The new joint R&D

It is pointed out that the era of collaboration among competitors has arrived. Virtually every vendor of semiconductor devices, equipment, and materials is engaged in at least one multicompany collaboration to develop processes, tools, and technologies. In 1982, when Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) was founded, the prevailing view was that competitors cannot and should not share proprietary information, that their competitive habits overpower any collaborative desires, and that invention is fundamentally best undertaken by each company on its own. Today, that skepticism must confront the changes that have taken place in the world of industrial and academic research and development. The author provides examples of collaborative work, looks into the logic of joint research and development, and considers the design of R&D collaboratives, their secretariats, their operating entities, and their future.<>