R&D mythbusters

Industry R & D is one of the main sources of national economic growth as well as one of the main sources of value creation for firms. Accordingly it has received considerable attention from both economists and management scholars. Many of the prescriptions advanced by past theory have taken root both because they have intuitive appeal and because prior empirical data and techniques were not sophisticated enough to refute them. More recent work which combines insider experience with more sophisticated data and methods demonstrates that many of the prescriptions from past theory are invalid. These busted myths have implications for both government technology policy and firm R & D strategy.