ABSTRACT
Scientific and technological information is consciously acquired by a firm for a purpose: to help it survive and, if possible, to grow. The environment in which the firm must compete is not static but changing, and apparently changing faster with the passage of time. The firm must monitor both its microenvironment and its macroenvironment if it wishes to anticipate threats and identify opportunities in sufficient time to take effective action. There are vertical and horizontal dimensions to the information acquisition structure of the firm. The horizontal dimension of scientific and technical information (STI) acquisitions reflects the fact that other units of an enterprise apart from research & development (R&D) have a potential contribution to make to new product and process development. Within an R&D department, the acquisition and use of STI is complicated by the transfers involved as a particular project moves through its various phases to final completion.
