ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines a few specific cases showing aspects of "linkages". The cases focus on research projects in the U.S.—mainly involving universities—and report on the success of such academic projects in interaction with industry. Economic and social incentives have been extremely important for accelerating the pace and lifting the quality of research and development (R&D). Economic incentives also assure aggressively efficient links between R&D and production. Scientists and engineers are motivated by intellectual curiosity, by needs for peer recognition, by desires for social and economic rewards, and by the hope for social relevance of their work. The R&D limited partnership exists for a defined period of time, owns the patents that may result from work sponsored by the funding obtained through the financing of the partnership, and can be either an independent entity or a wholly owned subsidiary of a larger firm.
