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University research centers can be beneficial to industrial firms by providing firms with a number of relationship alternatives that facilitate the advancement of knowledge and new technologies. This multi-method field study indicates that larger more mechanistic firms especially those in resource intense industrial sectors use knowledge transfer and research support relationships to build competencies in non-core technological areas. In contrast, smaller more organic firms particularly those in high tech industrial sectors focus more on problem solving in core technological areas through technology transfer and cooperative research relationships. We also found that champions at the firm play a key role in these dynamics. Implications for industry and universities are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to identify groups of firms with similar generic knowledge strategies, determine how these strategies change over time, and compare profit margins of the groups. Knowledge strategies of 21 U.S. pharmaceutical firms are analyzed from 1977 to 1991. Cluster analysis is used to group firms over different time periods based on: (a) balance between internal and external learning, (b) preference for radical or incremental learning, (c) learning speed, and (d) breadth of knowledge base. Our findings indicate that there are four generic knowledge strategy groups: ‘Explorers’, ‘Exploiters’, ‘Loners’, and ‘Innovators’. Most firms remain in the same knowledge group over time. The firms in the ‘Innovator’ and ‘Explorer’ groups tend to be more profitable than the firms in the ‘Exploiter’ and ‘Loner’ groups.

This study empirically investigates a wide array of factors that have been argued to differentiate fast from slow innovation processes from the perspective of the research and development organization. We test the effects of strategic orientation (criteria‐ and scope‐related variables) and organizational capability (staffing‐ and structuring‐related variables) on the speed of 75 new product development projects from ten large firms in several industries. Backward‐elimination regression analysis revealed that (a) clear time‐goals, longer tenure among team members, and parallel development increased speed, whereas (b) design for manufacturability, frequent product testing, and computer‐aided design systems decreased speed. However, when projects were sorted by magnitude of change, different factors were found to influence the speed of radical and incremental projects. Moreover, some factors that sped up radical innovation (e.g., concept clarity, champion presence, co‐location) were found to slow down incremental innovation. Together, the radical and incremental models explain differences in speed better than the general model. This suggests a contingency approach to speeding up innovation. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed.

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Survey data gathered from 181 participants were used to examine the relationship between demographic variables, computer training and experience, management support and system quality and computer anxiety, and attitudes toward microcomputers. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that the quality ofthe computer-basedinformation systemwhichrepresents the interface and the interaction between the participants and the system has a strong positive effect on altitudes toward microcomputers, and a significant reduction on computer anxiety.Computer training contributes strongly to decrease in computer anxietyand has an indirecteffect on attitudes toward microcomputers. However, computer experience and management support were found to a1Iect the attitudes toward microcomputers directly. Among the demographic variables, gender was the only one which correlated highly with computer anxiety. Implications for the design of information and decisionsupport systemsand future research are discussed.

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