimension of the psychological contract has an independent positive association with innovative performance, whereas fulfilment of the performance pay dimension is negatively associated. [source] Market Valuation of Research and Development Spending under Canadian GAAP,ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2004ANTONELLO CALLIMACI ABSTRACT Section 3450 of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) Handbook requires Canadian firms to capitalize development costs that meet certain criteria and to expense those that relate to research. International Accounting Standard (IAS) No. 38 favours a similar approach. In the United States, Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (SFAS) No. 2 recommends the immediate expensing of all research and development (R&D) spending. The only exception is SFAS No. 86, which requires software development costs to be capitalized when a product successfully passes a technological feasibility test. Consequently, the Canadian financial disclosure regime provides a rich setting for testing the market valuation of capitalized R&D. Our primary research question asks whether capitalized R&D provides useful information to market participants investing in Canadian firms. We use price-level and return models to assess the value relevance of capitalized R&D disclosed in the financial statements under Canadian GAAP. In line with expectations, using a price-level model, we find that capitalized R&D and R&D expense as disclosed in the financial statements provide information that is value relevant to market participants. However, we find that R&D capitalized during the year helps explain returns while R&D expense does not. Thus we conclude that the application of section 3450 of the CICA Handbook produces value-relevant information. [source] SOFCo Planar Solid Oxide Fuel CellINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2004Liang A. Xue SOFCo-EFS Holdings LLC has developed a multi-layer, planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack that has the potential to provide superior performance and reliability at reduced costs. Our approach combines state-of-the-art SOFC materials with the manufacturing technology and infrastructure established for multi-layer ceramic (MLC) packages for the microelectronics industry. With the proper selection of SOFC materials, implementation of MLC fabrication methods offers unique designs for stacks. Over the past two years, substantial progress has been made in the design and manufacturing development of our second-generation stack. Effective stack and manifold seals have been developed. Cell performance has been improved and relatively low non-cell contributions to stack resistance have been achieved. Stack development has been facilitated through the implementation of two key test methods: (1) a 10-cm single-cell test to bridge the gap in performance data obtained from button cell tests (used for cell R&D) and stack tests; and (2) a novel instrumented short stack (<5 cells) that allows for effective isolation of individual contributions to stack resistance. As a result of progress made to date, a clear pathway for improving stack performance has been established, thereby building confidence that commercial stack performance targets will be reached. [source] The roles of science and technology in energy and environment research and developmentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 13 2001Ibrahim Dincer Abstract Countries are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of science and technology in relation to national development and the necessity of formulating a concise science and technology policy. The need to strengthen and orient the scientific and technological infrastructure in line with national development goals, through more effective use of an available qualified work force and the higher education system, is becoming widely recognized. Consequently, appropriate methods of assessing the impact of science and technology on national development are needed so that efforts are concentrated on areas potentially having substantial impacts. Numerous planning studies have been undertaken to this end, particularly by international organizations such as UNESCO, UNIDO, OECD and IEA. This study examines the inter-relationships of the disciplines of science and technology with energy and environment research and development (R&D) activities, particularly for developing countries. The connections between these topics are discussed along with some basic methods that can be used to exploit the relations. Some illustrative examples are presented. It is anticipated that the present study will serve as a preliminary step for more comprehensive work by providing an example of the utilization of formal methods in formulating science and technology policy for energy and environment R&D. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Performance measurement in industrial R&DINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS, Issue 2 2000Inge Kerssens-van Drongelen Currently, the need for R&D performance measurements that are both practically useful and theoretically sound seems to be generally acknowledged; indeed, the rising cost of R&D, greater emphasis on value management and a trend towards decentralization are escalating the need for ways of evaluating the contribution of R&D to corporate performance. However, although recent research and writing on the subject shows that the challenge of developing such sound measurements has been taken up by many academics and organizations, it is also clear that there is no generally applicable approach. In this review, we consider various approaches for measuring the performance in industrial R&D and identify their key characteristics. We also include a brief summary of the ,history' of performance measurement in R&D, which shows that although there are some new ways of looking at the issue there are many examples from the past that can contribute to our current thinking. The approaches found in the literature and practice are very varied in their application, some being more suitable for the project level, others for the R&D department, and some for the development process or for the organization as a whole. Furthermore, the uses of the approaches tend to be different. For example, some approaches are intended to justify the continuation of investment in R&D to upper management, whilst others are more suited to support learning and self-correction by empowered R&D teams. In this paper these uses, or ,functions', of performance measurement and a taxonomy of typical subjects of measurement in R&D environments are explored. Finally, we conclude the review with a discussion of some limitations of the growing literature on R&D performance measurement. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||