Coping with downsizing and outsourcing: the virtual corporate research lab

Many corporate research laboratories (CRLs) have been pressured to downsize, outsource or go out of business vs. divisionalized R&D. This paper discusses some causal factors and some actions that can be taken by surviving CRLs to reestablish their credibility and relevance to the changing corporate scene, including evolving into “virtual CRLs”