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> The private sector cannot innovate until monetization is in sight That feels like a sweeping condemnation of R&D in the private sector in general. I know ver

> The private sector cannot innovate until monetization is in sight That feels like a sweeping condemnation of R&D in the private sector in general. I know very little on the subject, is there a strong base for this position?

Spooky23 10y ago
It's a side effect of changes in the marketplace and the world. When big conglomerates ran big horizontal and vertical businesses, they did general R&D work that benefited their broader corporate mission. Bell Labs wasn't there because AT&T was some sort of benevolent charity. Now companies are mostly brokers between outsourcers and have a narrow focus. We haven't "caught up" with the capability that we already have, so startups have replaced corporate R&D, mostly using off the shelf stuff to make minor incremental changes.
- delazeur 10y ago
  I don't know if this was legally enforceable, but I have heard that the existence of Bell Labs was essentially a quid pro quo with the federal government in exchange for being granted a regulated monopoly on phone service. More generally, I have heard that corporate executives in the golden age of American industry had more of a sense that they owed a debt to the public for all the free stuff they had been given (cost plus defense contracts, government R&D, radio and TV frequencies, ect.). I think there are some rose-tinted glasses involved in that analysis, but it was probably part of it.
sseagull 10y ago
While "cannot" might be a little strong, it can be true, depend on the field and company of course. I used to work at a large company that in the past performed a large amount of fundamental research into physics, since it affected their products. I took a tour of the labs recently and they are a shadow of their former selves. It was depressing. I think reduction in private sector STEM comes from several sources. One is the private sector not willing to take the risk of something not working, no long-term thinking, etc. Another might be the relative difficulty in measuring the impact of your R&D department. In an era where every cost has to be justified and everything has to be measured by some metric, R&D begins to look like an expense rather than a profit generator, at least in the short-medium term.

Spooky23 10y ago

It's a side effect of changes in the marketplace and the world. When big conglomerates ran big horizontal and vertical businesses, they did general R&D work that benefited their broader corporate mission. Bell Labs wasn't there because AT&T was some sort of benevolent charity. Now companies are mostly brokers between outsourcers and have a narrow focus. We haven't "caught up" with the capability that we already have, so startups have replaced corporate R&D, mostly using off the shelf stuff to make minor incremental changes.

delazeur 10y ago
I don't know if this was legally enforceable, but I have heard that the existence of Bell Labs was essentially a quid pro quo with the federal government in exchange for being granted a regulated monopoly on phone service. More generally, I have heard that corporate executives in the golden age of American industry had more of a sense that they owed a debt to the public for all the free stuff they had been given (cost plus defense contracts, government R&D, radio and TV frequencies, ect.). I think there are some rose-tinted glasses involved in that analysis, but it was probably part of it.

sseagull 10y ago

While "cannot" might be a little strong, it can be true, depend on the field and company of course. I used to work at a large company that in the past performed a large amount of fundamental research into physics, since it affected their products. I took a tour of the labs recently and they are a shadow of their former selves. It was depressing. I think reduction in private sector STEM comes from several sources. One is the private sector not willing to take the risk of something not working, no long-term thinking, etc. Another might be the relative difficulty in measuring the impact of your R&D department. In an era where every cost has to be justified and everything has to be measured by some metric, R&D begins to look like an expense rather than a profit generator, at least in the short-medium term.