Diversity in an R & D Organization as a Driver of Innovation

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Based on the case study of the ceramic capacitor industry, we got two findings. First, as for a diversified firm, the key factor for R & D performance is not necessarily the variety of expert engineers in its R & D organization, but existence of a few central characters who integrate knowledge over various technical fields. Second, as for a specialized firm, it can achieve the same high R & D performance as a large diversified firm does through individual engineer's efforts to extend their technical fields; core engineers gradually cover broader technical fields and build knowledge base at the individual level.