The role of R&D alliances in an era of rapid technological change : some important contemporary issues

![CDATA[Firms operate today in an era of unprecedented rapid technological development. The pressure to continuously innovate on a broader scale is making it extremely difficult for organisations to manage their research and development (R&D) budgets especially with reduced profit margins due to intensifying competition in a globalised world of business. Evidence suggests that, as a partial solution to this problem, many firms form R&D alliances to share the costs and benefits of joint innovative ventures. This paper is an attempt to review the experiences of selected R&D alliances in the North American, the European and in the Asian region with a view towards ascertaining the objectives of such alliances and the critical success and failure factors associated with alliance-based R&D. These findings are likely to be of interest in the Asia-Pacific region where it is now possible to perceive increasing interest in the formation of national and transnational alliances for undertaking high-tech R&D projects.]]