Globalisation de la R&D et mécanismes de coordination: le rôle des groupes de projets dans l'intégration d'activités multinationales

This article deals with the question of the functioning and impact of mechanisms of coordination in the international organization of the R&D activity. It is based on surveys carried out into seven European and American MNCs in three sectors. The present movement of decentralization of R&D abroad fosters the firms to use more and more hybrid mechanisms as project groups. The MNCs try to integrate highly differentiated activities. Today, this capacity of coordination is largely based on standardization of results and work procedures.