research and development

Introduction
Introduction and definitions
History and importance
Types of laboratories
- Company laboratories
- Government laboratories
- Independent laboratories
- Research associations
- University laboratories
The role of government
The management of research and development activities
Project management and planning techniques
- Value engineering and cost-benefit analysis
- PERT and CPM

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

network diagram for the Critical Path Method problem

At a Glance

research and development (R&D) summary

Related Questions

How can a new product replace an older product in the market?
How can conflicts arise between research and development project managers and department managers?
How can research and development improve manufacturing processes?
How can tax rules for carrying losses backward or forward reduce the risk of research and development investment?
How do commercial and financial considerations affect the selection of research and development projects?
How do companies choose research and development projects that use resources profitably?
How do corporate research and development leaders set project priorities and budgets?
How do private industry research laboratories help companies create products for manufacturing?
How do research and development expenditures typically change during a product's development?
How do research and development managers balance available staff and funding across projects?
How do research and development managers coordinate team members assigned to multiple projects?
How do technical experts evaluate research and development proposals?
How does a steady flow of research and development proposals help a company plan its future products?
How does an invention become a commercial innovation?
How does basic research differ from applied research in business research and development?
How does production change as a new product enters and matures in a market?
How does research and development lead from a laboratory idea to a product sold in the market?
What happens to a research and development project team after a project is completed?
What responsibilities does a research and development project manager have?
What steps occur during the development stage of research and development?
What technical and financial problems can arise during research and development?
Which industries depend heavily on continuous innovation and research and development?
Who evaluates a proposed research and development project before it is selected?
Why are electronics companies especially dependent on research and development?
Why are many research and development projects organized as one-time projects?
Why did companies have to weigh continued bubble memory research against other uses for research and development funds?
Why did the technical success of bubble memory not guarantee commercial success?
Why do companies need products at different stages of the product life cycle?
Why do development costs usually decline after early production problems are solved?
Why do industrial research laboratories sometimes direct basic research toward a broad technological goal?
Why do research and development departments often operate at the corporate level?
Why do research and development project managers need authority over people and resources?
Why do sales decline when a product becomes obsolete?
Why does managing research and development require a special organizational structure?
Why have governments and private industries included research and development in economic planning?
Why is clear accountability important in research and development projects?
Why is research important for creating new industrial products and processes?
Why must companies compare research and development costs with predicted sales?
Why must production managers estimate the future capacity demands of new products?
Why must research and development teams coordinate with marketing and manufacturing departments?
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External Websites

ABC listen - Radio National Breakfast - Future of Research and Development
National Center for Biotechnology Information - Research and Development Statistics: Funding, Performance, and Innovation
Brunel University of London - What is research and development?
University at Buffalo - School of Public Health and Health Professions - Research or Development? A Short History of Research and Development as Categories (PDF)
National Science Foundation - Definitions of Research and Development: An Annotated Compilation of Official Sources
Corporate Finance Institiute - Research and Development
Business LibreTexts - Research and Development
Econlib - Research and Development
The Canadian Encyclopedia - Industrial Research and Development

research and development

business

Also known as: R and D, R&D

Written by

William K. Holstein

Distinguished Service Professor of Business, State University of New York at Albany. Coauthor of Production Planning and Control and others.

William K. HolsteinAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 26, 2026 •History

research and development, in industry, two intimately related processes by which new products and new forms of old products are brought into being through technological innovation. Research and development, a phrase unheard of in the early part of the 20th century, has since become a universal watchword in industrialized nations. The concept of research is as old as science; the concept of the intimate relationship between research and subsequent development, however, was not generally recognized...