The Organization of Industrial Research as a Network Activity: Agricultural Research at Philips in the 1930s

Abstract

Business historians have shown the importance of industrial research in the process of innovation. Most have focused on the industrial research departments themselves. Less attention has been paid to the position of these departments within research networks outside the firm. This article explores the story of networking at the Dutch company Philips & Co. during the interwar period. Gilles Hoist, director of Philips's Research Department at the time, became involved in an agricultural research network that comprised growers, university scientists, and the Dutch government. These networks were essential for Philips's success and provided an opportunity for the company's researchers to keep in touch with scientific circles.