Research and Development in HP

Abstract

The steady increase in Research and Development (R & D) activities in modernizing societies reflects the increasing specialization and professionalization in the production of the knowledge that underlies inventions and innovations in products, processes, services, and in related systems of organization. Functionally specialized R & D departments emerged in business firms in the nineteenth century, as did complementary and more theoretical R & D activities and training in universities and related institutions. National expenditure on R & D has increased with national income per head, as has the share funded and performed by business firms. But R & D activities are only part of the total process of invention and innovation, so that a variety of other science and technology indicators are now used in analysis and policy. Major contemporary problems in R & D include increasing complexity, increasing internationalization, and the changing role of academic research.