Interfacing R&D and Marketing: Tacit Knowledge and S &T Manpower Deployment in CSIR, India

Abstract

: Interfacing research and development (R&D) and marketing is an issue that is principally seen as being related to the issue of transfer of technology from the R&D organizations to the industry. However, this issue cannot be seen in isolation, it is an integral component of the management of technological innovation projects being undertaken in these organizations. The present study probes into the deployment of scientific and technical (S&T) personnel, the knowledge workers, in the laboratories under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, in different functional areas. These knowledge workers are strategic assets for CSIR, more so because of the tacit knowledge they possess as a result of actively pursuing their specific functional objectives over long periods of time. Data from 31 CSIR laboratories have been analyzed. In the study, the different functions carried out by the S&T personnel have been divided into six categories. The specific functions carried out by the S&T personnel have been analyzed in order to know the internal strengths and weaknesses of individual laboratories in different functional areas. The significance of this functional deployment in establishing an effective interface between R&D and marketing and for successful transfer of technology has been discussed.