Technologies, products and firms' strategies part 2-analysis of three cases

Abstract

This article is in two parts, Part I having been published in an earlier issue of this journal. It examines the character. and significance of ‘strategies’ fomtulated within the R&D function of a business, and their relationship to the broader business strategy of the parent company. The discussion i n Part 1 formed a basis for the analysis of case-studies of three large UK companies, ,wh.ich are presented here as Part 2 of the article. Part 1 ident$ed the three foci of innovation studies: the innovations themselves; patterns of innovation within discrete industrial sectors, the in:novatingjmns and their strategies. In Part 2 the substance of the case studies are presented and the lessons which they reveal are reviewed. The case studies were conducted in three large UK companies, one in the automotive component industry, another in the precious metals industry, with special reference to ceramic colours and pigment blending, and the third in the chemical industry. Use of the analytical devices produces intrwrting case study material, and indications for future research. In particular the need to explore further the separation of technology and products as objects of R&D study; further exploration of Pavitt's 1984 taxonomy, and an improvement in the understanding of strategy fornulation using a processual and interpretivist framework.